Beautiful Place
There was not one room- apart from hers, perhaps- that did not require another fresh layer of paint. The staff room needed exhuming and the toilets... Ghastly. Entering the building, anyone would be blind to not notice the fading insignia, its stained red and yellow layers peeling from the glass.
Although, the new metal detectors were enough distraction. It hardly made the place look any better, though it did make the school safer.
The floorboards in the hall creaked and no matter how much they were washed, they continued to look filthy. Years of use often does that to a floor. As for the people themselves, they were hardly much better. Underdressed, barely in uniform (which extended to the teachers), and little pride in the school, despite the care they took in their personal appearance.
Waterloo Road was shabby, to say the least. Dog-eared, she called it- decrepit, dishevelled, and disinterested in that fact. And yet, Rachel felt she had never been happier than at this school. She rather liked it.