Cragbridge Hall, Book One: The Inventor's Secret by Chad Morris Page B

the scientist hunched over, a grimace on his face. He clenched his teeth and tried not to scream.
    “Very good,” Ms. Entrese said. “Now you’ll be reading about how the formula changed the doctor’s looks. So class, be patient with her.”
    Abby read how the doctor felt evil, ten times more than before. She discovered as she read that he had actually become evil—that was what the experiment did. A good, respectable man transformed into the evil that had been hidden somewhere inside him. As he changed, he shrank and became demented. He also looked younger, his evil side being much less developed than his good. Abby imagined the man hunched over, his teeth yellow, and his hair long and wiry. Dirty stubble sprouted from his chin. Abby didn’t enjoy imagining the evil side of someone.
    The class watched as Abby continued to read, imagining the hideous, evil form lurching over to a cabinet, drinking one more vial, and buckling to the floor. His legs flailed in every direction, his arms gripping his stomach. At last, his jerky movements slowed, and once more, he was the doctor she had pictured at the beginning—though much paler, and sweat streamed down his brow.
    “Decent,” Ms. Entrese said. “This book is an allegory for the evil that lurks in even the very best of us. We all must fight to keep it contained. If we let our guard down ...” Ms. Entrese spoke slower. “If we ever let our guard down, it may catch us unawares.” She began looking above her students, avoiding their eyes. “And as you will see later in the book, it becomes harder and harder to leave that darker side alone. The evil will grow stronger.” As she finished her statement, her eyes glossed over for a moment. She blinked several times, then simply said, “It is a fine book.”
    She turned to Abby. “As you continue reading, though, there is more to Mr. Hyde—that’s the name given to his evil side. He is a secret. The doctor wants to hide him, to control him. You may want to think of something in your life you would like to keep secret.”
    Almost instantly a picture of a letter appeared. Abby panicked. Before anyone could read that it was a rejection letter from Cragbridge, she tried to think of something else—anything else. The locket her Grandpa had given her flashed on the screen. Not that. She shouldn’t show that, either. Abby cleared her mind, but out of the corner of her eye saw Ms. Entrese watching the screen intently.
    “Sorry, Abby,” the teacher said. “I didn’t mean for you to picture them. That is a small hazard of the Chair. If it helps, I don’t think anyone in the room could tell what those things were. Use whatever it was you thought about to help you as you conjure up Mr. Hyde again.”
    Abby returned to the book, but she couldn’t help but think of Ms. Entrese watching the screen and noticing the locket. It appeared on the screen.
    “Are you distracted?” Ms. Entrese said. “I told you, none of us could recognize what you thought of.”
    Abby tried to clear her mind, but she was afraid something had gone wrong. She remembered Grandpa telling her not to show the locket to any of the teach ...
    Abby stood up to cut off the Chair.

8
     
    Squirrel Monkeys
     
     
    Derick walked down the hall in the science building, his backpack over one shoulder. Brick walls gave way to large windowpanes, showing a room the size of a basketball court. As Derick looked through the glass, he saw something that could have been out of an African safari. The ground was sand and dirt. Several trees stood tall, with leaves that formed a tremendous umbrella for shade. A glass roof allowed the sunlight to shine on the entire room. His heart beat faster as he searched the room for movement.
    There it was! A rhino shook its head to shoo a fly away. It lay like a large boulder near the pond. Another rhino rested against the trunk of a tree. Another one lazily moved toward an alcove in the corner of their large living space. A zoo