Free Friday Barnes 2 by R. A. Spratt

I’m not a curious person, but even I was thinking that.’
    â€˜For the money,’ explained Jacinta.
    â€˜We figured out how to hack into our father’s bank account and divert the payment for one of our school fees to our own bank account in the Cayman Islands,’ explained Abigail. ‘That way only one of us would be enrolled. But Daddy would be paying for two.’
    â€˜And also so we could ditch the boring classes,’ added Jacinta.
    â€˜Yes,’ agreed Abigail. ‘I prefer science whereas Jacinta likes English and history. This way we just go to the classes we like.’
    â€˜Who goes to maths class?’ asked Friday
    â€˜Yuck!’ said both girls. ‘Neither of us like that. So we take turns.’
    â€˜Wow, you only attend half the classes each,’ said Melanie. ‘I think these girls might be even more brilliant than you, Friday.’
    â€˜What are you going to do with us?’ asked Jacinta.
    â€˜Are you going to report us to the Headmaster?’ asked Abigail.
    â€˜Of course not,’ continued Friday. ‘You’ve worked out a brilliant scheme. When I was trying to avoid applying to high school, I wish I’d thought up something as clever as this.’
    The girls started to smile. ‘How did you figure us out?’ asked Jacinta. ‘Surely it was more than just the calculator.’
    â€˜It was,’ agreed Friday. ‘It was several things. First, your taste in literature. You’ve got Jane Austen and Lee Child. Then, your taste in music. There’s Dolly Parton and The Cure. And your interests: hockey and ballet. Everything is diametrically opposed, as if two people were living here. Then there’s the fact that you were sighted in two places at once. But the clincher was the pink bandage.’
    â€˜The bandage?!’ exclaimed Melanie.
    â€˜Yes,’ said Friday. ‘How could you injure your ankle playing hockey yesterday, then go to a ballet class today? You’re wearing pointe shoes. That is very hard on the ankles. So obviously it was not those ankles that took the blow in hockey. So there hadto be another set of ankles attached to a person who looked exactly like you, which means either a vast amount of incredibly expensive plastic surgery, or an identical twin. Given the increasing birth rate of twins, I judged that was the more likely scenario.’
    â€˜Brilliant,’ said Melanie.
    â€˜Then it was a question of where,’ said Friday. ‘The janitor’s closet next door was the obvious choice. I soon discovered the door wasn’t just locked, it was glued shut. Someone had injected glue into the lock mechanism. With that doorway blocked, it would be easy for two girls who were heiresses to a building empire to access the power tools and materials necessary to cut another secret doorway through their wardrobe into the janitor’s closet.’
    â€˜So what happens now?’ asked Abigail. ‘Are you going to tell our parents?’
    â€˜Goodness, no,’ said Friday. ‘I’m not the police. Good luck to you. If I had to share a room with Trea, I’d be glad of a secret hidey-hole in the back of my wardrobe too.’
    â€˜Do we have to pay you hush money?’ asked Abigail.
    â€˜We know you’re hard-up,’ said Jacinta.
    â€˜No, don’t be silly,’ said Friday. ‘I’d never dream of blackmailing you. I have principles.’
    â€˜I don’t,’ said Melanie. ‘You can buy my silence with that half-eaten chocolate bar on the desk.’

Chapter 10

The Headmaster’s Ankle
    Every Monday morning the whole school gathered for assembly, which was about as far from exciting as you can possibly get. The only interesting thing to ever happen at assembly was for someone to fall asleep, slide out of their chair and bang their head on the floorboards, which allowed everybody one-and-a-half seconds to enjoy a good giggle