Back in the reception hall Karabo found Mr BS looking at a very well-stuffed envelope in his hand. He seemed unsure what to do with it. The big man was gone, as was the Audi outside.

“You OK, Mr Barnard-Smyth?” asked Karabo as she walked up to him. He stood in the centre of the large entrance hall that had originally welcomed the Governor’s guests. Now there was a large wooden reception desk at the far end of the entrance hall, behind which the secretary sat during the day. Columns ringed the entrance hall in two semi-circles. Mr BS mumbled thanks to Karabo and avoided eye contact, before fetching his umbrella that leant against one of the pillars. As he shuffled out into the rain, he hastily stuffed the envelope into his jacket pocket.

Karabo shrugged, then felt a shiver up her spine. Adults behaved in very strange ways. Taking the stairs up to her dorm, two at a time, she noticed her mood had picked up. As she entered her warm, empty room, she smiled, thinking how her luck had turned – and what had felt like solitary confinement, was turning into the best weekend ever. She was officially the first person to see and meet the all-too-gorgeous-and-obviously-bad William. Clearly, he wouldn’t last long here. Most of the boys at Dayeton College were into the outdoors or sports, and all were smart. One or two were pranksters, but on the whole, the school attracted rich kids with high IQs – that was their thing. William didn’t look like he fitted into sport or the outdoors, though he could possibly be a genius. A bad, evil genius! Karabo felt the excitement of

William’s arrival twisted her stomach into a knot. She couldn’t wait for Isla to return to school and tell her all about him.

The following morning, Karabo looked out of the window. It was still raining. She sighed loudly. She’d hoped to go and hit a few balls on the empty hockey astro – the only upside to being abandoned at school. She’d wanted to spend the hours, till Isla returned, doing something physical to keep herself from thinking about William on the other side of the building. She considered putting her sports anorak on and playing in the rain, but the thought of the rain droplets running down her head, wetting her dreadlocks, would drive her mad. She would have to go and find something else to do. The gymnasium was probably the best option, where she was sure there’d be someone to play basketball with.

Pulling on her tracksuit and trainers, and tying all her braids into a ponytail, Karabo went down to the school dining hall for breakfast. The dining hall had once been the Governor’s kitchen and grand dining room. Combined into one large room to contain all the children in the school, it had been extended out

towards the back of the mansion. The large rectangular hall had a row of small windows close to the ceiling, to let in natural light; the walls were adorned with gold-framed portraits of previous resident Governors who had once supped here. The overall effect was a long rambling room of tables and chairs, a serving area at the far end and a closed-off kitchen behind it.

Karabo was ravenous and hoped there would be bacon and eggs. The dining hall was mostly empty except for a few kids shoveling muesli into their mouths. This was a bad sign – probably no bacon and eggs left. Karabo walked quickly to the food serving area to check if there might be something more than rabbit food to eat. Bingo!

Her stomach grumbled in approval as she spotted the two measly pieces of bacon lying in the silver tray. They were probably cold by now, but definitely edible. As she strained over the perspex cover, she peered through the gap into the kitchen to see if there was anyone nearby to serve up the food. She could hear voices coming from the kitchen and decided to go round the back and call from the kitchen entrance. Stomping her way around to the back of the kitchen, Karabo pushed the door open, and found the kitchen staff sitting having tea.

‘Hi, sorry to bother, but please can someone serve me up some bacon and eggs in the front,’ she asked sweetly. She was well aware that fighting with the people who made your food could lead to no food, spoilt food or gross food. She always played it safe.

One of the women, with hair neatly packed away in a clear plastic cap, looked at her under heavy eyelids. ‘Meredith is on her way to serve you. We heard you calling. You must be more patient in future. Go back to the counter,’ she said, her voice devoid of any emotion. Karabo thanked the women and retreated. She was annoyed, really annoyed, and stomped back again. Stomach moaning even louder, she made her way back to her bacon quickly.

***

Tell us: What do you think is going on between BS and William’s dad?