Read Online The Trouble with Sauce by Bruno Bouchet - Free Book Online Page B

were reading. He could finally join the Advanced Physics Study Group.
    As soon as Nathaniel took the pill in his fingers, Mr Foster snapped his hand shut. He could see how curious the boy was. ‘Think carefully about this,’ he said. ‘Take it with you, by all means. Decide for yourself whether you want to try it. I’m sure you’ll come to the right decision.’
    He walked Nathaniel out down the corridor and round the corner to the reception area. ‘Sit here and think it over,’ he said.
    On his way back to his office, he opened his assistant’s door. ‘Prune de Luca!’ he said. She was next.
    Prune sat in the same dusty orange chair. Her hands were pushed under her thighs as she stared down at her feet. She tried to imagine a throbbing force field that would stop anyone from interfering with her brain, but it was hard to do without screwing her face up. Mr Foster’s eyebrows were so distracting, too. She had no idea what to expect, but if he tried to cut her head open, she would scream loud enough for Jonty to hear.
    ‘How’s your diet?’ Mr Foster said.
    Prune looked up suddenly. ‘We eat organic vegetables,’ she said.
    ‘Excellent. I myself do not eat so well. I take vitamins and minerals.’
    ‘Oh.’ Prune didn’t know what to say.
    ‘Have you heard of the
Powapowa Bora?’
he asked.
    ‘Powapowa Bora?’
Prune had no idea what it was.
    ‘It’s a plant from an island in the South Pacific. The berries are said to enhance brainpower. It’s said that if you have any psychic ability, the berries of the
Powapowa Bora
will bring it out.’
    ‘What?’ Prune was amazed. She was sure that if there was a plant that enhanced psychic ability, her parents would have made her eat it every day.
    ‘That’s not proven yet.’ Mr Foster could see she doubted him. ‘But I’ve found it remarkable.’
    ‘You take it?’ she said.
    ‘Oh yes.’ He popped one of the pills casually into his mouth and swallowed it. It had been a week or two since his last one, so he wasn’t worried about having another.
    ‘Ah!’ He gave a fake gasp and stared for a moment around Prune’s head. He moved closer, looking just above her.
    ‘You know I’m sure I can see a purple aura all around you,’ he said.
    ‘Purple?’ Her mouth dropped open. Purple was the most powerful aura there was.
    ‘Yes, I’ve been seeing auras more clearly since taking
Powapowa Bora.
Here.’
    Before she could do anything, the principal slipped a pill into Prune’s open mouth, pushed it closed, and pulled her out of the chair. Next thing she knew, Mr Foster had guided her out of the door. ‘Sit with Nathaniel in reception, there’s a good girl,’ he said.
    He returned to his desk, sat in his chair, smoothed his hair down and waited for his next victim. This was going better than he’d expected.The last child in the entire school to be sent to him was about to enter. Mannington High was on the verge of being the most brilliant, best behaved school in the entire world.
    There was a knock on the door.
    ‘Jonty Townsend,’ he said with a smile. ‘Do come in!’
    Jonty took his turn in the dusty orange chair.
    Mr Foster sat with his elbows on the desk. His chin rested on the very tips of his fingers. He sucked air through his grey lips and then nodded towards the door. ‘You’ve made some good friends there,’ he said. ‘Nathaniel, Prune — they are the sort of friends you should have. Boris was too much of a bully for my liking.’
    ‘He’s not dead.’ Jonty didn’t like the way the principal said ‘was'.
    ‘True, but he’s not your friend anymore, is he?’
    ‘He’s just crook or brainwashed or something.’
    ‘And you’re going to “fix” him?’
    ‘Yes I am,’ Jonty said.
    ‘Tut tut tut.’
Mr Foster shook his head. ‘That won’t be happening. In fact, you’re the one who’s going to be fixed.’
    Jonty jumped up from his chair and looked around the room for an alien teleporting machine. ‘What have you done with