Read No Rules for Free Online

their legs were tired from the downhill ride into town. It was two hours before they cycled painstakingly slowly up the gravel driveway to the administration building, lumbered off the bicycle and staggered inside to confront the Headmaster.

Chapter 6

The Bitter Farewell
    â€˜Headmaster,’ said Friday, struggling for breath, ‘you mustn’t overreact.’
    â€˜How dare you barge into my office!’ barked the Headmaster. ‘Just because you’re in here all the time from causing trouble, doesn’t mean you can waltz in whenever you like.’
    â€˜I think there’s more to this than meets the eye,’ said Friday.
    â€˜I’m very grateful to you for finding the culpritand resolving the industrial dispute,’ said the Headmaster. ‘You’ll get your board and tuition covered. Isn’t that enough?’
    â€˜I don’t believe Ian would do this,’ said Friday.
    â€˜Oh, I see,’ said the Headmaster. ‘You didn’t realise it was your boyfriend you were dropping in it.’
    â€˜He’s not my boyfriend,’ said Friday.
    â€˜Yes, yes,’ said the Headmaster, ‘you can delude yourself, but you can’t expect the rest of us not to notice what we see with our own eyes.’
    â€˜My opinion is based on fact and reason,’ said Friday.
    â€˜And just a little bit of warm affection,’ said Melanie. ‘Ian is seriously handsome. It’s hard to believe someone so good-looking would do something so ugly.’
    â€˜I’m just asking you to wait while I investigate further before you take action,’ said Friday.
    The Headmaster sighed. ‘You’re too late,’ he said. ‘I confronted Wainscott immediately. He laughed. He didn’t deny it.’
    â€˜What would be the point when there was so much evidence against him,’ said Friday sadly.
    â€˜That’s exactly what he said,’ said the Headmaster. ‘It’s unnerving how simpatico you two are.’
    â€˜So you suspended him?’ asked Friday.
    â€˜He sacked the entire staff two days ago!’ said the Headmaster. ‘Several of them have found other jobs. Some have taken off on holidays, leaving no contact details. And Vice Principal Dean was so devastated to be fired that he … well, that’s none of your business.’
    â€˜Had a mental breakdown?’ guessed Friday.
    â€˜How did you know?’ asked the Headmaster.
    â€˜I didn’t,’ said Friday. ‘But it makes sense. He was never very stable.’
    â€˜Even when the teachers come back tomorrow it will take weeks, if not months, before things return to normal,’ said the Headmaster, slumping in his seat.
    â€˜What are you saying?’ asked Friday, although her blood chilled as she feared the worst.
    â€˜Wainscott has been stripped of his scholarship and expelled,’ said the Headmaster. ‘I called a taxi for him. He packed his things and left an hour ago.’
    Friday’s vision began to blur and the room started to spin. She fainted.

Chapter 7

Dullness Ensues
    Friday was shell-shocked for days. Melanie had long teased her about being in love with Ian Wainscott, and she had always shrugged it off as silliness. But she was beginning to suspect that her roommate might be more insightful than she’d realised.
    For while she sincerely believed that she wasn’t in love with Ian, there was no denying the empirical evidence. When she saw Ian, her pulse raced, herbreath quickened and she became less able to speak articulately.
    Friday had always reasoned that this was a normal hormonal response to seeing a good-looking boy. For there was no doubt that Ian was incredibly good-looking. But she could not explain her reaction now that Ian was gone. She felt malaise. Her spirits were low, her senses felt dull and usually simple tasks, such as getting out of bed in the morning, seemed to be heavy with futility.
    Friday was