Bitter Enemies Read online

  About the Book

  Headmasters behaving badly!

  When four former headmasters arrive at Highcrest Academy to take part in the school’s anniversary celebrations, the students are warned to be on their best behaviour.

  Unfortunately, no one told the headmasters to stay out of mischief too! Which means Friday Barnes soon has a case to solve. But unravelling the truth isn’t easy when the whole school is being forced to eat paleo because the cook is on a diet; her best friend’s brother won’t stop blubbering about the terrible boat accident he may or may not have caused; and Friday is being trailed by a mysterious admirer – or is it a stalker?

  Can Friday find the facts among the mayhem? She’d better. The fate of Highcrest depends on it!

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Previously in Friday Barnes

  Chapter 1: What Next?

  Chapter 2: Answers

  Chapter 3: The Scandal

  Chapter 4: The Storm Brews

  Chapter 5: The Confrontation

  Chapter 6: Fender Bender

  Chapter 7: The New (Old) Regime

  Chapter 8: Hidden Enemy

  Chapter 9: The Strangest Motive of All

  Chapter 10: Fallout

  Chapter 11: The Terrible Incident

  Chapter 12: Without a Trace

  Chapter 13: The Missing Headmistress

  Chapter 14: Binky

  Chapter 15: Sick

  Chapter 16: Foot Size

  Chapter 17: The Confused Head

  Chapter 18: The Headmaster Needs Help

  Chapter 19: Malicious Intent

  Chapter 20: Power Vacuum

  Chapter 21: The Battle of the Bagels

  Chapter 22: Clues

  Chapter 23: Stickybeak

  Chapter 24: Survival

  Chapter 25: All is Revealed

  Chapter 26: Back to School

  Friday Barnes: Collect Them All!

  About the Author

  Also by R. A. Spratt

  Copyright Notice

  To Perseus

  They were all very quiet in the car on the way back to school. Melanie was asleep as soon as she did up her seatbelt.

  Friday and Ian were soon sleeping too. Enduring school camp and uncovering an illegal mink farming operation had been hard work. They had been through a difficult four weeks, an arduous two days and way too much walking.

  As she slept, Friday was dreaming about hot baths and kittens purring when suddenly there was a jolt. She woke up and realised that the noise in her dream was actually the purr of the car engine and the heat was really Ian’s body warmth because she was slumped up against him.

  ‘Where are we?’ yawned Ian.

  ‘Back at the school,’ said the Headmaster.

  ‘Why did we stop so abruptly?’ asked Friday.

  ‘Because somebody has parked their motorbike in my spot,’ said the Headmaster grumpily.

  Friday peered out the window. There was a bright red Ducati in front of the car. A leather-clad rider and a pillion passenger got off.

  ‘They look like hitmen,’ said Melanie. ‘Do you suppose the mink farmers have sent them as a revenge attack?’

  The motorcyclists turned and took their helmets off.

  Ian gasped. The rider was a stunningly beautiful brunette, and as she shook her hair free she looked like she should be in a shampoo commercial. Next, the passenger took his helmet off, and he was just as good-looking but in a taller, more manly way.

  ‘Who are they?’ asked Ian.

  ‘Are they supermodels planning to send their children to our school?’ asked Melanie.

  ‘I’ve never seen them before in my life,’ said the Headmaster.

  Friday groaned.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Ian.

  ‘I know who they are,’ said Friday. She opened the door and got out of the car. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Friday!’ cried the woman. ‘So good to see you.’ The beautiful brunette leaned over and gave Friday a lanky half-hug.

  Ian, Melanie and the Headmaster got out of the car too.

  Friday turned back to her friends.

  ‘Allow me to introduce you to Quasar and Orion,’ said Friday. ‘My sister and brother.’

  ‘She’s your sister?’ asked Ian.

  ‘Yep,’ said Friday.

  ‘And he’s your brother?’ asked Melanie as she openly stared at Orion.

  ‘Hello,’ said Orion with a smile.

  ‘And they’re physicists?’ asked the Headmaster.

  ‘Beautiful people can get PhDs too,’ said Friday.

  ‘Yes, but they usually don’t bother,’ said Ian.

  ‘So, what are you two doing here?’ Friday asked her siblings.

  ‘Friday,’ said Melanie, ‘you know you like me to let you know when you’re being rude. Well, now is one of those times.’

  ‘It’s okay,’ said Friday. ‘It’s my family. Emotionally barren bluntness is how we roll.’

  ‘We’ve got good news,’ said Quasar.

  ‘Mum’s got you a place at Collège Du Léman,’ said Orion.

  Now Friday gasped.

  Quasar and Orion both smiled smugly.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Melanie.

  ‘The best school in Switzerland,’ said Friday, ‘and arguably, the world. Their science program is second to none.’

  ‘The whole family is in Switzerland,’ said Orion. ‘Quasar and I are at ETH Zurich, Quantum is at the University of Bern, Dad and Halley are at the University of Zurich, and Mum is working on the hadron super collider. Mum and Dad want you to join us.’

  ‘They do?’ said Friday.

  ‘Of course,’ said Quasar.

  Friday looked up at Ian. Even when he was tired he was handsome.

  ‘It’s a wonderful opportunity,’ said Ian. ‘Switzerland is beautiful. You could learn to ski.’

  ‘I don’t know about that,’ said Friday, unsurely, ‘but I have always wanted to see the super collider.’

  Ian smiled a little sadly.

  ‘Excellent,’ said Orion, handing Friday a helmet. ‘Hop on, we need to head straight to the airport.’

  ‘What?!’ exclaimed Friday. ‘I can’t go now.’

  ‘You have to,’ said Quasar. ‘Our flight leaves in three hours. And you’re starting at your new school tomorrow.’

  ‘Mum had to pull a lot of strings to get you in,’ said Orion. ‘You’ve only got one shot at this. You’ve got to come with us now.’

  Fourteen weeks later, Ian Wainscott was not looking forward to year 8. School was going to be very boring without his nemesis, Friday Barnes, there. Who would he irritate now? Sure, he would probably just go back to irritating everybody, as he had before he met her. But it was more fun annoying Friday. She was more of a challenge. She allowed him to really stretch his skills of being a pain in the neck.

  The only reason Ian was arriving back at the gates of Highcrest Academy punctually at 9 am on the first day after the holidays was because he couldn’t stand being at home anymore.

  His mother had recently remarried, to Friday’s Uncle Bernie no less. Uncle Bernie was, in Ian’s opinion, even more annoying than his niece. And the newlyweds were just so happy to be happy it was nauseating to be in the same house as them. They kept doing thoughtful things for each other like making cups of tea, holding doors open and smiling warmly. It made Ian’s stomach turn. He was much more comfortable with the way things were when his father had lived with them and bickered endlessly with his mother. He was used to that. Affection and kindness just made him uncomfortable.

  So when the school gates opened, Ian was the first student trudging up the driveway to claim his
room in the year 8 dormitory.

  Melanie was even more reluctant to go back to school. She missed her best friend dreadfully. And she had spent her holidays at a tropical beachside resort in the Maldives. It is very hard to miss somebody when you are in paradise surrounded by every luxury. It would be much easier to miss Friday when she was back at school in a dormitory surrounded by mean teenage girls.

  Nevertheless, Melanie was almost as punctual as Ian in her return to Highcrest Academy. Melanie had never quite recovered from her bout of African sleeping sickness, and as a result did tend to fall into unusually deep naps. So, after she had protested all holidays that she wanted to be home schooled, her father simply waited until she fell asleep, scooped her up and flew her back to school in his helicopter.

  Melanie sat in her dorm room all alone waiting for the traditional beginning of term assembly. Theoretically she might have found herself with a new roommate because it was a new year and Melanie had moved into a new dormitory. But she was still the same old Melly Pelly and no-one wanted a weirdo for a roommate. Just looking at the half-empty wardrobe made her feel lonely. Melanie tried closing her eyes and having a nap instead. But sleep wouldn’t come. In the distance, she could hear the cacophony of the school bell sounding from varying points about the campus. She couldn’t put it off any longer. This was really happening. She was going to have to face school without her best friend. Melanie got up and traipsed towards the school hall amongst the gathering crowds. She was amazed that with so little enthusiasm she could still move herself from A to B.

  Melanie went to sit down in the first vacant chair she came across, but it was next to Mirabella Peterson.

  ‘That seat is taken,’ said Mirabella nastily. The girls sitting the other side of her sniggered.

  ‘Oh, okay,’ said Melanie. ‘I know you’re lying. But I didn’t realise it was you sitting there and I’d prefer not to sit next to you anyway. Listening to you make small talk with your friends is like watching a lion eat a baby zebra. I know it’s a normal part of natural selection, but it’s still brutal and hideous to observe.’

  ‘What?’ said Mirabella, not entirely sure what Melanie had said, but pretty sure she’d been insulted.

  Melanie had already drifted away. She’d spotted someone she did like.

  ‘Hello,’ said Melanie. ‘Are you going to pretend someone is sitting here?’

  Ian looked up. He was fond of Melanie. Her low energy was contagious, she was relaxing just to be around.

  ‘You can sit if you want to,’ said Ian, ‘I’m not in charge of seating.’ Just because he liked Melanie didn’t mean he would show weakness in the form of being polite.

  Melanie sat.

  They both stared at the empty stage for a few moments, waiting for the teachers to arrive.

  ‘You miss her too, don’t you?’ said Melanie. ‘Although it must be worse for you. Friday and I had a symbiotic relationship. We filled in for each other’s weaknesses. But you two were real kindred spirits.’

  ‘What?’ said Ian. ‘On second thoughts, I retract that. I don’t want to know. I’d rather not hear your daft explanation.’

  Melanie chuckled. ‘As if you need an explanation.’

  The music started up. All the students automatically got to their feet. Melanie glanced around. She couldn’t see the teachers yet because the year 12 students were in the back row, but she could hear the footsteps of the Headmaster heavily striding down the central aisle of the hall and the less bullish shuffling of the rest of the teaching staff. Soon she saw their mortarboard hats bobbing along above the heads of the crowd.

  ‘This is really happening, isn’t it?’ said Melanie. ‘We’re really going to have to go to school without her?’

  ‘Stop being so melodramatic,’ said Ian. ‘It’s no big deal.’

  ‘You’re right,’ said Melanie. ‘Denial is the best way to deal with emotionally distressing situations. I’ll pretend it doesn’t matter too.’

  The teachers were finding their seats up on the stage now. The Headmaster stepped forward to address the school as the piano music came to its conclusion. ‘Students, teachers, welcome to another year at Highcrest Academy.’

  Several students groaned.

  ‘Patel, out!’ ordered the Headmaster.

  ‘It wasn’t me!’ protested Patel.

  ‘It’s always you,’ said the Headmaster. ‘If it wasn’t this time it’s only because your reflexes have slowed during the holidays. Well, mine haven’t. Get out!’

  Patel scraped his chair back and slouched out of the hall.

  The Headmaster glared at the rest of the assembled student body, as if challenging them to test his patience.

  The hall full of hundreds of people became noticeably quieter. It was as if everyone was even trying to breathe quietly.

  ‘We have another year before us,’ said the Headmaster. ‘Let us hope that this year proves to be less academically abysmal than last year.’

  ‘Fat chance,’ muttered Melanie.

  ‘What was that, Pelly?!’ demanded the Headmaster. ‘On your feet, come on, share it with the whole group.’

  Melanie stood up. Three hundred and forty-eight pairs of eyes bored into her.

  ‘I said “fat chance”,’ said Melanie, ‘because Friday left so we’ll probably do worse with the smartest student in the school gone.’

  The Headmaster sighed. He found it frustrating that his usual pantomime of steaming anger never seemed to make a dent on any of the Pelly children. Melanie and her five older brothers were so happy and well-adjusted that they didn’t cower under the wrath of his disapproval like normal children.

  Melanie sat down.

  ‘That brings me to the next item I want to discuss,’ said the Headmaster. ‘This year I expect things to be different. That means no scandals, no smugglers, no international crime rings, no runaway criminals and no kidnappings! Do I make myself clear?’

  Melanie took a breath ready to answer, but Ian put his hand on her arm and shook his head.

  ‘Was he being rhetorical?’ she asked.

  Ian nodded.

  ‘This year, I want you all to be boring and dull and tedious, like normal teenagers,’ said the Headmaster.

  The room responded with silence.

  This buoyed the Headmaster’s confidence because it was exactly what he wanted. ‘This year is the sesquicentenary of our founder, Sebastian Dowell’s, birth,’ continued the Headmaster.

  There was muttering among the students and staff along the lines of ‘What’s a sesquicentenary?’, ‘Is it some sort of medical procedure?’ and ‘Are we going to be assessed on this?’

  The Headmaster rolled his eyes. ‘Sesquicentenary means one hundred and fiftieth birthday. It is a historic occasion of great importance to the school. To the mark the milestone there will be many special events.’

  Now there was muttering amongst the student body, as students tried to guess what these special events might be. Binky Pelly could be heard loudly hoping there might be a sausage sizzle. Binky was a large athletic boy who thought a great deal about eating carbohydrates and protein.

  ‘Silence,’ barked the Headmaster. ‘I’m not talking about sausage sizzles or slinky apple days.’

  Binky groaned with disappointment.

  ‘To mark the sesquicentenary a bronze sculpture has been commissioned for the school lake,’ began the Headmaster.

  ‘What lake?’ Melanie whispered to Ian.

  ‘I presume he’s talking about the swamp,’ said Ian, with a shrug.

  ‘A two-million-dollar purpose-built meditation room will be constructed so that transcendental meditation can be incorporated into the curriculum,’ continued the Headmaster, reading from his notes.

  Ian snorted. ‘Like we need a special room to sit around doing nothing.’

  ‘I think it sounds wonderful,’ said Melanie, smiling.

  ‘The exercise pool for the polo ponies will be refurbished,’ said the Headmaster, ‘as a tribute to Sebastian Dowe
ll’s devotion to that sport.’

  ‘It’s not fair that the ponies get a new pool and we don’t,’ said Ian grumpily.

  ‘Apparently, we have a lake,’ said Melanie.

  ‘And all the surviving former headmasters of the school have been invited back.’ The Headmaster leaned in, he was enjoying this bit. ‘They will be guest teachers here at the school for the next four weeks.’

  There were gasps of shock and animated chatter of disapproval. Students generally didn’t like teachers. But old teachers were the worst. Older teachers were always the grumpiest, the meanest, and the wisest to all the ruses students might try on them.

  ‘That’s right,’ said the Headmaster. ‘You’re all going to get a good dose of old fashioned education and values. These great educators have seen it all and they won’t tolerate the cheek you try to get away with today. I suggest you start being quiet, speaking only when you’re spoken to and showing appropriate respect for me, the teaching staff and this school.’

  The hall was quiet again as the students obediently tried a few seconds of being good.

  The Headmaster smiled. For the first time in a long time, he was actually enjoying himself at work.

  Then the double-door at the back of the hall clattered open. The sun glared in and a figure could be seen silhouetted against the light.

  ‘Oh no,’ said the Headmaster. He recognised the silhouette, or more accurately, he recognised the silhouette’s hat.

  The figure stepped into the room and everyone could see who it was.

  ‘Friday Barnes, what are you doing here?’ demanded the Headmaster.

  Friday did not get a chance to reply, because she was almost knocked over by Melanie barrelling down the aisle and grasping her in a big hug.