THE FERALS

By Tessa Harvey

CHAPTER TWO

A month later Jake finally saw a position advertised for which he was qualified. After sharing breakfast with "Auntie" Ethel, Brodie happily accompanied him to the local school.

Initially, the desks were positioned 1.5 metres apart  as required by law. It was obviously virtually impossible to impose social distancing on very young children, but there were strict hygiene measures. The school playground had just been re-opened and every day he emptied Brodie's sandy shoes outside so that the whole house did not resemble a desert!

After coming home one day after looking for work, Jake had found his son being tickled in the tummy by Ethel's vacuum cleaner. Brodie was squealing and laughing as his hair was also sucked up the pipe!

But Jake had seen the weariness on Ethel's face and had taken over some of the household and outside chores, even helping with the cooking. His dad had insisted his son took this kind of responsibility.

As he drove to his interview the next day, Jake felt an uplift in his spirits that had been absent for too long. Finally he seemed to be moving on after the loss of Angela. He had realised, somewhat belatedly, that Ethel Clarkson had undergone a similar grief as had many others.

He parked outside a modern school building with wide spacious grounds. As he walked into the office, he was aware of how well kept and welcoming his surrounds were, and hoped the coming interview would be successful. The principal, Mrs. Judy Enfield was astute and articulate and examined his references and credentials meticulously.

A shaft of sunlight angled through the window and lit up her silver-framed glasses and grey-tinged dark hair. Finally, Jake was taken on a tour of the senior high school.