Read Online Return to Groosham Grange by Anthony Horowitz - Free Book Online Page B

paces away. His clothes were disheveled and there was a large bruise above his cheek where the handbag had hit him. Mr. Helliwell stood in one corner of the room, resting his chin on one hand, watching the two boys quietly. Mr. Kilgraw sat behind his desk with the statuette in front of him. David felt like snapping it in half. And he felt much the same about Vincent.
    “I admit he found it first,” Vincent said. He took his hands out of his pockets. “I’ve told you. I worked out the puzzle and found the cabinet, but I was too late. I guessed David had taken it, so I went back to the telephone booth. That was when I saw him with the statuette lying next to him. I figure he must have tripped over or something, so I took the statuette. I didn’t see any waxworks, though,” he added.
    “Didn’t see them?” David curled his fists. “You sent them!”
    “I had nothing to do with it.”
    “Then who did?”
    “That’s enough of this!” Mr. Kilgraw said, fluttering his hand for silence. His voice was little more than a whisper, but then the assistant headmaster rarely spoke loudly. He leaned back in his chair. “The trial is over,” he said. “And Vincent has won.”
    “But, sir . . .” David began.
    “No!” Mr. Kilgraw pointed a finger. “David, you talk about cheating, but it seems to me that it was only a few days ago that you were discovered trying to steal the papers for the last exam.”
    “That was Vincent too,” David replied. “He set me up.”
    “And then there’s the question of Sports Day. The obstacle course . . .”
    David fell silent. He was blushing and he knew it. The obstacle course! Mr. Kilgraw had known about it all the time. There was nothing David could say now. He had cheated once in his life, and because of that, nobody would ever trust him again.
    “We don’t need to prolong this discussion,” Mr. Kilgraw said. “Whatever happened tonight, Vincent won. He was the first back and he brought the statue with him. Mr. Helliwell . . . ?”
    In the corner, the voodoo teacher shrugged. “I’m sorry, David,” he said. “But I have to agree.”
    “Then that’s that. Vincent King takes first place in the standings. At prize-giving it will be he who is presented with the Unholy Grail.”
    “Thank you, sir.” Vincent glanced again at David. “I mean it, David,” he said. “I didn’t want it to happen this way.”
    “Like hell . . .”
    “Don’t ever compare anything to hell until you’ve been there!” Mr. Kilgraw snapped, and now he was really angry. “I have to say you’ve been a complete disappointment, David. And not just tonight. Fighting in the corridor. Trying to steal the exam questions and then whining and complaining when you failed to answer all the questions. You used to be our most promising pupil. But now I even wonder if it’s worth your staying here at Groosham Grange.”
    “So do I,” David growled. He regretted the words as soon as they were out, but it was too late. Mr. Kilgraw had heard.
    “That’s a decision you have to make,” he said. “If you want to leave, nobody will stop you. But remember, once you’ve gone, you can’t come back. We’ll never see you again . . .”
    David opened his mouth to speak, but there was nothing to say. He took one last look at Vincent, who was doing his best to avoid his eyes. Mr. Helliwell sighed and shook his head. Mr. Kilgraw’s hand closed round the statuette. “And now if you’ll excuse me,” he said, “this has to go back to the museum. It’ll be daylight soon and we wouldn’t want it to be missed.”
     
     
    Jill Green was waiting for David outside the study. She was about to ask him what had happened, but one look at his face told her all she needed to know.
    “So he won, then,” she said.
    David nodded.
    “Does it really matter, David? I mean, what’s so important about the Unholy Grail anyway?” She took his arm. “You’re still the best magician in the school. You don’t need a cup to