Everyone at Waterloo Road grows more concerned about Tariq, as he starts acting strangely to those around him. For no real reason, he gives his games console away to Phoenix, and when he suffers an embarrassment at school, he simply shrugs it off. As fears grow about his behaviour, Josh attempts to talk to his dad Tom about his worries for his friend. Tom simply shrugs off Josh's concerns, and says he's sure there's nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, Gerard Findlay arrives at Waterloo Road to cause further trouble. As he squares up to Mr Byrne about his shady past, Michael tries to ignore the jibes that Gerard is throwing his way. However, it soon becomes clear that Gerard truly has it in for Michael. Posters about Michael's past run-ins with the police start popping up all over the school, and Gerard is outed as the culprit. A preoccupied Tariq seems to only want to talk about his new love of kayaking. With everything else seemingly no longer a priority in his life, he seems thrilled about the upcoming time trial he's attending in the afternoon. Tom goes along to help Tariq, but little does he know that he's left a goodbye message for Trudi and his family on the computer. As soon as he's in the kayak, Tariq paddles out into the middle of the loch. Throwing away the paddle and the lifejacket, he deliberately capsizes his boat and tries to take his own life. However, Michael manages to get to him just in time and saves his life.
