“I’m glad I’m not a cat,” said Jessa, “because that lesson would have cost me one of my nine lives.”

“What are you talking about?” Maggie said. “I thought it was great! Miss Farrell is so good at making things interesting. Plus, I love when teachers make us do role-play, it makes the content so much easier to get to grips with.”

“Ugh, no,” Jessa pulled a face. “I hate role-play. I like Miss Farrell a lot, but I just don’t get any of this philosophy stuff. It’s too hard. What do you think, Flynn?”

“Hmm? What?”

“Uh oh, I think Flynn’s busy thinking about a certain Philosophy and Ethics teacher.”

“I am not!” he blushed. “I was thinking about the Four Laws, actually.”

“Yeah, sure,” Jessa nudged him. “The Four Laws of lo-o-ove!”

“Shut up!” he quickly walked ahead, leaving the girls laughing behind him.

They caught up with him at the lockers.

“Shoot,” Maggie fumbled with an armful of possessions and her binder covered in dog stickers smacked to the ground. She crouched to pick it up and unwittingly putting herself in the path of Cecily Graves.

“Watch it!” Cecily snarled.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Maggie apologised, looking up as Cecily shadowed over her.

“What’s wrong with you?” said Cecily. “Were you too busy daydreaming about puppies to watch where you were going?”

“No, I—” Maggie stammered, clutching the binder to her chest, trying to cover up the images on its outside. “I just—”

“You just what?” Cecily interrupted, stepping uncomfortably close to Maggie.

Jessa put her arm in between the two of them, shielding her friend from Cecily’s intrusive lean.

“Calm down, Cecily, it was an accident. We were just chatting about the lesson and didn’t hear you behind us, that’s all.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right. Blabbing away about Miss Farrell’s nonsense laws. Typical.”

“What?” Jessa said. “They’re not nonsense laws, they’re real laws that we all live by.”

Cecily lowered her voice. “Without those laws, my father would be the richest man in the world.”

“That would make your father a criminal,” Jessa said plainly, narrowing her eyes into Cecily’s glare.

“Not if the laws favoured parapsychs,” Cecily sneered, “as they should.”

“Is everything okay here?” came the familiar voice of Mr Fletcher behind them.

“Yes, Mr Fletcher!” Cecily said sweetly.

“Glad to hear it,” he said, looking straight through her innocent ruse. “You should probably head downstairs for lunch.”

“Yes, sir,” she flashed a coquettish smile, but he didn’t react. He waited until Cecily had disappeared down the staircase.

“You all right, Maggie?”

“Yeah I’m fine.” She looked down. “It was nothing.”

“It wasn’t. But don’t worry,” said Mr Fletcher. “I heard everything.”