Life Lessons

*mentions of death

It was a cold and rainy day at Sir Trevelyan’s Primary school. Several children were crowding the cloakroom getting dry and taking their coats off.

As soon as they walked into the main classroom they were greeted by their teacher, Mrs Bates.

She was a kind woman and a mother of two. She would frequently run into her youngest daughter, Jessica, while at work. Ophelia Bates decides to run a lesson on Animal biology, which she knew would interest Jessica. But she was in a different class so couldn't participate. However, Ophelia was planning some ‘exclusive homework’ for her.

She watched as the children played a learning game where they had to find the technical names for each laminated creature. The mousy haired teacher then drew her attention to the pet cage in the corner. Her silvery yellow eyes twitched as she closely observed the Russian dwarf hamster, who was curled up in the corner. Her eyes suddenly turned silver. She was ‘reading’ the ageing hamster's life force with the ability she inherited from her mother, Tanya Flannigan.

It was as she feared, Billy's life force was extremely weak. She sighed as the children were unaware, apart from one red-haired female. The girl, Rebecca, closely watched as she noticed the sudden colour changes in her teacher's eyes. “Miss, your coloured contacts appear to be broken,” she said, deliberately being rude about her teachers ‘interesting’ eye colour. Ophelia suddenly looked straight at Rebecca sternly. “I already told you and the rest of the class, this IS my natural eye colour. It comes from my mother's side,” she glared at the obnoxious girl.

Rebecca looked at her educator, “oh, you mean the lady who runs the ‘death pub’ my mum said she had freaky eyes too” she snorts. Several children seemed unnerved by the conversation. One little boy got scared saying he dined at the Flannigan Arms and was how worried he was going to die. Ophelia goes over to him looking softly at him “trust me, you are not going to die at the Flannigan pub. Your life force is still so young so you have nothing to worry about,” she smiled “oh Jessica was asking of you Ezra. Feel free to go sit with her at lunch” Ophelia smiled. Rebecca rolls her eyes “oh that yellow-eyed weirdo” she scoffs.

The lecturer had no patience for the horrible young girl but she pitied her because it was obvious that her family had started several unfair rumours.

“Don't you DARE call my daughter names or getting suspended will be the least of your problems!” She glared at the girl “And your family's unwarranted opinions on my parents business are horrifying” she scolded Rebecca. “You will have a lot of time to think about your issues in ‘the thought space’ and there will be no more ill-informed talk about my personal life. Am I making myself clear?” Ophelia said harshly. Rebecca looked at her “understood Miss” she said, deciding to finally drop the subject.

The teacher then got back to examining the ailing hamster from a distance. She concluded that the poor creature had minutes to live. She looked at the children and knew she had to arrange something.

Ophelia addressed the classroom stating that they were getting assigned a scavenger hunt outside. She sends a message to Jessica's class requesting she comes to Mrs Bates class immediately for an ‘emergency lesson’.

The students were looking for certain outdoor animals, unaware of what was unfolding. Just then Jessica ran over to Ophelia. “Hey, mum what's the matter? Mr Jones said there was an emergency” she said a little worried.

Her mother sighs, “well, this a clear case of ripping the band-aid off” she said, her daughter wasn't quite following so Ophelia started to explain that Jessica needed ‘real-life experience’ if she wanted a career in Animal Care. She also said that animal reapers were scarce. “Ok Jessica we should go into the classroom and take the ‘pink box’ out of your pencil case,” her mother stated.

Ophelia goes over to the hamster, who was deteriorated and unkempt. However this was not down to neglect, this was a simple case of the unpleasant consequences of his advanced age. “This is usually your grandma's expertise but I'm afraid she's busy dealing with another assignment or comforting grieving family members. Also, I don't want her running into Rebecca Morrison or her family. We know that won't end well,” Ophelia rolls her eyes. “She's been a royal pain during lessons,” she said as Jessica agreed sadly. “She called me a wee-wee coloured eyes freak,” Jessica said a bit hurt. Ophelia's eyes twitch, “not to worry I’ll deal with that. But right now we have got to tend to Billy” she informs her daughter.

They gaze into the dull eyes of the unwell hamster. Jessica got a little tearful but she seemed to hold it together. Her reaction to the death was pretty mature for a 10-year-old girl. Ophelia smiles “doing well so far, we don't want to upset our clients by losing control of our emotions,” she educated the blonde child.

The hamster did light up a bit seeing Jessica gently stroke his head. “Hope you enjoy heaven sweetie” she smiles emotionally while keeping her cool as most of her family members had taught her.

Billy gazed at the young girl, his breathing turning shallow as he laid down gently. Ophelia observed and explained that he was ‘on his way’ which was no surprise as he had looked awful for days. The hamster curled up peacefully as his eyes closed. Those few minutes felt like hours as they had to wait until his life force was at a critically low level. Ophelia sensed that the hamster's heart had stopped beating.

Ophelia sighs gently “ok Jessica, you know what to do,” she slowly steps back as Jessica puts on a pair of pink ‘work’ gloves and gets out a small pair of nail clippers designed for small pets. Jessica mutters something and the tips of the trimmer glow a bright yellow. It was kept in a locked box because if the clippers were ‘active’ an unsuspecting person would be no more. So Jessica had to make sure her tool was kept under strict lock and key.

She leant over the deceased rodent and starts to clip his nails. A white light ascends out his body signalling the task is finished.

“Well done Jessica” Ophelia smiled slightly “it takes the stress off your already overworked grandmother and the very few pet reapers” she commends her daughter.

The next step was informing the other students of Billy's passing.

“Hey, mum I did write a story on the subject. My friend Ezra lost his dog, Rory, this year, and I had been writing about it” Jessica said. Ophelia was curious. “That might help, a child informing fellow children. If it's tasteful then I would be happy for you to read it at the school assembly,” her tutor mother smiles slightly. “In the meantime, I need to let my class know first and deal with Rebecca” she sighed. “I honestly don't know what I’d do without you. You are an amazingly gifted child” Ophelia hugs Jessica. “I should head back to class or Mr Jones might think I'm skiving,” Jessica smirked as her mother nods in agreement. “Of course honey, grandma is picking you up once she's finished her shift” Ophelia smiles as this excited Jessica. “Awesome I can't wait to see grandma and grandad” she smiles as they say goodbye, and Jessica gets back to her class.

It was a difficult and emotional afternoon. All the children were completely floored and devastated at the loss of Billy. A couple of children were questioning why Jessica briefly called in during their lesson. They overheard Rebecca talking out loud to a girl called Imogen Thomas. “I bet Jessica and her mother killed our class hamster. They just happened to be there when he died. What other explanation is there?” She remarks while getting the attention of her classmates. She writes ‘Jessica killed Billy, our class hamster. And her family are murderers’ and passes the note to another student as the slanderous note was passed around the class. Worse yet, Rebecca texted a member of Jessica's class accusing her of causing the death.

Within minutes several students had formed unfair opinions on Jessica and the Flannigan’s. Half an hour later, Mr Jones knocked on Ophelia’s door. She answered as Jessica was outside looking distraught. “It seems someone in your class has been spreading terrible rumours about your daughter,” he said, feeling awful about the incident. He shows her several messages on a student's mobile phone. Ophelia felt as if she wanted to dry vomit at the atrocious messages about her loved ones. “This has Rebecca Morrison written all over it!” She muttered angrily. “She’s been extremely rude to me too. And bad-mouthed my folks” Ophelia seethed, though she tried to remain professional. Mr Jones agreed while sighing. “That is unacceptable, I will inform her parents immediately and I'll arrange an emergency meeting afterschool” he informed the infuriated woman.

Ophelia sighs “I would attend the meeting, but I am monitoring the after school disciplinary room. Unfortunately, I'll be seeing that opinionated young lady, but at least I can make sure she behaves herself” Ophelia started, still irritated by Rebecca’s discrimination earlier. The other lecturer nods, “I understand, you have been very busy these last few days. Although I will need someone to join the meeting to accompany Jessica. I don't want her facing this alone,” he smiled gently. Ophelia thought, “Of course, my mother could step in. If that helps,” she said looking at Mr Jones. He agreed “ok that will be perfect, school finishes in 20 minutes so you will need to inform your mother immediately,” Mr Jones said. “Of course Ian, I can't thank you enough. My husband and I will be at the Flannigan Arms this evening if you are brave enough to not get murdered” Ophelia jokes, Ian smirks, “what a load of rubbish, who even makes that rumour any more. They need to change the record,” the year 5 teacher scoffed.

Ophelia held her daughter close, she seemed to be less tense. But she was nervous about the meeting in case Rebecca might turn on her.

Several minutes later, Tanya entered the school grounds. She was eager to help her granddaughter. She greets Ian Jones and her daughter. The older female's eyes flash silver, and she could sense Jessica and her mother were emotional. She had her care worker uniform under a plum coloured jacket and her hair was now a long bob.

Tanya held Jessica close. “So, I need to know. Which repugnant child has been tormenting my granddaughter?”

Her daughter looked nervous as she knew her mother despised the Morrison family and she knew the main reason why. But Ophelia had no time to dwell on it, as she had to go punish Rebecca.

“Ian, could you please inform my mother of today's incidents? I don't want to lose my lunch. Also, I hope she doesn't have her ‘work supplies’ on her. I'll be having a strong word with Rebecca” she said as she left to manage the penalty office.

Ian sighed and looked at the senior woman, “you best come with me, Tanya” he said, leading her into the headteacher's office where Rebecca's mother was sitting. She had a scowl on her face and looked like she'd rather be anywhere else but here.

Tanya’s eyes suddenly twitched, as she recognised the woman from 35 years previous. She was the vile little girl the year above Ophelia, And she had behaved just as appallingly as her daughter was currently.

Tanya glared, “I see things haven't changed, Sarah! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I hoped my family would never have to meet you again. But sadly for us, here you are. With the same pitiful face that I saw in the headteacher's office thirty-five years ago,” Tanya scoffed as Sarah looked enraged. “What's your problem, grandma death?” Sarah smirks as Tanya sighs. “I know fine well that you have been filling your repulsive offspring's head with the same lies that you ignorantly believe, relating to me and my family. So yes I do have a problem!” Tanya glared at the woman.

The headteacher entered the room along with a startled looking Jessica, although she calmed down a little when she saw her grandmother and sat next to her.

“So we know why we are here, a student named Rebecca Morrison has been sending notes and texts to other students claiming that Mrs Bates and her daughter Jessica killed the class pet, ‘Billy’ and she had made several comments about Jessica Bates eye colour being the same with her mother Ophelia Bates” she sighed.

Tanya wasn't shocked, she held her granddaughter “it's a pity my daughter couldn't attend this meeting as she is in charge of disciplining Rebecca because of the fibs her family have been tellibg her” she said scowling at Sarah, but was trying to stay civil.

“From what I understand, Rebecca mocked Mrs Bates telling her ‘her contacts were broken’ and called Jessica a ‘yellow-eyed freak’ to her face during her lesson,” the head replied looking sternly at Sarah who remained quiet.

Tanya frowned looking at Sarah then looking at Mrs Harrison. “It seems the cat got her tongue, bad enough I had to deal with her bullying my daughter when she was a student. Now she's trained her daughter to bully my granddaughter. It seems despite my daughter Ophelia’s best efforts to teach kindness. Unfortunately, certain people seem to fall short on that. What a pity,” Tanya said, wrapping her arm over Jessica protectively.

Sarah scoffed “well why on Earth was Jessica in my daughter’s class with her mother while Rebecca was outside. Seems like you planned to get her year group away.and then the class pet ‘just happens to die’, strange that!” She accused the older woman.

Tanya’s eyes flashed silver as her bag had something inside causing a slight glow. Jessica noticed and gently held her grandmother's arm. This seemed to calm her down a little as she glared at Sarah.

"I told you 35 years ago when you accused me and my daughter of killing your grandma. I already informed you that she was at the end of her life and she died of natural causes. Same with Billy the hamster. Ophelia seems to get that skill from me in recognising the signs of death. I suppose my years of working in palliative care has rubbed off on her,” Tanya explained. Mrs Harrison smiled slightly “your work within this community is admirable Mrs Flannigan” she smiled as she looked at Sarah. She rolled her eyes “this is why people are judging your entire family, your involvement in people's deaths is very eerie and Jessica seemed to be the least upset out of all the children. Seems odd to me. And I have no idea what's going on with your eyes. Only Rupert has normal eyes” she retorted at Tanya. The care worker sighed, “My children and grandchildren inherited my eye colour, they have witnessed what goes into end of life care so are used to dealing with loss, unlike most students. Plus Ophelia had let her know in advance so Jessica had time to mentally prepare for it,” Tanya said. “also, my granddaughter made sure Billy was looked after just before and after passing. She took it upon herself to clip his claws and brush his hair. I know she will be a brilliant carer one day” she smiled. Mrs Harrison seemed to be floored by the maturity of the 10-year-old. Sarah disliked the conversation and was still doubting the Flannigan and Bates family.

“Seems inappropriate to me to allow a 10-year-old to deal with a dead thing” she rolls her eyes. Tanya’s eyes twitched as she stood up instantly.

“Billy was a living being, not some ‘dead thing’ and Ophelia wanted to educate Jessica on the harsh realities of pet care to see if she could cope in a difficult situation. She put my ‘first time’ to shame and she's more mature than a certain 45-year-old,” she glared at Sarah.

Sarah was speechless, Mrs Harrison was very surprised by what she just heard.

After a few seconds, Mrs Harrison nodded. “Well it sounds like we could have an animal whisperer on our hands. Jessica Bates is a very intelligent and courageous young lady. I can see where she gets it from. Your family, in my opinion, is the backbone of our community. I noticed your son cook for the residents when I visited the care home once to direct a school play for the elderly. I could tell it was him as I have seen Toby take on so many jobs even when he was a student. student Your daughter is also a bright spark. And your husband must be at least 70 but I've seen how well he manages the Flannigan Arms. I admire your family. As for Rebecca and her mother. Their ignorance is an embarrassing blot on the face of our school values. I sincerely apologise for you having to deal with this again Mrs Flannigan. And I will see you at the pub Friday evening” Mrs Harrison smiled at Tanya. Sarah scowled again.

Mrs Harrison looked at Sarah, “oh feel free to pick up your daughter from the ‘thought room’ I really hope she learns something from this” Mrs Harrison sighs. Sarah left as quick as she could, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

“Thank you for dealing with this and I sincerely apologise Mrs Flannigan,” Mrs Harrison said. Tanya smiled “it's no problem, Jillian. I'll see you this weekend, we more than deserve it” she smiled.

Mrs Harrison smiled “see you then, Tanya” she waved as she left the office.