It was 12:45pm as Eddie made his way down the corridor towards his classroom. He was relieved he'd bumped into Kim in the corridor and had managed to ask her to get Rachel a sandwich from the canteen to take up to her. He knew she wouldn't eat otherwise.

He groaned when he heard 'Chant of trouble' (as the Teacher's called it), echoing down the hallway.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

He dashed over to the Art Room, pushing his way through the large crowd of students. In the centre of the circle, he found Lauren and Michaela, pushing, shoving and clawing at one another. The chanting from the kids surrounding them was egging them on, causing their actions to become more aggressive.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" He yelled, pulling the two girls apart and sandwiching himself in the middle of them as Michaela lunged for Lauren again

"Oi! That's enough, Michaela! You should know better, you're in Year 11!" he scolded

"Yeah, well, she started it!" Michaela argued, jabbing a finger at Lauren

"Because YOU wouldn't give me MY money back! I'm NOT paying for that rubbish!" Lauren snapped, holding up the drawing

Eddie took the drawing out of her hand, unfolding it. His gaze moved from the drawing and back to the two girls in front of him. He was incredibly confused as to why they were fighting over an innocent drawing of Lauren. If it was a bad drawing, or a drawing used to deliberately make fun of her, it would have made a bit more sense. But the drawing showed no sign of malice or of being inappropriate.

"Will one of you please tell me what's going on?" he demanded

"She's been making Karla sit in the girl's toilets, drawing pictures of students for money!" Lauren explained, shooting a glare at Michaela

"YOUR MOUTH IS BIGGER THAN YOUR ARSE!!" Michaela sneered, lunging for Lauren again

"PACK IT IN!!" Eddie scolded, pulling Michaela away

"She did it, Sir! She's manipulated Karla! Just ask her!" Lauren huffed

Eddie watched as Michaela rolled her eyes. The fact that she wasn't outright denying it made him angry. Michaela had taken advantage of Karla's talent and vulnerability. It was unacceptable. He shouldn't have been surprised by her behaviour really. It wasn't the first time she'd done something like this. Just ask Jasmine Koreshi.

"Where is Karla now?" he questioned

"She ran off, Sir" Lauren answered

Eddie sighed.

"Stay here, both of you. The rest of you, get to class!"

The students filtered out of the classroom, Eddie following behind them. He needed to make sure that Rachel was aware of this, even if she wouldn't be able to help out.

When he saw Kim entering Reception, he shouted her. He was furious with her for not supervising Michaela with this 'Art exhibition'. If she had been there, Karla probably wouldn't have gone AWOL. She was only three days into the job and she'd already caused two disasters!

"What's going on?" Kim asked

"Michaela has caused a riot with this exhibition. She had Karla sitting in the girl's toilets, making other students pay money for Karla to draw them. There was a fight and now Karla has run off and we don't know where she is!" Eddie explained, his tone bitter and angry

Kim swallowed nervously, her heart filling with dread and panic.

"Have you told Rachel?" she asked

"I'm about to. You'd best come with me" he grumbled

Kim sighed, following him up the stairs.

...

Rachel frowned when Kim and Eddie entered her office. Eddie, once again, looked furious. Kim on the other hand, looked nervous, guilty and terrified.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking between the two of them

"There was a fight between Michaela and Lauren during the art exhibition. Michaela has been selling Karla's drawings without her permission and has had her sat in the girl's toilets drawing other students in exchange for money. And now Karla has disappeared" Eddie explained

Rachel sighed, running a hand through her hair as she shifted Grace in her lap. This was the last thing she needed today. First Philip acting up, and now this! All before this afternoon's interviews had even started!

Of course she knew Karla going missing was the most pressing issue. That had to be dealt with before she could even think about anything else. It wasn't the first time she'd run off, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. The slightly reassuring fact was that, in previous incidences where Karla had disappeared, she had always stayed on the school premises.

"Well, she has to be somewhere in the school. We can find her" she reasoned

"I'm so, so sorry, Rachel. This is completely my fault!" Kim sighed

"You should be sorry! YOU were supposed to be looking after Karla and supervising the exhibition!" Eddie grumbled

"I was!!!!" Kim shot back defensively

"Then why are we in this situation? This whole exhibition was a ruse so that Michaela could make money off of Karla's back! YOU should have been able to see what was happening and put a stop to it!" he snapped

"Oh, come on!" Kim scoffed

"If you couldn't manage, you should have let us know!" he pointed out

Rachel sighed heavily. The increasing tension filling the air was making her uncomfortable. She didn't need any of this right now. She couldn't deny it, but when it came to Kim and Eddie she often felt like she was a parent, watching the two of them argue with each other like they were her children. Arguing wouldn't solve anything. They needed to come up with a plan rather than blaming and pointing fingers at each other.

"Ok, let's save the recriminations until later. Right now, we need to focus on Karla"

Their bickering ceased immediately, both of them replying with a silent nod. Kim didn't miss the angry glare Eddie shot at her.

"I'll, uhm-I'll take Grace back to the crèche and I'll search the school. If I can't find her then I'll call the Police and Karla's Mum. And then I'll deal with Michaela and Lauren" Kim decided

Rachel nodded.

"Will you be ok doing the interviews on your own?" Eddie asked Rachel

"Yes, of course" she replied

"Are you sure? I can get someone to cover my lessons?" he checked

"No, it's fine, Eddie, really. Go and teach" she insisted

Eddie nodded reluctantly, turning to Kim.

"You'd better hope nothing has happened to Karla" he growled before storming out of the office

Kim sighed, carefully lifting Grace from Rachel's lap and into her arms.

"I'm really sorry about this, Rachel"

"We'll discuss it later, Kim. Keep me informed, ok?"

Kim nodded.

...

One hour later...

Kim sighed in frustration as Karla's mobile once again went to voicemail. She had searched the school from top to bottom, but there was no sign of her anywhere. The Police and Karla's Mum had been informed.

Kim was panicking. She felt like she was letting everyone down. She hadn't missed the disappointed and slightly frustrated look in Rachel's eyes earlier. Rachel had expected better from her, and Kim had expected better from herself. She'd been too distracted with David to even notice what was going on with Karla and Michaela. Eddie was right, this was her fault. A vulnerable student was potentially in danger because of her.

Michaela had come clean with ease. The money she'd made had been confiscated and locked away in a drawer. For a few moments, Kim had pondered, taking it and giving it to David. The thought was a fleeting one of course. As much as it would solve her problems, it was wrong and would make her just as bad as Michaela. And besides, she could get into a lot of trouble. Despite how desperate she was, she wasn't about to compromise her job.

As Karla's phone went to voicemail again, she grabbed her coat and keys, heading out of her office. She groaned when Eddie stepped out of his classroom.

"Any news?" he asked

"No" she answered calmly

"Where are you going?" he questioned

"Well, I can't just sit here doing nothing. Like you said, I'm the one that's responsible for this" she huffed

She walked away without a second glance, dashing down the stairs.

As she approached the bottom, she almost collided with Danielle and Aleesha.

"Miss? Are you looking for Karla?" Danielle asked

"Yes, I'll let you know when there are any updates, ok? Go back to your class"

"One of the Year 8's saw her running out of the gates" Aleesha cut in

"When?" Kim questioned

"About forty minutes ago" Danielle answered

Kim sighed, her heart starting to race again. A lot could happen in forty minutes. Karla could be anywhere in Rochdale by now. She took a deep breath. Panicking about what could have happened wasn't going to help anything. She could use this information Danielle and Aleesha had given her to find Karla and bring her back safely.

"Thanks, girls. Go to your class and I'll let you know when I find her, ok?"

The two girls nodded, walking back down the corridor.

Kim hastily made her way out into the car park. She grabbed her phone from her pocket, trying Karla's mobile again. When the line finally connected and she heard Karla's voice, she almost cried in relief.

"Karla, it's Miss Campbell here. Where are you?"

"On a road" Karla mumbled, her voice shaking with fear and panic

"Ok... which road?" Kim asked, trying to stay calm as she heard the whooshing of cars in the background

"I don't know... there are loads of cars!!!" Karla panicked, her breathing becoming heavy

"Karla? Karla, take some deep breaths for me" Kim instructed

"I don't where I am, Miss!" she cried

Kim paced up and down nervously, trying to think of something to calm Karla down or to locate her. Having not known Karla very long, she hadn't built that rapport with her and didn't fully understand her needs yet. Davina usually worked with her, and Kim couldn't help but think that if she was here she would know exactly what to do. But she was away on a course. It was just her and Karla.

"Ok, Karla, I need you to look around you. Can you see any buildings?"

For a few moments, Karla's heavy and erratic breathing was the only noise on the line. Kim held her breath, waiting for some kind of response. But nothing came.

"Karla, I can help you. Please talk to me" she added

Her words were once again met with silence. That was when an idea suddenly popped into Kim's head.

"Right, Karla, I know exactly what I want you to do. I want you to imagine that you have to draw your surroundings. I want you to look at every single detail, tell me everything. What would you draw first?"

"A... long road and roundabout..."

Kim sighed silently. Karla had just described any road in the entirety of the UK.

"Can you see anything else?" Kim asked

"There's a... pub with a... green roof"

That was all Kim needed.

"Right, Karla, I know exactly where you are. I want you to stay put, ok? I'll be there soon"