Hey guys, sorry this next update is so late, now that term time has begun again I have a pile of work to do. That's what I get for choosing to do A-Levels. I promise that I'll do my best to update this story weekly. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

DISCLAIMERS: I DON'T OWN WATERLOO ROAD OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

Rubbing her forehead, Rachel let out a sigh as Sam and Rose left the office, slamming the door shut behind them. As much as Rachel had hated to do it, she'd placed Sam on temporary exclusion. She was sure that Amy had planted the drugs on Sam, but Lauren had sided with Amy, and since she had no proof of Sam's innocence other than her word, she'd been left with no other option. Understandably, Rose had been furious, claiming prejudice against her family, and Rachel couldn't help feeling guilty about it as she remembered the devastated look on Sam's face. Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she grabbed a pile of paperwork and sat down at her desk. She'd barely picked up her pen before someone knocked on the door.

"Yes?" She looked up as Chris walked in.

"Hey. I just saw Sam and Rose leaving, I take it things didn't go so well?" Crossing his arms, he leaned against the filing cabinet and watched as Rachel shook her head lightly.

"No, I've um...I've given Sam a one-week exclusion."

"Right, so the drugs were Sam's then?"

"I don't think they were, but we've got no evidence of that. Amy denied the drugs were hers and Lauren backed her up, and like you said the drugs fell out of Sam's pocket so I had no other choice."

"You did the right thing, Rachel." She shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"It just doesn't feel like it though Chris. I know what Sam's like; she wouldn't go anywhere near drugs." Rachel looked down and shook her head again. "She looked absolutely devastated when I told her."

"Well she's only excluded for a week. At least it's not permanent." Chris said as moved to stand opposite the desk.

"Yeah." She sighed. The room went silent for a moment as Rachel thought about her earlier conversation with Amy. "I think we should keep a closer eye on Amy though, with Sam's allegations and the fact that she's taken legal highs in the past." Chris nodded slightly.

"I agree. What about Finn?"

"We'll still keep him isolated from Amy. They can't be trusted together." Chris nodded again and the two fell into an awkward silence. Looking down at her paperwork, Rachel drew her chair closer to the desk and picked up her pen.

"Right, well I need to get on with this, unless there was something else?"

"No, um...nothing else." He gave Rachel a small smile and walked to the door. "I'll um, see you later." She watched as he opened the door, lingering in the doorway for a moment before walking out of the office.

As Chris closed the door behind him, Rachel let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. The tension hung in the air, and the room suddenly felt too quiet. Putting her pen back down, she stood up and moved to stand by the window, watching the pupils playing in the yard. This couldn't keep going on; she knew she had to sort things out with Chris. The staff had begun to catch on to the awkwardness between the two of them, and she knew it was only a matter of time before it became the staffroom's latest gossip topic. She sighed and sat back at her desk, pushing the thoughts from her mind and turning her attention to the paperwork in front of her.

Rachel put her pen down as the bell rang for lunch, sighing as the incessant ringing broke the blissful silence of her office. The rest of the morning had, luckily, passed without any further incidents, so she'd been able to finally get through the endless piles of paperwork that had littered her desk. Grabbing the now complete pile in front of her, she stood up and walked over to the filing cabinet, quickly depositing the pile inside before walking out of the office. Almost immediately she was greeted by Steph.

"Ah Rachel, I was just wondering if um, if I could have a quiet word?" Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Rachel nodded, motioning for Steph to enter the office.

"What can I do for you Steph?" She asked as she closed the door.

"Well um...as you know, the Year 11 prom is at the end of this term..." She looked up to see Rachel cross her arms and lean against the desk.

"Yes, what about it? Is there a problem with the planning?"

"Not necessarily, um...It's just that some of the kids have come to see me, quite upset, because they can't afford to buy dresses or suits, um, arrange transport, that sort of thing. I was wondering if there was any way that we could help? You know, just make it a bit easier for them. It is the Year 11's last year at Waterloo Road, well, for most of them anyway." Rachel could see the desperation in her eyes and felt her heart shatter a little.

"I'm sorry Steph, but we can't exactly pay for all the students to attend the prom. I don't think the governors would agree with us spending their money in that way, and there's not enough money in the budget anyway. Unless you have any other ideas..." She uncrossed her arms, putting them behind her to support herself against the desk.

"Well that was the other thing, um...I was thinking that we could possibly have a fundraising day?" She suggested tentatively, looking for some sort of affirmation in Rachel's expression.

"A fundraiser?" Steph nodded, and Rachel considered it for a moment. On the one hand, it would be brilliant publicity for the school and its reputation if they were seen to be helping their poorer students, but on the other hand, it would be difficult to get something organised soon with the upcoming exams. "I'll admit it's a good idea, but I'm not sure if we'll be able to dedicate a whole day to another fundraising event, especially since the GCSE and A-Level exams start in two weeks."

"Maybe it could be after-school? An evening event, perhaps? Come on Rachel, you know the kids have been working really hard. They at least deserve to be able to attend their own prom, don't you think? Money shouldn't have to be an issue for them. Besides, I think you should have the chance to say bye to the kids in case the LEA do remove you as head, not that they will, but you know, worst case scenario..." She trailed off, mentally cursing as she thought about the last sentence she'd just spoken. Studying Rachel's face closely, Steph unconsciously held her breath as she waited for confirmation.

"Yeah, no, I think you're right Steph. You're right. It would bring good publicity to the school too if we were seen helping the kids..."

"Exactly!" Steph interjected, quietly sighing in relief. "And it would mean a lot to the kids if we did this."

"I agree. Okay, the only question is who's going to plan it? With the exams I'm sure most of the staff will already be indisposed."

"Well, I discussed the idea with some of the other teachers before bringing it to you. Kim's said she'll help, Ruby did, Tom, Chris, even Grantly. They all just want to help aid some of our less fortunate students." Rachel's ears perked slightly at the mention of Chris' involvement, wondering why he didn't talk to her about it since he was part of the senior management team, but said nothing about it.

"Grantly too? Wow, good, okay um, gather everyone who's said they'll be involved for a meeting and put together a plan of all the ideas you have. Bring it to me once you've done that and we can go from there."

"Fantastic! You'll have the plan on your desk by the end of the day." Steph left the room abruptly and Rachel couldn't help but giggle at her excitement. Deep down though, she was glad for Steph. True, she was far from being the greatest teacher in the school, but she made up for her lack of classroom skills with her care for the kids. Her own teachers when she was in school certainly didn't care for the pupils they taught even half as much as Steph did. Feeling the smile creep onto her face, Rachel walked to the window, watching the kids as they played in the playground. Joy spread through her as she caught the happy, excited looks on their faces and watched the way they skipped around the playground. She stood there for a couple of moments, thinking about her conversation with Steph, before turning away and walking out of the room, the smile still spread on her face.

On the field, Danielle and her friends were stood under the shade of the trees, talking amongst themselves.

"So how d'you know that Mason might be going?"

"Haydock told us. Said that's what the inspection's about tomorrow, see if Mason should still be head."

"I don't get why we're doing this though. Mason's just another teacher, innit." Paul said nonchalantly, earning a head slap from Bolton.

"Coz man, Mason's the best head we've had. She's the only one who's ever listened to me, and she helps me mum out." Bolton's voice carried over the group and everyone quickly quietened down.

"I like Miss Mason. She's kind to me and doesn't treat me differently like the other teachers. It's not fair for her to be fired." Karla piped up, looking around as people nodded.

"Exactly. Miss Mason's the only teacher we've had that's really listened to us and helped us. I mean, she went after Bianka and almost got blown up just to make sure she was okay. And she came to visit me in hospital after I drank that stupid ethanol stuff a couple of months back - she didn't have a go at me or anything, she just listened to me and told me I could always talk to her if I was upset. Miss Mason cares about us, she doesn't deserve to be sacked. That's why we've got to do something about it." Danielle finished speaking and got her phone out of her bag, listening as everyone muttered in agreement.

"What are we gonna do about it then? 'Behaving ourselves in lessons' like Haydock said ain't gonna be enough."

"That's why we're here now, to think of something." Aleesha said.

"We could protest?"

"I don't think a protest will help Paul, it's an inspection. If we protest then the inspectors might think that Mason can't control the school."

"I could talk to me mum, get 'er to do somethin' in the canteen. She likes Mason too." Everyone started nodding, agreeing with Bolton's idea. They began talking over each other again, trying to out across their ideas before Danielle turned around to face the group, phone in hand.

"Hey! I think I have a better idea..." She trailed off, passing her phone around the group.

"Yeah, looks good. You really think we could do this for tomorrow?"

"Yep. We just need to get some more people involved. Message everyone in your contacts, tell them what we're going to do."

"Sure. Man, tomorrow is gonna be ace!"

As the bell rang, signalling the end of the school day, Rachel let out a breath of relief. She'd spent the remainder of the day preparing for tomorrow's inspection, fussing about making sure that all paperwork was complete, that all the teachers had their lessons ready and such. Tomorrow they could afford no mistakes; her job depended on it. A shiver ran down her spine as more thoughts of tomorrow invaded her mind and she jumped, hearing the office door open suddenly.

"Got those plans for you. The rest of the staff were all too eager to be involved!" Steph exclaimed as she quickly deposited the folder on Rachel's desk.

"Thanks Steph. I'll take a look at it now."

"Great. Now, I'd love to stay and chat about it, but I've um, got a little errand to run."

"Involving wine I presume?" She looked up and smirked as Steph laughed from the doorway, winking at her.

"You know me well, ha ha. Anyway, got to dash!"

"Goodnight Steph." Rachel chuckled and Steph disappeared from view.

Picking up the folder that Steph had placed in front of her, Rachel began to flick through it, skimming over the ideas jotted down in Steph's scruffy handwriting. She couldn't help but giggle as she read some of the ideas they'd managed to come up with. Cheese and wine night, sponsored school concert, staff calendar... A staff calendar? She laughed audibly as she read it, images of the teachers posing in front of a camera flooding through her mind. As she thought about it, she didn't think it was that bad of an idea - the local fire station had done something similar at Christmas time. Plus, most of the kids would probably buy them, more so to be able to take the mick out of the teachers than anything else. Chuckling again, she put the folder down and grabbed her bag from under the desk, hearing her phone ringing from inside it. She quickly dug out her phone, looking at the screen and seeing that she had a message from Kim.

We're all having a drink down the pub if you fancy coming?

For some reason, the idea of sitting with her colleagues in the pub didn't exactly sound appeasing. She didn't know whether it was because she was so nervous about tomorrow's inspection, or because she had a feeling that Chris would be there and everyone would be able to sense the tension. Anyhow, she had to avoid it.

Another time? Got to prepare for the inspection.

She quickly sent the text before grabbing a few other things and leaving the office. Passing a couple of students as she made her way down the stairs, Rachel smiled, determination flooding through her. They were going to pass the inspection; she was going to pass this inspection. This was her school, and there was no way she was going to let the LEA take her school away from her. The kids needed her, and Rachel cared passionately for the kids. She just hoped that the inspector tomorrow would see that. Hurrying out of the main doors, Rachel made her way across the car park and got to her car. She glanced up at the red-brick building, still smiling, before getting into her car and driving out of the gates, pushing away all thoughts of the dreaded inspection.

Hey guys! Again, sorry for the late update. I've been swamped with school work; I hadn't been receiving any maths work, which I thought was strange, but it turns out my teacher had been giving work out. That means I've spent the last few days trying to complete five week's worth of maths work on top of all my other work. Anyway...the kids are still scheming to keep Rachel at the school - what are they planning? Things still aren't great between Rachel and Chris, maybe this inspection will finally sort things out between them. And exam season at Waterloo Road is approaching! What troubles will the school face with the rising exam fever? All will be revealed in the next few chapters! Keep reading and checking for updates, and don't forget to R&R! Next chapter will be up soon!

Tia x