The Final Straw- A Reddie Fanfiction

Chapter One

He was doing her head in. He was driving her crazy. She couldn't stand him. His smug face made her feel sick, and the sound of his voice made her ears ache. Never had she ever met a man who was so vile and narcissistic. He disgusted her and she was sick of him.

Max Tyler was the worst man she had ever worked with. She wished she had never gone through with this merger with John Foster's, and then maybe she'd never have met him.

She was sick of him undermining her, questioning every decision she made. She was sick of him trying to take over every aspect of the school, including attempting (and failing) to manage student behaviour. She was sick of him blaming her when his plans went wrong. She was sick of her office no longer being her own, she was sick of having to sit at the table instead of her desk, which he now occupied. She was sick of his snarky and mildly sexist comments. She was sick of it all.

They had been at each other's throats for the last 6 months, since day one really. Rachel had, initially, liked Max. He was a driven and committed man, something every Head Teacher needed. It only took her less than two hours of knowing him to realise he was also arrogant, sexist, rude and manipulative. Those qualities outweighed his drive and commitment.

This morning had been the final straw for Rachel. She was furious with Max, more than before.

...

Four hours ago...

It had started the minute she had parked up at the school. She was late, due to having a prenatal check up at the hospital. Max hadn't been too happy about it, but she didn't care. The health of hers and Eddie's baby was more important. She had informed him well in advance that the appointment was taking place; he couldn't say he'd sprung it on her at the last minute. What more could she do?

Her brow had furrowed in confusion when she saw Philip, her own nephew, scrubbing away at the stone steps leading into school with a sponge.

Philip had moved back in with Melissa six months ago. Rachel hadn't wanted him to go; she liked having his and Eddie's company in her home. She was also still furious with Melissa for abandoning him by leaving him on her and Eddie's doorstep last year and then disappearing without a word, before re-appearing again a few months later. But it had been Philip's choice to give his Mum one last chance. So, in the summer, Eddie had helped him to pack up his room and they had (reluctantly) moved him back into Melissa's. As far as she knew, it was going well. Rachel missed him, but as long as he was happy, that was all that mattered. She wasn't entirely convinced that he was.

Since he had left, Philip had kept his distance from Rachel, no matter what she'd tried. She had invited him around for dinner countless times. She had offered to take him bowling, the cinema. You name it- she'd tried it. He'd had an excuse every single time. Even at school when she saw him in the corridor, he turned and walked in the other direction. She wasn't sure if his behaviour was down to Melissa, filling his ears and brain with poison about her, or if it was something else. She hadn't really had chance to talk to him at all.

Now was her chance.

She got out of the car, walking over to Philip. She stopped in front of him. Philip looked up at her, smiling awkwardly.

"Hi, Rach" he mumbled

"Hi, what are you doing?" She replied, nodding to the sponge and bucket

"Mr Tyler is making me do it... as punishment" he explained

"Punishment? For what?" She frowned

"Answering back" he told her

Rachel's confusion only increased. It wasn't like Philip to answer back. He wasn't the type to lash out in any way. Not unless there was something going on at home.

"You talked back to Mr Tyler? Why?" She asked

"Felt like it" he shrugged

Rachel sighed.

"Philip,"

"He was being rude. I just snapped at him"

"What did he say?" She questioned

Philip ignored her, continuing to scrub at the steps. He wasn't going to repeat what Mr Tyler had said about his Auntie. It was too painful.

"Philip?" Rachel prompted

"It doesn't matter, Rach. This is my punishment" he sighed

Rachel shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe Max was making him do this as punishment for answering back! Of course she didn't tolerate 'back chatting' of any kind (student or teacher), but this was ridiculous! She had only been away for an hour and Max had already caused chaos! She dreaded to think the damage he would cause if she let him take over the school permanently. Thank goodness Eddie was taking over whilst she was on maternity leave.

"Get up, Philip" she instructed

"It's fine, Rach" he mumbled

"No, it's not. Get up! You're going to the cooler and I will be speaking to Max"

Philip shook his head.

"Philip! Up, now!" She demanded

Philip finally gave in, standing up.

"Now, will you please tell me what's going on? Why did you snap at Mr Tyler?"

"Just leave it, Rach"

"No, Philip, I can't. What's going on? This isn't like you" she reasoned

Philip looked away from her.

"Is everything alright at home?" She asked

He nodded.

Rachel gave up, knowing she wasn't going to get any more information out of him. She was wasting her time. If she was going to get through to him, she needed to do it in a calmer environment.

"What are you doing tonight?" she asked

"Well, I"

"In fact, actually, this invitation isn't optional. You are coming to me and Eddie for dinner tonight and we are going to talk. No arguments, ok?" she interrupted, knowing Philip was about to make yet another excuse to get out of seeing her

"Ok" he mumbled

"Right, can I trust you to get yourself to the cooler?"

Philip nodded.

"Go on then, go" she instructed

Rachel watched him walk away. She made a mental note to make a phone call to Melissa. She knew her sister wouldn't care about her son's wellbeing or behaviour, but maybe she could give her some answers as to why he was behaving so strangely. Maybe she had a new boyfriend, or had gotten herself into some kind of trouble and had forced him to keep it a secret from Rachel. Whatever it was, she was going to find out.

She was furious with Max. She agreed that actions had consequences, but this wasn't the right way to go about things. She would be having words with Max Tyler today.