THIRD PERSON POV
"episode thirteen - moving on"
TRACY BEAKER IS LEAVING THE DUMPING GROUND, AGAIN. The youngest worker had been offered the job as a writer in London. A fantastic opportunity for Tracy. Well, at least that's what Maeve thought.
The other kids had very strong feelings about this. Negative feelings.
Maeve couldn't blame them. They were being abandoned again.
Tracy continued to explain that her new article had to be about what it's like in care from our point of views. If she liked it, Tracy got her job and would leave. It's clear how this is conflicting.
"Hold on," Liam was the first to talk in the lounge of people, "You wanna leave us, but you want our help?" He stands and begins to walk to the door. "Sorry, Tracy, that sucks. You want out? Fine, go. You ain't getting my help."
It wasn't long before all the other children followed the boy out the room. Well, all but one.
Tracy looked towards Maeve. The young girl casually thrown across the sofa, trying her best to make a paper crane. Maeve looks up at Tracy, "I'll help."
As the children in the dumping ground were getting ready for bed, a range of conversations were happening. The kids with the biggest influence leading the others to come to the same conclusion as them. Do the article? Or don't do the article?
Maeve was laid on her bed, a completed paper crane sat in her hand. She felt happy with herself.
It didn't last long.
Like a smell that wouldn't go away, Maeve could sense that Liam was outside her door even before he opened it and walked in.
"Ever heard of knocking?" Maeve asked. She finds it a bit strange how she never had anyone in her room previously. But now it seemed to be quite frequently looked in by Liam O'Donovan, much to her dismay.
"As if I'd catch you doing anything remotely interesting." The boy rolled his eyes, a small dimple showing for a brief second. "What are your thoughts about Tracy's article then."
Maeve looks at him, confused. "What do you care what I think?"
"I don't." He immediately says. "Just checking you're on the right side, my side."
Maeve snorts, the crane still being twirled in her hand, "If it's your side, i'm automatically gonna assume it's the wrong side."
"Well, you're not doing the article, are you?"
"I am, actually."
Maeve was utterly a bit confused. There had to be some underlying evil notion as to why Liam wanted to know, surely.
"What? Why?" He seem genuinely surprised as he lingered in the doorway.
Maeve stood up and leaded on her door a little, stood in front of him. "She got he chance to leave this place forever. Obviously i'm going to help?"
"If you do it, all the other will as well." Liam says, his eyes narrowing slightly on a strand of Maeve's hair that falls from behind her ear.
She lets out a breathless laugh, "That's why you want to know." She almost talks to herself. "You're scared the kids won't follow your influence and will follow mine instead?"
Liam doesn't reply. His eyes are still focused on that strand of hair as he reaches and quickly brushes it behind her ear.
She doesn't move.
"It was bothering me." He quickly justifies. "Tracy cant do this article and leave. It'll kill the younger kids."
"The younger kids or you, Donovan?" Maeve rolls her eyes, "Don't be selfish."
"I'm not-" Liam is cut off by shouting down the hallway and he leaves to see what's going on. Always nosey.
The next morning, everyone was still unsettled after yesterdays events. That's why everyone is sat in the kitchen, listening to her explanation.
"Look, I know you're all totally hacked off at me. I'm sorry for upsetting you, but us care kids don't get given breaks, so when an opportunity comes along, I've got to take it. That's all i'm doing, don't hate me for it." Tracy has tears in her eyes as she talks, clearly showing how conflicted she is herself about leaving.
Sapphire is the first to break the silence. "That's not why I hate you." She begins. Maeve is in her head begging her friend to be nice.
It's Sapphire. She's not going to be nice.
"I hate you for conning us. Giving it all that 'I'm there for you!', 'We're all care kids together!'. You are just using us so you can move on to something better."
Tracy is silent for a second. "Is that what you all think?"
Lily looks up, "You promised to help me get back with Poppy and Rosie."
Maeve feels awful as Tracy leaves the room. She knew damn well that if she was in Tracy's position, she would do the exact same. Literally anything to get out the dumping ground. If that made her selfish, so be it.
Liam stands where Tracy previously stood. "Guys, we're all in this together." He pauses, "No one helps."
He gives a girl a pointed look. The same girl who's bedroom he stood in last night . The same girl who he knew had already offered her help to Tracy. No one else knew.
Maeve simply looked back, challenging him.
Maeve East is well know for her independence. And that doesn't just mean spending time alone and taking care of herself. She was independent with her opinions and would do whatever she wanted without even a brief thought about what others may think.
That's what she's done here. She helped because she wanted to, not because she was told, not because she purposely wanted to go against Liam. She didn't really care what others thought of her. She does what she wants.
Liam's look was not gonna change her mind.
Later on in the day, Maeve is disrupted by the noise of Liam shouting from his bedroom. She walks over to the noise to see Liam throwing stuff and Tracy.
"What's going on?" Maeve asks, taking in an angry Liam and an upset Tracy.
"Have you asked her about your laptop?" Liam continues to shout.
"No." Tracy looks back at Liam.
"No, because i'm your prime suspect." He points a finger at Maeve, "She's your goody-goody, willing to do the article."
"Oh, get over it, Donovan." Maeve glares at him. She wasn't going to have her name negatively dragged into this conversation.
"Go on." He yells, "Get out my room, all of you!" A small crowd had gathered in Liams room since the arguing had begun.
"Wait." Tracy shouts, "Look, i'm not stupid. I can see the damage that I've done by saying I wanna leave." She pauses, "Okay, so you won't help me with my article. Maybe it was unreasonable for me to ask. I'm obviously not gonna get the job, but it's clear none of you want me here. So i might as well just leave anyway." She blinks back tears before leaving the room.
The other kids filter out the room as Liam throws a pack of cards against the wall; them all exploding out before falling to the fall.
"What do you want, East?" His voice sounding slightly calmer than earlier.
"I know you don't want Tracy to leave." Maeve begins, almost cautiously. "But you know it's gonna happen either way, don't you?"
"I thought I finally found a care worker who got me, who was on my side." Liam spits out, freaked out by the fact he just opened up a little to Maeve East, of all people
Maeve tilts her head as she looks at the boy sat on his bed, head in his hands. "So would you rather the last memories of Tracy be you helping her, or you hurting her?"
Liam sighs, looking up at the girl. A subtle downwards smile on his face. "Get out of here, loser."
She has a similar smile reach her face as she leaves the room. She still had it. She knew she was still the most influential person the in care home. I mean she just managed to convince Liam O'Donovan to change his mind.
Everyone was in the kitchen, sitting around the table.
"I'm trying to write this add for Tracy's replacement." Gina begins, "What kind of person would you like?"
Johnny leans forward, "Someone who sticks up for you when no one else will."
Tee next, "Someone who doesn't get cross when you do something wrong."
Gina continues to note down the ideas. "Kind and fun." From Frank.
"Someone who you can go to when you need special help." Carmen adds on.
"Someone you can have a good laugh with." Liam leans on Frank slightly as he talks.
"Someone who can stick up for themselves and other and someone who doesn't just follow the crowd." Maeve butts in as she bites into her breadstick.
Gus pauses, "Don't you see. You're describing Tracy Beaker. That's what you should put, we want another Tracy Beaker."
Lily and Tracy join the group just as food is served.
"Guys, I want to come clean about something." Tracy starts before everyone begins to tuck in. "Before it gets too weird, I just want to thank the person who let me interview them for the article."
Everyone around the table begins to exclaim, deeply embarrassed by the fact they had just been outed in front of everyone about doing the article behind everyone's back.
It all became apparent. Every child in Elm Tree House had some Tracy's article and had made her promise not to tell anyone.
All that was left to do was have a group photo taken to go alongside the article. So everyone get here's on the sofa at the bottom of the stairs and due to their similar height, Liam and Maeve were next to each other.
"Thank you, by the way." Liam mumbles towards the girl. "For convincing me."
Said girl smirks lightly, "Well, we all know I have to just power in this house. Never thought I'd hear Mr O'Donovan say thank you. Ever."
He elbows her in the ribs, "Yeah, whatever. I'll go back to hating you tomorrow."
"Thank God."
It was the next day. Tracy handed in her article in the morning and had now returned to the dumping ground.
Liam had kept to his word of hating Maeve again. He clearly showed it by kicking Maeve in the ankles a few times under the table when she stole the last piece of mango. The mango was on Liams plate as well.
"Did you get it?" Sapphire asks. The whole group in the kitchen waiting in silence.
Tracy's pauses before nodding gently causing people to cheer her. Maeve especially. She felt Tracy deserved the job.
"But," The new job recipient started, "I didn't take it."
"What?" Maeve asked.
"I thought I'd miss you guys too much."
The article was still printed on the front page. Maeve found it a bit strange seeing her face on the front of an article. Made her almost feel like she can also be whatever she wants if she tried hard enough.
1817 words
series two next.