Educating Eve Read online

  Educating Eve

  Anna Archer

  Copyright © by Anna Archer 2019

  First Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or any other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Cover design: Emma Smale

  Editor and formatting: Ellie Richards

  Publisher: FoxPress Publishing

  Dedicated to the reader:

  May you find happiness.

  Chapter One

  “Manny Jones?” gasped Eve, suddenly standing from the high-backed seat in front of the head teacher’s desk.

  “Manzana Jones, and sit down please, we can’t have you in a frenzy as well as the press.”

  “But it’s Manny Jones!”

  “Miss Eden, you’re usually so calm and reserved.”

  Eve Eden sat down, straightened her white tennis skirt and pushed her black-framed glasses higher up the bridge of her nose. “Sorry Mrs Howard, it’s just…”

  “Yes, it’s Manzana Jones, returning to Ridgecrest Academy.”

  Eve looked around at the wood-panelled walls of the office. Every other beautifully framed picture seemed to show the head teacher in a different stage of her career with a young Manny Jones as she was gifted various sporting trophies and academic prizes. The largest and most recent picture featured Mrs Howard standing pitch-side at the huge Wembley stadium, smiling as Manny Jones, in full England kit, handed over a signed football. Eve turned her attention back to the desk where the same football was now encased in a protective display box.

  The head teacher followed Eve’s gaze. “It happened during that game, you know.”

  Eve looked up. “I heard.”

  “You didn’t watch it?”

  “I’m not a big football fan.”

  “You’re our PE teacher, Miss Eden!”

  Eve shifted slightly on the taut leather upholstery. “You know I prefer hockey and—”

  “It was the Women’s World Cup!”

  “I travelled this summer.”

  “Well don’t tell Manzana that, for goodness sake!”

  Eve frowned. “I thought I wasn’t to make a fuss?”

  “No, but she’s still the greatest alumni this school has ever had. The fact she’s chosen to return is an honour.”

  Eve looked again at the most recent picture. Chosen might be a stretch. She didn’t watch the match or see the injury occur but she’d certainly heard about it. England’s golden-girl, Manny Jones, eighteen-years-old and almost solely responsible for progressing the team to the World Cup finals, losing her head in the dying minutes of the game with a horror tackle that ended her career and sent her opponent off on a stretcher.

  Mrs Howard spoke up. “Manzana Jones engaged the nation and the world, putting women’s football at the forefront of the traditionally male-dominated summer sports schedule.”

  Eve nodded. That was the line Manny Jones’ PR company had tried to use to ease the uproar. It hadn’t worked. She paused, thinking of something to say. “I liked her purple hair and her unapologetic approach to her sexuality.”

  “Miss Eden! It was Manzana’s skill on the pitch. Her goal after goal after goal.”

  “Right. Of course.”

  “Did you see her goals? There are some wonderful compilations on the internet.”

  Eve paused again before lifting her shoulders into a slight shrug. “I saw the pictures of her kissing her girlfriend. Fascinating how one of the papers entitled it: Manny Jones greets a fan in the crowd.”

  Mrs Howard tutted. “I never did like that girl. Nikki Newman. She was a trouble-maker.”

  “Her girlfriend came here too?”

  “Ex-girlfriend. Just another leech who’s dropped Manzana like all of the other fake, sycophantic supporters. Management. Sponsors. It’s all gone, but we’re here to pick up the pieces.”

  Eve looked again at all of the photos. The head teacher’s office could easily be mistaken as a shrine to the ex-student. “What exactly do you want me to do?”

  “Be her guide. Be her mentor. She’ll be starting in your form tomorrow with the other year twelve students. You’ll have her for A-Level PE and A-Level biology.”

  “Won’t she struggle with the practical side of PE?”

  “She’s as strong as an ox and she’ll defy the doubters, just you wait.” Mrs Howard paused. “But maybe begin by introducing her to all of these other, less physical, sports that you love.”

  “Hockey’s still very physical.”

  “Manzana’s fine. She could still play football in my opinion, but returning to her A-Levels will give her another focus while she recovers, not to mention the option of another career if it really is as bad as the doctors say. It’s a very wise move in my book.”

  “Won’t it matter that she’s two years older than everyone else?”

  “No one tells us what we can and can’t do here at Ridgecrest Academy.” The head teacher nodded. “And she’s Manzana Jones, of course we’ll accept her.”

  Eve smiled at the loyalty. She’d only been teaching at the private school for two years, but it certainly had the tight-knit family feel she’d hoped for. Three-hundred girls age eleven to eighteen, housed in the beautiful Grade II listed building, all eager to achieve; maybe because they were from families who could afford the fee-paying education or maybe because the teachers instilled a thirst for learning, or maybe she’d just got lucky with her first teaching position: A nice small school in a nice area with nice students and staff. “Should I treat her the same as everyone else?”

  “Of course.” Mrs Howard smiled. “It’s my job to make her feel special.”

  Eve looked at the pictures. “You certainly do have some history.”

  “I was slightly older than you when Manzana started here. We both progressed in our careers with the same determination and fortitude. She found fame on the world stage and I became the youngest head teacher in Ridgecrest’s two-hundred-year history.”

  “But you’re the ultimate winner, Mrs Howard, as you’re still here while Manny’s lost—”

  “Miss Eden! You can’t let Manzana hear you talking like that! It’s your job to build her back up.”

  “Without treating her differently?”

  “Should I put her in someone else’s form group? Mr Turnpike would be more than grateful for some positive exposure after his disappointing chemistry results.”

  Eve tried not to show her amusement. Mr Turnpike’s chemistry results had been fantastic, statistically they had the lowest number of top-grade passes compared to the other examination subjects on offer, but they were still fantastic. “Why me?”

  “Because you’re excelling. Top grades. Top attendance figures. Plus you’re our PE teacher. You’re the obvious choice, not to mention the fact you’re the youngest member of staff here at Ridgecrest.”

  “Do you think the press will cover it tomorrow?”

  The head teacher laughed. “And despite your Amazonian height and that wonderfully striking physique, you’re really rather shy and unassuming. You’re reserved, Miss Eden… although you have been somewhat free with your words here this morning.”

  “Sorry. I’m just in shock.”

  “You’re not fame-hungry, that’s what I’m trying to say. You’re worried there will be press here instead of being thrilled there’ll be press here.”

  “So there will be press here?”

  “Just go about your business as usual. I’ll be informing the rest of the staff during today’s inset
briefing. Manzana Jones is simply another sixth form student who’ll be starting the new term here at Ridgecrest.”

  Eve Eden pulled her blonde hair behind her ears and nodded. “Right then. Let’s do this.”

  Chapter Two

  Looking at herself in her childhood bedroom mirror, Manny Jones sighed. Days away from turning nineteen and back in her school uniform, only this time the red and blue checks were accessorised with a bulky knee brace and the weight of the world on her shoulders.

  “You don’t have to do it, you know,” said Manny’s mum, Sandy, popping her head into the room that was adorned with posters of sporting greats and shelf upon shelf of trophies. “And I don’t care that Mrs Howard’s waiving the fee. One of the new sports colleges would have been better.”

  Manny straightened her blazer. “You used to hammer home how lucky I was to go to Ridgecrest.”

  “Can I show you the new work offers that came in this morning?”

  “They’ll just be the same as the ones that came in yesterday and the day before.” Manny reached for her hair brush, taming the now naturally blonde length into a high ponytail. “One-off interviews. People wanting the scoop.”

  “No, there’s a coaching position at—”

  “England? No. Exactly.”

  “The salary’s not too bad.”

  “I don’t want not too bad. I want excellent. I want world-class. I want…” Manny shook her head. “I want everything I’ve lost.”

  Sandy stepped into the room. “You’ve not lost everything. Your pride’s just stopping you from seeing the bigger picture.”

  Manny pointed at the mirror. “Look at me! I have no pride! I’m going back to school!”

  “Which gives you an excuse not to face this thing head on. That’s your pride.”

  “There’s nothing to face. It’s all over.”

  “It’s not. The doctors’ diagnoses were mixed.”

  “They’ve dropped me. Everyone’s dropped me.”

  “Only your management company dropped you, Manzana. Stop being so dramatic. You walking away from United was dramatic.”

  “Limping away. I limped away. I didn’t walk away.”

  “You’re hardly limping at all now.”

  “Because this big knee brace is supporting me.” Manny pulled her ponytail tighter. “You heard the surgeons. I’ll never play again.”

  “Top level, and that was one opinion, amongst many… and you will.”

  “For who? That crappy club who want me to coach some crappy team?”

  “You’re getting angry.”

  “I’m not angry, mum. I’m frustrated.”

  “So take some time out to think things through.”

  “I’ve had the whole summer to think things through! If I don’t start school this September I’ll be three years behind everyone else. Mrs Howard’s offer was the only thing that made sense.”

  “But why? Why go back at all? You’re famous, Manny. You could do reality—”

  “Reality shows?! Really mum? Don’t you get it? It’s all gone.”

  “Not yet it hasn’t. You were the face of the World Cup.”

  “For the wrong reasons.”

  “Not at the start.”

  “But we’re not at the start, mum, we’re at the end. What do you want me to do? Cling on to my five minutes of fame, and then what? I’m not a seasoned professional with years of success under my belt. I’m not some national hero they want doing sports commentary on TV.”

  “You were.”

  “But I’m not anymore.”

  “You could get it back.”

  “For who, mum? Me or you?”

  “You won’t be happy. Back at school with a bunch of sixteen-year-olds.”

  “I’ll keep my head down. I’ll get my A-Levels. I’ll have the chance at another life. Another career.”

  “You’re hiding.”

  Manny looked at herself in the mirror. Her trademark purple hair from the summer had gone as had the glint in her eye. “I’m standing right here, mum.”

  ****

  Hiding behind the heavy floral curtains in Ridgecrest school’s staffroom, Eve gasped. “You’re right!” She turned to her colleague Bonnie whose floral blazer was camouflaging her on the other side of the leaded window. “TV vans too.” She stared again. It was the one down-side of the school, no impressive grounds to wow the prospective parents with, just the history of an impressive building erected before the main road got so busy.

  “I told you so,” said Bonnie, “and they don’t look particularly friendly.”

  Eve hauled the long material back into position and tried not to inhale the musty aroma. “The poor woman.”

  “She’s not a woman, she’s a silly girl who ruined our chance of winning the World Cup.”

  Eve stared at Bonny’s bulk and large bottom poking out of the ancient curtains. “Our chances? Were you on the pitch, Bonny?”

  The home economics teacher huffed. “I’d have done a better job and I’m almost fifty. Look! She’s arrived!”

  “She got us to the finals, didn’t she?” said Eve, not returning to the window, instead walking to the small sink and filling the kettle.

  “Us? See. You do care.”

  “About football? Not really.”

  “So why are you peeping?”

  “I’m not, I’m marvelling at the fact this kettle’s still working, and anyway, Mrs Howard told us to treat her normally.”

  “How can we with this going on every morning?”

  “It won’t be every morning. It’ll just be today.”

  “Don’t bet on it. She’s the story. She’s the reason we didn’t win. This will run and run.”

  “It’s September. The World Cup finished six weeks ago.”

  “We were so close to winning.”

  Eve flicked the switch on the kettle. “Because of her.”

  “No, we lost because of her.”

  “Thank goodness she’s not taking home economics.”

  Bonnie finally stepped out of her hiding place and dusted off her pink jacket. “What’s her third subject? You have her for PE and biology, what else is she taking?”

  “Chemistry I think.”

  “Good. She should blow herself up.”

  “Bonnie—”

  “And look!” Bonnie was back at the window. “Here’s Mrs Howard lapping it all up.” She paused. “You know there were rumours of a relationship between them.”

  Eve ignored the silly speculation. She’d had enough of it directed her way in her first two years at the school what with her being so close in age to the students compared to the rest of the ancient teachers. “Careful. Your jacket might draw attention.” Eve stared at the woman. That or her flame-red fluffy hair. “Plus Mrs Howard’s married,” she said. “To a man.”

  “And Manny Jones is the type of girl who gets what she wants in life. Is she your type?”

  Eve’s eyes darted around the small space even though she knew they were alone in the staffroom. “I’m straight.”

  “You’re a PE teacher.”

  “Stop stereotyping and stop asking inappropriate questions.”

  “You don’t look like a PE teacher mind you. You look more like a buxom blonde supermodel and you certainly don’t follow sports like PE teachers should.”

  “And you watch Nigella and Betty Crocker on the cooking channel every night, do you?”

  Bonnie laughed. “I’m teasing you, you delicate, innocent soul. When you’ve been around as long as I have you’ve seen it all… but a school hero, returning to the school as a national disgrace, that’s a first for me.”

  “I think Manny’s done a wonderful job of raising the profile of the game, not to mention how outspoken she’s been on LGBT issues.”

  “She cost us the win so none of that matters.”

  Eve sighed. “I’ve boiled the kettle. Have a coffee. I’m going to form.”

  “Get yourself outside like every other member of staff.”

/>   “Mrs Howard told us not to.”

  “And no one’s listened.”

  “You have.”

  “Only because I can’t face her. I’m scared of what I might say.”

  “To Manny?”

  “Of course to Manny. She lost us—”

  “Yes, I get it.”

  Bonnie re-straightened the curtains and addressed the empty staffroom. “You clearly don’t. This place is usually bustling in the morning.”

  Eve laughed. Bustling was an exaggeration if ever she’d heard one. “We’ve got two years with her.”

  “You and Mr Turnpike have, but the rest of us will simply be watching her swan around like she owns the place. It’s no wonder everyone wants to witness this morning’s embarrassment in real time.”

  “Coming back to school’s not an embarrassment, it shows real strength of character.”

  Bonnie gasped. “Oh god, you love her already.”

  Chapter Three

  Sitting behind the old wooden desk in her old-fashioned form room, Eve checked her watch. They were ten minutes in and there was no sign of Manny.

  “Is the whole year going to be like this, Miss Eden?” asked one of the girls in her red and blue check uniform from the back of the classroom.

  “Yeah,” said another girl at the front. “We’ve been at school with her before, remember? She was two years above us and always being singled out for some amazing achievement or other. Now we just have to sit and wait for her?”

  “Girls,” said Eve, standing up and straightening her tennis skirt. “We all treat each other with respect here at Ridgecrest.”

  “No disrespect, Miss Eden, but you weren’t here when she was. You don’t know what it’s like. She could just do what she wanted because she was everyone’s favourite.”

  “Well she’s not my favourite,” said Eve, suddenly freezing in panic as she realised all of her students were staring in stunned silence at the door.

  “Good,” said Manny, “I’ve had enough of people sucking up to me.”

  Eve turned to look at the striking figure. Manzana Jones appeared completely out of place. Like a famous person playing dress up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean… I just meant I’m… I’m indifferent.”