For breakfast on the third day Sparrow finally had something other than cold root vegetable sludge. This time they had rice, eggs and noodles.

All the students were in a better mood, particularly Piggy who went up for seconds, and then thirds.

It was halfway through this meal that the three administrators appeared at the doorway of the hall.

‘There he is,’ the squat one said, pointing to where Sparrow sat eating. Sparrow looked behind him, trying desperately to see if they were pointing at someone else.

But no, the large and medium administrators gripped him by his collar and yanked him down the hall in front of all the other students.

Sparrow’s face turned red as Princess Jade, Rhino-xi and Piggy, all stared at him as he was dragged out like a beast. He was taken to a stone room and made to sit on a thin wooden stool.

The short administrator began reading from an obviously blank piece of paper.

‘Sparrow you are hereby charged with robbing the Swan Academy, to the tune of two gold coins.’

Sparrow’s head shot up. Until this point, he thought the charges might have been a mistake. But there was no mistaking the two pieces of rotten turnip that the tall administrator held up.

‘Could you repeat the charges?’ Master Lee asked, making everyone jump by his sudden appearance out of thin air.

After recovering from their fright the administrators kept their mouths shut and glared at the master.

‘What are the charges?’ Master Lee asked again, staring hard at the three administrators until they began to cower.

‘This boy has stolen two golden coins from us. The squat administrator said, ‘According to the school rules, theft can lead to expulsion from the Swan Academy.’

Sparrow was breathing faster now. He’d take any punishment, any whipping, any beating, even a fight with Rhino-xi. The one thing he did not want was to disappoint his grandma.

Old Master Lee nodded, ‘Sparrow,’ he said slowly. ‘Control your breathing.’

Sparrow realized he’d been hyperventilating. With a swallow, he slowly eased his breath in and out and instantly began to feel calmer.

‘Look into my eyes,’ Master Lee said, ‘Are these charges true?’

Sparrow’s bottom lip trembled, ‘I didn’t keep it. It was for my grandma. You don’t understand, they were offering me it to not attend the academy. My family. They need it!’

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Master Lee shook his head, ‘Is it true, yes or no?’

Sparrow’s eyes were downcast, ‘Yes, it’s true.’

‘Then there is nothing I can do here. Take care of my belt.’

And with that Master Lee disappeared.

The administrators, seeing that Sparrow no longer had an ally, jumped for joy.

‘You stupid scheming little peasant,’ the squat administrator said, ‘Finally, we have our revenge. You will be banished from the Swan Academy indefinitely.’

The tall administrator pushed his face right in close to Sparrow’s, ‘Do you understand what that means? You must not come back. You must not speak to any of the other students or come onto the academy grounds. If we find you we will beat you.’

Sparrow nodded to them. ‘Okay.’ And then he lifted his eyes to meet theirs, his were burning with shame and defiance, ‘You may have your revenge today, but one day, I swear I will have my own revenge on all three of you.’

The three administrators’ faces turned livid red.

‘Who are you?’ the squat administrator said, ‘You do not even go to this academy anymore. You are just a peasant who’s going to pick turnips for the rest of his life. A disappointment to your family.’

The administrator, gave a flick of his wrist, ‘Send him away. Throw him out.’

And so, the two other administrators picked him up by the arms and legs and threw him out of the school.

Sparrow landed in the mud in front of the school gate, he began to cry. He began to yell, he got to his feet and ran at the two administrators, kicking and punching them until one of them unleashed a spell that sent Sparrow flying backwards into a tree.

‘Now get out stupid peasant. Do not bother us anymore.’

Laughing, the three men disappeared back inside the academy.

Sparrow was sore from the spell. He wondered if he’d broken a rib when he’d hit the tree. He climbed to his feet and slowly began to hobble down the road that led away from the academy.

After a minute’s walk, a voice came from the bushes to his left.

‘P S S S T. Pssst.’

Sparrow stared at the bush and laughed a little to himself as he saw Piggy’s bum sticking out the side of it. Sparrow crawled into the trees beside Piggy.

‘What are you doing here?’ Sparrow asked, ‘You have class.’

Piggy shook his head in disbelief, ‘My only friend has just been kicked out of the academy. You think I can go to class right now?’

Piggy gave a moan, ‘Besides, it’s fighting class. Do you not remember what happened to me last time? Honestly, I half wish I was in your boots right now. I hate this place. My parents sent me here because they thought it’d make me stronger. I don’t really want to be stronger.’

Piggy held out some eggs he’d stolen when he was grabbing seconds from breakfast, ‘Take these. What’ll you do next?’

Sparrow sighed. ‘I don’t know. My one reason for joining the academy was to make my grandma proud and I tried, I really tried my best, but they didn’t want me.’

‘They don’t know what they’re missing. That’s the problem. They’re just a bunch of arrogant young masters. We’re too good for them.’

‘I think you might be right Piggy,’ Sparrow’s face began to lighten and he tapped his friend on the ribs. ‘What I’m gonna do now is I’m gonna make my grandma proud. I’m gonna walk down this road, and I’m gonna make the road my school. I’m gonna keep walking and not stop walking until I’ve learned everything that the road has to teach me. And when I’m finished. I’m gonna come back here and I’m going to teach them all a lesson.’ Sparrow laughed, ‘Or at least something like that… I don’t know.’

Piggy nodded seriously and took another egg from his pocket, he handed it to his friend, with a solemn face. ‘Go long. Go far. And remember me. I’ll see you in a few years my friend.’

Sparrow nodded, then winced as he got back to his feet and began to walk down the road, away from the Academy, and on to the school of life.