Maxine was already in Tom's classroom, wanting some peace and time away from her so-called friends. Janeece had let her down massively today. It was the last thing she'd wanted to happen.
Something odd had happened during lunch that Maxine couldn't stop thinking about.
She'd been sat in the van with Chlo and Janeece, listening to them mock and judge Earl. A girl had entered through the school gates. Maxine had watched as she'd walked furiously over to Earl. The girl was around her age, maybe younger, but she was in a mess. Her hair had been tied up into a messy bun; her clothes were stained and scruffy. She looked like she hadn't slept for days.
The girl and Earl had argued, before she'd stormed out of the gates again.
Maxine had confronted Earl about it, and he had explained. The girl's name was Jade; she was from his previous school.
"She just turned up! She's mental! It's like she's stalking me!" he'd told her
Maxine had thought it was odd that she'd just turned up out of the blue, especially dressed up the way she was. She looked like a junkie. But Earl had reassured her that all he'd tried to do was help Jade, and now she wouldn't leave him alone. Maxine believed him. He hadn't told her about Jade because he was embarrassed, and he knew it would harm his case with his social worker. Maxine understood, and she did believe him. Earl wouldn't lie to her. She just hoped this Jade didn't come back and try to ruin things for them, like everyone else currently was. They loved each other and deserved to be happy. Maxine was about to have everything she'd ever wanted. A home, a loving partner, and a baby. It didn't get more perfect than that.
She rolled her eyes when Steph walked into the room. Maxine had, had enough of her.
"Look, Maxine, nobody wants to stop you doing what you want to do with your life. I've always thought you'd make a smashing Mum"
"You could've fooled me!" Maxine mumbled, rolling her eyes
"It's just... you're so young. Why not wait a bit?" Steph reasoned
Maxine huffed, slamming her pen down
"I'm old enough, Steph. It's not like it'd be my first time!"
"But that's just it. You know how big of a deal it is! Why don't you at least wait till after your exams, eh? Give yourself a chance" Steph suggested
"Earl doesn't want to" Maxine shrugged
"And what do YOU want?" Steph challenged
"We want the same things! That's why Earl is special!"
"Oh, Maxine! We all want to have a bit of fun now and then, but having a baby with the likes of Earl Kelly?" Steph shot back
Maxine scoffed, snorting loudly
"Yeah, because you're an expert on all this? Having kids, relationships?" Maxine snapped
Steph threw her head back in frustration. She really was fighting a losing battle. Sure, she'd never had a child of her own. All the relationships she'd had, had never been serious. None of that mattered. She knew Maxine like the back of her hand. And she knew the real Maxine didn't want this. Earl Kelly had poisoned her mind, and Steph wasn't sure if there was a way to reverse it.
With a heavy heart, she walked out of the classroom, slamming the door behind her.
...
Eddie walked into Rachel's office, sitting down opposite her angrily.
"Who's done what now?" she asked, sensing his anger without even having to look up from her paperwork
"Rob and Tom were fighting when I took Linda into the staffroom" he explained
Rachel groaned.
"Please, tell me you're joking?"
"I wish I was, Rach. Linda witnessed it" he confirmed
Rachel sighed heavily, rubbing her temples. That was the last thing she needed today.
"What were they fighting about? Do you know?" she asked
Eddie paused. He wanted to tell her, but he didn't want her to flip out either.
"Eddie?" Rachel prompted
He sighed
"Davina accused him of... bullying Bolton during his boxing training" he told her
Rachel frowned. That made no sense.
"I hope you got more information out of him than that! Bullying him how?" she inquired
Eddie shrugged.
"Verbal abuse. Davina said she saw him kick Bolton too" he explained
Rachel groaned. This couldn't be happening! There had to be a mistake. But then again, Bolton and Rob's training sessions were all one-on-one and unsupervised. She didn't know what their session entailed, other than that they were centred around Boxing. No one did. No one had thought to check or observe either. If it was true, Rob was in trouble.
"Where's Linda now?" she asked
"Observing Tom's class" Eddie answered
"Right, I'll go and speak to Rob then" she decided
"I'll come with you" Eddie offered
Rachel nodded, standing up slowly.
"How are you feeling? You look a bit better" he asked
"I feel alright now, just tired. I think that ginger biscuit helped"
"Good, I'm glad. You're going to have an early night tonight though" he told her
"If you say so" she sighed, smiling softly
"Come on, let's go and talk to Rob" she added
Eddie nodded, following her down to the gym. When they got there, Rob was teaching a Badminton lesson. He turned to see them, offering a smile.
"Miss Mason, Mr Lawson. Come down for a game?"
Rachel smiled politely.
"No, actually, it was... uhm... it was Boxing that I wanted to talk to you about... or fighting in general" she stammered
Rob sighed. He knew immediately what she was talking about.
"Yeah, erm, what happened in the staffroom was completely unacceptable, and I apologize for my part in it"
Rachel nodded curtly.
"It's bad enough having the kids square up against each other, but teachers? In front of an inspector?"
"I apologise. It won't happen again, I promise" he vowed
"It's the cause of the argument that I'm worried about" Rachel admitted with a sigh
"People just don't understand what we're doing" Rob shrugged
"Well that just means we have to be all the more careful! You of all people know that boxing in schools is controversial. Don't make it any more so!" she huffed
"I'm teaching Bolton to hit and to be hit. And to do that, he's got to be tough, and it's my job to toughen him up. You can't approach it in the same way as any other subject! Davina doesn't know what she's talking about!" he shot back defensively
"No-one's accusing or confronting you. I'm quite happy to keep Boxing as an option here; it just means that you handle it in an appropriate way. Ok?" Rachel replied calmly
"Yep" Rob nodded, clicking his tongue
"We all have to come under scrutiny and criticism at times. It's just part of our job. Maybe Bolton isn't the only one who needs to 'toughen up', you know?"
She walked out of the gym, Eddie following behind her.
When they got out into the hallway, Rachel sighed, leaning against the wall. She was feeling sick and lightheaded again. Eddie watched as she closed her eyes, swaying unsteadily on her feet. The colour had drained from her face again.
"Are you alright?" he asked gently, rubbing his hands up and down her arms
She nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. She really hated feeling like this. It had seemed to have gone away, but now it was back with a vengeance.
"Let's get you back up to your office, yeah?" Eddie suggested
She nodded again.
Eddie snaked an arm around her waist to steady her as they walked up the stairs. Normally, she would have pushed him off. But on this occasion, she didn't. He was the only thing preventing her legs from buckling and giving way.
They made it back to her office. Eddie sat Rachel down in her desk chair, handing her a glass of water and a ginger biscuit from the packet he'd given her at lunchtime. She sipped the water slowly, nibbling on the biscuit. She was surprised at how quickly it calmed her stomach.
"I think I might living off these for a bit" she chuckled
"And you raised an eyebrow when I gave them to you at lunch!" Eddie tutted playfully
"They're the only thing I can stomach" she huffed
"I'll get some more when I do the food shop tonight" he told her
Rachel smiled gratefully.
"How are you feeling now?" he asked
"Much better" she nodded
"Good" he smiled, kissing her forehead gently
...
In Tom's class, Maxine was copying down notes from the board. She was distracted by someone walking passed the classroom. She dropped her pen, lifting her head to look properly.
It was Jade.
Maxine groaned. Why couldn't she just leave Earl alone? She'd had enough. If Earl couldn't get her to back off, maybe she could.
She stood up from her desk, heading for the door.
"Er, Maxine?" Tom scolded
"I've got to go to the toilet, sir!" she lied
"Can't you wait till after we've finished this task?" he huffed
"No, it can't. Sorry, sir!" she mumbled
She ran into the corridor, catching up with Jade easily.
"It's Jade, isn't it? Are you looking for Earl?"
Jade turned, staring hopefully at Maxine.
"Yeah. Do you know where he is?" she asked
"Yeah, but you can't do this today" Maxine replied
"But I need my money... Some of it at least" she huffed
Maxine frowned
"Earl wants to help. He's kind, but..."
Jade scoffed, cutting Maxine off mid-sentence.
"Kind? You're joking, aren't you?"
"Like I said, he wants to help" Maxine shrugged
"I don't want help. I want my money!" Jade demanded impatiently
Maxine rolled her eyes
"Your money?"
Jade huffed, storming away like a child.
"Hey! Come back here!" Maxine snapped
Jade ignored her, searching every classroom for Earl.
"If money is all you're after, he hasn't got a lot of it! We need it. You can't just turn up and bleed us dry!"
Jade turned, glaring at Maxine.
"You what?" she spat
"What do you want it for? Drugs?"
"No!" Jade shot back defensively
"What then?" Maxine frowned
"For the baby"
Maxine scoffed
"What baby?" she questioned
Jade sighed, locking eyes with Maxine.
"Earl's baby. That's what I want the money for" she explained
Maxine didn't want to believe what Jade was telling her. Earl didn't have a child, he'd have told her. And even if he did, he wouldn't have a child with someone like Jade. No way. Jade was lying. She was doing this because Earl was refusing to help her.
Even though she believed that, she found herself running after Jade. She needed to stop her before she did anymore damage.
"Oi! Come back!" she demanded, storming out of the school building
Jade continued to walk away. Maxine's anger only increased.
"There's no baby! You're just trying it on to get money out of him!"
Jade scoffed, shaking her head. Maxine huffed, jogging along behind her.
"So, how old is it then?" Maxine questioned
"Three days... do you think I normally look like this?" Jade snapped
"You're lying! You're just trying it on to get cash out of Earl because you know that he's soft like that!" Maxine argued
"Ha! Come and see it if you like!"
Maxine paused, unsure of what to do. Her mind was telling her one thing, her heart was saying something else. Who would lie about having a baby? Who would go to such lengths to get money out of someone? An attention seeker- or someone who was telling the truth? Once again, Maxine found her curiosity getting the better of her as she followed Jade out of the school gates.
...
In the school kitchen, Steph had approached Rose, in a final attempt to stop all of this from happening. She wanted to know how much she knew about Earl's plans for him and Maxine.
"Rose, could I have a word? It's about your Earl" she requested
"Oh, what's he done now?" Rose sighed, wiping down the kitchen surfaces
"Nothing, it's just that... now that he and Maxine are 'dating', I thought we might have a little chat. Our last one was a bit awkward" Steph explained
"Are you sure he's not done anything? Only I've got loads to do..."
"No. It's just... he and I got off on the wrong foot" Steph sighed
"That'll be Earl; he's always been like that! First year at Nursery, he smacked his key-worker in the mouth with a Postman Pat van!" Rose chuckled
Steph nodded. Why didn't that surprise her?
"Kids, eh? Anyway, I just thought..."
"Little sod kept one of her teeth in his pocket all through primary. 'A trophy', the psychologist said. Ah, sure, deep down he's a smashing lad,"
Steph offered her best false smile.
"I'm sure he is"
"Just talk to him. He responds to that, you know? He'd really appreciate that from you, he's crazy about your Maxine!" Rose suggested
Steph sighed. She wasn't exactly sure what she'd wanted to get out of this conversation with Rose. But it wasn't that. She didn't think Earl would appreciate anything she offered. Could they really have a civil conversation?
It was worth a try, right?