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evidently transferred this impressiveness onto Clem himself. With some parents it can be an exhausting struggle of wills regarding their offspring’s education, many parents, you see, believe that they could do a superior job, or, at very least, a more productive one themselves. One conducive to their child’s specific requirements, I suspect.
    We are all specialists it would appear. The Currans were different in this regard; they were hugely supportive of the school and the tactics implemented by the staff here. They certainly did not possess the socially accepted and ubiquitous I could do better than that attitude that some of our parents shared. That is not to say they passively accepted the school’s stance on Clem’s education without enquiry either. They would ask pertinent questions and make regular enquiries regarding the advancement of their son’s education. During our brief discussions they intimated that they wanted Clem to study law or medicine. One of the elite professions. Don’t get me wrong, they were not elitist themselves. Like most parents they simply wanted the best for their child. Nonetheless I knew, from conversations I’d had with the boy himself, that he had no inclination or leaning for this area of study. I would go as far as to suggest that the sheer notion of studying law or medicine was abhorrent to the boy. Oh, no, no, no, I was in no position to dissuade the desire and wishes of his parents. As a teacher the powers I had in my possession would only allow me to put it to parents that their son or daughter was showing signs of encouragement in a specific field, and that it could be that he or she may wish to continue with their development in said field, but to disagree and discourage the will of the mother and father, well, that was not part of the remit of a school teacher. Also, these powers I talk of are docile at best. You have to remember we are dealing with adolescents here and teachers should not allow these sensitivities to vanish within the context of the classroom. It is also worth remembering that on the surface students can appear to be full of wisdom and maturity, however one has to consider that they are still very much at the emotionally pre-pubescent stage. Perchance it would go a long way in explaining this ghastly episode.
    I am afraid we did not actually operate on a personal level. We kept our meetings cordial but businesslike. To my knowledge they had a good standing in the community and were well liked. They weren’t philanthropic or anything of that nature, my belief is that they were charitable with their time. My opinion of them was that they were decent, honest folk.
    I think it is practically impossible to evade gossip mongering after the event. On the other hand, it is natural to speculate and feast on a diet of conjecture when something like this occurs. What I do not concur with is fabrication and untruths. For my own part I have taken a vow of silence in the sense that I refuse to participate in the idle tittle-tattle that tends to encase these things. The facts must surface before the indulgence of fiction and supposition.
    Clem informed us, his teachers, after only the first week of the summer term, that he was leaving. I agree it was rather an abrupt end to his school career with us. When he enlightened us to the fact that he was heading for Glasgow, well, it did strike me as somewhat incongruous. This was a vital year for him, in terms of exam success, future considerations and employment prospects and given the value that his parents placed on his education here, I found it odd that they were willing to fracture the continuity of it all. To be perfectly honest with you I thought that something untoward was afoot. No, I did not share that view with any of my colleagues. I carried out my professional duty and supported Clem in any way possible, especially in a time that could have been perceived as transitionally turbulent. I