Ten thirty.
God, today was going ridiculously slowly - to say the least.
It felt as if it had been at least five hours since assembly. Since when the much-loved headteacher of Waterloo Road had arrived back to her domain, where she very much belonged.
She had only just recovered from her injuries caused by the fire – her emotional injuries as well as the physical ones – and already she had to welcome a new family into the school; a family she knew from the very first meeting would defiantly not make her job easy. But this was Rachel Mason, she liked a challenge.
Rachel sighed heavily, deeply letting out the air through her nostrils as she sat down clumsily on her office chair.
"Are you alright?" Eddie asked from the doorway, "We'll be able to sort the Kelly's out, we can do anything." Eddie added, laughing slightly to change Rachel's dank expression.
"Yeah," Smiled Rachel, "Course we can."
Watching her sitting there, in the chair that was obviously made for her, Eddie couldn't help but cast his mind back to last year, when he had asked her out for a drink before the horrific fire had ruined everything.
Eddie walked over to where Rachel was sitting and leant over the desk to look at the papers she was clutching in her clasped hands. "Are those the timetables for the Kelly's?"
"Yeah. Want to see?" Rachel asked, handing the papers into Eddie's hands where he glanced through them quickly, noticing that they all didn't seem to be there, "There isn't one for Marley?" He asked, a confused look beginning to fall upon his face.
"No, I want to have a one to one with him," Rachel explained. Flashing a small smile at Eddie for reassurance, she made her way over to Joyce, her trust secretary. "Joyce, will you send for Marley Kelly, please? He should be sitting in his brother's, Early Kelly's, class for the time being - I just want to have a quick word with him."
Joyce nodded at Rachel and headed out of the room, leaving the deputy and the head teacher of the school alone.
"This is hard work isn't it?" Eddie joked, staring intently at Rachel, not listening, neither caring, whether she answered him or not, "you'll be needing a drink by the end of play- I'll even buy it y'."
"Yeah, maybe." Smiled Rachel unsurely, "We'll just see how it goes yeah."
Eddie said nothing, just looked at the back of her head as she walked back into her office; the confused look on his face deepening. Didn't she feel the same way as he did? Did she not spend her time in hospital thinking about him constantly? That's what he had been doing all summer. Constantly.
How did I not notice this? After the events of last year I think I really have gone downhill. Yet, Eddie still insists at me to coming for a drink. Can't he just see that I want to go home? It's been a long, challenging day and to be honest, I want to leave it all behind and go home to a warm comfy bed- even if I am all alone.
"Eddie, I really don't think is a good idea- I just want to go."
"Oh, come on, have a drink, put their minds at rest. It's been a tough day."
"I know that's why I want to go home."
"Come on," Eddie sighed, nudging Rachel with his arm to force her into the pub and see all the staff. "What's the worst that can happen?"
Rachel glared at Eddie before making her way over to where all the staff were sitting. "Ok, the next drinks are on me." She smiled, a fake smile, at all the staff.
"In that case then, I'll have a double." Steph giggled, drunk already.
"You know what you all deserve it!" She smiled back, even finding Steph's drunkenness highly amusing.
In Eddie's eyes, the night seemed to be going well; they all had had a few drinks and even Rachel seemed to be in a happy mood- but whether it was real or fake he couldn't tell.
He knew it was fake when he saw Rachel walking shiftily past him as she passed out of the main quarters of the pub, "Hey, where are you off?" Eddie grinned, catching her up at the front door.
"Oh, I've had enough, Eddie; I just want to go." She explained, smiling at him slightly before attempting to make a move again.
"Look, if you've really had it, I'll drive you home."
Rachel's head snapped up to look at him, knowing that he was offering more than just a lift.
"I don't think anyone should be driving here tonight, do you?" She giggled, although it sounded fake; not the usual giggle he had become so accustomed to hearing.
"Then we'll get a taxi…" Eddie said seriously, starring at her intently again. He wanted to capture her eye - he wanted to keep her there held; he didn't want to lose her this time. "I just…want to talk." He explained, reaching out one hand to scrape along her neck and up into the back of her hair; using his thumb to stroke her ear gently.
"Eddie…" She warned, pushing his hand off of her face and placing it back down onto his sides.
"About us!" Eddie whispered, his face falling and his sole dropping. Little did he know the only reason that was keeping them apart was the results from the fire; otherwise she wanted to be with him just as much.
Running out of the pub, she could hear Eddie following so she turned around, tears beginning to form in her eyes. She blinked ferociously to abort them from her eyelids. "Please Eddie!"
"Rachel, I just don't understand it…before the fire we were –"
"Well that seems like a very long time ago…" She shook her head, annoyed that he was bringing the past up now.
"Yes, but there was something…I thought we were getting close," Eddie begged. He was getting desperate now. He had to tell her how he felt. "Can't you just see that I don't care about your past…you're special Rachel; nothing can change that."
"Nothing? Are you sure about that?" Rachel's face switched from angry to sadden all of a sudden, he could see the pain that had inflicted in her eyes. It made him feel physically helpless. It hurt. Seeing her in pain was unbearable.
"Of course."
"Well, let's see shall we?" Rachel choked, ripping back her shirt to reveal the awful, ugly effects of the fire. The red, wrinkled skin beamed out into the grey early-evening atmosphere. "This is why we can't be together Eddie." She fumed, holding tightly onto her white blouse, as if it provided some sort of comfort. "Do you get that now?"
He looked away, shocked by the scarring on her chest. He didn't mean to, it was just an instant reaction, and he regretted it almost instantly.
"Rachel…"
"Just leave Eddie." Rachel cried, running off back down the hill and into her parked car. She'd seen his face when he saw the scar; she knew that look. She saw the disgusted look. He was never going to love her now.
She didn't care that she had two glasses of wine; she was driving tonight if it killed her.
She could hear his voice after her but she just carried on, sweeping out of the carpark, banging the wheel onto the curb, and back to her home where she would be alone. Again.