That afternoon, Keith had an appointment booked to see his doctor. He hadn't slept or eaten properly since this ordeal started 12 days ago. Explaining the situation to his doctor was, indeed, a daunting thought, but strangely enough, what he found most difficult, was the thought of having to deal with those women in the reception area, and then having to sit and wait for his turn. Everybody would be watching him, all of them would have had a good old gossip by now, and many of them, especially the women, would have found him guilty of all sorts of disgusting misdemeanours, without even knowing half the facts of the matter.

He sensed himself a little nervous and short of breath, as he navigated his way to the surgery's reception area. Hardly without noticing it, he passed a new sign saying; 'sign in', and presumed this was there to guide people to the reception area. However, after waiting for his turn to speak to the receptionist, she told him that he had to sign in on their new computer touch pad. He walked back and signed in, as requested. That wasn't too bad, he thought to himself as he found a seat just outside his doctor's room. The receptionist hadn't seemed to be that great ogre, holding a grudge against him, in fact, she treated him more as if he was a file to be dealt with than a living person. All Keith had to do now, was sit and focus on the task ahead of him.

By the time the doctor called him into his consulting room, Keith was in a bit of a panic. Sweating, try mouthed and somewhat tongue-tied through fear. Dr. Nolan had been their family doctor for just over 20 years, and Keith had great faith in him. Dr. Nolan had heard about Keith's suspension from the school, and asked Keith to explain what had happened, exactly. Keith said; 'It all really started when I bought my wife a cookbook from the charity shop. She'd wanted the book for ages. The trouble was, I had to buy three books for £2, and none of the other books were what I wanted. They were all books for youngsters. Anyhow, I thought it was a bargain, so I didn't hesitate.'

At this point, Keith realized that he really needed to condense his story into a shorter version, or he was going to be there all day.

'The thing is,' he continued,' as you know I'm only a pen pusher at the school, and so I don't go to the canteen to get a free meal like the teachers do. I just take sandwiches and eat them while I'm looking after the office during dinner'. He hesitated, taking a breath before going on. 'Sometimes some of the youngsters come into the office at dinner time, and on one particular occasion, two girls, Cassie and Jessica, came in. Well, I don't know why exactly. I think it was in an attempt to get rid of the girls, but I remembered that, in my briefcase, I had these two other books that I didn't want. So, I gave them to the girls.'

'What were the books?' Dr. Nolan looked stern and concerned.

'They were perfectly appropriate for those young ladies. They were Celia Rees books, no swearing or anything like that. About ghosts I think'. Keith replied before adding, 'The next thing I knew, was that I was being blamed for indecent behaviour - I couldn't believe it! Keith felt his anger rising once more and began to speak faster. 'How in hell's name does an act of kindness turn into indecent behaviour? I gave those girls a book', he emphasised. 'I didn't surreptitiously lure them, with chocolate or something, into some dark corner'. Keith glanced down at the white knuckles of his hands, as he clenched them tightly together. 'I can't eat, I can't sleep, I'm sweating all the time, I'm terrified of going anywhere........'

'I'll give you some antidepressants. It'll take about a fortnight before you feel any benefit from them, and I want to see you in a fortnights time'.

'I don't feel depressed doctor. I feel angry, very angry that's what I feel. I feel it's the women, they've been watching me, waiting for an opportunity....an opportunity when I can't defend myself......'

Dr. Noland interrupted, 'There are worse things.....'

'What?.... What worse things?

'There's paranoia and the like. Worse things than depression'. There was a silence before the Doctor added. 'Lets wait and see. When's the tribunal?'

'Three weeks time, but I don't think it's an official tribunal. I'm to see the headmistress and she'll tell me what they've decided.'

'These tablets should have taken effect by then, but don't expect too much from them straight away. You will feel better, it'll just take time'

Keith, although he trusted Dr. Nolan, felt uneasy about the conversation he had just had, and he left the consulting room agitated, puzzled and in a way disappointed and downhearted. He wished he had been able to explain his situation with more clarity, and he wished he had understood the doctor clearly, but at the time he just wanted to grab the tablets and go.