she was staring icily at him. She picked up the stick she usually used for pointing, and snapped it in half.
âMr McPhee,â she said coolly. âYouâre lucky we have an antidote for Octoglug goo. Itâs not something we always keep on hand. You might have thought of that before shrinking your friends to the size of beetles.â
Jasper was about to argue that he hadnât actually shrunk them, but then he saw the way Stenkaâs eyes flashed with anger.
Jasper had watched as Stenka had administered the antidote. If his friends thought being shrunk was bad, it was nothing compared to being un-shrunk. They had grown, as they had shrunk, one bit at a time. Their tiny little bodies grew green gooey legs, then their torsos glooped out of their legs, their heads and arms slopped into place, and finally there was a POP! The gooey jelly set hard, and they were both back to normal.
Except that they were covered in goo, and coughing up great gobs of it from their lungs. Jasper couldnât tell if it was worse than when they had been de-morphed from being stone statues. It looked less painful, but more disgusting. Still, at least they were OK now, apart from the occasional gooey sneeze. Felixâs voice had a distinct high-pitched squeak to it, but apparently that wouldnât last for too long.
Jasper was pulled back to the present by Stenkaâs frosty voice. âWe take theft seriously at Monstrum House. Dog-napping from Mondragâs kennels. Stealing an Octoglug from the sewer.â Her eyes hardened. âHow could you possibly think that the clues could refer to an Octoglug ? Did you consider why the clues were delivered by slingshot? Did you even read the clues? Have you completely forgotten about those monsters whose weakness is their bellybutton? A simple blow to the Grubbergrindâs bellybutton would have sent it into a deep sleep!â
Jasper vaguely remembered something Stenka had said in one of their first classes about weaknesses ⦠but as for the slingshots, heâd just thought that was the prefectsâ way of having fun. Although it looked like Felix had been right about the poem. If only they had found the right eight-legged monster.
âOctoglugs donât creep and crawl, they squelch and jump! Or didnât you notice that?â Stenka hissed.
Jasper squirmed. âWell, now that you mention it â¦â he mumbled.
âOctoglugs donât even eat people!â Stenka continued. â Mr Golag is not happy. That monster was meant to clear the pipes. Since you stole it, the pipes have already blocked up. Heâs put your name down on the list of students to clean the bathrooms.â
So that was what the monster had been doing. Only at Monstrum House would teachers put monsters in the toilets to keep them clean.
âAnd then there is the breaking and entering and vandalism,â continued Stenka.
Jasper remembered the letters to be incinerated, and how angry he had felt.
âYes, the letters,â Stenka said, rolling her eyes. âYou really must learn not to take things at face value.â Jasper looked at his teacher in confusion. âWhat do you think would happen if parents received letters home detailing the types of things we do here, hmm?â
Jasper shook his head. âBut thatâs not what my letters said!â he said angrily. âMy letters were to make my mum feel better. To make sure she wouldnât worry! And now ââ
Stenka held up her hand to silence Jasper. âAnd your mother received every letter you wrote. We have the video evidence if you really feel the need to watch.â
Jasper was speechless. Video evidence? There were cameras in his house?
âThe letters you found were from students who didnât think about what they were writing.
The students who would have ended up in mental institutions had they reported what really goes on here.â
Jasper had assumed that all of
âMr McPhee,â she said coolly. âYouâre lucky we have an antidote for Octoglug goo. Itâs not something we always keep on hand. You might have thought of that before shrinking your friends to the size of beetles.â
Jasper was about to argue that he hadnât actually shrunk them, but then he saw the way Stenkaâs eyes flashed with anger.
Jasper had watched as Stenka had administered the antidote. If his friends thought being shrunk was bad, it was nothing compared to being un-shrunk. They had grown, as they had shrunk, one bit at a time. Their tiny little bodies grew green gooey legs, then their torsos glooped out of their legs, their heads and arms slopped into place, and finally there was a POP! The gooey jelly set hard, and they were both back to normal.
Except that they were covered in goo, and coughing up great gobs of it from their lungs. Jasper couldnât tell if it was worse than when they had been de-morphed from being stone statues. It looked less painful, but more disgusting. Still, at least they were OK now, apart from the occasional gooey sneeze. Felixâs voice had a distinct high-pitched squeak to it, but apparently that wouldnât last for too long.
Jasper was pulled back to the present by Stenkaâs frosty voice. âWe take theft seriously at Monstrum House. Dog-napping from Mondragâs kennels. Stealing an Octoglug from the sewer.â Her eyes hardened. âHow could you possibly think that the clues could refer to an Octoglug ? Did you consider why the clues were delivered by slingshot? Did you even read the clues? Have you completely forgotten about those monsters whose weakness is their bellybutton? A simple blow to the Grubbergrindâs bellybutton would have sent it into a deep sleep!â
Jasper vaguely remembered something Stenka had said in one of their first classes about weaknesses ⦠but as for the slingshots, heâd just thought that was the prefectsâ way of having fun. Although it looked like Felix had been right about the poem. If only they had found the right eight-legged monster.
âOctoglugs donât creep and crawl, they squelch and jump! Or didnât you notice that?â Stenka hissed.
Jasper squirmed. âWell, now that you mention it â¦â he mumbled.
âOctoglugs donât even eat people!â Stenka continued. â Mr Golag is not happy. That monster was meant to clear the pipes. Since you stole it, the pipes have already blocked up. Heâs put your name down on the list of students to clean the bathrooms.â
So that was what the monster had been doing. Only at Monstrum House would teachers put monsters in the toilets to keep them clean.
âAnd then there is the breaking and entering and vandalism,â continued Stenka.
Jasper remembered the letters to be incinerated, and how angry he had felt.
âYes, the letters,â Stenka said, rolling her eyes. âYou really must learn not to take things at face value.â Jasper looked at his teacher in confusion. âWhat do you think would happen if parents received letters home detailing the types of things we do here, hmm?â
Jasper shook his head. âBut thatâs not what my letters said!â he said angrily. âMy letters were to make my mum feel better. To make sure she wouldnât worry! And now ââ
Stenka held up her hand to silence Jasper. âAnd your mother received every letter you wrote. We have the video evidence if you really feel the need to watch.â
Jasper was speechless. Video evidence? There were cameras in his house?
âThe letters you found were from students who didnât think about what they were writing.
The students who would have ended up in mental institutions had they reported what really goes on here.â
Jasper had assumed that all of
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