Rachel was tidying away some paperwork in her office. The door swung open, Tom storming in, looking flustered.
"Rachel, I'm resigning as Head of Pastoral Care" he told her
Rachel frowned, taken aback by the sudden declaration.
"What's going on?" she frowned
"The Kelly's. I can't be Head of Pastoral Care while they're still here" he explained
Rachel sighed
"I know I had my concerns about you and the Kelly's. But I never had any doubts about your ability to do the job, Tom!"
"Well, you don't need to concern yourself anymore! I quit!" he huffed, turning away
"Tom, wait! Tell me what's happened!" she pleaded
Tom turned around. He couldn't bring himself to tell her. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn't say them. He couldn't admit what he'd done.
"I- I almost hit Earl Kelly" he admitted
Before Rachel could respond or even process his words, Eddie dashed in.
"I think Davina was right!" he said, a little breathlessly
"Can you just wait a minute?" Rachel requested abruptly, turning her attention back to Tom
"I'm not sure I can stop myself next time. In fact, I know I won't. He came into my office, goading me... I was so close to putting him through a window, Rachel" Tom explained
"Earl Kelly?" Eddie checked
"Yeah" Tom nodded
"When?" Eddie asked
"Ten minutes ago" Tom confirmed
Eddie sighed
"I've put it down in writing straightaway, in case I changed my mind" Tom added, handing Rachel his resignation letter
"Tom, you need to think about this" Rachel reasoned
"This isn't up for debate, Rachel. I'm resigning!" he said firmly, walking away
Rachel groaned
"Come on, Tom, please!" she called after him
The office door slammed behind him
"Oh! Great! That's all we need!" she huffed
"Maaka Lacey is responsible for this, Rach" Eddie informed her
Rachel frowned at him
"What are you talking about?"
"He let Earl wander around the school when we specifically told him to keep him in lessons. He's let half his class wander round the corridors!" he explained
Rachel sighed heavily, putting a hand to her head. Perhaps Davina had been right.
...
Davina was stood outside, trying to gather her thoughts. She was trembling with anger and frustration. Unless something changed, she didn't want to be at Waterloo Road anymore.
"Davina? Can you come with me a minute?" Rachel requested
Davina looked at her wearily, reluctant to move.
"Come on" Rachel encouraged, smiling reassuringly
Davina followed her up to Maaka Lacey's classroom, Eddie joining them. Rachel had wanted to catch him in action, and the only way to do that, was to take him by surprise.
Rachel peered in through the door of the classroom. The kids seemed to be doing anything but learning. Some were reading magazines, others listening to music and gossiping. Maaka was sat at the desk, writing and paying no attention to them. Rachel sighed.
She walked in calmly, smiling politely at Maaka. The class hurriedly put their magazines and phones away.
Maaka smiled at Rachel innocently.
"They were just... having a chat. They've worked pretty well"
"Right" Rachel nodded, unconvinced
She turned to the class
"You're getting an easy time of it, hmm?"
The class remained silent
"You can sit and chat at break and lunch. Idleness is not an option in Year 11, is it?" Rachel growled
The class sighed, mumbling to each other
Rachel turned to Davina.
"Over to you"
Davina smiled gratefully, taking her seat at the desk.
"Can I have a word with you, please? And can you bring your stuff?" Rachel asked Maaka, glaring at him
Rachel and Eddie exited the room, Maaka following angrily behind them.
"You know, today I was reminded of just how important every single lesson is, and the difference a conscientious teacher can make" Rachel said, turning to face Maaka
Maaka nodded thoughtfully
"It's why we come into the profession"
"Yeah... except, I don't think you were making a difference today Maaka" she snapped
"I think I gave them something different" Maaka shrugged
"Well, thanks to Davina, those kids will go home with a lot more than they would have if you'd let them sit and chat all day" Rachel argued
Maaka glared at her
"Register your hours in the office. And as for your formal complaint, if you do decide to pursue it, you should know that I'm going to be backing Davina the whole way. She cares about children. I don't know what you care about, but it certainly isn't our kids!"
Maaka scoffed
"Your kids? You talk about them like they're little angels! Half of them are a bunch of whining little bullies! And the others don't have the brains they were born with!"
Rachel and Eddie raised an eyebrow.
Maaka smirked.
"No worries. I wouldn't come back here if you begged me!" he snarled storming down the stairs
Eddie walked over to Rachel, watching Maaka walk away. He put his hand on her arm. She smiled at him lovingly, her eyes filled with relief.
"Alright?" he asked
She nodded
"We owe Davina and Tom and huge apology. I feel so guilty, Eddie" she sighed
"It's sorted now, Rach. Don't worry about it" he reassured
Rachel sighed. It wasn't sorted, not really. She'd hurt Davina by jumping to conclusions and automatically believing Maaka without investigating first. She'd hurt Tom by accusing him of letting his feelings cloud his judgment. There was a lot she needed to fix. They'd both needed an ally, and as the Head Teacher, colleague and friend, she hadn't been that for either of them. And she felt so guilty. Even if it was her job, she thought she could have handled it better.
They walked back into the office. Rachel sank into her desk chair.
"Tom is resigning as Head of Pastoral Care, Eddie. I don't know how to change his mind" she sighed
"Well, we can't stop him, Rach. If that's what he wants to do, that's his choice" he pointed out
"But that's just it; I don't think he does want to resign as Head of Pastoral Care. It's just the Kelly's that he's struggling with. I don't want him to do this, Eddie; he's really good at the job"
"Then why don't we offer him a proposal?" Eddie suggested
Rachel frowned
"What do you mean?"
"What if I dealt with everything related to the Kelly family at school from now on? We can offer him that, if he still wants to step down, then we admit defeat and start looking for someone else, yeah?"
Rachel nodded
"Thank you" she said, smiling gratefully
"Come on, let's go and talk to him before we go home" Eddie decided, offering his hand out to her
She nodded again, taking his hand into her own as they walked out of the office.
It didn't exactly fix the problem, but it was a start. She didn't blame Tom if he still wanted to step down. She hadn't supported him in his role properly, or Davina for that matter.
...
Davina was waiting downstairs when Tom finally arrived to meet her, followed by Chlo and Donte. He felt guilty for the way he'd treated Davina today. He'd been so engrossed in his own problems that he hadn't supported her when she'd needed him most.
"Sorry, have you been waiting long?" he asked, continuing to walk
"No, are you ok?" she replied, catching up with him
"Yeah, well, I've had better days... No, I'm fine. What do you say we ditch these two losers and go out on the lash, eh?" he suggested, nodding at Chlo and Donte
"Thanks!" Chlo huffed sarcastically
"Well, haven't you got a flat to buy?" Tom questioned
Chlo and Donte frowned at them.
Tom wrapped his arm around Davina's shoulders, smiling at her before turning back to Chlo.
"We're buying you out. The house is worth about 150 grand, so you should have a fair whack to put down as a deposit, if that's what you want" he explained
Chlo and Donte smiled, their eyes dancing with excitement.
"So, when can this happen?" Donte asked
"Soon as" Tom confirmed
Donte grinned cheekily
"Right, well, come on babe, we're going to hit the town! Cheers, Tom"
They walked away. Tom and Davina smiled. At least one good thing had come from today.
...
Meanwhile, Eddie and Rachel strolled along the corridor hand in hand. They spotted Tom and Davina. Eddie called after them. The couple looked at them wearily.
"Davina, look, as you might have guessed, Maaka Lacey isn't coming back" Rachel informed her once they'd caught up with them
Davina sighed in relief
"You were dead right, Davina. He's a waste of space" Eddie added
"I told her not to stand any messing from him, didn't I?" Tom smiled
Davina rolled her eyes
Eddie and Rachel smiled awkwardly
"Well if it wasn't for his incompetence, Tom, you'd never have had that conflict with Earl" Eddie told him
Tom's face dropped at that. If he was honest, he just wanted to forget about it.
"So, we've got a proposition for you" Rachel announced, looking to Eddie
"Yeah, we understand how hard it is for you to separate home and school at the moment. So, from today, I'll handle everything to do with the Kelly's. Let's see it as avoiding a conflict of interest. What do you think?" Eddie suggested
"Thank you. I'll think about it" he nodded gratefully
"Good, we'll see you later" Rachel smiled, watching the couple walk away
...
Out on the Football pitch, Steph had finally caught up with Maxine.
"I heard what happened in the boy's toilets, Maxine. I'm not impressed"
Maxine looked at the ground, her eyes filled with guilt. She loved Earl, she really did. But she'd evidently embarrassed and upset Steph today. After everything Steph had done for her, she didn't deserve that.
"I'm sorry. It won't happen again" she promised
"You'd better make sure it doesn't, young lady... I think you should come back with me after this" Steph replied sternly
Maxine nodded in agreement
"Can we go out for some tea? I'm starving!"
Steph rolled her eyes
"Go on" she nodded
Maxine smiled, running off to join her friends. Whether Steph liked it or not, she was going out with Earl Kelly tonight.
...
Philip walked out of the gates, waiting by the fence where he'd agreed to meet Earl. They were going to go out and have some fun. Philip couldn't wait! He didn't care what Rachel and Eddie said. Earl was a good mate.
He frowned as Earl walked passed him, blanking him completely as he chattered away to some lads.
"Earl?" Philip called after him
Earl turned, staring at him expectantly.
"I thought we were hanging out tonight?" he asked shyly
Earl smirked
"Oh, sorry mate. I can't now, I've had a better offer" he shrugged
He strode away with a grin.
Philip sighed. Maybe Earl wasn't his mate after all.
...
One hour later...
Eddie and Rachel had arrived back at their home, giggling as they chattered away about various things. Rachel was relieved the school day was over. It had been a tough one.
Eddie handed her a cup of tea, which she accepted gratefully.
The front door opened and closed. Philip put his bag down and took his shoes off.
Rachel shot up from the sofa, stepping into the hallway nervously. She hadn't spoken to Philip since their heated argument at break time.
"Philip? I know you're mad at me, I'm sorry about this morning" she said, breaking the silence
"It's fine. You were right" he shrugged
Rachel frowned
"Earl ditched me" he explained
"Oh, Philip, I'm sorry" she sighed, placing a hand on his arm gently
"It's fine" he mumbled
"You'll make other friends, I promise you. Just give it a chance, yeah?" she reassured
Philip nodded, unconvinced
"Come on, come and sit down. Why don't we play Monopoly and order a takeaway tonight, hmm?" she suggested with a smile
Philip nodded, following her into the living room.