It was the end of the day. To Eddie's surprise, the day had flown by in a blur and there had been very little disaster with the staff or students. He'd pretty much had a peaceful day, which was a first for him as a Teacher at Waterloo Road!

There had definitely been a huge shift in atmosphere within the school though. Bolton wasn't the only pupil upset about Miss Mason not returning to Waterloo Road.

Eddie had been given the painful job of explaining Rachel's absence to the kids in assembly that morning. There was uproar, not just from the pupils, but the staff too. He wished Rachel could have been there to see it. It might have changed her mind about leaving.

Eddie had walked around the school at break and lunch, as he usually did. The buzz and energy that was normally swarming through the building, wasn't there. Eddie wasn't sure if he was imagining things, but it seemed to him that the news of Rachel not returning had affected the kids more than he'd expected.

Even in the staff room things were quiet. Steph and Grantly, who were usually thick as thieves and always gossiping, were melancholy and not very chatty.

As much as he was happy that the point he'd made about the school not being able to survive without Rachel was being proven. If she didn't come back, he'd have to try and save it. And he wasn't sure if he could. You couldn't replace Rachel Mason.

Through the day, he'd thought about his own future at Waterloo Road. As he worked through all his paperwork, he realised that if Rachel wasn't staying, he didn't want to either. It didn't feel right without her by his side, nagging at him, visiting him at break and lunch, helping the kids and dealing with bad behaviour together. If she was going to leave, he'd be better off going elsewhere for a fresh start too.

A knock on the door pulled Eddie from his thoughts. He looked up to see Bolton standing awkwardly in the doorway, a huge pile of papers in his arms. Eddie frowned at him.

"Please don't tell me that's the amount of coursework you haven't done Bolton?"

Bolton laughed

"'No Sir. It's for Miss Mason" he explained

Eddie sighed

"Rachel isn't coming back, Bolton. I told you"

"Yeah, well, this might change her mind" he shrugged, placing the huge pile of papers in front of him

Eddie chuckled

"Paperwork? I don't think so mate!"

"It ain't paperwork man! Would you just look at it?" Bolton huffed

Eddie sighed, pulling the pile of papers towards him. He glanced over the first page.

"Petition to get Miss Mason back as Head Teacher of Waterloo Road"

Eddie smiled

"All the students have signed it voluntarily Sir, I didn't have to force no one. The staff signed it too. We all want Miss Mason to come back. You said something big had to happen for Miss Mason to come back. This is it, innit? Show her this and she has to come back" Bolton explained confidently

Eddie flipped through all the pages, looking at all the handwritten signatures and messages to Miss Mason from both staff and students. He couldn't believe it. There was no denying it, everyone loved Rachel Mason and wanted her to come back.

"I think you might be onto something here Bolton" Eddie said

"This school was crap before she came here Sir! We don't care about her past; she deserves the second chance that she gave all of us. If it wasn't for Miss Mason, I would probably have been expelled by now, innit? We need her Sir" Bolton stated

Eddie nodded, his smile only growing bigger.

"I'll hold off on telling you off for your language, because you're right Bolton, we do need her"

"So you'll show it to her?" Bolton asked hopefully

Eddie nodded

"Thanks Sir, see you later yeah?" Bolton smiled

Bolton left, leaving Eddie to laugh out loud at Bolton's genius plan. Maybe there was still hope of getting Rachel back as Head Teacher after all.

He packed the petition carefully into his bag, along with his laptop. He was leaving earlier than planned, but he didn't care. He had to show this petition to Rachel. It was his last chance to get her back, thanks to Bolton.

Tom shouted after him as he practically ran down the stairs.

"Eddie, we're all going for a drink at the pub, are you coming?"

"No, probably not, Tom. I've got a head teacher to get back" he smiled

Tom nodded. He knew about the petition, he'd signed it himself without a second thought when Bolton had showed it to him. Like everyone else, he hoped it would change Rachel's mind.

Eddie dashed out of the school and into his car. He felt nervous, but hopeful as he drove out of the school gates towards Rachel's home.