A Funeral for an Owl

Under the guise of child protection, teacher/pupil relationships, including supportive friendships, have become taboo. So what sort of boy would convince two promising young teachers to risk their careers by breaching their professional code of conduct? Brought up in Wiltshire, Ayisha Emmanuelle has always believed that the best way to avoid trouble is by walking away from it. However, this isn't an option when she is the first teacher on the scene after her colleague Jim Stevens is stabbed, intervening in a playground fight. In the aftermath, 14-year old Shamayal Thomas discloses to Ayisha that he and Jim are friends. Her first duty is to report suspicion of an inappropriate relationship, but imagining the headlines when someone who has been labeled a hero is found to be morally unfit, she hesitates, thereby implicating herself. All that she can do is wait to see if her decision is justified. And waiting is something Ayisha has never been very good at.