PENNY Whistle

She bullied Hannah relentlessly at school, and now she was back

- David Kind

Bullying. I was a victim at school. Fourteen years old, and pursued relentlessly by The Gang of Four, as they were known.

The leader was five-feet nothing of pure malice named Penny Wilson. Her nickname was Penny Whistle, which no one dared call her to her face.

Their favourite sport was the toilet flush. They would force my head close to the water, pretend they were going to flush it, then run away cackling gleefully.

Other humiliations included pushing me into the compost heap on the school field, tossing my hat into gardens on the way home and, once, putting a dead mouse in my school bag.

Finally, tiring of Hannahbaiting, they’d move on to some other poor soul.

I never moved on, though. To this day, 20 years later, I still approach toilets and bags with trepidation, and refuse to let my husband Rob have a composter in our garden.

After leaving school, I began working as a junior for a company specialising in IT. Today, I’m deputy manager, and loving every minute.

My home life is happy too. Besides my husband of 10 years, I have a daughter, Ruby. I feel so lucky to be loved and have a job I enjoy.

The cloud on my horizon arrived one Monday morning. When I got to work, the manager stood talking to three people I didn’t immediately recognise.

‘New recruits,’ he explained, introducing them.