Read Online Numbed! by David Lubar - Free Book Online

6 8 10 …
    Freeing up room: 1 3 5 7 9 …
    â€œThat would never work,” Benedict said.
    Before I could argue my point, the voice said, “Correct.”
    The door swung open. We walked through and saw the very start of our footstep trail right in front of us. “We did it,” I said to Benedict. “We finished the Mobius loop.”
    â€œYeah, we did.” Benedict looked like he couldn’t believe it. “What are the odds of that?”
    I shook my head. “I don’t even want to think about it.” I opened the outer door.
    â€œCongratulations!” Dr. Thagoras said. “That should fix the problem for good, unless you find another way to get numbed.”
    â€œThanks,” I said. “I don’t think you have to worry about that. We aren’t planning to have any more conversations with robots.”
    Benedict walked over to Cypher. “Hold on. I have one more thing to say to you.” He poked the robot in the chest. “Numbers are—”
    â€œNo!” I shouted.
    â€œAwesome,” Benedict said. “I love numbers.” He leaned over and gave Cypher a hug.
    Cypher said, “One plus one is two.”
    I dragged Benedict away from his new pal, and we headed out of the museum.
    â€œNow, we just have to survive one more thing,” he said.
    â€œWhat’s that?” I asked.
    â€œGetting our math tests back tomorrow. That’s not going to be fun.”
    â€œNot fun at all,” I said. I could already imagine the look of disappointment in Ms. Fractalli’s eyes.

CHAPTER
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    â€œ Y ou really better watch where she puts her key,” Benedict said when we got to the classroom. “We’re going to need every little bit of help we can get.”
    â€œFor sure. And she’s not the only one who isn’t going to be happy.” I looked around at a room full of classmates who were probably already trying to decide whether to go for hot fudge or butterscotch. “Everyone’s going to be angry with us when they figure out who ruined the average.”
    My hopes drooped even lower when Ms. Fractalli walked into the classroom. She unlocked the cabinet, but then she took the old lock off and put another one in its place. The new one looked like some kind of combination lock with a row of buttons on the front.
    â€œThat’s the end of that,” I said to Benedict.
    â€œAll we can do is wait for our doom,” he said.
    We waited all morning, wondering when she’d tell everyone the bad news. But she didn’t say a word.
    Finally, when the class headed out to recess and lunch, Ms. Fractalli said, “Logan, Benedict, I need to speak with you.”
    Oh no. I looked over at Benedict, who was looking at me. I think we both gulped, trying to swallow. We walked up to Ms. Fractalli’s desk.
    â€œI don’t understand your tests,” she said. “You both did perfectly on the first part and terribly on the last. The word problems counted for half the grade. Your scores dragged the whole class down below 85 percent. Can you explain this?”
    Again, I looked at Benedict and he looked at me. I waited. He was really good at coming up with excuses.
    â€œNo explanation?” she asked. “I’d love to give you another chance, but I can’t without a good reason.”
    â€œMy mind sort of went blank,” I said. “I lost my math skills. But I think they came back.”
    â€œMine too,” Benedict said.
    â€œI guess I’ll have to wait until the next test to find out,” Ms. Fractalli said.
    She got up from her desk and went to the closet. I turned toward the door. “We’re doomed,” I said to Benedict.
    â€œEveryone is going to be angry,” he said. “We might have to move. I have an uncle in Argentina. I’ve heard they have good steaks down there. You can come. He has lots of room.”
    Behind me, I heard a rattling sound. I