Category:

PROLOGUE

" 'Once upon a time there was a beautiful maiden who was trapped in an enchanted castle. The castle was surrounded by a forest of thorns and guarded by a fearsome dragon—' "

A girl with long brown pigtails starts frantically waving both arms in the air, so I pause from my reading.

"Yes, Isla? Do you need the toilet?" the teacher, Mrs. Hollybush, asks the girl.

"What's the dragon's name?" Isla asks. More small hands shoot up. 

"Are dragons nocturnal?" asks a boy wearing purple glasses.

"Is it home time?" comes the muffled cry of a girl who's pulled her school jumper up over her face.

Mrs. Hollybush sighs. "We've talked about this, 1H, please just let Ethan's mummy read the story. There'll be time for questions at the end, okay?" She gives me an encouraging smile, then nods for me to continue.

Every Friday afternoon my son Ethan's primary school invites a parent to come and read a book to their child's class. Ethan has been asking me to sign up for months. It's been a disruptive year, with Dan and I separating, so I've been trying to assuage my mum guilt in other small ways: pretending I enjoy board games, cooking waffles at weekends, and now ducking out of work early to read a fairy tale to thirty noisy six-year-olds. As I sit perched on a tiny chair, looking out at the children sitting cross-legged on the carpet in front of me, my gaze falls on Ethan. He beams, thrilled to have me here. I return his smile, then turn back to the book.

"'The dragon scared everyone away, but a few brave princes tried to rescue the fair maiden. They would need to fight their way through the thorns and defeat the beast to win her hand in marriage.' "

"Does she have Lego?" shouts out a little boy with wild blond curls.

"No, Kenny, she doesn't have Lego. That's not part of the story," Mrs. Hollybush interjects with a tight smile. I notice she has a slight eye twitch. 

"What does she play with?" Kenny asks. "Does she have a brother?"

"Does she have  Pokémon cards?" asks a girl with a distractingly runny nose.

"Does she have really long hair?" asks a boy lying on the floor with his eyes closed.

Mrs. Hollybush claps her hands three times, which prompts the children to sit up straight, then zip their mouths closed. I pause for a moment, but they are quiet, so I continue.

" 'One day a handsome prince was riding by. He spied the fair maiden at the window of the tallest turret and immediately fell in love with her.' " I clear my throat. I did not choose this book, and I'm not sure I approve of the messaging. How could the prince possibly fall in love with her from that far away? Even if you believe in love at first sight, which I don't, from the ground, with a giant, fire-breathing dragon in the way, how much of this maiden could this man possibly see? " 'The prince managed to fight his way through the thorns, reach the castle gates, defeat the dragon, leap the drawbridge, and—' "

"Did the dragon die?" cries a little girl with red felt-tip pen around her mouth, her eyes wide with concern.

"I don't think so. It probably just got tired and ran out of fire," I say, hiding the graphic illustration of the prince stabbing the dragon in the heart.

"Dragons don't run out of fire," Kenny scoffs. Then there's a hurling sound as a child sitting right by my feet throws up all over the carpet, spattering my black suede boots.

"Oh, Jason, oh no, not again," Mrs. Hollybush says with a groan. She jumps up to deal with the situation, grabbing a pale Jason by the elbow, then pointing me in the direction of the hallway. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Humphries, the guest toilet is along the corridor."

In the bathroom, I use a green paper towel to wipe off my shoes, feeling grateful that I chose a career in journalism rather than teaching. After washing my hands, I pull out my phone and take a moment to check my email. At the top of my inbox, there is something from the government. Why is the government emailing me?