Page 68 of Kiss Me at Christmas
“It’s okay,” she said. “You’re not the first person to leave their mark.” It was true, the desk was covered all over with names.
“I’m sorry,” said Leo.
“There’s no harm done. You really kicked the crap out of that bucket, huh.”
He rewarded her with the ghost of a smile.
“Did you do your breathing?” she asked.
“It didn’t work.”
“It’s probably the newness of everything making it hard to focus.”
“I guess.”
“Don’t give up on it, it’s helped before. You are allowed to remove yourself from any situation that makes you feel threatened.”
“I thought if I concentrated on the drawing, I could handle it.”
“How do you feel now?”
“Better. Stupid.”
“You’re allowed to feel any way you want, but in my opinion, you’re not stupid. I’m glad you feel better. Would you like me to call your mum?”
“No, I want to stay, if I’m allowed.”
“Oh, excuse me, I don’t mean to intrude,” came the gentle lilt of Odette’s voice in the doorway. “But I always carry a few little treats in my bag, and you look like someone who could use a treat.”
She bustled into the room and opened her bag wide to show the contents. Harriet glanced at Leo, who looked as awed as she felt; it was a tuck shop in there. Small tubs contained flapjacks, chocolate bars, nuts, raisins, biscuits, and a miniature Battenberg cake.
“Go on now, help yourself,” Odette said encouragingly. And when Leo chose a small bag of cookies and muttered a thank-you, she rubbed his head, kissed her teeth, and said, “And when you’re done, you come on back outside and work on those drawings of yours. I’ll make sure there’s no more trouble, don’t you worry.”
Harriet had no doubt that she would be as good as her word.
“I ruined my backcloth,” he said, jamming his fists into his eyes to hide his tears.
“Well now, I had a little look before I came to see you and it’s really not as bad as you might think,” Odette soothed.
“Really?” he asked hopefully.
“A little Jackson Pollock flourish is all, nothing we can’t work into the picture if we put our heads together. Hmmm? How about it? Why don’t me and you go see what we can do?” Odette’s voice was gently persuasive, and it worked its magic on Leo.
Thank you, Harriet mouthed to Odette as the older woman made to chaperone Leo back to the stage. Odette smiled and winked in return.
Harriet took herself off to the bathroom to gather herself before going after Billy and Isabel. She checked her phone.
Cornell:Don’t forget that report. 9 a.m.
Cornell:Smoked bacon.
Cornell:That wasn’t meant for you.
Cornell:The dean wants an update on the Christmas prize-giving. Where are you on that?
Prize-giving!She groaned out loud. With everything else going on, the end-of-year student awards ceremony had completely slipped her mind. She’d sent out emails to teachers to ask who they’d like to nominate but hadn’t chased them up.Maybe I should just give up sleeping. How long can a person actually go without sleeping?She was considering getting hit by a slow-moving car, nothing too serious, just enough that she could spend thenext few weeks in hospital and miss Christmas completely, when she heard voices outside the door.
“I apologize for shouting at you. I was out of line.”
