Jasper knocked on the door to Room 13.
‘No knocking, dude,’ a strange voice called from inside. ‘It kills my karma, man.’
Jasper paused. This was weird. He was sure he knew all the teachers at Monstrum House. Even the ones who hadn’t taught him yet. But this voice was definitely not familiar.
Jasper nudged the door open with his foot. He still wasn’t convinced that Memory Modification was a real class. Maybe Señor Hermes was playing some evil kind of trick to keep him on his toes.
Jasper peered inside the room, and felt his jaw drop open. A guy in sunglasses, a tie-dyed T-shirt and loose cotton trousers was lounging on a beach chair in the middle of the room.
Nope, definitely not Hermes. The guy’s hair was waist-length and tied in a plait. He took off his sunnies and smiled as Jasper entered.
‘Hey, like, welcome, little dude,’ the guy said. He sipped at some kind of tropical drink in a tall glass with a flower poking out the top.
‘Um, h-hi,’ Jasper stammered.
‘Call me Mr Z.’ The guy waved and patted the empty beach chair next to him.
‘What’s the Z stand for?’ Jasper asked.
‘Just Mr Z is cool, dig?’
Jasper wasn’t entirely sure what the guy had just said, but he nodded. ‘Yeah, right.’
‘Anyway, just ease back, let hang, loosen up your mind, man.’ Mr Z put his sunglasses back on and picked up a guitar. ‘We’re going to try and find your tune,’ he said.