Thank you for the reviews.
I did honestly think that I would get more written when I am in between exams (I passed my last two (one of which was a resit for the one I failed in December)) but motivation had disappeared... and I start my next course on Wednesday so guess what motivation is going to pick up again when it shouldn't...
Also, still haven't caught up with Series 13... should probably do so, or have a rewatch of Series 12 as I know sort of where this story is going but I don't know how to get there...
Six
Andrew understood what was happening. He understood that Rachel had become some weird third party who was making things work between Kim and himself. He wished that it wasn't that way and Kim would have just found it in herself to trust him but he could understand why.
They had been in this position before.
They had played this game before.
And it would always end up with one of them getting hurt.
So Andrew kept to the plan that he was sure Rachel was planning out with help from Kim. He didn't see how it was going to work but he would do anything just to have Kim trust him a little.
Although he thought that he was getting there (or he wondered what magic Rachel had worked) when he was introduced to the staff that morning, with Kim telling them the exact reason why he was there and that they were to carry on as normal. Most of the staff had looked at him like he was something they found on the bottom of their shoe but he half-expected that reaction. They always distrusted him until he showed the staff that he had been in their shoes once.
The problem was that things had, more or less, been quiet at Waterloo Road. There hadn't really been much going on.
It was not the Waterloo Road that Andrew knew.
But no school ever had been or ever would be.
So maybe Andrew was hoping for some sort of trouble so that he would have something to observe and report on. He almost thought he would have to slip someone a tenner to make it happen.
He was walking the corridors just for something to do. After spending a couple of weeks cooped up in one room, he was grateful to have the opportunity to stretch his legs.
Or maybe he was hoping to see Donte that morning but noted his absence. Maybe he was hoping to give his delayed condolences. Maybe he just wanted to see Donte for old times' sake. They had a history after all.
So maybe he did smile when he heard Donte's voice, shouting for his daughter. And maybe he hoped that Izzie was giving Donte as much grief as he had given to him all those years ago.
"Just leave it, Dad." A girl (Andrew assumed Izzie but didn't want to automatically put that name to her) said as she came around the corner, nearly bumping into Andrew.
She didn't even glance at Andrew as she brushed past him but the moment Donte turned the corner, he stopped in his tracks before he realised what he was meant to be doing.
"Izzie, get back here," Donte said.
Izzie pushed open the door to the girl's bathroom that Andrew had passed a few steps ago and he realised that Donte understood why she had done that by the groan of frustration.
Donte turned back to him and Andrew knew that he was probably as lost as he felt as a kid.
"At least you know she is yours." Andrew tried to joke. "You were a pain in the backside as well."
"It hasn't been easy," Donte said.
Andrew sighed. "I know. And please accept my… delayed condolences. I didn't know until a couple of weeks ago. It's going to be one of those things that I will always know where I was and who told me. A stand-out memory. Like when I found out that Izzie had died."
For a boy (now man) who had so many emotions, Andrew could see that Donte still tried to push it all down. Meaning that Andrew wasn't really surprised to hear that all of his emotions had exploded in anger. Under the 'bad boy' exterior, Donte was as soft as they came. Which wasn't a bad thing. But Andrew was sure that there were only a few people that saw that soft side. And the one that had always seen it was gone.
"That comforts me sometimes. That Chlo is back with her mum. Probably up there, fighting like they always did." Donte said.
"Probably over you still."
"Maybe for good reason. I'm not going to win any 'father of the year' prizes."
"From being an outside observer, I've always thought that the mothers automatically win that award. Some rightfully so. Some a bit dubious. But the fathers." Andrew sighed. "It doesn't seem so easy."
Andrew wished that he never said anything. Because he started thinking about Dex and how close they became and the moment Andrew realised that Dex was turning to him as the father figure in his life. And then about how Dex became ill and how it all went downhill from there. As horrible as it was, a child should bury their parents. Not a parent burying their child.
"But I am sure she knows how much you've done and will do for her." Andrew continued after a moment of silence. "You can do idiotic things but there is always so much heart behind it."
"If anyone has a list, I'm sure it is you," Donte said.
"Well, I am sure that we can both laugh over our first meeting now."
"Nah, I'm not over the 'citizen' arrest."
If Andrew didn't know Donte well enough, it would have been hard to know whether Donte was joking as he said it quite seriously. But Andrew could see it in little changes to his body language.
"Dad?"
Andrew turned to the girl and he could instantly see so many aspects of Donte in her. But also Chlo. And the grandmother that she had been named after.
"Iz… this is Mr Treneman," Donte said.
"Donte, I think we can drop the formality." Andrew turned to Izzie. "I'm Andrew. I was your father's teacher." He sighed. "The last time I saw you, you were a baby. Must have only been a few weeks old."
"Oh yeah," Donte said. "You came back for that charity event Mason put on to distract Campbell. That was right after you were born, Iz."
"I also knew your mother. And her mother. Your namesake. At least I know that the Redpath blood is still in there. I think it makes for strong, independent women."
Izzie looked rather unsure and even turned to Donte for some support.
"I tell you what, if you can get the story of how Granddad and Treneman met, I'll tell you about our first meeting?" Donte said.
"Why? What happened between them?" Izzie asked.
Andrew did smile at the memory that rose in his mind of Clarence Charles jumping out of the classroom with his hands and feet tied with ties.
"It was nice to see you again, Donte," Andrew said, knowing when he had overstayed his welcome. "And nice to meet you properly, Izzie."
Andrew knew that he wouldn't be called back into the conversation and that if he wanted to talk to Donte more, then he would have to seek him out at some point. But Andrew was just glad that he had made initial contact. Because Andrew felt like he had got a little caught up in things when he returned before and never got to say everything that he did to Chlo. And now he never would.
There were more people aware of her connection to Kim than Holly would have liked but it was hard to keep it a secret. Kim was her auntie and her mum's best friend. If there was something that Holly knew that she couldn't talk to her mum about, then she would go to her auntie, knowing that her mum would end up knowing but that was part of her confidence in Kim. Holly was sure that Kim would only tell her mum if she felt it was necessary.
The news of Andrew had spread like wildfire and so had the rumours around why he was there. Holly wished that she could part with the knowledge that she had but she didn't feel like anyone would believe her.
To give Andrew his dues, he had glanced over to her and made no move to acknowledge that they knew each other. It was slightly hard to ignore when Holly gave him a small smile. Because she was sure that he felt like he had to return it as he walked past their table with Mr Casey.
"Another teacher she knows," Lola said.
"He's not a teacher," Holly said.
"He's the one that is here to close the school then," Sammy said.
"He isn't," Holly said. "He works with Mum and…"
"And nothing. Miss Campbell's going to be out of a job and we are all going to be split up as we go to different schools."
"That isn't Andrew's way."
"Ohh, Andrew. You are on first name terms?" Abbie said.
Holly didn't even give her a reply. Just a glare.
"What is he like then, Hol?" Charlie said.
Holly turned to him and she couldn't be more grateful for him. They had been friends since primary school and she was sure that Charlie did step into the hole that Dex left. Dex was meant to be her best friend. Her partner in crime. The one that she had to be separated from to get anything done. She was like that with Charlie and she knew that she couldn't compare him to Dex but part of her wished (with her mum and Kim) that Dex was still there.
"Miss Campbell has always said that he was firm but fair as a teacher. She didn't really rate him when they first met but she said that he would be in her top 3 of the best teachers she has ever worked with. Mum says that he has taken that approach into the work that he does for the LEA. He is here to help. If there was anyone else here, I would be with you and say that the school is screwed but Andrew isn't like that."
No one could really say anything to the contrary. No one else knew Andrew.
And it marked the end of the conversation between her and her friends. A couple of friends had clubs to get to and the ones that were left weren't that interested in how she knew people. Most of them now assumed that if she knew anyone in a school setting, it was due to her mum. Not that they really knew who her mum was or why she was so well known.
Although there was someone outside of her friendship group who seemed to know exactly who her mum was and Holly couldn't understand why.
And it was the thought that returned to her when the girl dropped into the seat next to her. Her friends seemed surprised. Maybe because of the school hierarchy and the fact that no year 8 would want to sit with a bunch of year 7s. Especially one that had only joined the school recently as well.
"What you know then?"
Her friends (rightfully) gave Holly looks that were every shade of 'who the fuck is this?' without saying those words. If she knew, she would tell them.
This was the first time that Esme had approached Holly while she had been with her friends. Often, it had been just in the corridor, with Esme giving some strange remark that Holly didn't understand and didn't really know who to go to about it. Kim would be her first choice but Holly wasn't sure whether she would make any more sense of it than Holly did. And she certainly wasn't going to repeat the things to her mum.
"He's here to help the school," Holly said.
"Great?! Mum's going to be insufferable." Esme said, getting up and walking away without another word.
"Who the hell was that?" Sammy said.
"I'm… not entirely sure. I've found out that her name is Esme but… I don't know. She has said little things to me about my mum. I just… don't understand them."
"Like?" Charlie said.
"She a slut and that she was surprised that she had a daughter."
"And she just said this to you? Randomly?"
"Yes. I don't know how she would even know anything about Mum but there are other things that she has said which I know are true. Like the fact that Mum was badly injured when there was a fire at one of the schools that she was headteacher at. I just don't know how Esme would know that as it happened in 2008. Before we were both born."
"Maybe it has something to do with her parents then." Sammy offered. "They obviously knew your mum."
"But how?" Holly said. "And how does she know who I am when I haven't the first idea who she is?"