Another three weeks had gone by, and things at Waterloo Road were far from peaceful.

Rachel was rushed off her feet. She hadn't been this stressed in such a long time. She loved her job, but she'd never been so exhausted or drained. She'd never pulled so many late nights, filling out piles of paperwork, writing and typing up reports, answering and sending emails, before heading to bed at 4AM for two hours of sleep. It had been the same routine every night for the last two weeks.

It wasn't helping that there was tension between her and the staff, because of Earl Kelly. That was a whole other nightmare.

Things had settled with Davina. Maaka Lacey hadn't pursued his formal complaint. Davina was doing well and was growing in confidence each day. Rachel was pleased. Davina was going to make a great teacher when she qualified.

Things with Tom, on the other hand, hadn't improved. In fact, they'd only gotten worse.

It had started just over two weeks ago, when a dead bird had been placed on Tom Clarkson's doorstep. It wouldn't have been so suspicious, had the bird died of natural causes. But it hadn't. The predator was human; it was obvious by just looking at its injuries.

Once it started, it hadn't stopped. Tom and Davina had, had a total of 12 dead birds on their doorstep. All 12 had been bludgeoned to death by a stone.

Tom had immediately jumped to conclusions, accusing Earl Kelly. Who else had it in for him like he did? The kid was unhinged; it wouldn't surprise him if it was his doing.

Rachel was in two minds about what to believe. Earl was a kid with anger issues and other behavioural problems. But she doubted he would result to killing birds. It made no sense! And, as she'd told Tom over and over again, they had no proof that Earl was doing this. And until they did, there was nothing she or anyone else could do.

Tom was fed up. He knew he was right. Rachel was refusing to see it, because it was easier. That was his opinion anyway.

Tom and Rachel's difference in opinion on how to deal with Earl Kelly had caused a rift between them, as well as her relationship with the other staff too. Everyone wanted Earl Kelly out. Rachel kept saying no. She couldn't exclude him when they had no proof or concrete evidence that Earl was killing birds. And even if they did, she still couldn't exclude him. If he had been violent towards staff, or students, then yes, she could exclude him. But birds? Sure, it was disgusting and cruel, but it wasn't a reason to get rid of him. The LEA had backed her on this.

Rachel firmly believed she could turn Earl's behaviour around. She wasn't sure how just yet, but she was determined all the same. Every child deserved a chance, didn't they?

Standing by her personal beliefs hadn't been easy. There was tension between her and Tom. The staff were questioning her, especially Steph, who was worried about Maxine, since she was infatuated with Earl.

All Rachel was asking for was their patience. This was Waterloo Road, every child deserved a chance. She saw where they were coming from, but she wanted to do the right thing by giving Earl the opportunity to make a go of things. She couldn't please everyone.

Eddie was in two minds about all of this too. He agreed with Rachel. Earl Kelly shouldn't be thrown out. But, he was around the staff a lot more than Rachel was. He heard what they were saying about her. They thought she wasn't doing her job properly, that she had it in for Tom Clarkson.

None of it was true of course, but it made him incredibly angry and frustrated. He'd lost count of the times he'd jumped to her defence. And it wasn't because he was biased either. He believed she was right.

Yes, she was causing uproar with the staff by letting Earl Kelly stay at Waterloo Road. He understood the frustration, as Earl was so disruptive in lessons, and there was a chance he was killing birds for fun. But, currently, Earl was innocent until proven guilty with the bird killings. They had no evidence, and until they did, what could they do?

Rachel was a great Head Teacher, he'd thought and believed that long before he'd fallen in love with her. She was doing the right thing, and he was backing her all the way.

It didn't stop him worrying about her though. And right now, he was more concerned than usual.

Rachel was, quite literally, working herself to the bone. And she wouldn't let him help, even though as her Deputy, it was his job.

He'd never seen her so stressed. She barely stopped to breathe sometimes.

Her working day didn't stop at 5pm like his did once he'd finished marking. It carried on well into the early hours of the morning. He'd lost count of the times he'd woken up before 6AM, to find her side of the bed empty. When he'd gone downstairs, he'd found her in the living room, still dressed, curled up on the sofa with her laptop still on, surrounded by paperwork, often with a pen clutched in her hand.

Eddie knew she was a workaholic; she was dedicated to her job. It was one of the many things he loved about her. But she was scaring him. He'd never seen her like this. She was exhausted and irritable.

She wouldn't admit it, but the conflict between her and Tom, as well as the rest of the staff was getting to her. She was in an impossible situation and it seemed that she was over-working herself to prove a point to the staff. The point being that she cared and was good at her job. She didn't need to prove anything; it wouldn't make a difference to the staff anyway. They just wanted Earl Kelly out.

That's why this morning; Eddie had come up with a plan to get her out of the house and away from work for a bit. She needed it more than she knew. And Eddie wasn't going to take no for an answer.

He'd also planned something to manage the Earl Kelly situation. He hoped it would make the staff back off a bit.

...

It was 7AM. Tom was outside, watching the surveillance camera being put into place on his front porch. It was perfect timing really, considering another dead bird had been left on the doorstep this morning. Earl Kelly was responsible, he was sure of it.

He picked up the dead bird, which had been wrapped in a plastic bag, taking it into the kitchen where Davina was making sandwiches for lunch.

"That's the third one this week!" he grumbled

"Not in the kitchen, Tom!" Davina groaned

He huffed, throwing it out of the back door.

"Dead birds on the door step... that's how serial killers start!" he scoffed

"We don't know it's Earl" Davina reasoned, switching on the kettle

"We will do soon" Tom pointed out

"So we get him on camera, and then what?" Davina questioned

"Then it's not our problem anymore" he shrugged

Davina sighed. She was just as frustrated about this as Tom was. But there was every chance it wasn't Earl Kelly doing this.