I was lying face down on the bed, though I felt as if I had been thrown face down on the floor.
Miss Scunthorpe ran into the room. “Oh, you're having fun! I had to come back for my running shoes. See you both later.”
My brain was working slowly, but it was obvious that Jennffer and Miss Scunthorpe shared the room, it was obvious that they shared more than the room.
Time for shouting, but Miss Scunthorpe ran back into the room. “Jennffer, you have been a very, very bad girl. Soon after I left the room I realised what was wrong. I told the girls to go for a cross-country run without me and came back here.”
“Peter, put your clothes on! We are going for a walk.” It was clear that Jennffer was not invited.
The two of us walked around the playing fields and over the rise to the lake. “Peter, I'm talking to you now not as a teacher, but as one adult to another.”
“You and Jennffer are lovers. Jennffer told me so. I think that's very good. She says that you are good in bed. That pleases me too.”
“And now for the hard bit. Jennffer and I are lovers. Since almost two years. It's very good.”
“You ask, how can I share Jennffer with you. Oh, that's easy, very easy. I know that Jennffer is very big, she's a big person. I have known for months that I would have to share Jennffer with someone else. I am so happy that it's you, Peter.”
“You ask, why didn't Jennffer tell you? I don't know. Ask Jennffer, perhaps. You know now. I'm sorry that it was such a shock for you. If you feel that you have to hit me, then do it, it might make you feel better.”
How could I do that? How could I hurt jolly Miss Scunthorpe, the games teacher who ran round the track with us, organised workouts and more. I don't hit people and certainly not Miss Scunthorpe. I took her hand in mine.
“Peter, I will tell you about Jennffer. She has given me the two legs that I stand on. The first one is her love for me and my love for her. The second is my self respect and pride in my job. She buys me nice clothes and insists that I look good. She says that I am pretty and I believe her. I always enjoyed my job as games teacher, but she tells me that I'm doing good for the girls and the school and for myself. The other teachers still look down on me – I'm not academic – but I don't care any more. Why should I with Jennffer in my life?”
“She told me that she wanted a boy, a nice boy. She made what she called a decision table about all you boys with numbers and scores and values on it. She worked at it for days, but she couldn't decide between you and Henry. I knew which boy was right for her, but I didn't tell her. Was she surprised when you asked her!”
“I'm sure, Peter, that you feel good about Jennffer in your life too. But something has changed. What are you going to do about it? I will tell you.”
“You have three solutions, Peter. The one-person solution means you leaving Jennffer. But this will never happen. Jennffer will never let you go.”
“The two-person solution means persuading Jennffer to drop me. But this will never happen. Jennffer will never let me go.”
“You will have to accept the three of us. This will take some time. I have an idea, Peter. I'm going to drive to my sister's place and stay there for the rest of the weekend. I often do that, it's about an hour away.”
“I will drop you at your school and you can talk to Henry for the rest of the weekend. Go and kick a ball about with him. Don't worry about Jennffer. Let her stew in her ideas until Monday.”