I'll keep you safe

Chapter 147

One hour later...

It was 4:50pm when Eddie and Candeece had finished making all of their phone calls. They were both exhausted. But it had (hopefully) been worth it. They had managed to get all of the Governors and some members of the LEA on side. Mr Evans would be arriving in the next twenty minutes to hear Rachel's decision. Eddie hoped that when she had seen all the support she had she would have no choice but to stay. Eddie now felt like he could walk away from today knowing he'd done everything he could, regardless of the outcome. There was nothing else he could do. It was just a waiting game.

"Mr Lawson? Mr Evans is waiting downstairs" Bridget called from the antechamber

Eddie stood up, taking a deep breath. He made his way out of the office, telling Bridget to pack and go home.

Mr Evans was waiting by the main doors. He smiled politely at Eddie as he approached.

"Mr Lawson, nice to see you again" he greeted, offering his hand for Eddie to shake

Eddie smiled nervously, shaking his hand.

"I've come to see Rachel, is she here?" Mr Evans inquired

"She's currently off premises dealing with an emergency. She should be back soon though" Eddie explained

Mr Evans nodded.

"Hopefully she has changed her mind. It would be unfortunate if she left"

"For the LEA, or for her?" Eddie challenged

"Both, of course"

Eddie nodded.

"The news seems to have spread around the Board and the LEA. I've been inundated with phone calls this afternoon. I assume that's your doing?" Mr Evans continued

"I'm just trying to stop her from making a mistake. I can't just let her walk away" Eddie shrugged

"Well, hopefully all your effort has paid off"

Eddie hoped he was right.

"Why don't we go and wait in my classroom?" he suggested

Mr Evans nodded, following Eddie down the corridor.

...

Ten minutes later...

Rachel sighed as she walked into her office, almost collapsing into her chair. She rubbed a hand across her pounding and slightly clammy forehead. She couldn't deny it, she really wasn't feeling well. She had been having these 'spells' on and off all day. For a certain amount of time she was ok, and then, all of a sudden and without warning, she was feeling extremely unwell again. She hated it.

This current 'spell' of feeling unwell had started just as she was leaving Miss Browitt's office with Paul and Bolton. The drive back to the school had only made it worse. The nausea was churning in her stomach, and the room was starting to spin a little. She couldn't wait to get the Doctor's appointment out the way so she could go home and relax.

Despite how unwell she was feeling, a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Not just for her, but for Bolton and Paul too.

In the last hour, the two boys had written their statements and signed them off before giving them to Miss Browitt. The next steps were for Bolton and Paul to appear in court for Earl's trial, where they would testify against him. Earl's trial date was due to take place later in the New Year, so it was now a waiting game. Denzil would hopefully be released from prison in due course, just in time to spend Christmas with his family.

Rachel was proud of both Bolton and Paul. She knew it hadn't been easy to speak out against a bully, and she knew it would be even harder to do it in a Court of Law in the near future. But they'd both faced their demons head on by speaking up, and she was proud of them for that.