CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

Hands clasped behind his back, Jeff Morgan gazed out onto the expanse of the playground, smirking at the dozens of study circles distributed across the area. The chants were faint to his ears, but from the sections he heard, Jeff was left feeling mighty pleased at the pupils' progress as a whole. It was very rare that he garnered a positive reaction towards the 'lesser beings', but he knew that this would benefit the Headmaster's plans, therefore he was, to an extent, proud of the worthy pupils.

Suddenly, he scowled. Unlike those five troublemakers, who brought nothing but chaos to this wonderful school, and who were utterly pathetic and useless in every aspect of both education and life.

Jeff settled his cold, grey eyes onto the troublemakers, dull orbs raking over each member. His smirk returned as his eyes lingered on Harvey Hunter. Over the weekend, Jeff had started to create a list of everything he needed for his 'Pet/Baby', so that he could purchase the items and have the domain and necessary equipment ready for when the Headmaster's grand plan was set into action, effectively ensnaring Harvey Hunter into his clutches.

From then on, Harvey Hunter would be HIS. Until the day, the weakling snuffed it.

Chuckling sinisterly, Jeff puffed his chest out. He was relishing this day, as very soon, his prize would be before all of the Prefects, stammering and stuttering against the damning evidence of his deviances that have been stacked up over the past few months. The Deputy Head sneered at the fat figure in the distance. He may be laughing and chattering with his little friends NOW, but the smile would soon be wiped off of that stupid, round face of his.

Usually any meetings, as well as the Prefect's Council, were led by Rose, but this time, he would be the Prefect in charge. Jeff had been granted special permission off of the Headmaster, and a ripple of glee coursed through him every time he mused on the 'special permission' that had been granted to him.

His smirk widened as the bell rang. It was time for Harvey Hunter to be told of what lay in store for him, this fine Monday morning. Jeff waited until his fellow Prefects were clustered by the main doors before joining them, his grey eyes glittering wickedly as they stepped out onto the playground.

Instantly, a hush fell over the area, the study circles' chants fading into silence. SPLAT, in their isolated circle, quietened their chatter, Mandy flickering her gaze over to the fearsome Prefects, concerned about their line of sight. She tuned out her friends, and focussed more on the Prefects. They were all staring at the same thing…

Mandy stifled her gasp, before directing her own gaze onto the rest of SPLAT, a frantic hiss making the others note her distress.

"The Prefects are looking!"

The rest of the group glanced over, Harvey inhaling sharply. The Prefects were indeed staring at them, a cruel smirk plastered over Jeff's face. Ian snorted and muttered:

"Just because we're all so attractive."

As Ingrid guffawed, Lloyd elbowing her angrily, Mandy hissed:

"Ian! Shut up!"

The tall boy arched an eyebrow. "Someone got out of bed on the wrong side, this morning."

"Please, just be quiet!"

Seeming as if he was going to say something else, Mandy winced. She was perplexed. Ian was never usually this DAFT!

Thankfully, common sense kicked in, and Ian closed his mouth. Mandy blew out her contained breath in relief, but she cringed as Ingrid piped up: "Why are you telling him to shut up? Rude, much!"

Whilst she kissed her teeth, other pairs of eyes snapped onto their circle, causing the level of fear in everyone to sharply rise. Lloyd stared back at 'Them', whereas Mandy attempted to silence Ingrid with a scorching glare. She was also berating herself as she should have screamed; "THEY'RE ALL STARING AT HARVEY!"

The youngest member of SPLAT narrowed her eyes, evidently about to explode at being treated 'like a toddler', when Ian suddenly murmured:

"Why are the Prefects staring at you, Harv?"

"I-I-I-I-"

"What have you done, NOW?!"

Harvey jerked at his brother's snappish demand, flinching at the burning glare he was being subjected to. He sputtered, managing to shrug his shoulders in confusion even though his mind was descending into turmoil.

"N-Nothing! L, I s-s-swear, I haven't d-done anything!"

Noticing that Harvey was becoming exasperated, Mandy rubbed his back, cooing gently: "It's alright. I'm sure it'll be about something that happened ages ago, you know what they're like."

"Bad luck, Harv." Ian patted his shoulder, then turned his attention to Lloyd. "Hey, mate, don't let all of the blood go to your brain. Harvey's going to be fine."

Lloyd scoffed. "He won't be…. Is that what you were trying to tell us, Mandy?"

As the eldest female member sadly nodded, Ingrid sidled up to Harvey, muttering: "I'm with you, baby. All of the way."

"T-Thanks, Ing. But I know I'm s-s-screwed."

He swallowed nervously as Rose barked out the usual commands, the pupils beginning to form their lines. Harvey accepted his friends' sympathies, then caught Lloyd's sleeve as his brother ventured over to his assigned line. Lloyd locked gazes with Harvey, understanding how frightened his little brother was, and feeling a strong urge to simply sweep Harvey up into a hug and stroke his hair to calm his frazzled nerves.

Lloyd listened intently to Harvey as he whined pathetically: "Please don't leave me on my own, L-L. I can't d-do this alone. P-Please, big brother?"

Harvey hunched into himself, his small form being engulfed by his thick coat and it didn't help that he was bundled up, an illusion that he had no neck and a small sized head being created. Sorrow hit Lloyd like a ton of bricks, and he realised that he had to help his little brother, (as always), but even in a tricky situation such as this one, where the Prefects held all of the power.

"Alright, I'll stick with you. What's a big brother for?"

Grateful smile unveiling onto his round face, Harvey whispered: "Thanks, L-L."

"You're welcome. Now, join the end of your line and I'll be right behind you."

Nodding, Harvey shuffled over to his line, Lloyd halting a few inches behind him. The brothers ignored the glances from SPLAT, both of them staring straight ahead at the brick wall. To their dismay, their line was the last one to be called in.

As they followed the other pupils, Lloyd could see that the Prefects were awaiting his brother's imminent arrival. Harvey himself was holding in his whimpers of fear, head cast towards the snowy ground as his feet shuffled ever closer to the six predators.

When the brothers veered round to the platform, Rose and Jeff broke free from their line and descended to a lower step, their faces an impassive mask. Whilst Jeff eyed the brothers up, Rose commanded haughtily:

"Harvey Hunter, stop."

The Hunter duo stopped dead, Harvey's head still hung down. Lingering back, the other four Prefects barring Sarah, smirked as Rose shared a glance with Jeff before rattling off a set of instructions.

"You are permitted to attend the Prefect's Council in precisely one hour and fifteen minutes. Do not be late, as we have much to discuss."

"Discuss what, exactly?"

The two superior Prefects clapped their eyes onto a furious and inquisitive Lloyd Hunter, Rose purring in reply;

"Everything that your brother has been up too since the start of the school year, which I can assure you is… a lot."

Harvey shuddered as Lloyd shot him an expression of curiosity, his own expression one of pure fear. The Prefects knew EVERYTHING.

Shaking his head, Lloyd set his features into a scowl. "Right then. I'm coming with him, to defend him. Sort of similar to a lawyer, I guess."

Instantly, Jeff burst into laughter. "Defend Wheezy?! What's the point?! Everyone knows that he is GUILTY!"

Harvey flinched. Rose sent Jeff a disapproving look before remarking: "How touching. Yet, I am afraid that you cannot attend. This Council is for Harvey only. Go to your lesson, Lloyd."

Harvey whimpered as Lloyd gaped. "What?! You can't refuse to have me, I-"

"Lloyd Hunter, you are not permitted to attend this trial. Your baby brother has to pay for his actions, ALONE. Now, I suggest you get going, before you are late."

Glowering, Lloyd understood that it was pointless to kick up a fuss or fight back so instead, for once, he let it go. Pulling Harvey into a quick hug, he whispered into his ear:

"Good luck, H. Just remember, SPLAT are always together."

Sniffling, Harvey nodded, watching as his brother released him and ventured into the main school building. He flicked his eyes up and squeaked out:

"I'll s-see you in an hour and f-fifteen minutes t-then."

Harvey scuttled away before he could either listen to any of the Prefects or glimpse the expressions on their faces.

"Sorry I'm late, Sir. I was talking to the Prefects."

Mr Venables scoffed, glancing over from the board towards the troublemaker of his class. "I believed that they were dealing with your brother, this morning?"

Lloyd gritted his teeth, remaining in the same place. "Yes, Sir. I was with Harvey when they were speaking to him. Please accept my apology."

Wanting so much to sock Mr Venables in the face, Lloyd hurried to his seat as his teacher gestured towards the desks. He hastily sat down and took off his coat, scarf and hat before pulling out his equipment and book. Lloyd opened his book, picked up his pencil and started writing down the notes that were on the board, subconsciously aware that Dinah Glass was burning her hazel eyes into the back of his head.

'Well, screw her! The lying traitor!'

There was a scraping of a chair somewhere behind him, and Lloyd rolled his eyes as Dinah brushed past him, pencil and sharpener in hand, shooting him an inquisitive look. He glared back, then tilted his head and set to work on the questions that Mr Venables was writing down on the board.

While she sharpened her pencil, Dinah kept her gaze on her older foster brother, wary of his volatile temper. However, she desperately wanted to know what had happened with Harvey outside earlier so, having sharpened her pencil to the maximum, Dinah emptied the shavings into the bin and strode back over to the desks, hesitating in front of the one that Lloyd and another pupil were seated at.

"What happened?"

Snapping his head up, Lloyd snarled: "That is none of your business."

Startled, Dinah blinked, jumping at Mr Venables's reprimand. "Lloyd Hunter! Be quiet!"

"I will when SHE stops interfering!"

"Are you arguing with me, young man?"

Quickly, Dinah retreated to her seat, sharpener shoved into her pencil case. All eyes were on Lloyd and the slowly approaching teacher. Mr Venables placed his hands onto the desk, bearing down on Lloyd in what he hoped, was a frightening manner. Yet, his bow tie caused the illusion to fail spectacularly.

Lloyd, for once not cautious about getting into trouble, glared defiantly back. He hissed:

"I just want Miss Glass to keep her nose out of mine and my brother's personal business. Is that really too much to ask?"

This question was aimed at Dinah, and the girl lowered her gaze to the desk, pencil etching into the paper before her. Mr Venables narrowed his eyes, snapping:

"Miss Glass has nothing to do with this. What I am taking issue with, is your attitude."

"My attitude is fine. It's just HER! Digging into our private lives, as if she has nothing better to do! It's obvious I'm not going to tell her what the Prefects said to Harvey, as like I just told her, it's NONE OF HER BUSINESS!"

"Don't shout at me, Mr Hunter."

Suddenly, Mr Venables smirked. A warning sign. "Pray tell, isn't Harvey allowed to have his own privacy?" His smirk broadened as he laced his tone with venom.

"Or is he so much of a baby that you have to hand hold him through everything?"

There were a few titters from the class, and Dinah felt her blood run cold. Had Mr Venables really said that?!

At once, Lloyd bolted to his feet, chair screeching back from the force at which he had moved. Eyes burning with fury, he hissed viciously:

"How DARE you?! No one, and I mean, NO ONE, insults my brother like that! The reason WHY I 'interfere' with my brother's life, is because he is MY BROTHER! AND I CARE FOR HIM! The Prefects were hassling him, so as it's my duty so to speak, I STUCK UP FOR HIM! Hah, you call yourself, a teacher?! It's utterly despicable, what the Headmaster allows you to get away with! Insulting one of your pupils like that! YOU SHOULD BE SACKED!

At the end of his rant, Lloyd panted, positively steaming over his teacher's comment and how Mr Venables had been steering the conversation away from Glass and onto him. Lloyd gritted his teeth as Mr Venables paused for a beat, then bellowed:

"GET OUT!"

"Gladly." Picking up his bag, Lloyd stuffed all of his items off of the desk into it, then stomped towards the closed classroom door. Wrenching it open, he stopped in the door way as Mr Venables started to speak. "You are to wait outside for the rest of the lesson. Do you understand, Mr Hunter?!"

"Yes, Sir."

Narrowing his eyes even more until they were slits, Mr Venables snarled:

"Then during Lunch, you shall return here for Detention, where you shall be catching up with the work that you are going to miss, and aid me in marking the papers that this class did last week. Do you understand, Mr Hunter?"

"Yes, Sir."

Irritated at the clipped tone the boy was using, Mr Venables ordered: "Right, now you can apologise to your classmates for ruining the lesson. Face them."

Sighing, Lloyd spun round, and making sure that he caught every pupils' gaze, his eyes slitting at the sight of Dinah, he drawled:

"I am sorry for ruining your lesson, everyone."

Once Mr Venables had nodded his affirmation, Lloyd faced the corridor again, ready to step out. However, he paused when Mr Venables jeered:

"Shame, isn't it?"

Not receiving any form of an answer, Mr Venables sneered. "Such a shame that the Hunter family cannot behave themselves. You and your brother are very troublesome! Just be thankful that the Prefects are busy as is the Headmaster. Otherwise, you would have been before them, without a moment's hesitation! Now, LEAVE!"

Relief crashing through him at Mr Venables not revealing Harvey's soon to be whereabouts or the purpose of the visit to the Council, Lloyd left the classroom, shutting the door behind him. As he slouched against the wall, bag at his feet, Lloyd closed his eyes with a tired sigh. He had wanted to slam the door, but that was just asking for more trouble. He grimaced, beginning to feel pangs of regret.

'Crap, WHY did I do that?! Mum's going to kill me if she finds out. Which she WILL, thanks to Miss Goody Good Glass. I hope H is faring better than me.'

An hour and fifteen minutes after being informed of his fate, Harvey stood outside the Prefect's room. Unaware that his brother had landed himself with Detention, that Dinah was musing over the reason why he was held back before school and that the rest of SPLAT were wishing him good luck in their minds, Harvey grabbed hold of the locket around his neck, his fingers squeezing the half heart, not caring that the jagged edges dug into his flesh slightly.

It was better than facing the demons on the other side of the room.

He swallowed down the growing lump in his throat, wishing that Lloyd was there with him. Albeit, he was there in spirit. Trembling, Harvey summed up what little courage he possessed, and raised his fist, knuckles tentatively skimming the door.

"ENTER!"

Harvey flinched at the loud boom. 'Why does Jeff have to scare me so much?!' He thought as he creaked open the door and stumbled into the room. The room was dimly lit, just enough for Harvey to view the surroundings and people without having to strain his eyes. On one side of the room, stood Sue and Peter. Harvey whimpered as Peter grinned at him, his second tormentor, Jeff being top dog, revelling in the weakling's fear.

Sue moved over to the door and shut it firmly, then returned to her position. Harvey graced his eyes over the wall they were against, before turning his head to face the other way. There were two tables pushed together, the other four Prefects sat on seats, facing him. From the far left, sat Sarah then Jeff, Rose and finally Simon.

A brief flicker of a thought whisked through Harvey's mind. 'Seems as if Sue and Peter aren't good enough to sit at the table.'

His mind blanked at the sight of Jeff. Absolutely sure that he was going to pass out, Harvey stepped forwards at the Deputy Head's gesture, stepping more into the light and, unknowingly, stepping onto a black circle, a sharp contrast to the white flooring.

His gaze tearing away from Jeff, Harvey noticed a large folder in front of the older boy, and to his horror and shock, the label on the side of the folder had big, bold, black letters stamped onto it.

Spelling his name.

"Well, Wheezy, let's get started, shall we?"

Malice clear in Jeff's voice, Harvey peered out from beneath his eyelashes and murmured shakily:

"Yes, J-Jeff."

The Prefect smirked and Harvey knew that the smug prick was enjoying this, though he would never refer to Jeff in such a way verbally. That would grant him several whacks to the body.

He blinked as Jeff leisurely opened the folder, then leant back slightly, fingers slotting together, newly formed fists set on the table. Upon beginning to talk, Jeff's register became deeper, which Harvey guessed was his 'authoritative voice.' Judging by Rose's eye roll, he was right on track.

"Harvey Hunter, you have been summoned here before the Prefect's Council to be enlightened on the crimes that you have committed in the vicinity of St Champions." If he had enough pluck, Harvey would have snorted. Instead, he simply squeaked. "Fortunately, these have not tarnished the school's reputable reputation, but you must be punished."

An audible gulp sounded in the room. Clicking his tongue, Jeff's grey eyes flicked towards the papers within the folder, then seconds later, they would flick back up again, before he repeated the process. As his eyes flickered, he commenced the list of Harvey's 'crimes'.

"Firstly, in the first week of the new school year, you were seen entering the school building without permission, might I add, before you were meant too. What were you doing?"

"I-I was going to d-do the r-registers, J-Jeff. I was w-with Lloyd and I r-realised that I w-was meant to do them so I r-ran in…. I w-went to go and do them."

Tutting at this extra slice of 'trouble', Jeff glanced down at the folder, slight quirking of the lips to express his delight. "Sharon Page, had been assigned to do the registers that week. Not you. What do you say to that?"

"I-I-I…. L-Lloyd f-found me and s-shouted at me, but I c-couldn't hear w-what he said p-properly and because h-he was in a temper, I d-didn't want to risk him l-losing it again."

"So you are admitting that you made a mistake?"

"W-Well, m-m-maybe, the H-Headmaster-"

"The Headmaster does not make MISTAKES!"

Harvey shrivelled at Rose's shriek, the Head Prefect huffing as Jeff chuckled. "Temper, temper, Rose. Now, Wheezy, we all believe that you made the mistake. Do you accept this?"

"Y-Yes." Resignation had struck him.

"That's one strike. Now, your second offence. The spying on Assembly fiasco."

Harvey whimpered upon seeing Rose's expression. She looked livid. It was difficult to gage either of Simon's or Sarah's reactions, and Peter's and Sue's were out of the question, but all Harvey needed to know was that his dug hole was getting deeper and deeper.

Jeff snorted. "I know that Rose wants to see you pay for this so let us proceed. I saw you, outside the Hall. Spying on something that you are BANNED FROM! Tell me, Wheezy, do you know what 'banned' means?"

"Y-Yes, I d-do."

"Then why didn't you apply the definition?!"

"I-I was just c-curious, I-"

"Enough. The matter of the fact is, you were caught spying, and this chalks up another offence. My, my, do you want to be punished?!"

Harvey quivered, his frantic whimpers being swallowed down into muffled grunts. Silence reigned for a few moments before Jeff exclaimed:

"Ah! Now, this is the biggest offence of all."

He raised his head, locking gazes with his petrified victim, lips pealed back to reveal his perfect, white teeth. "Maths Homework. Do you recall?"

"Er-"

"You cheated, Hunter. Fair and square. I am astonished that the Headmaster has let you get away it for so long. If I were him, which would be an honour, I would have dealt with you straight away!"

Jeff sniggered as Rose reprimanded Simon for his little speech. "We all know you love being so dramatic about academics and anyone abusing them, but Hunter is being punished now, as the Headmaster wanted." She growled. "You are not disagreeing with the Headmaster, are you?"

"No, Rose." Said Simon, seeming as if he regretted speaking now. Harvey was astonished as Simon rarely spoke, yet when Jeff started up again, he wished that the fourth ranking Prefect suddenly turned into a chatterbox, so as to save him from this nightmare of a lecture.

"You cheated on this piece of homework, which was easy. But you, idiotic as ever, failed to complete it so you forced your new foster sister into doing it for you. Didn't you?"

"N-No! I w-went to her and asked her i-if she could h-help me, I didn't t-think that s-she would accept my r-request! Then she d-did it for me and I-I wrote my name on it, t-then I gave it in!"

He reeled back, having noticed the smug smile on Jeff's face. The Prefect watched Hunter react in amusement before whispering in a triumphant tone:

"Thank you."

"F-F-For what?"

"For admitting what we already know. That you cheated, but then you went ahead and admitted that you asked Dinah Glass for help, so now you are in even more trouble. Well done, Wheezy!"

Shoulders slumping, Harvey stifled a sob. Smirking, Jeff purred:

"Oh, the Headmaster was FURIOUS about that! And even though he wasted his valuable time, you still didn't understand any of the concepts! It must have been a relief for him to stop wasting his time on a fool like you."

Another sob nearly broke free, Jeff continuing on. "Lastly, we come on to your final offence. Yes, I bet that you and Smith are regretting having that little play session in the snow now! Throwing those snowballs is against the school rules, but you seem to be breaking another one, every single day!"

"But I-I was p-punished for t-that…. Both m-me and I-Ingrid…"

"Oh yes, but what the Headmaster has in store for you as a punishment is because of all of your offences." Rose stated smugly.

Nodding miserably in acceptance, Harvey held his breath as Jeff whisked something out from the back of the folder. Being so fragile and such a worrier, Harvey's mind leapt to the extreme, imagining utterly horrifying things, but his mind was put at peace upon noting that Jeff was brandishing a document. The Deputy Head waved it in front of Harvey, drawling:

"Do I have to launch it like a Frisbee? Shall we play Fetch?"

Harvey shook his head, moving forwards and plucking the document from Jeff's hand, the second in command musing to himself: 'Could play that after the Headmaster's plan has been put into place. A game for my Pet to play when he has been a good boy.'

He skimmed his fingers over it while Jeff explained. "The Headmaster has provided you with an exam to complete. Some of the questions within are from the Maths Homework that you failed to complete, whereas others are from a range of subjects and have been concocted by the Headmaster himself. You are not to start this until you get home and there must be no help this time. Am I clear, Wheezy?"

The small boy nodded frantically, his trembles worsening at Jeff's declaration.

"By the way, if you fail even one of the questions, then the Headmaster will be dealing with you. Severely."

Feeling as if he was going to have a heart attack, Harvey paled, shifting uncomfortably. Rose's lips quivered, and he prayed that she was going to send him on his way. Instead, she drawled lightly:

"You never know, if you get everything right, then you may end up on the Great School Quiz. Hah."

'Yeah…. Hah. Well, our school isn't going, but me and Ing are! Haha, LOSERS! Oh god, SHUT UP! THEY'RE STARING AT YOU! JUST NOD AND RUN! NOD AND RUN! NOD AND-'

Harvey quickly nodded, then turned towards the door, relieved as Rose waved a hand at him. He scuttled out of the room, missing the satisfied smiles that Rose and Jeff swapped with each other, simply focussing on getting as far away from the Prefect's room as possible.

Round the corner, in the next corridor, Harvey halted, fingers on his spare hand fumbling for his inhaler. He grasped it, pulling the pump out of his pocket and began to administer it. Upon regaining his breath, Harvey pocketed the pump and scuttled down the corridor, unaware of the looming figure up ahead.

He kept his head down, lost in his thoughts, exam in hand, when he almost tripped over a thin object. Barely managing to regain his footing, Harvey ultimately ended up bumping into someone, judging by the shape. Hands fisting into the black material, exam paper now lying on the floor, Harvey slowly raised his head, his eyes widening in horror as he encountered the face of who he had bumped into.

A narrow, pale face. Dark glasses. Nostrils flaring. Thin lips set into a firm line.

'Uh oh.'

With a gasp, Harvey released the Headmaster's gown, one eye watching in fascination at the way the folds of the garment moved as if they were bat wings, the other on the Headmaster himself. The man was clad all in black, per usual, waistcoat peeking out from under the suit, which was enveloped in the gown. Harvey backed away, sputtering out numerous apologies on his way. As he moved back, he spotted what he had tripped over in the first place.

The Headmaster's cane.

Eyes bulging, mouth opening and closing at random intervals, Harvey whimpered. He could not be hit with that! No matter how many times he had been threatened with the cane in his former tutoring sessions and apart from that one time, where he did get smacked, Harvey reckoned that the Headmaster would not go that far….. Would he?

"S-S-Sorry, Sir. L-Let me g-g-get out of your w-w-way. S-Sorry."

So far, the Headmaster had simply analysed him. However, all of that soon changed.

"Mr Hunter, BE QUIET!"

The stream of words transitioned into a babble of whimpers as Harvey attempted to fall silent. His movements stopped, which was a bad thing, as the Headmaster instantly ranted:

"Pick up your exam!"

Obeying, Harvey swiped the exam up off of the floor and locked his brown eyes onto the hem of the Headmaster's gown. Another mistake. The Headmaster's spare hand flew towards him, and once the long, claw-like fingers were cupping his chin, Harvey's head was tilted upwards. Eyes connecting with the man's concealed ones, the small boy squeaked as the Headmaster loomed over him, glasses sliding down a fraction so that he could glimpse those horrifying green eyes of his.

The Headmaster hissed: "Next time, I suggest you look where you are going, so that another accident does not occur. Remember, chaos breeds destruction! Now, you have your exam in hand, so I believe that you should be getting on your way. Am I correct, Mr Hunter?"

"Y-Y-Yes, S-S-S-Sir. I'll g-g-get back t-to c-c-class."

"See that you do….. Get out of my sight, boy!"

Waiting for the Headmaster to not be touching him anymore, Harvey hastily darted out of the way and speed walked down the corridor, shuddering as he was sure that the Headmaster was burning his covered green orbs into the back of his skull.

Only when he was back in his seat in the classroom, did Harvey feel safe.

Lunch was eventful as Lloyd had to firstly bear with a lecture from Mr Venables, then apologise to the man, then catch up with all of the work that he had missed and help mark the exam papers the class had worked on a few days ago. Lloyd sighed as he came across his own one, although he was pleasantly surprised at achieving seventy percent on the paper. He had had to study hard to achieve such a high percentage, but to everyone else, the paper had seemed a breeze.

Meanwhile in the canteen, Harvey was batting his friends with metaphoric sticks away from questioning him about what the Prefects had wanted with him before school. He gave no indication of the exam paper tucked away in his school bag, simply telling them that he would let them know at the shed. Proceeding to stab his frozen jelly, Harvey wished that the day would end, as after his run in with the Headmaster, his nerves were all shot.

For the Headmaster, several rooms away, the day was merely getting better and better. He put the phone down, triumphant smile gracing his facial features. Although the interference from the Hunter boy had caused his temper to surge, he was feeling ecstatic, an emotion that was rare for him, as it had just been confirmed that St Champions, his school, was going to be on the Eddy Hair Show in a matter of weeks.

This meant that his Master Plan was certain to take place, and would require the last few adjustments to be made quickly, so everything would be running perfectly on the big day.

He rose to his feet, tucking his chair behind his desk and positioning his cane in the correct place, before stalking out of his office and along the corridor, towards the canteen.

What could pass as a grin quivered at the Headmaster's lips briefly at his upcoming agenda. Once he informed his pupils and staff of the school having secured a place on the Eddy Hair Show, he would be free to filter out his plans to them, taking them through the stages, step by step at every Assembly until the Show itself.

Approaching the canteen doors, the Headmaster's somewhat happy expression changed to a scowl. The only people standing in his way were those bunch of troublemakers.

If they somehow caught wind of his scheme and realised what power he held, then all of his plans, after years and years, could be potentially scuppered.

By five beastly children.