Steph Haydock was the first of the Teachers to have Earl Kelly in her lesson that morning. And she had to admit, she could smell his bad attitude from a mile off.

The minute he'd walked into the classroom and Eddie had introduced him, she wasn't keen. He'd looked her up and down with disdain, stalking passed her to one of the desks. Yet another miscreant to deal with on top of the others! She could feel it in her water that Earl Kelly was going to be worse than others though. There was something about him that made her feel uneasy.

They were halfway into the lesson. The class were completing their work in silence, allowing Steph to sit and do some marking. She hated marking, but it was better than teaching.

A few of the students had started sniggering.

Steph looked up from her marking, about to tell them off, when she noticed what- or who, they were sniggering at.

Earl Kelly had fallen asleep at his desk and was snoring lightly. Steph rolled her eyes. For a new student, he wasn't making a good first impression.

To Steph, Earl seemed to be the type who thought he could do and behave as he pleased, with no consequences. That kind of behaviour wasn't acceptable in her classroom.

It was time to show him who was boss.

She silenced the giggling class, grabbing the French Dictionary on her desk. She tiptoed over to Earl's desk, standing in front of him for less than a second, before slamming the book down on his desk.

"WAKEY, WAKEY!" She yelled smugly

The class laughed out loud as Earl shot up from his chair, alert and angry. He stared at Steph, furiously.

"What the hell are you playing at?" He sneered

Steph stood up taller, locking eyes with him.

"I beg your pardon?" She responded, folding her arms

Earl suddenly became falsely apologetic.

"Sorry Miss, I thought I was at home" he smirked

"Well evidently" Steph huffed, rolling her eyes

"Well, I'll have another ten minutes, but you carry on. Don't let me bother you" He smiled, patronisingly

Steph couldn't stand his attitude. The way he smirked at her, how he put his feet up on his desk like he owned the place. And how the class laughed with him. Even the naughtiest kids at Waterloo Road had more respect than Earl Kelly!

"Listen, matey, you can sleep in your own time. Get your pen out and get some work done!" Steph ordered

She pushed his feet off the desk, walking away from him. The class erupted into fits of laughter again. Judging by Earl's reaction, he liked people to laugh with him, not at him.

He glared at her. Miss Haydock had made him look like an idiot. Not that she cared.

She sat back down at her desk, satisfied she'd put him in his place, something he clearly wasn't used to.

"Alright everyone, show over!" Steph announced

Whilst Steph was trying to calm the class down, Earl grabbed his backpack, placing it on his knee as he unzipped it. He looked at the silver gun hidden in there, its barrel partially loaded. Earl thought there were a few people in here that needed putting in their place. Miss Haydock was one of them. She'd soon be sorry when she found out he had a gun, as would anyone else who got in his way.

When the bell finally rang for lunch, Earl stormed out into the corridor. His brother, Marley, walked passed him as though he was invisible, distracted by the blonde walking beside him. This is how it went at every school they went to. Marley, Sam and Denzil always settled in easily, forgetting about Earl immediately. He was always the odd one out, the one everyone laughed at and never took any notice of.

Every time.

Now he had the gun that was going to change.

He would make sure of it.

He strolled along the corridor when suddenly, something collided with him. Someone, he realised when he looked up.

Paul Langley was staring at him awkwardly. Earl recognised him as the boy who'd stared at him in reception earlier on that morning. Earl had been convinced then that him and his friend, Bolton had a grudge against him. Now, he was sure of it.

"Sorry mate" Paul apologised

Earl walked up to him, fury running through his veins.

"What the hell are you playing at?!" Earl snarled

Paul looked at him, bewildered

"I said sorry! It was an accident!" Paul insisted

"No, you did it deliberately" Earl replied bitterly

"No, I didn't!" Paul snapped defensively

"I don't even know who you are, man!" Bolton chimes in

"Carry on like that, and you soon will!" Earl threatened

"Yeah, well maybe you should get to know who I am before you start shooting your mouth off, new boy!" Bolton snapped

"Yeah" Paul mumbled

Earl glared at Paul, a cloud of red rage clouding his eyes, controlling his judgment, taking over his entire body.

Paul, feeling intimidated, pushed passed him. It was enough to send Earl over the edge.

"Where do you think you're going?" He hissed

He grabbed Paul by the collar of his coat, shoving him forcefully against the metal lockers. Paul's groan of pain only encouraged him.

"Do you think this is finished?" He continued

"Get off him, man!" Bolton yelled

"Or what?" Earl spat, refusing to look at Bolton

"Or you'll have me to deal with! Now move!" Mr Clarkson interrupted, dashing down the stairs

Earl backed away, letting a trembling Paul walk.

"Don't think this is finished!" Earl hissed as Paul walked passed him

Tom Clarkson tapped Earl on the arm, turning him around to face him as he instructed Paul and Bolton to leave.

"What the hell was all that about?" Tom asked

"Nothing" Earl shrugged innocently

Tom sighed

"Look, I know it's hard for you, starting at a new school. But you're not going to make it easy for yourself throwing your weight around and acting the hard man. I don't know what it was like at your last school, but there's no need for it here, ok?"

Earl huffed at him, walking away.

"Hey! I haven't finished yet!" Tom shouted, pulling Earl back

"Get off me!" Earl grumbled

"Look, I'm doing you a favour," Tom reasoned

"I said, get off me!" Earl repeated with a snarl

"Where do you think it's going to get you, speaking to people like that?" Mr Clarkson questioned, disgusted by Earl's attitude

Earl lunged at him, throwing him against the lockers in a fit of rage.

"I'm warning you, don't mess with me!" He growled

Tom pushed him off, holding Earl by his collar.

"Or what, eh?" Tom questioned

Earl grinned at him

"Trust me. You don't want to know" he sneered

Tom watched as Earl placed two fingers at the side of his head, mimicking the sound of a gunshot. He scoffed.

"Now, I'm going to pretend you didn't just do that, because it's your first day"

Earl smirked, rolling his eyes

"If you ever do that to me or any other teacher, you'll be off these premises before you know what's hit you. Do you understand me?" Tom added angrily

Earl laughed, walking away.

Tom genuinely believed he was bluffing, which is why he decided not to express his concerns to Rachel or Eddie. He picked up his bag and went to the staffroom.

Meanwhile, Earl stormed through the corridors and into an empty classroom. He kicked the tables in anger, pacing up and down.

He was furious at the way he was being treated. How dare they speak to him like that?! Miss Haydock, Paul Langley, Mr Clarkson.

He rummaged through his bag, pulling out the gun, smiling as he felt the heavy weight and the cold metal against his skin. The damage he could do with it excited him. Anyone who tried to mess with him would quickly regret it if they knew he had that gun.

He loaded the empty spaces in the barrel, spinning it round before locking it into place. He shoved it down the waistband of his trousers, heading back out of the classroom.