‘‘Natalia cannot take part in Games today as she has a cold and is unable to,’’ Mrs Luxton read the note sarcastically. ‘Unable to what? Is that your mum’s signature?’

‘Yeah, it is. Sorry, mum worded it.’

‘So she actually wrote it for a change! Sit down on the bench.’ 

As she watched the girls holler over each other in Netball, she thought of the new Head. What an unlikely choice. Someone intelligent with gravitas and authority, well-groomed even, yet the mischief she witnessed in him from the outset was something to behold. Smoking in his office, and then setting fire to her report card. Wouldn’t he lose his job if it was seen by another teacher, or if she were to simply tell someone? Surely he couldn’t keep the habit se...

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