The Furies: A Novel by Natalie Haynes Read Free Book Online Page A

somewhere.
    Annika was glaring through the window at the white wall outside, and Jono was still breathing heavily, though his cheeks were fading back to normal.
    ‘I don’t think so. They couldn’t think it was more disgusting than I do,’ Ricky said.
    ‘Honestly. Incest was a really big taboo in their world. And they didn’t care about loads of things we think are taboo, so it counts double, at least.’
    ‘What’s a taboo?’ he asked, still holding his pencil but no longer scribbling with it.
    ‘It’s something forbidden. Like incest or paedophilia or something like that.’
    Ricky was giggling properly now. Even Jono smiled briefly.
    ‘The Greeks didn’t have a problem with paedophilia at all,’ I said, hoping this was the right way to go. ‘But having sex with your mother was very bad indeed.’
    ‘That’s fucking bizarre,’ said Jono.
    ‘Your mum’s not so bad,’ said Ricky. Jono turned to look at him. ‘Sorry, man, I didn’t mean that.’
    ‘Let’s not over-relate, shall we?’ I realised that this lesson could be about to go wrong in a whole new direction.
    ‘Sorry, miss.’ He picked his pencil up again.
    ‘So we’re going to read Oedipus , then. I’ll make sure I have five copies by the end of today. You can pick them up from my desk before you leave.’
    ‘How do you know about all this stuff?’ asked Mel. She was rocking on her chair, leaning back to the furthest point she could go before it tipped up.
    ‘It’s what she did at college, isn’t it?’ Carly answered for me. She loved to gossip, about pupils and teachers alike. Learning was just an interlude from her real interest at Rankeillor. ‘You studied here, didn’t you? In Edinburgh? With Robert?’
    ‘Yes, I did. I came here in 2002, and I graduated five years ago. Then I did some postgraduate studying for a couple of years here and in London.’
    She counted back. ‘So you left college in 2008?’
    ‘That’s right.’ In another world, I wanted to say.
    ‘Was Robert a good teacher?’ asked Mel.
    ‘Of course he was. He knows everything about acting and performance, because he used to be an actor.’
    ‘Didn’t you want to be an actor, miss?’
    ‘No, I suppose I didn’t, Carly. I’m not very comfortable in another person’s skin – does that make sense?’
    She looked at me, and I wondered if she might point out that I didn’t look very comfortable in my own, either. But she thought for a moment and nodded. ‘So why did you leave Edinburgh then?’
    ‘Well, I suppose I wanted to go back to London.’
    ‘Is that where your family is?’
    ‘It’s near where my mother is, yes.’ I realised that I had fallen into another trap that we’d discussed when we were training – if you don’t give kids enough to do, their curiosity turns inevitably onto you. When I was at school, I remember, we were so fixated on a glamorous French teacher that we spent months trying to find out her first name. The Rankeillor kids were a lot more ambitious.
    ‘And what about your dad?’ she asked.
    ‘My dad died a few years ago.’
    ‘I’m sorry, miss.’ Carly flushed.
    ‘That’s OK.’
    ‘Doesn’t your mum miss you, though?’ She pressed on.
    ‘I don’t know.’ I could feel sweat starting to prickle on the back of my neck. I needed to move her back into safer territory.
    ‘You should ring her, miss. Tell her how you’re getting on.’ She nodded at me encouragingly, like you might do to a dog.
    ‘Thank you, Carly. I’m sure she’d agree with you. Shall we get back to Oedipus and his mum?’
    ‘OK,’ she said, happily. She only needed a small fix to sustain her.
    ‘First of all, you should know where this story happens. It’s in a city called Thebes.’
    ‘And when is this?’ asked Annika. She pulled off her glasses and cleaned them with the hem of her t-shirt, before returning them to her perfect nose.
    ‘Half twelve,’ Jono snapped.
    She sighed loudly, and began to rearrange the pens and books on her