Amanda Brooke - The Affair - The shocking, gripping story of a schoolgirl and a scandal

Nina dropped her handbag on the kitchen counter. These weren’t big problems, she told herself; no doubt a similar scene was being repeated up and down the country. So why did the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach persist as she slipped off her coat and headed upstairs?

Liam’s door was firmly closed while the door to her bedroom had been left slightly ajar. One of the wardrobe doors was open and she could see reflections playing across the white gloss veneer.

‘What do you think?’ Scarlett was asking.

‘It’s a bit short.’

When Nina slipped into the room, she found Bryn standing close to the door while Scarlett was on the other side of the room in front of the bay window. The curtains had been drawn and the only light came from a bedside lamp, draping Scarlett’s tall and slender body in shadow. Bryn’s pirate jacket was swimming on her and its cavernous sleeves hung down over her hands. She was wearing opaque black tights, which was lucky because the jacket only just covered her bum.

‘What do you think, Mum?’ she asked.

When her daughter raised her arms and did a twirl, the jacket lifted up further. Nina was relieved to see that her school skirt had been hitched up rather than removed to give Scarlett at least a modicum of dignity.

‘It is a bit revealing.’

‘I was thinking of wearing it with a belt.’

‘Which would make it ride up even further. If you’re going to wear it, you’ll need to wear leggings underneath. I’m not letting you out of the house if you don’t,’ Nina said, having momentarily forgotten about the call from Mr Swift. ‘Actually, I might not let you out of the house anyway.’

Despite Nina’s warning tone, Scarlett’s body didn’t sag with a suggestion of guilt as once it might when she was younger. Instead, she squared up and simply asked, ‘Why?’

‘I’ve had a call from Mr Swift. I don’t suppose I need to tell you what it was about.’

Her daughter’s body froze. She was on the wrong side of the room to find an escape, but she looked for it anyway.

‘What did he say?’

The question had come from Bryn.

‘Scarlett’s grades are slipping.’

‘No they’re not!’ Scarlett cried. ‘Not much, anyway. Mum, it’s fine. I’m getting on with my work, honest.’

‘Well, you can tell that to Mr Swift when we have our meeting.’

‘He’s called you in?’

‘Yes,’ Nina said. ‘And I’m warning you now, Scarlett, if you’ve been messing about instead of studying then you’re going to be spending the rest of the year locked away.’

‘You can’t, it’s not fair! I haven’t done anything.’

‘Hopefully that’s what Mr Swift will tell me on Friday.’

There was an awkward moment when no one knew what to do next. Scarlett was desperate to leave, but didn’t want to run the gauntlet of her mum and Bryn. She dropped her head and slowly began to unbutton her jacket. Nina turned to Bryn. ‘Can I smell something burning?’

‘I hope not. I’ve made cottage pie but it’s not in the oven yet,’ he said, before realizing it was his cue to leave. He glanced back towards Scarlett who had taken off the jacket and was straightening her skirt. ‘Maybe I should go and put it in.’

‘Yes, that might be a good idea.’

When Bryn had left, Nina asked, ‘What’s going on, Scarlett?’

‘Nothing,’ her daughter mumbled as she stared at her feet.

‘I don’t believe you. There’s something troubling you and I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. It’s like I caught glimpses out of the corner of my eye, but every time I turned towards it, it was gone. But it is there, Scarlett, and the fact that your grades are slipping only proves it. You need to tell me.’

‘Has Bryn said anything?’

Nina’s insides twisted that bit more. ‘Said what?’

When Scarlett didn’t reply, Nina stepped further into the room to close the distance between them, but rather than take her daughter in a bear hug and squeeze the truth from her, Nina sat down on the bed and patted the space next to her. ‘Sit,’ she said.

Scarlett did as she was told, and Nina took hold of her hand. With mother and daughter staring forward, they both relaxed a little. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Nothing,’ Scarlett said quickly. ‘I just moan about my friends to Bryn, that’s all. They’re so immature sometimes.’

‘While you’re growing up fast,’ Nina said, but then paused to consider how slowly she should lead the conversation in the direction it needed to go. ‘Are you having sex?’

‘Mum!’ Scarlett cried, glancing at her briefly before remembering herself and looking away.

‘I’m not daft, Scarlett. I know it’s going to happen eventually and you’re showing all the classic signs of having man trouble.’

Scarlett laughed.

‘So I am right?’

Her daughter had continued to laugh, but very quickly she was gulping for air as she fought and failed to hold back the sobs. Terrified, Nina wrapped Scarlett in her arms and let her cry on her shoulder. She patted Scarlett’s back to match the pace of her own heart thumping inside her chest. ‘Oh, Scarlett. Please tell me what’s going on.’

‘I – don’t – know – what – to – do.’

‘About what? What’s happened?’

‘Nothing, nothing’s happened and I don’t know if it ever will.’

‘But you want it to?’

Scarlett nodded. ‘I think so.’

‘You think? That doesn’t sound so definite to me. You’re fifteen years old, Scarlett. You might feel like you’re all grown up, and I’m not saying you’re not maturing faster than I’d like, but you’re not there yet.’

‘But I want to be, Mum. I want this bit to be over. I want to be middle-aged with a boring job and a family.’

It was Nina’s turn to laugh. ‘It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.’

‘Neither is being fifteen.’

‘I know. But I can’t go back in time, and you can’t fast forward. We are where we are.’

Scarlett hadn’t finished crying, but she managed to control her sobs enough to lift her head from her mum’s shoulder. ‘I’m scared, Mum. I don’t know what to do.’

‘If this boy respects you, then he’ll see you’re unsure and he’ll wait. Who are we talking about anyway? Is it Linus?’

Turning back to face the front, Scarlett put her hands over her face. ‘It’s OK,’ she said. ‘I can look after myself.’

‘Do we need to make an appointment with the GP?’ Nina asked.

Using the cuff of her jumper, Scarlett wiped away her tears. ‘No, it’s all right.’

‘You’re sure?’

‘Yes.’

Nina hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath until she released it. She should have felt relieved, but she didn’t. Sorting out contraception was only ever going to be part of the solution. ‘OK, I’m trusting you to do the right thing, Scarlett, but whatever happens, you can’t let it affect your schoolwork. It’s an important year.’

‘Don’t I know it.’

‘No more going out with your friends until you’ve got your grades back up where they belong.’

‘You can’t do that! I’ll turn into a weirdo like Liam if I never go out,’ Scarlett said, not afraid to face her mum now. ‘And what about the party?’

‘Let’s see how we get on with Mr Swift first, shall we?’

‘Fine, as long as you know what you’re doing,’ Scarlett said with a hint of a warning. ‘Don’t blame me if I go crazy.’

In truth, Nina didn’t know what she was doing. She was attempting to navigate through a perilous period of parenthood without a road map. She didn’t know how to solve Scarlett’s problems and help her towards the next stage of her life, all she could do was let her know she didn’t have to do it on her own. She had a mum who loved her; a stepdad who would do anything for her; and a brother who would protect her if he knew what was good for him; not to mention Mr Swift, who would help her daughter get back on track, academically at least.