An hour later, Davina and Maaka were in the middle of another lesson. The free lesson they'd had hadn't done anything to fix the tension between them. As soon as they'd left the office, Maaka had disappeared for the whole hour, only re-appearing when the bell went.
Not wanting to cause any more trouble, Davina sat at the back of the classroom, observing. The topic of the lesson was supposed to be History related. But, once again, it had turned into a lesson based around the life of Maaka Lacey. Sure, it was... interesting. But was it historical and on topic with the GCSE curriculum? No.
Of course, she didn't dare challenge Maaka now. Not after he'd accused her of being racist toward him. It was unfair really, since she'd done nothing of the sort. All she had done was inform him of Waterloo Road's policies on homophobia.
She watched, cringing as Maaka demonstrated some kind of ritual from his culture to the kids. There were mixed reactions in the room. Some of the kids were bored and unimpressed, others were mesmerised. But they all clapped when he'd finished, which only seemed to boost Maaka's ego.
"Ka Mate is a Haka, and it's over 200 years old. It means the celebration of life over death" Maaka explained
"Sir?" Karla spoke up, placing her hand in the air
Maaka ignored her, about to continue speaking. But Karla cut him off.
"We should be doing the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany" she informed him
"Please don't interrupt, that's very rude" Maaka scolded, glaring at her
"I'm not being rude; I'm just stating a fact. The Maori Culture is not on the History GCSE syllabus" she replied
"Well, that's your loss. Today we're going to be learning a little about MY heritage" he shot back
"If it's not on the syllabus, there's no point" she answered back plainly
Maaka glared at her again
"You are a very ill-mannered young lady" he snarled
Davina had, had enough.
"Excuse me, Mr Lacey, Karla doesn't mean to be rude,"
"Thank you, Miss Shackleton. When I need your advice, I'll ask for it" he barked, cutting her off
The class erupted with laughter as Maaka stormed over to Karla.
"Let me tell you something, young lady. If the Maori Culture isn't on your syllabus, then, to coin a phrase, IT BLOODY WELL SHOULD BE!"
Karla flinched
"And when I'm in charge, I'll tell YOU what is and isn't on the syllabus!" he added
"It's not up to you what is and is not on the syllabus... it's up to the exam board!" Karla rushed, her whole body trembling
Davina stood up, walking over to Karla to try and calm her down.
"Sit down!" Maaka barked at her
Davina ignored him, kneeling down beside Karla
"It's alright, Karla, you are absolutely right" she reassured
"Miss Shackleton, sit down! I haven't finished!"
"But you can't," she stuttered
"NOW!" he yelled
Davina sighed, trying her best to calm the fury that was rising within her.
"Can I have a word with you Mr Lacey? Outside please" she requested through gritted teeth
YOU ARE READING
I'll keep you safe
FanfictionWhen Rachel goes through a horrific trauma at the end of the school term, will Eddie be there for her? (Set at the end of series three of Waterloo Road)
