An eerie silence followed them to reception, and it became more peculiar when they opened the door to find the hall empty. There was no one, no receptionist at the desk, no admin staff jostling about with books and documents, no students waiting in a line by the office door, and as they walked through into the courtyard there was nothing but dust floating in the strings of light through the caged cherry tree in the middle.

Jamie opened his mouth to say something when he heard commotion beyond the courtyard, hundreds of footsteps and the low hum of chattering, and beyond the archway, like a vision into some strange other world, they could make out students heading across the lavender-lined paths towards the field like a migration of birds.

Ellie scratched her head, and the three of them watched as students from all houses pushed past them to cross the bridge. ‘This is really weird.’

A few students stopped to stare at them, pointing and whispering, as if whatever was happening was somehow their fault, and Jamie was ready to pull a girl from Conch House over to the side for questioning when a familiar bird-like voice caught their attention.

‘There you are.’ Binah shot up from a bench by the bridge where she appeared to have been waiting for them, her tiny frame allowing her to squeeze through the hordes of students with ease. ‘You’re just in time for the emergency assembly.’

Up close, Jamie could smell sun cream on her skin and see the summer glow that still clung to her, only her face was pulled taut, no hint of a relaxing holiday left in the serious look she gave them.

‘The what?’

‘Hey, watch it.’ A girl from Ivy House pushed past Lottie, muttering something about her hair while giving her a venomous stare that made Jamie grind his teeth.

‘Something happened last night while you guys were away,’ Binah relayed, pulling Jamie’s attention back from the girl and already marching them in the same direction as the other students. ‘Someone broke into the school …’ She trailed off and Jamie knew there was something she wasn’t saying.

‘What happened, Binah?’ Jamie asked, keeping his voice low.

Fiddling with her yellow Stratus prefect sash, Binah glanced sideways at Lottie from behind her round glasses. Her already large eyes seemed to double in size, heavy lashes making her look like a wise owl. ‘The person who broke in –’ she shuddered, clearly not wanting to repeat it – ‘they were a reporter; they grabbed one of the boys from Year Eight, Dom Nguyen, and they threatened him. It was really traumatic.’

‘That explains the security,’ Lottie replied, her eyebrows knitting together with worry.

They were just outside the sports hall, a smell of lemon-scented cleaning products washing over them as students filtered in to find a seat on the tiered benches.