It had been two days since I'd found out I hadn't won the scholarship and I was due to leave today, but Mrs Kingsley had been kind enough to give me an extra week, so I could change plane tickets, organise my things and prepare to say goodbye to everyone.

I stopped outside the assembly hall where there was a noticeboard, which displayed all the notices and messages for students about the upcoming week. The only one of any interest to me was about the lacrosse semi final this weekend. It had listed all the player's names and their positions, but it wasn't any of that which caught my attention. It was the handwriting. It was exactly the same style as that mysterious essay was written in, and signed at the bottom of the page was:

'Under 18's Lacrosse Team Captain

Harriet Bentley'

This time she'd taken it too far. I ripped the notice off the board and marched up to the dorm, where I grabbed my exam and compared the two styles of writing. They were exactly the same, even how the a's had a small flick on the end where the line hung over the body of the letter.

I grabbed the two pieces of evidence and stormed up the stairs to Mrs Kingsley's office. I knocked impatiently on the door and opened it as I heard her call out.

"Charlie. What can I do for you?" she asked as I marched over to her desk. I flipped my exam over to the essay and put it on the desk in front of her.

"This isn't my essay." I said loudly.

"Charlie, I'm only sitting a meter a way from you." She pointed out, but still picked up the exam.

"I wrote about Coastal Management, this one is on Deforestation and the handwriting is different." I continued, and then put the lacrosse notice next to the essay. "It's Harriet's handwriting." I finished and sat down.

"This is a very serious accusation you're making." Mrs Kingsley said, looking closely at both documents.

"But they're written in exactly the same handwriting, and it's even signed by Harriet." I urged.

"Listen, even if what you're saying is true the scholarships have already been handed out." Mrs Kingsley said, placing the papers down gently on her desk.

"But, that's not fair!" I cried.

"Charlie, please." She sighed. "I will talk to your geography teacher. He knows how you write and should know your preferred topics to write about. I'll also talk to Harriet, and if your accusations are correct then she'll be suspended. "

"But I can't stay." I finished for her.

"Well, I wouldn't be too quick to give up." She replied and I pricked up my ears. "Just before you burst into my office I received an email, which was sent to the whole school, and attached is a rather lovely invitation to a school fete on Sunday, to raise money for a scholarship for you."

"What?" I asked confused as she turned her screen towards me and I saw a flyer for a school carnival with stalls and rides.

"It seems you've made some wonderful friends here at Abbey Mount, Charlie and they don't want to see you go either." She smiled and I did too but then realised that I couldn't take it.

"I can't take other people's money like that. I can't accept charity. It's not like I'm living in poverty, or I'm suffering from some terrible illness." I said.

"Yes, that is true. But I believe people your age would still attend these types of things even if the money was only going to the school. So, having a honourable cause would only encourage them." She replied. She had a point. I remembered my school used to hold school carnivals to raise money for a new library or new classrooms.

"What would the scholarship be for anyway?" I asked.

"Well it says here, in a separate email to me, that it's for Service to the School Community." She said.

"Wow. I can't believe people would actually do that for me." I said, more so to myself, than to anyone else.

"I think you've made a bigger impact on the school than you think you have." Mrs Kingsley said. "You certainly have a wonderful group of friends."

"There's no doubt about that." I smiled.

After I bid her farewell, I left Mrs Kingsley's office and found my friends out on the field, trooping back up to the school after their lacrosse training. I ran down the stairs and met them halfway.

"You guys are the best!" I squealed and pulled them all into a hug.

"I take it she found out about the fete." Josie laughed.

"I can't believe you'd do this for me." I grinned.

"I'm glad you have so much faith in us." Drippy said sarcastically.

"I told you that whatever happens, we'd look out for you." Kate reminded me.

"I promise that I will repay you guys." I said.

"Excellent. Well, you can start by getting us into the lacrosse grand final on Saturday." Kiki said.

"No. We will get us into the lacrosse final." I replied.

"Let's do it!" Kiki cried, raising her lacrosse stick into the air triumphantly.