Thanks for your comment!

Sorry to hear that you didn't approve of the ending. I will take the criticism that the last chapter could have been two chapters to flow at a better pace, but you might be missing why I chose the exact moment to end. The character's development has allowed him to form a sincere, loving bond with another character in the course of what turned out to be an unpleasant duty for him. I wanted that warmth to linger. I don't derive much satisfaction from dwelling on mean-spirited torturous exploits, though I do grant that the threat of violence can be necessary for certain motivations in the characters to be plausible, and violence delivered unintentionally or with reluctance can still be titillating.

Adding a scene at the end, or even throwing in an interstitial scene where he is given hollow congratulations and veiled threats by the principal in demanding good behavior - well, that wouldn't add much in my opinion, and I thought you could already imagine that was what would happen.

So while I do think pace matters, I am philosophically against tying up all the loose ends (especially if there is a possibility of revisiting the world). Some writers think that Chekov's gun should always be fired, but I'm in the Hemingway camp where I think that is a bit fussy and silly - and it can lead to even more clumsiness.