Marley and Flick were heading over to the library for their free lesson.
Flick was still furious with her Dad for putting her and Marley on the spot like that. She was ranting to Marley as they walked down the corridor.
"He's always showing me up! He can't keep his Policeman's badge in his pocket! It's like I expect to be arrested for not tidying my room" she rambled
Marley chuckled
"Imagine if he found out I smoked dope?" she panicked
"He'd lock you up and throw away the key!" he teased, laughing
Flick sighed
"He would as well" she huffed
"Don't be daft! His own daughter?" Marley scoffed
"Yeah... like that's ever meant anything" she mumbled
Marley sighed heavily
"Look... I can't lie, I kind of agree with your Dad about drugs" he admitted with a shrug
"You do?" she questioned
"When you live with someone who gets off their face every night, you'll see where I'm coming from" he sighed, walking away
Flick instantly felt guilty, chasing after Marley. She had to tell him the truth.
"Marley!" she called after him
Marley turned around, walking back towards her.
"I... I need to tell you something. But you can't get mad" she told him
"Ok... what?"
"When those test results come back... mine's going to be... positive. Dad's going to know, everyone's going to know" she admitted
"What?!" Marley scoffed
"Yeah, I've had the odd spliff. It's not a big deal; I'm not a junkie or anything!"
"Ok. Well... you might get a slap on the wrist, but you heard what Mason said, it's just a trial" he reassured
"They're going to roast me!" she whined
"They'll probably pack you off to Drug Awareness sessions, alright? It's not that bad!" he promised
"Yeah, but you heard Dad. 'Entering a life of crime' and all that. He's not going to stop there" she sighed
Marley averted his gaze
"Well..." he mumbled
"Well, what? I've made my bed?" she questioned, cutting him off mid-sentence
"No! That's not what I was going to say! It's just... your Dad wanted openness about drugs. He's going to get that. He's going to have to deal with it, isn't he?"
"God, I'm flamin dead!" she groaned
Marley squeezed her hand reassuringly before walking away.
...
In Chlo and Donte's van, Chlo was finishing off straightening Maxine's hair.
"There you go" she smiled, holding up a mirror so she could see
Maxine smiled at her reflection
"Earl is going to love it!"
Janeece and Chlo groaned, rolling their eyes as they glanced at one another.
Maxine looked between the two of them. It hurt that her two best friends didn't support her relationship with Earl.
"What? He likes me to look nice!" she snapped defensively
"He's a head case! And you know what, Max? I don't like lying to Miss Haydock about you staying over!" Janeece huffed
"Yeah, me an' all" Chlo agreed
Maxine rolled her eyes
"It's ok, we're going to tell her I'm moving in with him" she shrugged
Chlo stared at her open mouthed.
"Haydock is going to go mental!" she exclaimed
"Let her! I don't want to lie to her anymore, just like you two don't!" Maxine snapped, storming out of the van
...
Two hours later...
It was lunchtime. Maxine strode over to Earl angrily. He frowned at her.
"What's up?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist
"I've had enough, let's go and tell Steph now" she told him
"Are you sure?" he checked
Maxine nodded confidently
"Yes. I'm sick of lying. Let's just tell her and get it over with! Are you in, or not?"
Earl nodded, taking her hand as they walked to the canteen.
When they got there, Maxine spotted Steph on the far side of the canteen, chatting away to Security Dave. It was time to rip off the band aid.
They walked over to Steph's table.
"Steph... we need to talk to you" Maxine mumbled
"Not now, Maxine" Steph replied coldly, refusing to look her in the eye
"It's important. Me and Earl have something to tell you!" she insisted
"Well, I'm sure it can wait. It can't be that important" Steph huffed
"Well we think it is!" Earl snapped, pulling Maxine closer to him
Steph finally looked up, glaring at Earl.
"Why do I find that very worrying?"
Maxine rolled her eyes
"It's nothing to worry about, honest" she reassured
Steph sighed. Maxine wasn't backing down on this one. She glanced at Dave apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Dave. Do you mind?" she requested
Dave smiled politely, standing up
"No problem" he nodded, glancing at Earl and Maxine as he walked away
Steph folded her arms, looking at Maxine expectantly.
"Spit it out, then" Steph huffed impatiently
Maxine sighed
"I'm moving in with Earl, Steph" she told her
Steph laughed at that
"No you're flamin not!"
"Yes, I am! Rose has said I can move in. When I'm done with school, I'll get a job. Once we've saved up, we'll get a place of our own" Maxine argued
Steph stared at her desperately trying to mask the hurt that was building up within her.
"What about University?" she asked
"I don't want to go to University. I won't get in anyway" Maxine shrugged
"Maxine, that's rubbish! Just a few months ago, you were looking at entry requirements and University courses!"
"Only because it's what YOU wanted! I don't want to go to University! YOU want me to go!"
"Because you have potential, Max! You can't throw your education away for him!" Steph argued, nodding at Earl
"I love Earl! I want to be with him, Steph! It's my choice! You can't and you won't change my mind!" Maxine growled
Steph sighed
"Fine. Let's go and see what your Mother makes of this, Earl" she decided
"She's fine with it" Earl shrugged
Steph raised an eyebrow
"We'll see, shall we?" she challenged
She strode over to the kitchen, where Rose was serving up lunch to the last few students. Maxine sighed, following Steph. Earl followed along behind them.
"Rose, can I have a word?" Steph requested
Rose walked over nervously, sensing Steph's rage.
"Can it actually be true what Maxine has just told me? That you've agreed to let these two halfwits live together under your roof?"
"There's nothing I can do about it, is there? She's there every night as it is!" Rose huffed, pointing at Maxine
Steph paused, briefly turning to her head towards Maxine. She watched as Maxine's eyes darted to the floor. Steph wanted to kick herself for being so naive. Of course Maxine hadn't been staying with Chlo and Janeece. Of course she'd been staying with him. More lies.
"Look, they tell me they're in love. Who am I to tell them they're not?" Rose added
Steph rolled her eyes in despair. She wasn't going to win this argument.
"We should get to know each other. I mean, we're all going to be family soon" Earl said innocently
Steph turned away, glaring at him as Maxine dragged him away.
...
Rachel and Eddie were sat in the office together, having just had lunch. They were deep in conversation when the door swung open, Ralph Mellor storming in. Eddie watched as Rachel's smile dropped instantly at the sight of him.
"I thought I'd bring it in myself, so there's no confusion" he announced, handing her the envelope that had the results of the drug tests enclosed
"Thanks very much" she nodded politely, opening the envelope
She was a little relieved at what she was reading when she opened the envelope. She could feel Eddie's eyes drilling into her, wanting to know the result.
"Six positive results. It could've been worse" she shrugged
Eddie nodded in agreement
Ralph scoffed
"Six? It's outrageous! What were you expecting?"
"It's still single figures, Ralph" Eddie pointed out
"We should get them enrolled on the drugs awareness sessions" he added, turning to Rachel
Rachel nodded, continuing to flip through the papers.
"I am speechless! Even our Head Boy is on that list!" Ralph exclaimed, a little too dramatically for Rachel's liking
Eddie looked at Rachel for confirmation. She sighed, showing him the piece of paper. It was there, clear as day. 'Marley Kelly- Positive'. He couldn't believe it, and, by the look on Rachel's face, she couldn't either.
"Blimey... how reliable are these tests of yours?" Eddie asked Ralph
"Infallible" Ralph spat
Rachel sighed
"Well good... fine. We've caught him out. So we will give him a very severe warning" she told him
Ralph huffed. That just wasn't enough for him.
"Look, I can swing it to keep these findings under wraps. But as Chair of the Board, I really feel we should send a message to the community that we are serious about drugs in schools"
Eddie shifted his stance. He didn't like Ralph's tone.
"Do I detect the hint of a threat?" he asked
"If we exclude the Head Boy, it's only one pupil, but it's an important statement!" Ralph argued
Rachel shook her head
"I am NOT excluding Marley Kelly because of a positive Cannabis test! Especially when he volunteered because YOU put him under pressure!" she snapped
Ralph scoffed
"What do you have to do to get excluded from this school?" he exclaimed
Rachel rolled her eyes, scowling at Ralph.
"We should definitely remove his Head Boy status" Eddie suggested
Rachel looked at him, perplexed. Why was he taking Ralph's side?
"Well, that's hardly an appropriate punishment! It's a criminal offence!" Ralph huffed
Eddie sighed, turning to Rachel, who was now refusing to look him in the eye. He couldn't lie, he did somewhat agree with Ralph on this. Marley needed some kind of punishment.
"Look, no-one can accuse you of not giving him every support. It's a bit of a kick in the teeth that he goes and does this. Maybe we should make an example him" Eddie reasoned
Rachel stared at him, dumbfounded. This wasn't the way they did things at Waterloo Road; she'd thought Eddie of all people would know that. Out of everyone in the school, she thought he would be on her side with this. Clearly not.
"That boy is an asset to this school!" Rachel argued
"I am NOT covering anything up!" Ralph snarled
Rachel sat up in her chair, glaring at Ralph.
"One word- no" she growled
Ralph scowled, storming out of the office. Eddie sighed
"What do we do, Rach?" he asked
Rachel glared at him
"Well, I know exactly what YOU want to do with him!" she snapped
Eddie huffed
"Rach, I'm sorry, but I think Ralph is right. He needs some kind of punishment"
Rachel rolled her eyes.
"Since when did you become Ralph Mellor's lap dog, Eddie?"
"What? I'm not!" he shot back
Rachel shook her head, standing up furiously
"Where are you going?" he asked
"To talk to Marley" she told him plainly
"I'll come with you" he offered
"No, stay here. I don't need a shadow" she ordered, walking out and slamming the door behind her
Eddie groaned