Hello all! Another 2 parter coming up! It basically got far too long to be one part hence the set up. Lil' bit of drama, lots of fun (well…) enjoy!
It was SATs time. Not only that, it was nearing GCSE and A level time which meant Danny and Clara couldn't escape exams wherever they went. Danny was doing alright, but Clara was snowed under with coursework and mock essays to mark. It was Sunday evening and tomorrow marked the start of SATs week – it had taken 2 hours to settle Ellie down but finally Clara had made it back downstairs and positioned herself on the sofa to continue where she'd left off on the marking.
"She settle okay in the end?" Danny asked, looking over to Clara who hadn't actually said a word since she came back down. Clara looked up, a little flustered.
"Yes, yeah she's just worried about these exams and how the days will go. She's asleep now though, I had to reassure her she didn't need to learn anymore." Clara sighed softly, reading through yet another essay on Romeo and Juliet. "Please remind me to change the Shakespeare play next year, I forget I can make these decisions now." Danny grinned and shuffled himself over to look over her shoulder.
"They was in love?" He read from the essay she had in front of her.
"Please don't, I'm already going crazy with these." Clara replied, probably a little too harshly.
"Seems unlike your pupils though, you're usually hot on these things before they sneak in to coursework." Danny was only concerned of course, but it was late and she was tired. Clara turned the essay over and showed him the front.
"Of course they're not mine Danny! They're Graham's, and I'm second marking a selection and some of this means I'm probably going to have to second mark the lot, plus I'll have to speak to him about it and question how long he's been letting this slip for! How was that man ever department head?!" Clara slammed the pile of essays down on the table, standing up in frustration and pushing Danny away in the process. He ignored the clearly accidental moment and stood up, following her across the room and carefully placing a hand on her arm, but she pulled away. Danny sighed gently but knew better than to question her. Instead, he went through to the kitchen and put the kettle on.
A scream was all it took for disaster to strike. Ellie had woken, and she screamed. Danny jumped, unfortunately causing him to drop the kettle and boiling water went everywhere. Clara jumped, causing her to knock the pile of marking on the table all over the floor. She nearly swore, somehow containing it. Just as she went to run up the stairs, Clara spotted Danny in the kitchen and quickly turned to check on him.
"What happened? Are you okay?" She asked, panicking when she worked out what had occurred.
"I'm fine! Honestly, go to Ellie." Clara nodded, turning to go but quickly looking back.
"Get that hand under cold water." She told him. "I'm so sorry…" she added, leaving to go upstairs.
Clara found Ellie stood up at her door and shaking. There were days when Clara couldn't believe how much she had grown, but there were also times – such as right now, where she just seemed to small and fragile. Clara immediately pulled Ellie in to a hug, stroking her hair and gently calming her.
"What happened sweetheart?" She asked, guiding Ellie back to her bed.
Ellie climbed back in to bed but stayed close to Clara, she was shaking a little still and that wasn't a good sign.
"It was scary I just wanted to get out and I couldn't I don't like it." Clara kissed her head softly and held her.
"Ellie sweetheart I know you're scared, but we've sorted it. You'll be in the special little room so you can leave if you need to. Miss Alcock will be with you all the time in case you need her, you're going to be absolutely fine darling, and I know you'll be amazing. I'm so proud of you El." Clara rocked her a little, letting her fall asleep slowly against Clara's shoulder. After a short while she relaxed again and Clara laid her back carefully, tucking her in and leaving the room and going back down to ensure Danny was okay.
When she made it back down to the kitchen there were two cups of tea on the side and Danny was inspecting his hand carefully. Clara paused at the door before going in and taking his hand from him, looking it over.
"It's fine sweetheart, it doesn't hurt." Danny spoke softly.
"Liar." Clara replied equally as quietly. "It should heal okay though. You want any painkillers?" She didn't let go of his hand but did look up at him to read what he was really thinking. "I thought so." She answered him before he'd even spoken, going to find paracetamol and water. She handed them to him, stepping back so he could take the tablets and picking up her tea. "Thank you for this, you really didn't need to…" she glanced at his hand again.
"Clara stop," Danny started, "this is not your fault." She sighed and shook her head, putting her tea back down again not actually having drunk any.
"No but it is, I shouldn't have snapped like that, I screwed up I'm sorry. Please don't start telling me otherwise I'm really fed up with lies right now." Clara went over and hugged him. "I really don't know what to do tomorrow Danny; I don't think I've ever been more terrified of going to work." He held her tight, stroking her hair in the same way she had been with Ellie.
"Clara you are braver than you believe, and much stronger than you seem…" he began, but Clara pulled away slightly and looked up at him with a slightly bemused look on her face.
"Winnie the Pooh? Really?" She smiled a little at his quote.
"It worked didn't it?" Danny replied proudly and kissed her gently. "It's true as well; you're going to be fine. Just go in there, be the strong woman I know you are and don't let them get to you, and if all else fails you know where I am. But you won't need me, I just know it." Clara sighed gently in to him. "What you do need right now is bed. You are shattered." She stood up at that point.
"Shattered or not, I have to finish this marking… which is currently all over the floor." Clara looked up at him hopefully and Danny smiled, going through to the lounge with her. Together they managed to get everything back in place and Clara was eternally grateful for insisting on staples to keep essays together. Eventually Clara was able to continue where she'd left off, not that it was the most enjoyable.
A couple of hours later and it was beginning to get late. Danny was still sat with her, but Clara could see him yawning although he hid it when she looked up. She ignored it for a while, but when his eyes started drooping shut she couldn't let him carry on like that.
"Go to bed Danny, I'll be fine honestly, I'm too stressed to care anymore." Clara looked over to him, reaching over and pulling him up from where he was leaning on the sofa. Danny went to protest but she shook her head. "Go on, go! You have to do complicated things with numbers tomorrow I'm just talking about books it's all good." Normally Danny used that as an insult, but it had basically become a running joke.
"We both know that's not true, but I also know if I don't go you'll keep arguing with me until I do and that'll only make you later so yes I'm going to bed but the moment you need me please come up okay?" Clara eventually agreed - it was always going to be a compromise. "Don't be too late." He stood up, kissing her head and going upstairs. Clara watched him go before turning back to her pile.
Clara was woken not by her alarm, but by Chloe and Faith jumping on her. Danny was up already and glancing at the clock Clara could see he'd obviously turned her alarm off. The girls were both in their school uniform already and she didn't know whether to be angry or smile.
"Morning Mummy!" They said together, eventually settling either side of her. Clara put an arm around each of them.
"Good morning you two, did Daddy send you in here?" She asked and they both nodded. "Well you can let him know you've done a good job but you need to go now so Mummy can get up okay?" Clara sat up and then stopped to let them climb over her to get back off the bed.
"Bye Mummy!" They said together again as they left, their smiles immediately making Clara feel a little better about the day. Thankfully she did still have plenty of time to get up and sorted as the girls were already prepared.
By some miracle she still made it downstairs with 20 minutes to spare. Danny was sorting breakfast for the girls and bags were already by the door – including hers with all her marking packed ready to go. Clara had to double check the clock before she went in to the kitchen, saying a quick good morning to Ellie on her way through and kissing Danny good morning.
"Good morning, how on earth did you achieve all this?" Clara greeted him, leaving one arm around his waist and sneaking to the side of him to flick the kettle on.
"With help from 3 girls who care about their Mummy, that and I got up half an hour earlier. When did you actually come to bed?" Danny asked, grabbing Clara's mug and a teabag for her. She paused, debating with herself but eventually deciding there was little point in trying to cover for herself.
"I think it was half 3… I honestly had to change the marking on every single one of those essays. This could stick the school in trouble if we're not careful; I'm going to have to talk to Arthur this morning." Arthur – the head – was thankfully very nice, but this was a whole new situation.
"Speak to Graham first, and then speak to Arthur. I'm free first, do you need lesson cover?" Clara thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Thank you, it's only my year 7s they're in the middle of a group project anyway you won't need to do much. Graham's free first so it's an ideal time to do it. I'll owe you." She smiled, kissing him gently before going through to the girls with her now made tea.
Surprisingly the school run was quite easy. Ellie went in fine once she was with Miss Alcock and the twins of course were happy to run off in to class. Clara and Danny made it to school in one piece but she immediately separated to start organising her morning. Tutor went as normal as it could, but then Clara made her way to Graham's class – dreading the next hour.
"So how can I help?" He asked as she shut the door. Clara sighed internally and pulled out his marking she'd been going through. "How was it?" She shook her head.
"I really don't know where to start… is this how you've always marked?" She started.
"Of course, why would I change?" He replied – interesting question.
"You didn't cut any corners or anything like that?" She was just hoping for something to help her out here.
"No! Where exactly are you going with this?" Clara handed him one of the worst essays.
"You gave this a C." She stated. He glanced down at the name and looked up – either he was a fantastic liar or he really didn't get it. "That essay barely scrapes an E, and that's being generous. The English is poor, they really don't grasp the subject at all… they don't even spell Romeo right once throughout the essay." Now he looked at the essay in more detail.
"Clara this is a bit harsh don't you think? The kid tried!" She looked at him in disbelief and pulled out another essay, handing it over. "This was great, perfect A." She gave him a moment but he didn't get it.
"From a student that until now has been achieving Ds. This is so clearly taken from a website it's not even a good fake, all I had to do was stick a paragraph in a search engine and I found it. Graham this is… I don't even know. I need to see some past marking within the next 24 hours. You realise I have to take this to Arthur and it's likely to lead to a full department investigation right?" He didn't respond and Clara was fighting with everything she had not to look nervous at this moment. "Graham this is deadly serious. All marking from now on comes through me as soon as you've finished, don't even think about giving any marks to the pupils without my go ahead and I also need to see all your mock exam papers." Now he stood up, but what happened next was far from expected.
"15 years I was head of department here. I step down for a couple of easier years before I retire and this is the thanks I get?! There has NEVER been a problem before and there is no problem now! Just you with your uptight ideas and little perfectionist ways can't see potential if I threw it at you in the face. You want proof? Here's your proof!" He picked up a textbook from the desk and threw it directly at her. She was fairly certain he hadn't actually been intending to hit her, but it caught her face none the less. Determined not to give him anything, she stood up from where she'd been leaning and picked up her bag.
"Mock exams. My desk. Break. And might I suggest you get some fresh air before your next lesson." She quickly scanned his timetable which was taped to his desk. "I'll sit in your fourth period. See you then." Before he could respond, she left, quickly making her way to the staff loos and by some miracle not being seen on route. Her left cheek was pounding and when she looked in the mirror there was a cut just under her eye which was oozing wonderfully. She quickly tended to the cut, finding a spare plaster in her bag and cleaning her cheek up, although it was likely to produce a bruise in the near future – she'd have to keep that covered as best as possible.
Once she was sorted, the next stop was Arthur's office. Clara had thought far enough ahead to warn him she needed to talk; unfortunately it was going to be harder than she'd hoped. She knocked as usual and he called her in, smiling as she entered – Clara didn't reciprocate.
"That bad? How come you've got a plaster on your cheek?" So that was definitely obvious – good to know.
"3 kids, accidents happen. I'm really not here to discuss stray toys though…" he nodded, sitting back down and gesturing for her to sit the other side of the desk which she duly did. Clara went on to explain everything – the marking, the concerns she had about Graham and his attitude to their conversation, except the part about the flying textbook that was, she'd keep that quiet for now. Arthur looked shocked the whole way through, waiting for her to finish before responding.
"You've gone the right way about this no question. Well done for catching it before the marks were sent off for moderation. We will of course need to investigate fully and quickly at that, depending on what we find we may have to inform the exam board." Clara nodded. "And, if as you suggest, pupils haven't been given the correct teaching that will affect their marks." She nodded again, it wasn't something she wanted to consider but exams were not far away and his pupils were going to need all the help they could get.
"I'm observing him with his year 11s later today. I have every intention of writing to parents and offering extra revision sessions over half term – with me that is, and for his A level classes too. I hate to bring them in during the holidays like that but it's the only way I can get enough time to fix as much as I can." Arthur stood up, making his way round the desk.
"Clara that is your time you're giving there, you do have a family…" She nodded, also standing up as the bell was about to go for second lesson.
"I know. 3 children who will one day be sitting their GCSEs or whatever they are by then, and I know what I'd want for them. The girls can enjoy a week with their Dad, I'm sure he'll love it. I'll speak to Adrian and see if he'll be willing to do something but he too has a family to think about." Clara slung her bag back over her shoulder and headed for the door. "I'll keep you informed as the day goes on. Thanks Arthur." He nodded a thank you as she left and Clara gave a small smile back, although it did hurt.
She made her way back through to her classroom where her year 7s were filing out and Danny was waiting inside.
"They're a great bunch, no problems." Danny spoke, although his mood quickly changed when he spotted her face, but Clara simply shook her head before he could ask.
"Don't, just… don't. As far as Arthur cares it was a stray toy. As for any other story I'll talk to you at home. There's a lot we need to talk about actually, but you have a lesson to get to." Clara gave another vague smile to try and reassure him, putting her bag away and pulling out the things she needed for her next lesson. Danny didn't go, he put a hand on her arm so she would turn back to him.
"Tell me the truth, are you alright?" Clara paused, taking a deep breath before she replied.
"No. And I won't be properly alright for a little while, I'm going to need you now maybe more than ever, but I'll get through this, I promise." The following smile was more genuine and Danny nodded to her. They held eye contact for a moment before he left and that said everything it needed to.
In all honesty Clara hadn't expected the mock exams to arrive on her desk at break, but almost as soon as he class had left Graham walked in and dumped them down before leaving abruptly. Granted he didn't actually say anything to her, but at least it was a sign he might cooperate. The rest of break was spent starting to go through them, and it didn't put her in any better mood.
Lessons continued, true to her word she spent fourth lesson sat at the back of Graham's class – that didn't make her feel any better either. Lunch was spent organising the letters to go to parents and mentally preparing for all the phone calls she was going to get in response. A few more papers were checked, and before she knew it last lesson had come and gone too.
The end of the day bought no relief. Clara found herself back in Arthur's office with Graham and the rest of the department having to explain what was to happen next and by the time she left she had marking from each of them to check – the workload certainly wasn't getting any smaller. Thankfully Adrian agreed to do a couple of revision sessions and Jemma also offered to help out. Graham was just unimpressed over the whole thing and made sure to say so, although nothing was thrown this time. Around 6 she was finally able to pack up her bits and head towards home – her Dad had come to pick up Danny and collect the girls thankfully. As she left the building she found Graham waiting by her car.
"Why haven't you told him about the textbook?" He asked. Clara went round him and opened the boot to put her ridiculous number of bags in.
"Because I don't need another thing on the list of investigations, and I really can't be bothered with the paperwork." She replied without looking at him.
"Well… thanks." Now she looked at him, mostly in shock. "I could've been out the door before the day ended."
"I've bought you time Graham, unless you can come up with a good reason for all this you're still gone. I didn't do this for you; I did it for the pupils." She got in the car and shut the door. Graham didn't look happy again, but before he had a chance to do or say anymore, Clara drove off.
I think this chapter and next have been 2 of my favourites although a little emotional. I hope you enjoy them as much. Next chapter is almost done, so I may try and get it up tomorrow or Sunday at latest.