Had he the time and the patience, he may have turned and responded to the younger boy—or perhaps it was because of his patience that he didn’t. Either way, the man acted under the guise of having not heard his outburst at all. He could put enough together to tell the boy had gotten a look inside the room as the Prefect walked through. He now knew what was coming should he ever regain enough manners.

For now, the man moved inside the room and locked it behind him, leaving Reese on the outside and Derfael on the inside.

When Mr. Prichard was ready, he would knock and do what needed to be done. There was no sense getting himself worked up and bursting blood vessels when it was as simple as this. Calvin took just a pause to regain his patience before looking to Mr. Ashburry-Hawthorne.

“I don’t suppose I’ll have to explain what you’ll be doing for the rest of the week.” The fact he seemed more awed than dismayed gave the man mixed feelings but if it meant him actually working and none of that teenage angst then he would accept it.

“Before we begin, I’d like you to tell me in your own words why you think you have been given detention.” It was always good to get an understanding of exactly where their reasoning ability was at.