I felt very downhearted and turned down all invitations to go and play so that I could continue to think things over, which is a very important thing to do in life. I could already picture Dad in the head teacher’s office with Lucky Luke tearing a strip off him and that was something I wanted to avoid at all costs, so as not to hurt his fatherly feelings. I also thought again about Alexandre Dumas, who always made a big effort to entertain us and to teach us loads of historic things, even though he never knew us. I promised myself that I would read at least twenty pages of The Three Musketeers that evening. Then I dropped it down to fifteen, because it’s best to pace yourself so you don’t run out of steam.

The bell rang at the end of break and I didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing. Full of misgivings, I got in line to wait for the sports teacher. I thought about Dad and his school record to give myself courage. Sport would get me back on track.

Half an hour later it would be true to say that I was having no more luck with sport than with the climate in the South of France. I’d ended up eyeball to eyeball with Lucky Luke, in his office. He was standing with his legs slightly apart, as if he was squaring up for a duel. He looked as though he was about to pull out a piece of chalk and write “dunce” on my forehead.

“I must say I thought that things had been made absolutely clear and that you’d taken it all on board… Isn’t that right? I thought you’d made some resolutions … that you had good intentions…”

“Yes … but then again no…”

“What do you mean, yes but then again no?”

“Well, I mean that I did have resolutions, as well as intentions, but words often just slip out on their own…”

“Right, let’s recap. The sports teacher gets you all to line up…”

“Yes, and then he goes to fetch the keys to the gym…”

“And everyone’s quietly waiting for him in line?”

“Yes, sir, everyone’s waiting for him, that’s exactly right…”

“And so at that moment you decide to draw attention to yourself. Please could you repeat out loud what you said?”

I scratched my chin. To tell the truth I felt alone in a hostile environment. I asked myself what d’Artagnan in The Three Musketeers would have done in this situation.

“You’d like me to repeat…”

“Yes.”

“If you’re trying to make me feel ashamed, that’s not very nice of you.”

“Repeat what you said or I’m calling your father!”