Nina closed the door behind her and made sure it was locked before setting Nell down in the living room. Toadie had told her that Nell was due to have lunch at twelve, so she had an hour to play with until she needed to make something. She smiled at the little girl, wondering how Toadie had finally managed to settle down and start a family. But she was glad that he had, because after Dee's death, he had been so heartbroken. Looking at Nell, she knew he had made the right decision, and she was happy for him. She just couldn't wait to tell everyone her big news. But she had promised to wait for Jack, and she would keep that promise.

She was lost in her thoughts when she felt something tap her leg. Looking down, she saw Nell standing in front of her, holding a book out.

"Do you want to read this?" Nina asked, not sure if Nell understood her or not.

The little girl nodded. Nina picked her up and sat on the couch, Nell on her lap. She looked at the book and smiled. It was the same one she had bought for Lyn when she had been pregnant with her fifth child, Oscar. It was worn, the pages ripped in places, but it was clearly loved. And by the looks of it, this was Nell's favourite book. Nina opened it and began reading, completely at ease.

The time passed quickly. Toadie was home at four like he had promised, but, for Nina, it seemed like the time had just flown by. She had enjoyed playing with Nell, enjoyed the feeling of being a normal person for once. After checking with Mark, she had taken Nell to the park after lunch, and they had spent almost an hour there, playing on the slide and in the sand. They had had fun together all day.

"Thank you again Nina. You have no idea how much this has helped me today," said Toadie as she was getting ready to leave.

"It's not a problem. If you need a babysitter, I'm happy to do it."

"Really? You honestly enjoyed it?"

"Yes. It's fun. And Nell's pretty good too."

Toadie smiled. "Thank you."

Nina gave him a hug and left, heading home to finish putting away her belongings.

A knock on the door almost three hours later was a surprise. Nina had just finished unpacking and cleaning up, and was relaxing on the couch. She wasn't expecting anyone that night. So she got up and looked outside, surprised to see Amber and Imogen there. Frowning slightly, she opened the door.

"Hi, is there a problem girls?" Nina asked.

Imogen was staring in awe, so Amber answered. "No, we just... we wanted to meet you properly, not like yesterday when you were in the room with us but we couldn't talk to you."

Nina laughed. "Do your parents know where you are at least?"

"Yes. We wanted to come earlier, but our parents said we had to wait so you could at least have dinner."

"Alright, come in." She let them through and closed the door behind them. "Do you girls want a drink?"

"No thank you."

"Imogen?"

Imogen looked up, shocked. "How do you know my name?"

"My stepdad told me, so did Toadie."

"Your stepdad?"

"Lou."

"Wait, Lou's your stepfather? He's my granddad," said Amber.

"He told me that too."

"I can't believe it. You are technically family!"

"That is so unfair! I would love to be able to say that Nina Tucker is family," said Imogen.

Nina laughed again. "Do you know how jealous that would make people?"

"Very jealous."

"Exactly. Probably not a good idea."

That got both girls laughing. After a couple of minutes, the last of the laughter died away and the girls were once again awestruck. Neither could believe that they were sitting across a coffee table from the famous Nina Tucker.

"Did you guys enjoy the songs at your assembly this morning?"

"It was so cool. Nobody could stop talking about it all day."

"I hope you didn't get into trouble."

"No. Even the teachers thought it was cool. You know, would you come and do that again?"

"Depends. When would you like me to come?"

"Every day?" Imogen knew it wasn't going to happen, but she still suggested it.

"No. Maybe at the start and the end of each term, but not every day. Besides, I do have a job, and I'm always working on new songs."

"Are you writing one now?"

"Yes. It's nowhere near finished, but hopefully soon it will be."

"When you finish it, can we be the first to hear it?"

"Maybe. Depends on if you guys be good, and listen to your parents."

"We will!"

Nina looked at the time, surprised that it had already been an hour. "You girls should be getting home. You have school tomorrow and I have an interview to get to in the morning. Maybe after school, you can come over and we can chat again. I can help with homework too if you like."

"You would?"

"Of course."

Imogen looked at Amber, and both girls jumped up, hugging Nina as they repeated their thank yous to her.

Nina woke up early the next morning, wanting to get ready for her interview. It wasn't going to be a problem for her, she knew that, but she was nervous and couldn't stop fidgeting. She spent an hour getting ready, then just sat around in the lounge room, hoping that she would get the job. After all, she didn't want to work for Paul Robinson for the rest of her life.

As soon as eight o'clock arrived, Nina was out the door, walking to Erinsborough High to meet with Susan. She kept taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself down even though she knew it wasn't working. Soon, she was at the principal's office, feeling almost the same way as when she had been new to Erinsborough and coming to speak with Susan about starting at the school when she returned from her holiday. She had been scared that day, and she was again today, thinking about how many different ways she could ruin her chance of being a teacher.

"Nina, come in," called Susan a moment later.

"Hi Susan," said Nina once she sat down across from her friend.

"Are you nervous?" Susan asked incredulously. "Why?"

"I don't want to stuff up. I don't really want to work for Paul."

"Nina, this isn't an interview. I'm giving you the job. I just wanted to know when you wanted to start."

"I'm going to be a teacher?"

"Music teacher, yes. The kids are going to love it."

"Thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me."

"I think I do. So, when would you like to start?"

"As soon as possible."

"I have someone covering today, so tomorrow, you can start. Nine am I need you here. The first class is with the year 12's. That's Amber and Imogen's year."

"That's okay. I can do that."

"Then I will see you tomorrow. I'll introduce you to everyone in the morning before your class starts, and give you the material you'll need to teach them."