Eddie was in his classroom, marking and enjoying the peace of his free lesson.

He smiled as Rachel opened the door, stepping into the room. They hadn't seen each other since this morning. He didn't know about the situation with Maaka and Davina yet. She needed to tell him, she wanted his advice. Things like this rarely happened, and she didn't want to deal with it in the wrong way.

"So, this is where you're hiding?" she smiled, leaning against the door

"Yes, I'm sorry. I was going to pop by and see you. I just got caught up"

"You and me both" she sighed

He knew instantly that something was wrong.

"What's happened?" he asked

"It's Davina. According to Maaka, she was racist toward him. He's made a formal complaint, Eddie!" she explained

Eddie frowned

"That can't be right, surely? Davina isn't like that!"

"It doesn't matter what we think, Eddie! This is serious! We have to investigate it!" she huffed, putting a hand to her head as she paced up and down the room anxiously

"What are you going to do?" he asked

"I guess I'll speak with her" she shrugged

She sighed heavily

"I just really don't need this right now" she whispered

Eddie went over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. For just a few minutes, Rachel's world and all of her problems melted away. She loved the way he was able to ground her and bring her back down to earth in seconds, using only his touch or his words.

"What can I do?" he asked gently

"I don't know- nothing really. I'm dealing with it. I just needed to tell you what was going on" she sighed, pulling away from him

Eddie nodded

"Did you speak to Philip at break time?" he enquired

Rachel nodded, sighing heavily as she recalled the conversation.

"Yes, it was pointless! I don't know why I bothered! He thinks we don't care about him, Eddie!"

"We do, Rach"

"I know we do. But evidently it's not registering with him that we do, because he's wandering off with the likes of Earl Kelly!" she huffed

"Rach, we just have to give him some time, let him settle in and find his feet, yeah? Remember, he's been through a lot. He's not used to having people in his life who care about him. Just let the dust settle, he'll make other friends and will eventually move away from Earl Kelly, ok?" he reasoned

Rachel nodded, unconvinced

At that exact moment, Tom stormed into Eddie's classroom, his eyes filled with rage.

"It's Earl Kelly, I've just caught him with Maxine Barlow in the toilets" he explained

Rachel groaned. That was the last thing she needed today.

There was another knock on the door, this time it was Davina.

"Bridget said you wanted to see me, Rachel?"

Rachel was becoming more and more stressed. She needed to talk to Davina, but she also needed to deal with Earl and Tom. She didn't know who to deal with first. It was one of those days where she needed to be in two places at once.

"Yes, uhm... Tom, give me a second and I'll,"

Tom scoffed, rolling his eyes

"Rachel, this needs sorting now!" he demanded

Rachel sighed.

Davina would have to wait.

"Right, lead the way. Davina, I'll catch up with you later, ok?"

Davina nodded tentatively, watching as Rachel and Tom headed down the corridor.

...

When Rachel walked into the cooler, Maxine and Earl were sat together, sniggering. Rachel rolled her eyes. She really didn't need this right now. She wished she'd taken up Eddie's offer and let him help.

"Back to class, Maxine" Rachel instructed

Maxine stood up, placing her bag on her shoulder. She smirked at Earl on her way out.

Rachel sighed, turning to Earl.

"I think we both know what was going on in those toilets, Earl. It's a serious breach of school rules"

Earl rolled his eyes

"Now, normally, you'd spend two days in isolation, away from Maxine Barlow," she continued

"What?" Earl spat

"But instead, Mr Clarkson and I will arrange a meeting with your Mother to discuss your future. I can't stop you and Maxine associating outside the school gates. But in here, it's a different matter, right?"

Earl nodded quietly

"Go on. Get on your way" she ordered

Earl stood up, looking Mr Clarkson up and down.

"He hates me... and my family" he spat, turning to Rachel

Tom smiled sarcastically

"I don't hate anybody"

Earl raised an eyebrow at him, glancing at Rachel before turning away.

Rachel sighed, heading for the door. But Tom wasn't finished.

"The lad is unhinged, Rachel! He needs sorting out!"

Rachel turned to face him. She was beginning to wonder if this grudge Tom had against Earl Kelly was personal.

"Tom, I'm aware of your home circumstances in relation to the Kelly's"

Tom looked at her, perplexed. Everyone knew about his living situation by now.

"Yeah? And?" he questioned

Rachel sighed

"Is it beginning to affect your dealings with this family at school?" she asked

"No!" Tom shot back defensively

"Well, it's just... Davina and the supply teacher, and now this,"

"What happened with Davina?" he questioned, cutting her off mid-sentence

Rachel paused

"Nothing... it's just... you're both struggling at the moment," she started

"It's probably sleep deprivation, it hardly sets you up for the day!" he argued

"That's why I'm worried"

"We're dealing with it. I am right about Earl Kelly, Rachel. We haven't seen the half of what he's capable of" he huffed, walking out of the cooler

Rachel sighed.

...

Steph was heading up to the cooler, after receiving a vague email from Tom. Maxine was in trouble, and there was no doubt in her mind that Earl had something to do with it.

As she walked up the stairs, she passed Earl. He glared at her.

"What's gone on now?" she asked

"Nothing for you to stick your fat oar into!" he spat, dashing passed her

Steph scoffed

Tom approached her on the stairs, a defeated and angry look plastered on his face.

"God, that Earl Kelly is a cheeky flamin article!" she grumbled

"You're telling me!"

"Is Maxine in trouble?" she asked

"No, Rachel let them off with a slapped wrist" Tom huffed, rolling his eyes

"Let them off with what?" Steph frowned

"You'll have to ask Maxine, Steph. I'm not Clark Kent, I can't see through toilet doors" he shrugged

Steph sighed

"What's happened?" she asked

"I caught them in the loo... together" he told her

Steph groaned. She'd had enough of this now.

"Right, that's it... I'm going to see that Mother of his!" she decided

"Believe me, you don't want to do that" he warned

"Tom, I am not having Maxine hooking up with another dead-leg! No way!" she snapped adamantly, walking down the stairs

Tom sighed. He knew Steph was worried about Maxine. She had a lot of potential and was finally doing well at school. Steph didn't want her to throw it all away because of Earl Kelly.

"Steph, wait!" he called after her

She rolled her eyes, turning to face him with her arms folded.

"Look, I'll come with you. I've got an estate agent coming to value the house in half an hour. Let me get my stuff from the staffroom and we'll go"

Steph nodded, following him back upstairs.

...

Rachel walked back into Eddie's classroom, closing the door behind her. She sat on one of the tables, closing her eyes as she took a few deep breaths. Her head was pounding.

"What's happened?" Eddie asked, walking over to her gently

She opened her eyes, staring at him painfully.

"I need your help. This thing with Davina, can you be in my office while I talk to her, please?" she requested

"Of course" he nodded

She sighed in relief, resting her head on his chest for a moment to ground herself.

Eddie rubbed his hands up and down her arms soothingly. He could feel the stress radiating off her.

"It's going to be ok, Rach" he promised

She nodded

Eddie pulled apart from her, smiling at her reassuringly

"Come on, let's go and get this sorted, yeah?"

They headed over to Rachel's office. Rachel asked Bridget to go and find Davina for her.

"What happened with Earl and Maxine?" Eddie asked as he made them both a hot drink

"Not much. I'll bring Rose in to discuss Earl's behaviour, that's all we can do. I don't think Tom agreed though" she shrugged

"What do you mean?" He questioned, handing her a cup of tea

Rachel sighed, taking the cup from him gratefully.

"Earl is convinced that Tom hates him. Of course I don't believe that. But I am wondering if maybe having the Kelly's as neighbours is affecting Tom's judgment at work. Earl isn't a bad kid, he's just lacking direction, you know? We can sort that if we give him a chance. And besides, I can't expel him for being locked in a toilet with Maxine, can I? Even if we did know what happened in there, we can't prove it"

"You're right, Rach. We can't expel him for that" he agreed

"But Tom thinks we should. Eddie, he told me he thought Earl was unhinged!"

Eddie scoffed

"That's a bit farfetched, isn't it?"

"Yes!"

"We'll just have to keep an eye on things, Rach. It's all we can do" he shrugged

She nodded

Davina knocked on the door, smiling politely at Rachel and Eddie.

"Have a seat, Davina" Rachel instructed calmly

Davina sat down, suddenly feeling nervous. Something was wrong, she knew it. She could sense it in the way Rachel was wringing her hands together nervously.

Rachel cleared her throat before speaking.

"Uhm- Davina, there's no easy way of telling you this... Maaka Lacey is making a formal complaint against you" she explained

Davina stared at her, dumfounded.

"A formal complaint? It's ME who should be complaining! He's not teaching those kids anything! I mean, he shouted at Karla! He even shouted at me!"

"Davina, I've tried my best to avoid this, but I have to follow a procedure" Rachel informed her, trying her best to remain calm

Davina scoffed lightly, leaning back on the chair with her arms folded

"So, what? Do I need to get my Union involved?" she questioned

Rachel sighed, glancing at Eddie painfully. She really didn't want to do this. But she had no choice.

"It would be a good idea to speak with them, yes. No doubt Grantly will advise you on your position" Rachel nodded

Davina rolled her eyes. This was completely unfair!

"Why am I getting the blame?" she snapped

"No one is getting the blame" Eddie cut in

"Well, it sounds like it" Davina retorted

"It is just a procedure, and it's one that I'm hoping we can solve with mediation" Rachel reasoned

"We'll have to pull you out of Maaka's classes. You can sit in with me next lesson" Eddie added

Davina scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Yeah, just move me. Don't tackle the real issue" she mumbled

"Davina, there is no issue! He's a supply teacher!" Rachel argued

Davina sighed angrily.

"It's pretty obvious who is going to be believed then" she huffed

She stood up, storming out of the office, despite Rachel's protests.

Rachel sighed, putting her head in her hands.

"It's fine, Rach. You're doing the right thing. It's just procedure. I'll talk to her, ok?" Eddie reassured

Rachel nodded, watching him leave.

...

Davina walked into the staffroom, followed by Steph and Tom.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Grantly. She couldn't believe she was saying this, but she needed his advice.

She sat down beside him.

"Grantly? You know if another teacher makes an accusation towards you,"

Grantly scowled at her

"Oh, is this about you giving our 'Antipodean' Supply Teacher a hard time? 'Oh hello! I'm not actually a teacher yet, but I'll tell you how to do your job! Oh, by the way, your country is 20 years behind the times!'"

Davina rolled her eyes.

"I'll give you a word of warning, Miss Shackleton, be careful what you say to people..."

He stood up, glaring at Steph.

"It has a way of coming back and biting you on the backside!"

He stormed off

Davina sighed heavily. Even Grantly wasn't on her side with this one. No one was.

She stood up, walking over to Tom.

"Are you ok?" he asked

"No, he's made a formal,"

"Right, I'm ready! Bullet proof vest, the lot!" Steph interrupted

Davina frowned at Tom.

"Don't ask. We'll talk when I get back" he told her, leaving with Steph

Davina took a deep breath to steady her nerves and to calm her anxiety.

How could things have gone so wrong in the space of one day?