I don’t know whether anyone heard him because they’re making too much noise. Why is he praising me? I thought he was going to give me detention. His face is red and I can smell his sweat from across the room. His voice is his normal buttery voice but his body is the opposite. His body is angry and scared at the same time. I want to look at him and I don’t want to look at him. I want to see what his body does next, whether his words match it, but I hate looking at him because he’s a criminal. Not a criminal like MC2 who stole watches and didn’t kill no one. A REAL criminal.

Beneath the chaos in the Common Room, voices in the corridor outside. With the rain and the whooping, we were distracted. The teachers are back. Even when they open the door the noise continues. No one tries to stop, they’ve gone too far into chaos. Mrs C Eckler stands in the corner of the room with her mouth a capital O; Mr C Eckler has a minus mouth. Millennia marches into the centre of the room and raises both arms like she’s going to take flight. Then I realise her hands are flat like she’s pushing a heavy object. The heavy object is the sound we’re making. She doesn’t shout like the Head at Intercalary International. She doesn’t need to. When Millennia freezes her hands, her eyes focused on each and every one of us, everyone stops shouting.

Chapter 19:00: 0 To 60 In 1.4 Seconds

Chapter 19:00

0 TO 60 IN 1.4 SECONDS

Millennia doesn’t send us home. She speaks to us in the room without Le Temps and asks us questions about what happened. I can’t go into details in front of everybody. I’m already worried Ama will be cross I mentioned Kwesi and Noon. Millennia talks with us for a long time. I don’t listen to it all until I hear her voice change, like she’s talking to adults rather than children.

‘Le Temps is a trusted colleague, an exceptional eco- landscaper. He has won awards. Yes, he is a little unconventional, but that is a mark of his genius.’ She smiles at all of us. ‘You are welcome to make an appointment to see me, individually, in my office, Y2K. I am free tomorrow morning.

‘Please accept my apologies for the change of plans brought about by Season’s absence. Season texted me personally to say she needed time-out. She will be back tomorrow.’

I’m pleased to hear that. Even adults need time-out. Le Temps hasn’t locked Season in a cupboard. I wrongly accused him of that. Millennia doesn’t want to disrupt the itinerary any more than it has been. Dinner and the evening’s activity will proceed according to timetable. This evening we have free time.