What's the Matter with Newton?
Page 10
“What took you guys so long?” Shelly asked. “The judges were here already. I did the demonstration for them. They seemed to like it. But what happened?”
“We got distracted by some of the displays,” Theremin replied. “Newton got rattled by something.”
“Not rattled. I . . . I think I remembered something!” Newton said.
“Really?” Shelly asked eagerly. “What was it?”
But then they heard Mumtaz’s voice.
“It’s time to announce our winners!” she said from behind a lectern. “Please join us at the main stage.”
Newton looked at his friends. “Well, this is it.”
On a table beside Ms. Mumtaz, there were three trophies: a big one for first prize, a shorter one for second prize, and an even tinier one for third prize. The school’s professors sat in chairs behind her, including Wagg, Juvinall, Leviathan, Phlegm, Snollygoster, and the others.
Professor Leviathan even caught Newton’s eye and gave him a not-so-subtle thumbs up. He held his breath. Was she signaling that he and Shelly and Theremin were the winners?
“We’ll start with third prize, which is a feast at Airy Café,” Mumtaz announced. “I’m pleased to announce that it goes to a group of talented freshmen. Shelly Ravenholt, Theremin Rozika, and Newton Warp, for their Sticky Savers!”
Ms. Mumtaz held up the gloves and socks for all to see. Everyone cheered.
Newton tried to smile, but he was disappointed. There was only one prize that really mattered to him, and it wasn’t that one.
Shelly squeezed his hand. “Sorry, Newton. We tried our best.”
“Yeah, I know.” Newton sighed. “At least we had a chance to work on something together. You, me, and Therem—”
Ruuuumble!
All of a sudden, the floor of the Science Hall began to shake. Displays began to topple over. Everyone turned to see smoke rushing out of Mimi’s volcano. It was about to erupt.
“Miss Crowninshield, please turn that off!” Ms. Mumtaz warned. “Mimi, now!”
Mimi was frantically pressing a button on her remote control device. “I’m trying! It’s not working!”
The bubble above the volcano shattered and heatproof glass hit the floor.
Mimi screamed. “Run for your lives! It’s going to erupt lava . . . real lava!”
Then she yanked the gloves and socks out of Ms. Mumtaz’s hands and slipped them on her own hands and feet.
As everyone scrambled toward the exits, Theremin picked up Newton and Shelly in each arm and lifted them off the floor to keep them safe from the flood of lava that might flow from the volcano at any second.
The volcano shuddered . . . and a small glop of lava shot from the top, slid down the side, . . . and stuck there. The ground stopped shaking, and everyone looked around in disbelief.
“Oh,” said a voice, and everyone looked up. “That was all . . . on purpose!”
It was Mimi.
She had freaked out when she thought she was in danger and climbed up the wall of the Hall of Mad Science using the Sticky Savers. Now she was on the ceiling. When the students noticed her, many of them started laughing.
“Quiet, everyone,” Ms. Mumtaz told them, and then looked up at Mimi. “Come down, please, Miss Crowninshield.”
“No!” Mimi yelled. “It’s not my fault. My volcano is perfect!” she tried.
Ms. Mumtaz sighed. “Mimi, it malfunctioned. It’s okay. But if you don’t come down right this instant, it will be a mistake. I’m going to have to come get you,” she threatened.
“You wouldn’t!” Mimi dared her.
In a flash, Ms. Mumtaz put on another set of Sticky Savers and climbed up to the ceiling. Mimi scowled, knowing she had been defeated, and followed the headmistress back down to the floor.
“Okay, everyone,” Ms. Mumtaz called out. “The show’s over. We all make mistakes sometimes.”
Mimi just scowled. She threw the socks and gloves to the floor and stormed out.
That’s when Professor Leviathan walked up to Ms. Mumtaz and tapped her on the shoulder. Then she whispered something in her ear.
“Settle down, everyone!” she called out. “There has been a change in the judging. Recent events have shown that the Sticky Savers have important applications in emergency situations. For that reason, the judges have decided to award Shelly, Theremin, and Newton first prize! Second prize goes to Tabitha Talos for her Predictive Virtual Reality goggles, and third prize goes to Gustav Goddard for Sentient Balloon Animals. Congratulations, everyone!”
Shelly and Theremin rushed onstage, but Newton froze, stunned, as cheers erupted around him.
Tootie nudged Newton, and he walked onstage in a daze. Together, the three friends accepted their first-place trophy.
“You know what this means,” Ms. Mumtaz said. “A special portal pass for each of you. Start thinking about where you want to go.”
I already know, Newton thought, and then he realized something.
That memory that had come flooding back hadn’t necessarily been a good one. He had been so eager to find answers, and now . . . well, he wasn’t sure if he wanted them. Franken-Sci High was starting to feel like home, and it was a remarkable place to be.
“We did it, Newton!” Shelly said, hugging him. Theremin gave him a high-five.
Pffft! Pffft! Pffft! “Go, Newton!” Higgy cheered from the floor, doing a victory dance.
Newton smiled. Whatever those answers are, I’m ready for them! he thought. He knew he could handle anything, with the help of his friends.
Then he slipped on a pair of Higgy’s farty shoes and started to dance.
Keep reading for a preview of
Monsters Among Us!
by
Mark Young
“Ca-wee! Ca-wee! Ca-wee!”
Newton Warp opened his eyes. In front of him, a purple fuzzy monster with a snout like a trumpet was hovering in the air, flapping its wings.
“Ca-wee! Ca-wee! Ca-wee!” The shrill, annoying sound streamed out of the monster’s snout.
“All right, all right, I’m awake,” Newton mumbled.
He threw off his covers and jumped down off the top bunk. The monster followed him, still tooting.
He ducked his head into his roommate’s bottom bunk.
“Higgy! There’s a flying monster in here! Is this supposed to be happening?” he asked.
The blob of green goo under the covers stirred, and two eyeballs peeked out.
“A monster? I would guess that your friend Shelly has something to do with that,” Higgy replied. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m not ready to wake up yet.” He rolled over.
Shelly, of course! Newton realized. He picked up the tablet on top of his dresser and tapped on Shelly’s name.
A tiny hologram of Shelly’s face appeared in front of him. She grinned.
“Oh good! Woller found you,” Shelly said.
“Woller? You mean that’s its name?” Newton asked, brushing the monster away from his face.
“He’s my latest creation. He’s one part butler and one part annoying alarm clock.” Shelly said. “I sent him to wake you up. We’ve got that early morning meeting with Headmistress Mumtaz, remember?”
“How could I forget?” Newton asked. “You know how important this is to me.”
“Well, hurry up and get ready,” Shelly said. “We don’t want to be late.”
“Ca-wee! Ca-wee!”
“And do I get rid of Woller?” Newton asked.
“Just let him follow you,” Shelly said, and then her face disappeared.
Newton sighed, grabbed a towel and a small bag, and headed to the bathroom down the hall in the dormitory. Still half-awake, he stopped in front of the mirror and yawned. Then he tasted peppermint.
Woller had stuck a toothbrush in Newton’s mouth and was brushing Newton’s teeth. When Newton stepped toward the sink to rinse out his mouth, Woller beat him to it and gave him a cup filled with water. Newton shrugged and decided to let the monster take care of
him. It was almost like being asleep while someone else took care of the boring stuff. Woller turned on the shower and when the temperature was perfect, nudged Newton in. Then the shower’s usual features took over. The walls were outfitted with lights that changed color according to the mood of the person showering. They quickly switched from a neutral silver to a peaceful, glowing blue, and relaxing music started to play. As two robot arms scrubbed Newton’s hair, Newton started to feel more awake. The color of the shower turned to a cheerful yellow, and the music became more upbeat. When Newton started singing along, a robotic arm sprang out of the wall and shoved a waterproof karaoke microphone at him! Newton didn’t really know the words, of course, so he didn’t engage. He suddenly got a little sad.
So much had happened since that day, just a few weeks ago, that he’d woken up in Franken-Sci High. He had no memory—just a student ID card and a strange bar code on his foot. Luckily, he’d met Shelly Ravenholt and her friend Theremin Rozika, and they helped him get used to the strange school for mad scientists, although it had been a rocky start.
As a robot arm scrubbed his back, Newton thought back to his first days at Franken-Sci High. Theremin was an underachieving robotic student with an anger management problem. He’d been best friends with Shelly before Newton showed up on campus and had quickly become jealous of Newton and Shelly’s fast friendship. Thanks to Headmistress Mumtaz’s intervention, they’d worked things out. Then Shelly, Theremin, and Newton had worked on a project for the Science Fair—and won! The prize was a special portal pass that Newton hoped would help him find out who he really was and where he came from. . . .
Continue Reading…
Monsters Among Us!
Mark Young
About the Author
© Mark Young
Mark Young’s brain is most definitely the result of a mad scientist’s experiment-it simply refuses to function like other brains you might know. In the “real” world Mark makes a living as a multiple Emmy winner who has written and produced the animated movies, Once Upon a Forest and All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 as well as worked on a bunch of animated TV shows for Netflix, Disney, ABC, CBS, and NBC. However, in his “inner” world, Mark believes that Franken-Sci High isn’t actually his creation but a real school where future mad scientists learn how to create synthetic eyeballs, travel to different dimensions, and design inflatable pets. Mark lives in downtown Los Angeles with his wife, Grania (who thinks his Emmys are soccer trophies). Between them, they have four amazing children. Visit him at MarkYoung.co.
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Simon Spotlight
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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ISBN 978-1-4814-9131-0 (hc)
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