Bonjour!

THE COLOUR OF LAUGHTER.

I have just re-watched Waterloo Road series 10 episode 1 about a million times just to make sure that I have got most of the underlying details correct. So, I hope that you enjoy it:

Chapter 1:

Head teacher of Waterloo Road school- Vaughan Fitzgerald walked into his new office after having just been told, in front of every other member of staff, including his girlfriend, that his wife was in there.

Upon walking into the room, Vaughan saw Olga. Her dark brown hair was messy and dishevelled, her face blotchy and swollen whilst her eyes were red and puffy.

Olga stood up on Vaughan's entrance, slowly stepping forward a little bit to make herself seem sincere.

Almost instantly, Vaughan felt his younger son, Leo, wrap his arms around him. He could clearly see that the boy was crying. Worried, Vaughan lightly kissed Leo's head to show that he cared.

"It's ok." Vaughan comforted the boy as he sat him down onto the arm of the settee. Vaughan made sure that Leo could see his dad's face as he said those words just to make sure that he knew what was being said.

"What's happened, why are you here?" Vaughan questioned Olga, not quite understanding why his wife and kids had suddenly turned up out of the blue.

"You didn't tell him we were coming?" Vaughan's older son Justin asked his mum accusingly.

Olga looked back up at her husband "I can't do this anymore Vaughan." She repeatedly shook her head as if she was trying to convince herself of this more than anyone else.

Vaughan looked over to his children. Leo was still sobbing and Justin was just watching him, angry at him. "Boys," Vaughan made sure to both talk and sign at the same time "can you give your mum and me a few minutes together." But he was cut off by an estranged Olga.

"If you've got something to say, you owe it to your sons to let them hear it." She challenged.

"Olga, this is not appropriate."

"Don't worry; I'm not here to cramp your style on your big first day!" Olga paused "I'll be gone soon, but their staying here with you." She motioned towards Justin and Leo.

To say he was shocked would be a major understatement. Vaughan hadn't seen either of his sons in well over six months and all of a sudden he was here, about to have them live with him. "What?!"

"I can't cope anymore, I'm at my wits end." She began, tears now beginning to leak out of her eyes.

"Why can't you come home with us dad?" Justin intervened, standing up "You should be at home with us. You're our dad, not theirs."

Olga was raging now "How can you walk out on your own children to shack up with someone else's?"

"I have not walked out on them!" Argued Vaughan. "I am here for you whenever you need me." He signed the last part too.

"Here for you!" Screeched Olga, now really mad "you're bloody miles away, how does that work?" She sniffed back some tears "Face up to what you've done."

"Olga. Take the boys home." Vaughan said, slowly as if he was trying hard to make it his last argument.

"I'm not going home!" Continued Olga "My doctors booked me into a clinic. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I'm having anxiety attacks!"

Justin walked over to his mum, closely followed by Leo. Both of them put their arms around their mother.

Olga still continued her rant "I'm on the edge of a complete nervous breakdown! Are you happy now?!" She screamed towards her husband.

Vaughan was flabbergasted, he had never known that that would happen. Olga had always been such a down to earth and grounded type of person, yet here she was, bawling her eyes out in his office.

Seeing a chance, Olga pushed her sons off her, picked up her handbag, and marched straight out of the door.

"OLGA!" Shouted Vaughan, running after her.

"MUM!" Shouted Justin, him too running after her.

Leo just stood there, unknowing as to what really was happening around him.

He saw a lady; she was shorter than him, wearing tight clothes and a lot of make-up. She seemed nice enough.

Sonya walked into the room "Is everything alright?" She asked the boy who stood in the middle of the head teacher's office.

Leo didn't know what she had just said, he didn't know that she had even spoken at all, he just kept staring at the door which his family had just run out of.

He felt her hand gently patting him on the right shoulder and he looked up at her.

"Are you ok?" Sonya asked him.

Leo squinted and bit his lip. 'I can't hear you' he signed in return.

Sonya seemed to get the picture as she immediately began saying sorry over and over again.

Leo looked at her, confused.

After that, Sonya seemed to get an idea as she disappeared for a moment, before re-emerging from her desk with a pair of whiteboards and pens.

She offered one to Leo, who gladly accepted.

'Are you ok?' She wrote in her happy, bubbly writing, which no doubt matched her happy go lucky personality.

Leo just shrugged.

Sonya thought for a few seconds before writing- 'Do you fancy a drink?'

Leo nodded this time.

Sonya smiled and walked off into the staff room next door to find the squash.

…

Christine Mulgrew walked over to Sonya's desk.

"Aaawww! Hi Christine, good holiday?!" Asked Sonya perkily.

"Urm, settling into Audrey's took a bit of getting used to, but um, yeah." She replied as she looked through the window of the head master's office. Her old office.

She looked down at Sonya, and then signalled to the boy on the other side of the window.

"Oh, Leo." Sonya said, a little less brightly, "Fitzgerald."

Christine looked curious as she slid her hands into her pockets and walked up to the open door of the office.

"Hi Leo!" She greeted, happily.

But Christine was met with silence.

"Urm Christine." Interrupted Sonya.

"What is it Sonya?" Asked the older woman.

"Leo can't exactly, um hear you." She told Christine.

Christine nodded, thinking back to Imogen.

Just then, the door opened and Vaughan walked in closely followed by Justin who pushed past both his dad and Christine to sit down opposite his brother.

"Mrs Mulgrew!" Challenged Vaughan.

"Oh, um I was just checking to see if Darren Hughes had called in sick this morning?" Wondered Christine.

"Urm, no." Sonya replied.

Christine then exited the office, back to her classroom.

Sonya then stood up, addressing Vaughan, "Urm Leo's really upset Mr Fitzgerald."

Vaughan opened his mouth, slightly shocked that she had managed to get through to his younger son. "Yes, well the boys will be spending the day here, whilst we decide what's best."

Sonya Nodded at this.

"So can you please bring in the timetables?" Finished Vaughan.

"I TOLD YOU, I DON'T WANNA BE AT THIS SCHOOL!" shouted Justin.

Vaughan sighed "I am sorry to have caused so much hurt" he began, signing and talking "But mum is going to get the best help there is and you are going to have to stay here for now. So, let's just see if I can start to make things up to you?"

Sonya knocked on the door, timetables in hand.

"I thought that maybe you could join some classes?" Vaughan suggested.

Neither child, bearing in mind Justin now had his headphones in, replied.

'Leo?' Vaughan signed his son's name.

Leo quickly shook his head and looked down. Vaughan sighed, then hesitated.

'Leo?' He signed again, quickly patting his son on the shoulder grab his attention.

'Where are your hearing aids?' He signed.

Leo bit his lip, before digging his hand into his blazer pocket and pulling out a pair of hearing aids. They had clear blue earmolds and the rest of them were clear red.

'Put them in.' Vaughan ordered.

Leo sighed, but did as he was told, turning them on as he did so.

It wasn't as if they really helped, they just allowed him to hear little sounds, only very quietly, besides, Leo preferred not having them in, it made people stare.

Ok… so I know that most of that was in fact waterloo road's own plot line, but after the first few chapters, it will all be my own ideas. I just need to get Floyd and Tiffany meeting Justin and Leo for the first time in the corridor and that fight out of the way first.

Please R&R, this is my first fanfiction. :/

Also, if anyone can think of what Leo's signing name should be, please comment it. My favourite one wins!

J