So this is set in series 3, shortly after Rachel's arrival. Belle is in the same year as Bolton, Danielle and Aleesha, which I believe is year 10? It's hard to work out when watching. I'll be flicking between the canon storyline and Belle's original storylines. I've got a vague plan of where I want her story to go, but other than that I was wanting opinions- canon divergence in series 4 so that Rachel and Eddie get together sooner and the Melissa and Eddie plot never happens? Let me know your thoughts and any feedback on Belle. Thanks and enjoy!
CHAPTER ONE
It was 6:30am and Isabelle Munroe was sneaking out of her bedroom window. Dropping onto the garage roof and climbing down the adjacent fence, she hurried up the driveway, only stopping to shoot a furtive glance back at the house.
She arrived at school absurdly early, she sat beneath her usual tree and brought out her journal, writing in it leisurely as she enjoyed the peace she wouldn't have been afforded had she lingered at home.
As she sat there, she absentmindedly watched the cars trickle in. Usually the canteen staff were the first to arrive, but the last week or so, it had been the new headmistress pulling into the car park before anyone else. The woman always shot a curious glance in her direction, but had never asked why Belle was there so early, for which she was grateful. One less awkward conversation to have.
Eventually, the students started to trickle in. It wasn't long before she was joined by Danielle and Aleesha, and soon enough was surrounded by the usual gang of Janeece, Maxine, a safely returned Chlo, and Bolton and the lads.
"Hey Belle, you done Clarkson's essay?" Aleesha called across the group.
"Finished it last night, why?"
"Feel like letting me borrow your conclusion?"
"I'll give you a look in registration, but you can't copy word for word, Clarkson'll throw a fit!"
"Ah, you're a babe!"
The bell rang, and she linked arms with both Aleesha and Danielle as they headed to their form.
The day was progressing as most days did until break, when a fight broke out between Bolton and another boy in their year. It was as he was pacing in the cooler alone, still fuming, that Belle found him.
"You alright?" She asked, slipping in whilst there was no teacher around.
He glanced up in surprise, which quickly turned defensive. "What d'you want?"
Belle held her hands up in mock surrender. "Chill! I'm not Miss Mason." She moved closer to perch on one of the desks. "So, what happened?"
"You mean ya don't know? Thought the whole school was there."
"I was in the music room, wasn't I?"
"Swear ya spend half your life there," he stopped pacing as they caught each other's eye and grinned, "nah, it was that prat Kade from our maths class. Winding me up and that, talking shit about me mum. He said it was no wonder me dad didn't stick around."
"That's well out of order, that is! I'd've decked him one too, if he said that to me."
His expression seemed to grow softer, and he collapsed into the chair next to the desk she was sitting on. "I forgot about you. In the same boat, ain't we? Me with no dad and you with no mum."
They continued talking, unaware of the three adults outside the room. Eddie held an arm out to prevent Rachel and Tom from opening the door. They watched in awe as Bolton was quickly and calmly talked down by the young girl engaging him in a clearly compassionate conversation.
"I have never seen Bolton Smilie look so calm after an incident before." Tom commented.
Rachel was staring at the Belle curiously- there was something she was missing here, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Before she could figure out what it was, the pair in the cooler noticed the teachers outside. Belle jumped off the table in a flash, shooting a quick goodbye to Bolton before darting out the door.
"Sorry, I was just uh- giving Bolton his class work. I'll be off now!"
Despite the obvious lie, none of the adults felt the need to call her out on it, still rather impressed with the way she'd managed to de-escalate to Bolton.
It was the end of the day, and Rachel was sat in her office, still thinking; and that was how Eddie found her.
"Weird day, huh?"
"You can say that again! Listen, I've been meaning to ask about the girl with Bolton-"
"Who, Belle? She's alright. Good grades, Matt's little musical prodigy! Bit of a temper, though. Seen her fair share of the cooler."
Rachel nodded, listening intently. "What's her name again?"
"Isabelle Munroe."
Rachel stiffened slightly; although not enough for Eddie, who was watching the students trailing out of the gates from her office window, to notice. She eventually unfroze, and stood to join him. After a moment or two she realised that she was unconsciously searching for the flash of auburn hair that she saw sitting on the grass before school each morning, that she saw through the window earlier that day. Then she picked up on something Eddie had said.
"Musical prodigy?"
Eddie gave an appraising laugh. "Oh yeah, Matt raves about her! Been playing a bunch of instruments for years, I'm sure I've heard him say she writes her own music too? Pretty impressive stuff. She's in the music room after school most days."
Well, that would explain why Rachel couldn't see her outside.
"Do you mind, Eddie, I've got a little bit of paperwork left to fill out. I'll meet you at the pub in a bit?"
Eddie looked at her in surprise, but nodded, bidding her farewell before heading out.
Once he was gone, Rachel made her way to the music room somewhat apprehensively. She heard the piano notes before she even reached the corridor. Pausing at the door, she watched as the young girl poured her heart into the piece.
Belle paused, as if sensing she was being watched, and turned around.
"Miss Mason!" She turned around on the piano seat fully, "Mr Wilding knows I'm here, he gave me permission!"
Rachel smiled, tentatively moving further into the room. "I know that. It's Isabelle, isn't it?" She sat on one of the stools near the piano.
"Uh, yeah. Almost everybody calls me Belle though." She was still unsure of why her headmistress was there, but she wasn't about to ask for fear of seeming rude.
"The piece- it was Chopin, wasn't it?" Rachel asked, smiling at Belle's surprise, "Fantaisie Impromptu?"
"Yeah! Yes, it was! How did you…?" She trailed off, realising that it was a strange question: many people liked classical music, and it was pretentious to think she had a monopoly on the genre. She just wasn't used to others being able to name the pieces she played.
"I used to listen to Chopin a lot in uni," Rachel replied, "I tried playing piano for a while, but I didn't have the patience- especially for that piece!" Her voice softened, "you have a gift."
"Thanks, Miss." Her confusion must have bled into her voice, but before Rachel could explain, Belle's phone started ringing.
She frantically pulled it from her pocket and held it to her ear. "Dad!...no, I'm at school...I'm practicing my piano…" the girl sighed, somewhat panicked, "I'm sorry, alright?...I'll be home as soon as I can!" She put her phone away and grabbed her bags, including what looked like a violin case. She only remembered that she wasn't alone when she got to the door.
"Uh, sorry about that. I'll see you tomorrow, Miss." She shot out the door like a bullet, racing through the hallways of the school in her rush to get home.
"Bye...Isabelle." Rachel said, sighing. Her life and job just got a hundred times more complicated.