Chris is sat at his desk, fully refreshed after his weekend away. Unsurprisingly, being free to go out to the shops together, and walk through the streets hand in hand with his girlfriend, has certainly put a spring in in his step this morning. And he definitely needs that 'spring' when he has a classroom full of unruly year 9's to teach first thing on a Monday morning.
Chris begins to write the lesson's agenda on the whiteboard, turning around every now and again to read off his lesson plan notes.
"Oi!" Tom hollers, as he barges through the door. "You need to get your head tested!"
A little stunned by the blunt greeting, Chris turns around, and greets his friend.
"Oh," Chris replies. "Alright, mate?"
"Don't 'alright' me! I know what's going on!" Tom shouts, standing within millimeters of Chris' face.
"What are you talking about?" Chris defensively laughs, as he backs away a little.
"You know exactly what!" Tom continues. "I saw you at Asda with Katherine Evans on Saturday!"
His eyes widen in panic, and Chris dashes around Tom, to push his classroom door shut.
"Tom, this is not what you think," Chris pleads, as he heads back over to his friend.
"She is just a kid, Chris!" Tom hollers back.
"Look, we can't do this here," Chris hushes, as he tries to stand closer.
"No," Tom protests. "No! You can't hide this anymore! Karen needs to know."
Tom heads for the door, grabbing the handle. But Chris lunges forward to put his hand over Tom's.
"No, dont!" Chris begs.
"I am not covering for you with this," Tom snarls, using his spare hand to point in Chris' face. "You've gone too far."
Tom snatches the door open, pushing his colleague out of the way.
"Tom, please!"
But he barges past Chris, and storms off down the corridor.
Oh god, oh god, oh god….
Chris begins pacing up and down, pulling at his hair, as his stress levels rise. He races over to his blazer and texts Kate. Tom knows.
Within minutes, Kate comes flying through the classroom door.
"You can't be here!" Chris begs her, stopping her in her tracks.
"But how did he find out?" Kate pants, the fear evident all over her face.
"You need to leave," Chris enforces, lightly pushing her back towards the door. "We'll talk later."
"But what's going to happen to us?" Kate replies, as she starts to cry. "To you?"
"I dont know.. I don't know, okay?!" Chris freaks out himself. "But you being here isn't helping. You have to leave. Now."
...
The end of a very long, painful school day finally comes, most of which was spent on tender hooks as anyone entered his classroom. Chris is packing his briefcase and box of marking in his car, as quickly as he can. Secretly, he is pleasantly surprised to not be walking away from the day in handcuffs, but also nervous to see who awaits him when he gets home.
Chris glances up as he throws his jacket on the passenger seat, and sees Tom leaving the school. He watches as his friend walks towards him, almost bracing himself for a blow to the face.
"I didn't tell Karen," Tom admits, as he walks by.
"Thankyou," Chris sighs with relief.
"There's still time," Tom insists, standing nose to nose with Chris again. "You've got a lot of explaining to do, mate."
...
Sat around a small table tucked away in the corner of a local pub, the atmosphere is far from friendly. Chris is sat opposite his friend, keeping his body closed off, as he hunches over his pint. Tom is leaning back, glaring at Chris, disapprovingly. Neither of them has said anything since they sat down.
"Why didn't you tell Karen?" Chris asks, not even looking up from his drink.
"I wanted to," Tom points out. "But I need to know how you thought this was going to work. And I can't do that if you're behind bars."
Tilting his head in agreement, Chris says nothing.
"You must realise what's at stake for you here, Chris!" Tom hisses, leaning over the table.
"I did, I do!" Chris argues, finally looking at his friend.
"Then why are you risking it all for some... kid," Tom disputes.
"Kate it so much more than that," Chris sternly responds, tilting his body towards his friend, arguing his case.
Tom sighs, leaning back again. He almost laughs a little, shaking his head.
"I can't believe I didn't see that," Tom huffs. "Kate, Katherine. It was right in front of me this whole time! No wonder you were able to get her to sort out her behaviour - I dread to think what you gave her in return!"
"It's not like that, Tom!" Chris raises his voice, getting more and more defensive. "I was the one who still had to put up with the disruptive student, remember?!"
"Oh yeah, I remember alright," Tom flippantly replies. "I remember you both refusing to be in the same room as one another after that. What? Couldn't keep your hand off each other long enough to last through a lesson?"
"Tom!" Chris protests, as he glances at the surrounding tables. "Keep it down will you!"
"Ohhh," Tom exclaims. "That poem! That was you! It was your 'sleeping chest' she was lying on wasn't it? I feel sick - this is sick, Chris!"
"If you're not going to listen to what I have to say," Chris calmly states, "then I'm leaving."
"Oh yeah, back to her?" Tom digs, as Chris stands up from the table. "Off to play happy families with a toddler?"
Chris exhales, as he stands with his back to Mr Clarkson. Taking a moment, he can't help but feel a little sad.
"This was a mistake," Chris states, as he turns back around, and leans over Tom. "I thought our friendship would have stood for something here."
Chris shakes his head as he finally walks away. Tom watches his friend leave, unable to wipe the scowl of disgust off his face. Friend or no friend, this goes against everything he believes in as a teacher.
