Andrew intervenes when Lewis tries to chat up a heavily pregnant girl on the school bus. The girl, fifteen-year-old Zoe Ramsden is about to start her first day at Waterloo Road after transferring from another local school. Both Kim and Andrew are flustered by Zoe’s cocky and forward manner, especially when she claims that her father is friends with Jack. Strange then that when he’s introduced to Zoe, Jack looks like he’s just seen a ghost. Later, the reason for Jack’s odd reaction becomes clear when Zoe visits him in his office and makes an announcement that could end his career: he’s the father of her child! Jack is left reeling by this bombshell, but worse is to come when she demands £10,000. He has until the end of the week to come up with the cash, or else.
Andrew has implemented a new house system to try to encourage a feeling of pride and healthy competitiveness amongst the pupils. Newly elected Kingfisher House Captain, Lewis, somehow manages to form the impression that Jack will be rewarding the house with the most points with cash from his own pocket and sets about bullying the other Kingfishers into concentrating on their coursework. This is good news for Steph who is still stinging from Jack’s dismissal of their encounter at the restaurant as a drunken mistake. She takes solace in the discovery that her pupils finally seem to be knuckling down to their coursework, unaware that the school brainbox, Ahmed, is doing his fellow Kingfishers work for them in exchange for cash.
Lorna’s pregnancy is continuing to drive a wedge between her and Tom. As far as she can see it, the only way to put things right is to have an abortion, and then tell Tom that it was a miscarriage. Izzie is appalled when Lorna confides in her and tries her best to talk her out of it. However, Lorna’s mind is made up and Izzie reluctantly agrees to accompany her to the clinic that evening. Meanwhile, Izzie’s eldest daughter, Mika, has been left reeling by the contents of her mother’s diary, and now firmly believes that Izzie is having an affair with Tom.
The other member of the Grainger household, Chlo is also troubled. She knows that her actions directly contributed to the crash that killed Adam and put her best friend, Holly, into a coma, and with Donte continuing to pile on the pressure, her head is spinning. Although she’s already in trouble with Jack and Izzie for back-chatting Steph during a French lesson, Chlo slips out of the school and sets off for the hospital to visit Holly. On her return, she is spotted sneaking through the school gates by Andrew. He escorts Chlo back to her lesson – English with Tom – and is incredulous when he realises that Tom hadn’t even noticed her absence. Incensed when Andrew tries to lecture him on his irresponsibility, Tom reacts by handing in his resignation. He’s had enough.
Jack makes it clear to Andrew that he holds him solely responsible for Tom’s decision to quit, but during their argument, he becomes distracted and finally cracks. Andrew is gob-smacked when Jack confesses that he’s being blackmailed by Zoe. He admits to meeting her seven months ago when she was working behind the bar of her father’s pub, but had no idea that she was only fifteen, believing that she was in her twenties at the very least. He honestly can’t remember taking her back to his house, but if he was as drunk as Zoe claimed he was, it’s certainly possible. Although he’s supportive of Jack’s plight, Andrew stands firm. Jack is someone in a position of responsibility and simply can’t be seen to be giving in to blackmail. Realising that Andrew is right, Jack has no choice but to come clean to the other teachers about Zoe’s allegations.
Tom is ill-prepared when Zoe goes into labour during his class. Although the paramedics have been called, the baby is refusing to wait and he and Kim end up delivering Zoe’s baby daughter on the classroom floor. Tom is immediately in awe of the baby and finds that he is developing paternal feelings – maybe he is ready to be a father after all. While Tom continues to fawn over the baby, Kim and Andrew discover from the paramedics that the baby is too large to be premature and therefore, can’t be Jack’s. Tearfully, Zoe admits to making up the allegation at the instigation of the baby’s real father, Craig Harris. He is a former pupil who was once expelled by Jack and is now out for revenge. Jack is hugely relieved that his career has been saved, but he feels even better after smacking Craig in the mouth.
With Izzie at the clinic with Lorna, the coast is clear for Jimmy to visit his daughters. Chlo’s welcome is a cool one to say the least, but at least Mika is pleased to see him and joyfully heads off with him for a burger. Izzie is livid when she arrives home to find that Jimmy has defied her, but that becomes the least of her problems when Chlo reveals that Mika has been reading her diary. Over at the Clarkson’s, Tom has changed his mind about impending fatherhood and is now determined to make a go of things. Lorna is stunned by Tom’s U-turn, but it’s all too late and now she has to break his heart with the news of her ‘miscarriage’…