The Affair by N.A. Cooper

Author:N.A. Cooper [Cooper, N. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloodhound Books

Ryan hovered at the back of the classroom while Alex and Chloe set about trying to ensure all the children were ready and everything was packed. He was wearing jeans and a black Nike hoody and stood with his jaw set and his hands in his pockets. If she didn’t know him better she’d think he seemed unapproachable and arrogant, his eyes fixed on a spot on the floor and his mouth showing no trace of a smile. It was as though he didn’t want to be here, she thought, before realising that was exactly what it was.

‘I’ve got the first aid kit.’ Chloe held up a green bag before stuffing it into her backpack. ‘Have you got the register?’

‘Yep, it’s here.’ Alex showed her a blue clipboard before slipping into her coat. The rain had stopped but it still looked temperamental outside, the day never having brightened, hindered by the low cloud which seemed to fall in a hazy mist of grey. ‘Right, class!’ she shouted. ‘Is everyone ready?’

There was a communal ‘yes’ from the children as the parents stood eagerly awaiting instruction.

‘Right, we have Finley’s mum, Mrs Daniels…’ Finley stood smiling by his mother’s side. ‘Joining you will be Rio, Jessica and Violet.’ Alex read out the groups for the other parents, reeling off names as she usually would without a second thought, until she came to Ryan. Her hands trembled as she clutched the clipboard and she felt flustered and self-conscious in a way that made her fidgety, her feet shuffling on the floor as she repeatedly tucked her hair behind her ears.

She put extra energy into trying to sound flippant but her voice was betraying her, catching in her throat as though objecting to saying his name. ‘Mr Blake, you have Mia and Orla with you today.’ She quickly shifted her focus to Chloe and Miss McKay, handing out a list of which children were with which adult. Once they were all ready to go, Alex propped open the door and led everyone outside.

The coolness bit at her cheeks, the winds lifting the ends of her hair. She breathed deeply, thankful to be outside where she felt the awkwardness easing slightly, drifting into the breeze. The space outside afforded her the opportunity to gather herself in a way which felt impossible inside, contained in the same room as Ryan.

They walked down Field Street in a long line, the children wearing their high-vis vests over their coats, then they turned right onto Beck Lane. The trees on either side clambered towards each other, their limbs touching at the top. There was no traffic there aside from the odd car from the residents, and she felt the adults relax, the comparable safety of the wider, quieter paths a relief.

The woodland loomed up ahead, her childhood home sat off to the side of it, the end of the long driveway just visible beside the treeline. Her group of children walked beside her in pairs, holding hands and chatting happily,

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