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Contents Title Page Dedication Contents 1: Two Households 2: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow 3: Ready, Steady, Woe! 4: They Stumble That Run Fast 5: You Can’t Lose the Game if You Don’t Play the Game 6: Palm to Palm 7: Violent Ends Copyright    iii            iv   To all the BFF-4-Evaaaaaaaas        CONTENTS    Title Page Dedication 1 Two Households  2 Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow  3 Ready, Steady, Woe!  4 They Stumble That Run Fast  5 You Can’t Lose the Game if You Don’t Play the Game  6 Palm to Palm  7 Violent Ends  Copyright            CHAPTER 1 Two Households  I sped down the running track as fast as I could. The wind whipped my face and stung my eyes, but nothing could stop me now. My arms were pumping and my heart was racing. I threw myself across the finish line and fell to the track, panting. “Blake! How did I do?” I asked my best friend, looking up. “Did I beat my fastest time?” Blake didn’t reply. He stood beside the track, playing with his phone as usual. It took Blake a few seconds to realise I had just asked him a question. “Huh?” he said. “Oh, sorry, Dom. I didn’t know you’d started.” I scowled. “You were supposed to be timing me!”    Blake rolled his eyes. “So?” he said. “You always win the hundred metres on Sports Day. You’re the best sprinter in school!” “Well, you’re best at hurdles!” I replied. Blake grinned back. “And don’t forget, we’re both good at …” “The relay race!” we said at the same time. Blake and I were always thinking the same thing at the same time. Blake pulled me to my feet. “Come on – I’m starving,” he said. “Let’s go and get some—” “Lunch!” I said. “Wow!” gasped Blake. “I was just thinking that!” “Me too!” I said. We strolled off to the lunch hall with our arms around each other. It was so lucky that the two best athletes in New Forest Academy were also the two bestest best friends! Blake and I were the perfect team. We did everything together: training for races, acting in the school drama club, copying each other’s homework. We were like two peas in a pod – but if the peas were also really cool and great at sports. All the kids in school called us “D and B” because we were always together! (Actually, I’d come up with the “D and B” nickname myself and told everyone to use it. I’d also suggested other names: the Supreme Team, the Cool Combo, D-Dog and B-Unit, and the BFF-4-evaaaaaaaas.) “Am I still staying at yours tomorrow night?” I asked Blake. “Of course!” said Blake. “We have to – it’s tradition!” Blake and I always had a sleepover the night before Sports Day so that we could prepare for the big day. Sports Day was the most exciting day of the year. There were four houses in New Forest Academy, all competing to win the House Medal. Parents and teachers cheered from the stands as the whole school was gripped by Sports Day fever. But things had got a bit out of hand ahead of this year’s Sports Day … Blake and I walked into the lunch hall. Every single wall was covered in posters, flags, bunting and banners in the different house colours. Some kids were even wearing bracelets and headbands in their house colours. Blake and I grabbed our lunches and sat down, shaking our heads. “This is ridiculous,” said Blake. “Sports Day never used to be like this.” “It’s all Mr Fortune’s fault,” I grumbled. “He never should have changed the house names in the first place!” Mr Fortune was our head teacher and a huge fan of William Shakespeare. This year he had decided to name all the classes and school buildings after famous Shakespeare plays. Even the food at lunch had a Shakespearean twist: today’s options were Cheese and Hamlet sandwiches, the Taming of the Stew and Much Ado About Stuffing. It was all harmless fun … but then Mr Fortune made a big mistake. He decided to name the school houses after characters from his favourite play, Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet was about two families, the Montagues and the Capulets, who hated each other. They’d been arguing and fighting in the streets of Verona for years – it seemed like the rivalry would never end! But then one night a young Montague named Romeo met a young Capulet girl named Juliet … and they both fell head over heels in love. They should have been sworn enemies, but their love was far too strong. They had a secret wedding, hoping that their marriage would bring their families together. But like all Shakespearean tragedies, it went badly wrong. Romeo’s best friend Mercutio was killed in a fight with Juliet’s cousin Tybalt. Romeo was so upset he killed Tybalt in revenge. Things went from bad to worse, until Romeo and Juliet tragically lost their lives as well. The Montagues and Capulets were grief-stricken and finally realised how pointless their fighting had been. They put aside their differences once and for all. Mr Fortune loved the play so much that he decided the four school houses should be named after key characters: Montague House, Capulet House, Benvolio House and Tybalt House. It was a nice idea, and no one could have expected what happened next … Montague House and Capulet House really did become sworn enemies! It started off as a joke – kids from different houses teased each other, just like in the play. But soon the jokes became serious. Before long, kids were even insulting each other and starting fights –