WARNING:
EMOTIONAL CONTENT.
Includes mentions of death of a parent, bereavement, panic attacks, struggles with fertility, marriage breakdown, emotional distress.

Elated that she had found some pretty damming evidence, Eloise rushed to find Principal Rogerson. Elliott and Zee followed after her, though Elliott slowed down his pace as he processed what he had discovered.

His brother Jacob had always been the rebellious one. He loved the lavish lifestyle that the Brown's had, but he didn't like the restrictive rules. But this? Destroying school property would not attract potential business partners and clientelle, that's for sure.

"Principal Rogerson!", called out Eloise, running through the halls.

"No running in the halls!", shouted one of the teachers.

"Sorry Miss! Have you seen Principal Rogerson?"

The teacher shook her head, making Eloise frown. She slowed down, poking her head in some of the open classrooms. She poked her head into Aahan's classroom, momentarily stopping when she saw Aahan sitting down and watching Rowan and Irene, who were pointing to a presentation on the board.

"And with this plan, we'll be able to improve the efficiency of your award mission, whilst also making sure we learn the history content in time for our exams", explained Rowan.

"What's going on in here?", asked Eloise.

"Ah, Eloise!", smiled Aahan. "Come here, Rowan and Irene have created this brilliant powerpoint that makes it so easy to divide our time between content and the, arguably more important, award mission."

"Right...", said Eloise, dragging the word out. "Sounds cool, but have you seen Principal Rogerson?"

"The last time I saw him he was in his office", replied Aahan. "Why? Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, we found loads of evidence that puts me in the clear about the whole greenhouse vandalism", answered Eloise, before turning back to Zee and Elliott. "Come on!"

The trio left, but Elliott fell behind. He quickly pulled out his phone and searched for Jacob's number. His finger hovering over Jacob's name, Elliott wondered about what the repercussions would be for Eloise. The pair weren't particularly close, but second only to Zee, she was one of the most useful people in terms of knowing things about other people.

If Elliott was a part of the team that helped clear Eloise's name, he could ask for any favour he wanted from her.

But was that really worth handing in his brother?

Back in Aahan's classroom, Aahan stood up from his seat. Rowan was closing the presentation down and logging out of the computer, and Irene was watching what she assumed was the cogs in Aahan's brain turning.

"Sir, are you ok?", she asked.

Aahan nodded. "Yes. Uh, actually... what do you two know about this greenhouse? Why is all this drama such a big deal?"

"I am almost certain it's because Pepperden Private school are involved", replied Rowan. "I don't think Principal Rogerson would be as strict if it was just something that involved this school, but blaming a Pepperden student is just asking for trouble."

"Our schools have had a rivalry since... well, forever!", added Irene. "It was just some friendly competition at first, but then it kind of became a sort of class divide issue, I suppose. Pepperden pupils didn't want to associate with kids that didn't come from the rich lifestyle that they did."

Rowan nodded. "And pupils from our school thought that they were trying to say that they were better than us."

"Wow...", said Aahan.

"It can't be easy for Principal Rogerson, having to navigate this tricky situation still being a new Principal", said Irene.

The cogs in Aahan's brain turned even faster, a lightbulb going off in his head. A smile appeared on his face, confusing Irene and Rowan.

"Sorting out this problem for him would be a good way to get him on my side", said Aahan. "And what better way to get votes for the teaching award than getting endorsed by the Principal of my school?"

Aahan jumped up from his seat, startling Rowan and Irene. He ran to the door, grabbing his phone and keys.

"Sir, where are you going?", asked Rowan.

"To join Eloise's investigation", he said, before leaving the classroom.

Rowan and Irene looked at each other for a few seconds. In unison, the pair nodded at each other and left to follow Aahan.

Meanwhile, in one of the empty toilet stalls, Elliott was on the phone.

"Jacob, finally! Why did it take you so long to pick up?"

"I have a life to live, little bro", he replied.

Elliott groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Listen, we have a problem", said Elliott.

"Don't tell me, that Bee girl still isn't interested?"

"What? No! I-look, did you really destroy our school's greenhouse?"

There was a pause, followed by the sound of coughing.

"Uh... no. What are you talking about?"

"Jacob, it's me! You know you don't have to lie."

Jacob sighed.

"Alright, fine! Yeah, it was me."

"Why would you do that?"

"It's not that big of a deal! All the boys were saying how cool it would be if someone put those low lives in their place. So I just... did it."

"But if father finds out-"

"He's not going to, is he? And anyway, how did you know it was me?"

"You left your blazer."

"What? Oh, cr*p!"

"Yeah."

"Oh cr*p, cr*p! Elliott, you've got to help me!"

"Help you? How?"

"Get rid of my blazer."

"Jacob, we all saw the blazer!"

"Wait, did you all see my name?"

"No, just me."

"Good! Then just hide it somewhere and pretend someone took the evidence."

"Why would someone take a blazer?"

"To cover their tracks."

"But then Principal Rogerson will open up a proper investigation-"

"Does he already suspect someone?"

"Uh... yeah. This girl in my year, Eloise."

"Great! Just say she made it up."

"You want me to say she imagined seeing a blazer that two other people saw?"

"Look, I don't know! Just figure something out!"

Before Elliott could respond, Jacob ended the call.

"Great. Just great."

¤¤¤

"Sir, I'm telling you, we have evidence that proves I didn't wreck the greenhouse", said Eloise.

She was leading the group to the greenhouse, an excited bounce in her step. Aahan was to her right and Michael was to her left. Spencer and Atlas noticed the commotion earlier, and joined them.

"I really hope you are not wasting my time here", said Principal Rogerson.

Eloise swung open the door to the greenhouse, a triumphant smile on her face. She pointed to the blue trowels.

"These trowels belong to Pepperden", said Eloise. "And, this blazer-"

Eloise looked down at where she left the blazer, surprised when she saw that it was no longer there. She looked around, questioning if she had left it in another place.

Principal Rogerson sighed, folding his arms and shaking his head. "Alright, enough of the games."

"I'm not-Sir, I'm serious", said Eloise. "There was a Pepperden blazer right here!"

"Well where is it now?"

"I... I don't know", she said, her eyes meeting with Zee's. "But Zee was there! She saw it too!"

Zee nodded. "She's right."

"Right, you expect me to believe your friend wouldn't cover for you?"

"I wouldn't call us friends", said Zee.

"But... but what about the trowels! They clearly belong to Pepperden."

"It's not unusual for schools close by to share equipment", replied Principal Rogerson.

Eloise frowned. "Wait! I was in history class when it happened, so it couldn't have been me!"

"I don't think it would take a long time to destroy the greenhouse", said Principal Rogerson. "In fact, it certainly looks like a rushed job."

Eloise frowned and she felt her grip on the situation loosen. She desperately looked around at the others for help, but no one knew what to say.

"Please, Sir... it really wasn't me", she said.

Principal Rogerson exhaled sharply. "Listen-"

"It was me."

The group turned to look at the small shed. Maurice emerged from the shed, a white trench coat on. He walked towards the group, giving Eloise a very subtle nod when he looked at her.

"Maurice? What are you talking about?", asked Principal Rogerson.

"The damages. I did 'em. And I used the other trowels so no one would suspect it was me."

"But why?"

"I'm sick of the kids running around here, leaving litter", said Maurice. "I work hard to look after this place. Since I was a little boy, my old man taught me how important it is to do a job well. These kids, they have no real regard for this place. I... I wanted you to ban the students from coming in here, so I could work in peace."

Eloise couldn't believe it. Even if she didn't know the Pepperden students were behind this, she still wouldn't have believed Maurice. He loved it when the students came into the greenhouse. He said it brightened up his day to hear them ask questions about all the different plants.

"Why come clean now?", questioned Principal Rogerson.

Maurice sighed, looking at Eloise. "She's a good kid, really. She's always been kind to me. And she respects the greenhouse. I never meant for anyone to get in serious trouble. It ain't fair that she should take the blame for something she didn't do."

Principal Rogerson narrowed his eyes when he looked at Maurice, clearly thinking about what his next move should be. Eloise saw a glimpse of uncertainty in his eyes, giving her hope that Maurice wouldn't be reprimanded. She didn't mind getting in trouble if it meant Maurice was ok.

Principal Rogerson couldn't help but think back to the day the school inspector came.

Ruby stood there, irritation worn plainly on her face.

"But you're still the same big baby who refuses to grow up. Your flimsy leadership led to poor Rowan Sterling being humiliated when you should've stepped in the minute the students started teasing him."

Without wanting it to, a distant memory he had tried to block came into his head. A memory that changed his life.

Ruby paced up and down the living room, burying her face in her hands. She had black box braids that reached her hips. She was wearing black trousers and a white top.

"Baby, please", pleaded Michael.

"You promised me you wouldn't tell anyone until I spoke to my grandma."

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry."

"Michael, you told Paige! I would've possibly understood if you told your parents, but you told Paige I was pregnant!"

"I'm so sorry, Ruby. She's just, you know, we've been really good friends since forever. And you know how persuasive she can be."

Ruby shook her head, waving her finger from side to side.

"Nu-uh, you are not pinning this on her", she said, before groaning. "God, Michael how are we supposed to bring a baby into this world when you're still a man child yourself?"

Michael frowned. "Ruby... I know I messed up. I just got so excited about us having a baby. Rubes, you're going to be the best mum ever."

Ruby frowned, shaking her head. She sat down on the sofa, across from Michael. When she didn't say anything, Michael stood up from his chair and knelt in front of her.

"Ruby, what is it?"

Ruby exhaled shakily.

"There is no baby."

Michael furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Wh-what?"

"The test was faulty. I took three more yesterday, and today I got my period."

Michael's face softened. He reached out and took Ruby's hands in his. He gently kissed them, closing his eyes as he resting his forehead on them. Ruby kissed his head, nuzzling her face into his hair.

"Listen to me, honey, me and you? We're going to get through this together, ok?"

Ruby looked at him, her face expressionless. After a few seconds, the sadness and worry broke through.

"Are we? Or are you going to run when it gets tough?", she questioned. "Like you always do."

"Ruby..."

"It's what you always do, Michael. You run when it comes to taking any sort of action, responsibility or even accountability for your actions. But you're at Paige's beckoned call whenever she needs you to fill up seats at her regular pub trips."

Michael frowned. "I know–"

"And you don't seem to have any regard for what I want. I asked you a very simple thing. All I wanted was for you to let me tell my grandma about the pregnancy because of how close we are and the fact that I haven't gotten to see her in years, but no. You had to disregard what I wanted!"

Michael remained silent, processing what Ruby said. This wasn't the first time they had argued about him spending so much time with Paige, or about him not showing any authority. It wasn't even that Ruby didn't like Paige—she did. But she still had growing up to do herself, and whenever the pair were together they were only concerned about having fun and forgetting about every job they had to do.

"Ok... why don't we go to a marriage counsellor?", suggested Michael. "I know you've suggested it before but please, let me prove I'm serious about making this work."

Ruby sighed. "I think it's too late, Michael. I can't keep getting my hopes up that you'll change."

Michael shook his head, tears forming in his eyes.

"Ruby, please..."

Ruby felt a lump form in her throat, and her vision became slightly blurry when her tears came. She reached out for his arms and pulled him closer, bowing her head so that she could press her forehead against his. He wrapped his arms around her, desper to hold her close.

"I promise I'll change."

"Michael, I-I think we need to do this. I... I don't want to end up hating you one day. I couldn't bare it."

"Sir? Principal Rogerson, are you alright?", asked Eloise.

Principal Rogerson jumped back into reality, quickly coughing to clear the lump in his throat.

"Maurice, I'm sorry but... you're fired."

¤¤¤

"What?", exclaimed Eloise. "No, Sir, you can't do that!"

"I can and I have", said Principal Rogerson. "Now I want all of you to get to class now, lunch time is over."

"Sir, can't you let Maurice off with a warning or suspension?", suggested Spencer.

"That's enough!", he yelled, startling everyone. "I have a school to run, and I can't have members of staff behaving carelessly", he said, before looking at Aahan. "And I must admit, I'm ashamed to see you leading this spectacle."

Aahan frowned.

"Why are you all still standing here? Get to class!"

The group slowly started to disperse, but Eloise just stood there, staring at Maurice.

"Eloise, get to class", said Principal Rogerson. "I'll explain the situation to your foster parents tomorrow."

Eloise shook her head. "How can you be so heartless?"

Eloise took off, refusing to go back to class after what Principal Rogerson did. Spencer followed after her, trying his best to make sure Principal Rogerson didn't catch him. When everyone had gone back inside, Spencer climbed over the gate, already having a pretty good idea of where Eloise went.

Elliott emerged from a small gap behind the greenhouse. He clutched his brother's Pepperden blazer, a sigh of relief escaping his lips.

In the garden centre, Eloise was sitting on one of the benches. She gently ran her fingers along the engraving on the bench.

In Loving Memory of Amruta Bhasin

She had gotten this special bench to honour her mother a few years back, and she couldn't think of a better place for the bench to be. She placed an arm around the bench, almost as if she were hugging the empty space beside her.

"Everything is messed up, Maaji."

Eloise rested her head against the bench.

"I was so mad when Principal Rogerson blamed me for wrecking the greenhouse. Mum, you know I'd never do that! I wish you were here. You always made me feel better."

"Eloise?"

Eloise looked up to find Spencer there.

"Spencer? What the heck are you doing here?"

"Belly dancing", he quipped sarcastically.

Eloise rolled her eyes. "I'm serious! You could get in trouble."

Spencer shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Mind if I sit?"

Realising Spencer was probably going to stand there the whole time, Eloise let him sit down.

"So... wanna talk about what happened?"

Eloise shook her head. "Not really."

Spencer sighed quietly, a sad look on his face. After a few seconds, he turned to face the engraving on the bench.

"Ms Bhasin, I think you need to have a word with your daughter", said Spencer. "She's been eating way too much chicken and chips lately."

Eloise furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and turned to Spencer.

"What are you on about?"

Spencer nodded. "Mm hm. Yeah, whenever we go to Ali's Takeaway she orders like two boxes just for herself! Poor Ali's going to have to pretend there's a chicken shortage whenever she goes."

"Oi!", exclaimed Eloise, slapping Spencer's arm. "Why are you lyin' to my mum for?"

"Where's the lie exactly?", he asked, laughing as he dodged Eloise's hand.

Eloise playfully rolled her eyes and kissed her teeth, turning back so that she was facing forward. She shook her head, a smile still on her face.

"Look at you, bothering my mum for lies."

The pair chuckled. Once the laughter stopped, Eloise felt much more relaxed. She looked over at Spencer, who was looking at one of the plants across from him.

"Do you uh... do you wanna talk about what happened now?", asked Spencer.

"No, not really", admitted Eloise.

"Hey, do you remember when we first became friends?", asked Spencer. "I still felt awkward after you saw me having that panic attack and we found it hard to be like open and vulnerable with each other."

Eloise nodded. "I remember."

"And we came up with a little gesture."

"Oh yeah! I remember! We'd get out our phones and type out what we wanted to say and show it to each other", said Eloise.

"Then one of us would, like, reach out and hold the other's hand to show it was ok", said Spencer, chuckling. "Wow, we're weirdos."

"I don't think it was weird", said Eloise. "I actually kind of liked it."

"Yeah?"

Eloise nodded.

The pair sat in comfortable silence, occasionally glancing over at each other, as if they had to check that the other didn't leave them.

And they never did.

"Eloise, Spencer... fancy meeting you two here", said Aahan.

"Mr Patel?", questioned Eloise. "How did you find us?"

"I couldn't find you anywhere in the school, so I thought you might be in a place like this, given how much you love plants and nature", replied Aahan. "Atlas told me there was a garden centre around here that you go to."

"Well... what are you doing here?", asked Eloise.

Aahan gave her a small smile, before looking at Spencer.

"Go on, get back to school", he said.

Spencer shook his head. "I'm not leaving El."

"No, it's ok", said Eloise. "Go. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."

"I covered for you saying I needed you for something and then I let you go to the toilet before your next class, so you'd better hurry."

Spencer nodded and got up, albeit reluctantly. "Thanks, Sir."

When Spencer left, Aahan moved closer to the bench. He saw the engraving, his eyebrows rising up when he saw that the woman had the same surname as Eloise. He looked over at Eloise, who was already looking at him.

"That's my mum."

Aahan's face softened, and he nodded. When Eloise pointed to the empty space beside her, Aahan took it as his sign to sit down.

"Do you come here a lot?", asked Aahan.

"Sometimes. When I needed to think", she replied. "It's my mum and I's special place."

Aahan nodded. "If you don't mind me asking... how old were you when she died?"

"Ten."

"Wow... that's a very young age", said Aahan. "So your dad's been looking after you?"

Eloise screwed her mouth up in disgust, shaking her head. "No, that waste of space left us when mum was pregnant with my little brother, Ivan."

Aahan frowned. "I'm sorry. That must've been hard for you to deal with."

Eloise shrugged. "Whatever. I can handle it. I can cook, clean and look after my brother all on my own."

"That... that doesn't mean you're not struggling", said Aahan. "And it's ok to admit that."

Eloise folded her arms, a deep frown appearing on her face. "You don't know nothing, Sir."

Aahan held his hands up, admitting defeat.

After a brief moment of silence, Eloise fiddled with the sleeves of her shirt, before looking over at Aahan.

"Um, S-Sir? Do you, uh, think Maurice will be ok?"

Aahan looked at Eloise, his face softening when he saw how worried she was for him.

"I'm not sure. But seems like the kind of guy that will always land on his feet. I'm not too convinced he actually caused the damage though."

Eloise's eyes widened. "What, you think it was me?", she questioned, frowning when Aahan didn't answer. "You do, don't you?"

Aahan held his hands up. "Look, I don't have enough information to know for sure! But... why don't you tell me why it wasn't you?"

"Because Maurice and the greenhouse have been there for me countless times! Whenever my foster parents were annoying me, or if I was stressed doing things for some of the other students, I'd always go there to find some peace", explained Eloise.

Her anger started to melt away just a little.

After a long pause, Aahan nodded.

"Ok. I believe you."

Eloise's eyes widened in surprise. "Y-You do?"

Aahan nodded. "The greenhouse obviously means a lot to you. It doesn't make sense that you'd destroy a place you love."

Eloise felt her adrenaline start to slow down, and she let out a breath of relief she didn't even know she was holding. Eloise couldn't remember the last time a teacher, except for Coach McConaugh, actually asked her why she acted the way she acted.

Why she struggled so much in school.

Why she had trouble opening up.

"Th-thank you, Sir."

Aahan smiled. "Come on, let's get you back to school."

On their way out, Aahan spotted a 'help wanted' sign, advertising for a gardener to help maintain the flower garden on the premises. Aahan smiled to himself, before taking a leaflet for Maurice.

___

Hi.

Elliott helped his brother! Are we surprised though? Elliott has always been loyal to his family, and we haven't seen him show that same loyalty to the group yet. What do you think about what Elliott did?

I'm worried that the Eloise & Spencer secret gesture thing is a bit cringy or weird. It was either that or they trace out messages on each other's like arms with their fingers or something, but I feel like that's been done a lot before and while I think it's cute, I don't know if it would've suited Eloise & Spencer. What do you think about this? I would really appreciate your feedback because this is something I want to get better at.

Also, Spencer speaking to Eloise's mum was so natural, because he feels like he knows her, through Eloise's stories about her. And it shows that he's been to the bench a lot with Eloise.

Michael hasn't been the best Principal so far, but now we see why he is struggling in this new position, and how much he feels he needs to prove. What do you think about his flashback scene?

Maurice stepping in and taking the fall for Eloise was so sweet! And Aahan showed that he is a good guy by trying to help Maurice out with a future job.

We got to see Aahan actually connect with Eloise, and not just be concerned with the award mission. What do you think of this?

Teachers just labelling students as troublemakers, and not actually listening to them is so common. It's important that teachers make an effort to get to know their pupils, because that's how they'll know the deeper struggles a student might be facing that is making them act the way they are acting. It's all about finding a balance between being professional but also a little personal.

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

starryeyedturtle

DoodleYeet

LeMystical-Puffle

niallhoranslovebot

Tornado-Jockey