In single file the boys came onto the stage and stood close together facing the head. He stood still, tight about the jaw, staring at them with contempt. The murmur swelled as the realisation spread through the assembly – they were still wearing the forbidden badges on their lapels! One in the group, a sixth-form hero of the first fifteen, began to read a prepared statement. The assembly fell silent. The bomb was a threat to humanity, to life on earth, a moral abomination, a tragic waste of resources. The headmaster cut him off as he strode past to leave the stage. He would see them all in his
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