“It was him!” Newton cried. “Flubitus stole the vial containing a nanochip and used it to turn Peewee into a monster.”
Leviathan laughed nervously. “Not so fast, Newton, let’s not jump to conclusions,” she said. “Professor Flubitus is harmless, trust me.”
“That’s exactly what Ms. Mumtaz said,” Newton told her. “But I don’t believe it. Newton held up the strand of green hair. “This is proof that he stole the nanochip!”
“It’s only proof that he was in my office,” Leviathan said. “Now, why don’t you three run along.”
“But what about Peewee?” Shelly asked. She wanted to make sure Peewee was safe, and even though she trusted Ms. Mumtaz, she wasn’t sure what some of the professors might do to him.
“I’ll find a way to neutralize the nanochip,” the professor replied. “Don’t worry. Your monster will be fine until then.”
Shelly started to argue, but Leviathan pushed them all out of the office and slammed the door behind her.
“This is so wrong!” Shelly cried. “If Flubitus is the one who turned sweet, innocent Peewee into a giant monster, we’ve got to find a way to prove it.”
Newton nodded. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s sneak into his office tonight and look for clues.”
“But he’s almost always following you,” Theremin pointed out. “How can we do that without him knowing?”
“I have an idea about that, too,” Newton said, and he explained it to Theremin and Shelly.
“Brilliant!” Shelly cried. “We’ll meet in your room at eight oh-five on the dot.”
“I’ll tell Higgy the plan,” Newton said.
“Good,” Shelly said, then remembered something. “But first, I need to do something. Will you guys come with me?”
Five minutes later they were in the girls’ dorm, knocking on Tootie’s door.
“Who is it?” came a voice from inside.
“Shelly!” Shelly said.
“Go away!” Tootie replied.
“And Theremin and Newton!” Theremin added.
There was a pause.
“Come in!”
Shelly opened the door, and they stepped inside a room containing bunk beds and a wall lined with shelves filled with chrono-chess-ball trophies and monster action figures. Tootie was stretched out on the bottom bunk on her back, staring upward.
“Tootie, I owe you a big apology,” Shelly said.
“You sure do,” Tootie said.
“I was so worried about Peewee I wasn’t thinking straight,” Shelly explained. “He’s more than a monster to me. He’s my friend.”
“That makes two of us, Shell,” Tootie softened. “Some of my best friends are monsters too.”
“That’s why I know you’ll forgive me. You’re the only one in the school who loves monsters as much as I do.”
Tootie nodded.
“Maybe I also felt a little bit like you were going to take my place, or make better monsters than me, or something,” Shelly confessed. “I didn’t realize it till now, but being related to the Frankensteins, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be the best at everything related to monsters. But now I want to put all that aside and just be friends, okay?”
Tootie sat up in her bunk and extended a hand to Shelly. “I get it,” she said, pumping Shelly’s hand. “Friends it is! That’s what I wanted all along.”
“Thank you, Tootie,” said Shelly.
The two girls hugged for a moment, and then Theremin interrupted. He wanted to show off his new toy.
“Hey, Tootie! Friends are cool, but snow is even cooler. Want to build a snowman in my room?”
“Why not?” Tootie grinned. “I love snow.”
As Theremin and Tootie left the room together, Theremin winked at Newton.
“See you later, pal,” he said. “Eight oh-five on the dot.”
“I’m going to check on Peewee again,” Shelly said.
Newton nodded. “And I’m going to ask Higgy for a little favor.”
At eight p.m., it appeared that Newton left his dorm room and made his way down the hall, but it was actually Higgy dressed in Newton’s clothes. As the disguised Higgy turned the corner, he noticed Professor Flubitus following some twenty feet behind him.
At exactly 8:05 p.m., Shelly and Theremin knocked on Newton’s dorm door—and the real Newton let them in.
“How long do you think Higgy can keep Flubitus occupied?” Shelly asked.
“For as long as we need,” Newton replied. “Before he put on my clothes, Higgy slurped down a bucket of chocolate pudding. So he’s all fueled up.”
Then Newton, Shelly, and Theremin wriggled under the bottom bunk bed and dropped through the secret trapdoor that led to the school’s underground tunnels. Higgy used the tunnels to scrounge for food from the cafeteria at night because he was always hungry. But the dark, dank passageways were also useful for sneaking around campus without being noticed.
The three friends crept through the tunnels, not stopping until they stood beneath a specific vent. Newton easily jumped up and pushed open the vent, and then pulled himself up into Professor Flubitus’s classroom. Newton pulled Shelly up, then Theremin used his rocket boosters to shoot up through the vent.
“So, what are we looking for again?” Theremin asked.
“Anything that proves that nasty old Flubitus is here to cause trouble,” Shelly replied.
“Yeah,” Newton agreed. “Look at everything that’s connected to the guy. He appeared on campus at the same time as Peewee and we know he stole the nanochip that turned Peewee into a monster!”