Casey Watson - Mummy’s Little Soldier: A Troubled Child. An Absent Mum. A Shocking Secret

This book is a work of non-fiction based on the authors experiences. In order to protect privacy, names, identifying characteristics, dialogue and details have been changed or reconstructed.

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First published by HarperElement 2016

FIRST EDITION

Casey Watson 2016

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Source ISBN: 9780007595143

Ebook Edition May 2016 ISBN: 9780007595150

Version: 2016-02-16

Contents

Id like to dedicate this book to all those brave soldiers, men and women, who continue to dedicate their lives to serving their country so that all our grandchildren, mine included, can look forward to a peaceful future. A special mention goes to the parents and grandparents of serving soldiers, airmen and seamen, who will surely be facing their own private battles, as well as being filled with pride. Bless you all.

As ever, Id like to thank the team Im so privileged to work with. Huge thanks to everyone at HarperCollins, my agent Andrew Lownie and, of course, my lovely friend Lynne.

Working in a school, or so my thoughts ran, I should really love words, shouldnt I? Words are good, after all. Words are a brilliant way of communicating with one another. Words are one of the best ways invented for expressing how we feel. But as I looked down at the word that had appeared on the screen of my mobile, I could think of a fair few more I shouldnt even be thinking , much less typing out furiously in response to it.

The word that had been texted was whatever. Which was to be expected, as it was the word that was my daughters current favourite, in reply to pretty much anything I said. Except she spelt it whateva! Which was another thing.

Id had the last word that morning, which had been no kind of victory, because when youre a mum and you start the day by having words with your teenage children, you spend the rest of it feeling miserable, even if youre in the right. Which I was, about that one thing shed promised to do but couldnt, but that didnt make me feel any better.

And now the text, just to rub it in. Just to make her point. I flipped the phone shut, shoved it into my bag and headed into school. Better not to answer it. Not just yet.

Also better to put it behind me and focus on work. Everyone has one of those days sometimes, after all. But there are some days that you really dont want to be one of those days, arent there? The first day of term being one of them.

Which would have been the case anyway first days of term tend to be complicated at the best of times but it seemed that today I wasnt even going to be allowed the luxury of licking my wounds a bit while easing into it.

Ah, Casey! Julia Styles called, marching down the corridor towards me, bristling with efficiency and thick manila files. Brilliant. Youve saved me a journey.

Julia Styles was the school SENCO, or special educational needs co-ordinator, and it was her job to oversee everything special needs-related. It was also her job, in conjunction with the other relevant senior staff, to act as gatekeeper of where I worked the schools behavioural unit.

I have? I asked her, as we reached each other, wondering why shed been in search of me anyway. The first day of a new term usually involved me heading to her office, for a sit down and a chat about my latest bunch of pupils, as well as a catch-up about the holidays over a mug of coffee or two.

But not today, it seemed. Julia linked an arm through mine and swivelled me around. Were off to a meeting in the meeting room, she explained, leading me back the way Id come. All a bit last minute, I know, but I decided we all needed to put our heads together. Donalds already up there. Garys coming, obviously. Ive sent Kelly off to hunt Jim down as well.

Donald was the deputy head, Gary the schools child protection officer and Jim was my alter ego; we both did similar jobs. We had the same job title, too the rather fierce-sounding behaviour manager. Even though neither of us was very fierce at all. Kelly Vickers, whod just gone off to find him, was one of the twenty or so teaching assistants in the school, and was these days pretty much my number 2.

Quite a gathering, then, I said, as Julia and I mounted the stairs up to the room in question. Whats brought all this on? Something happened?

Oh, dont look so worried, Julia reassured me. Nothing bads happened. Well, not yet, anyway. She grinned. No, you know what its like, Casey. I just had one of those eureka moments. As you do. No, weve got a couple of potentially rather complicated children joining the school today, and since theyre the sort of kids who are going to require input from all of us I thought I know! How about I take the bull by the horns and get all of us together, then? So I did! Seemed to make a great deal more sense than trying to organise half a dozen separate meetings on the hoof, as usually happens. Means well all be on the same page before we start working with them, wont it? She pushed the door to the meeting room open and smiled again. I believe its called joined-up thinking. Something jargon-y like that, anyway. Ah, Gary, Donald. Hi. You got my notes, then. Thanks so much for coming. She threw her files down on the big table that dominated the space. Quite the party, eh? Ah, and here are Kelly and Jim. So thats almost all of us. Whos brought the bubbly?

Thats another thing about the first day of term, particularly when its the first term of the academic year as well. For those of us who work in schools, its a bit like the first day of January. The happy new year weve all anticipated over the long summer break. Some with an element of dread (or so Im told; that never applied to me personally), and some with a degree of manic energy and enthusiasm that would have everyone else wondering what theyd slipped into their cornflakes.

And that was all to the good, because if you didnt start the school year full of optimism and energy, there was a fair chance youd be burnt out by Christmas. Come and sit by me, Gary Clark said, pulling out the chair beside him around the other side of the table. Come join me in the naughty corner so we can whisper and pass each other secret notes.

I slung my bag down on the seat next to him, gratefully spying the kettle and jar of instant on the desk on the corner. Need a coffee first, I told him. Can I get you one as well?

Gary shook his head. Coffee? he asked, nodding pointedly in Julias direction. No way. I want a slug of whatever shes having.

Thats the thing about those sorts of days as well, isnt it? That they always seem to have an infinite capacity to get worse. Though once we were gathered around the table, that was the last thing on my mind, because Julia went straight to work on her short but important agenda so that we could be finished before the children started hunting us down.