Chapter Twenty One

A/N: No reviewers.

Simon could never have hoped that the students would be disappointed at the Resilience Camp coming to an end, but he heard more groans in response to the announcement that it was their last night than he had heard to any of the activities. Perhaps the camp had been an enjoyable experience for them after all. He only wished he could say the same for his fellow teachers.

The tension between the teaching staff was palpable. Sue and Vix had huddled together at every given opportunity, the two keeping as far away from Hector as physically possible. For what it was worth, Nikki seemed to have taken the same course of action, darting away from the PE teacher each time he tried to worm his way closer. It seemed her brief conversation with Vix had taken its toll; Sue almost wished she cared more.

"Sir, has Mr. Reid not had a shower or something?" Rhiannon piped up, abandoning the bundle of tarpaulin she had been charged with carrying to the bus. "None of you lot are going anywhere near him."

"We're all very busy, Rhiannon." Simon answered, hoping that would be enough. He really did not want to explain the complicated dynamics of his extended family to a teenager. Luckily enough, Rhiannon seemed to be more interested in the increasingly loud slanging match between Dynasty and Gabriella and went off to bother them instead.

It had been easy enough to avoid each other when they were out in the open, shepherding various students to collect their belongings and pack up the Resilience Camp equipment. The coach home was a very different story.

The teenagers were usually the ones to rush onto the bus, ensuring they sat next to their friends before anyone else got the chance, but as soon as the doors were opened, the two Spark sisters were the first to scramble to their seats. After all, most of the teenagers were simply reoccupying the seats they had sat in on the way out; for the teachers, that was no longer an option.

Sue shot an apologetic glance at her husband as he boarded the bus, watching him settle down on the seat across from her with a sullen expression. She did not blame him, really; after all, she had been the one silently steaming when he spent the whole journey here planning with Hector.

When it came time for Nikki and Hector to climb the steps, having reluctantly completed the final checks together, both seemed uncharacteristically uncertain, hovering at the front of the bus. Both eyed the seat beside the deputy head but saw the look of disdain on the faces of his wife and sister-in-law. But the thought of sitting next to each other was little better.

In the end, Simon broke the silence, inclining his head towards the seat beside him. "Nikki, come and sit here. I've got a couple of ideas for the English syllabus, I wanted to talk to you about him."

The woman could hardly conceal her gratitude, even as she heard Sue sigh in frustration from the seat behind, and was quick to settle into her seat, leaving Hector pouting in the corner of the opposite double seater. It was not the companionship she would have hoped for, but the tiniest smile of encouragement Simon managed to sneak at her once they started moving was enough to calm the flips of her stomach.

The hour-and-a-half bus journey was one of the most uncomfortable silences the adults had ever endured, the only people who exchanged words at all being Sue and Vix, and the sight of the school looming in the distance was more comforting than any of them thought it ever would be.

The students did not feel the same, judging by the pronounced chorus of boos as the coach pulled into the playground. Simon was tempted to stand up and tell the lot of them to pipe down, but then he caught sight of Christine and George emerging from the school. Suddenly, he empathised with how the teenagers were feeling.

"Alright, everyone off the bus, grab your bags from underneath." Simon instructed. Darren and Harvey had already barrelled down the walkway and through the door, the others quickly following. The teachers would have liked to think the group had missed their families and were looking forward to seeing them again, but it was more likely the call of WiFi and television that made them hurry.

"I should get going too." Vix stated, giving her sister a quick hug. She went to do the same for Simon, but Nikki was in the way, and she did not want to be any closer to her ex-girlfriend than she had to be. "I've left the shop for ten days, it's probably burnt to the ground without me."

"Vix, Dad wanted to see you." Sue prompted, her face crumpled in disappointment, but Vix shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Sue, it'll have to be another time." And then she was gone, almost knocking Christine to the ground as the headmistress climbed the steps onto the bus. Christine's eyes followed the elder Spark sister, then turned back to the four members of staff still sat on the bus. It had been a long time since Simon had seen Christine look so bemused; or George Windsor so smug.

"Not quite the resilience you had in mind, Mr. Lowsley?" George made no effort to hide his grin of delight. He had been waiting for Resilience Education to fail for all this time, and now he might finally have the bragging rights he had been longing for.

"Simon, is everything alright?" Christine asked, nudging George back off the bus to make sure the teenagers got home alright. She did not seem as joyful at the prospect of this intricately planned trip having failed, especially when she noticed that half of her staffroom could not look each other in the eye. "What happened?"

The deputy head sighed deeply, collapsing back into his seat and running a hand through his hair. "You know what, I don't even know where to start."

A/N: Short and not overly sweet, but the problems will be resolved soon, I promise! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, guys; please review!