CHERUB: The Syndicate

11: Riley

Melbourne Academy had a navy blue uniform with a pale blue tie, which was better than some George had seen so he didn't feel like a complete prat when he got the train to school. He'd been afraid that Katie would still be angry at him and not go with him in the morning like she'd said, but she'd been up early for a swim and spent her time fiddling with her new mobile phone while the train trundled towards the city centre.

"Good luck bro," she said when they got to his stop, giving him a quick hug. "Let me know how it goes after school."

"Bye Chelsea," George said, waving to her as he jumped off before pulling his backpack onto his shoulders and following a pair of older boys wearing the same uniform. The school was just going into its final term of the academic year, so everyone would already know each other, making George's job harder. He only needed to become friends with Riley, though, and ASIS had done everything possible to make that happen. Most importantly, he'd been placed in the same form tutor as his target, which meant he caught his first glimpse as the teacher introduced him.

"This is Brian Ashworth, who has just moved here from England. Please make him feel welcome," she said, pointing to an empty seat he could sit in. George recognised Riley from the mission briefing and was pleased to notice the empty seat was right next to him. He looked slightly older than he had in the photo George had seen, and when he sat down Riley barely even acknowledged his presence.

Riley obviously expected George to be just another goody-goody with rich parents, and George found it hard to make an opportunity to impress him. He got lost on his way to the first lesson and arrived late, which meant he had to sit on the opposite side of the classroom from Riley, so he didn't get his chance until the second period, which was geography.

"Brian Ashworth?" the teacher asked, walking over to George's desk. "Ah, I've got a textbook here for you."

"Thanks," George said, doing his best not to sound too polite.

The teacher noticed his attitude and chuckled. "Ah, we've got a pom in the class... well, why don't I introduce you to Australia by asking you to clean the board for me?"

Most of the class laughed and George was embarrassed, but worst was the slight snort of derision that Riley made when he got up and walked to the front. Riley would never respect him if he let the teachers bully him, so when he saw the teacher's mobile lying on the desk, he grabbed it and broke into a grin.

"Oi," he shouted, pushing open the window as the teacher stared at him, eyes boggling.

"Put that down right now!" the teacher roared, lunging across the classroom to grab George, but combat training made it easy for George to duck the grab and casually flick the phone out of the window. It spun a satisfactory distance before disappearing out of sight and plummeting three storeys, smashing on a set of stairs beneath the window.

The teacher was practically foaming at the mouth as he dragged George out of the classroom. The class was deadly silent, except for Riley who was giving George a double thumbs-up.

The punishment for destroying a teacher's phone within three hours of arriving was a stern talk with the school's principal about values and respecting other people's property, a detention after school and a letter addressed to Alice asking for money to cover the cost of the phone. As George left the office for the morning break, he deposited the letter in the nearest bin.

"You are one cool guy," Riley said as soon as he spotted George heading for his next classroom. "Did you get in trouble?"

"Nothing I can't handle," George shrugged. "This school is full of swots anyway."

Riley shook his head quickly. "Not me. The rest of them are all like that, but I've been trying to get myself thrown out for the longest time."

George smiled. "Seems like you're the only one; in my school back in London, by this time in the morning there'd probably be a couple of stabbings." He was exaggerating, but Riley swallowed every word, his expression like that of someone who'd met their favourite film star.