Sucked Under by Z. Fraillon Page A

This was new.
    â€˜Look a’ the person nex’ teh ye,’ Sir Tavish said.
    Jasper made a stupid face at Felix, who choked back a laugh.
    â€˜Somethin’ teh say, Mr Brown?’ Sir Tavish asked. ‘Or are ye just laughin’ because ye’re stuck with McPhee for yer nex’ test?’
    The students had never done a test in pairs before. Cool, Jasper thought. He glanced behind him. Saffy was paired with Callum, a small kid from their class. Saffy would be happy – Callum was easily the best student at Combative Calculations.
    â€˜Sorry, mate,’ Jasper whispered to Felix. ‘Let’s just hope it’s not an important test.’
    Felix grinned in response. Jasper knew they would actually team up pretty well together.
    â€˜Head back noow. Stenka is waitin’ to show ye teh ye test rooms. It’s a test on Morphers, so keep ye wits aboot ye. We don’t have tha’ much anti-venom on hand.’
    Jasper hoped Sir Tavish was joking. ‘How can they be running out of anti-venom?’ he whispered to Felix.
    â€˜Um, let’s see now …’ said Felix. ‘Could it be because this is a monster-hunting school and kids get Monstered, like, every single day?’
    â€˜Good point,’ said Jasper. ‘But it’s just a test, right? I reckon they’d stop it if you were in real trouble. That’s what they always do in tests.’
    Sir Tavish’s voice boomed across their conversation. ‘Hurry up, ye two!’ he yelled. ‘This test ain’t like no other ye’ve doone!’
    â€˜There goes that theory,’ Felix grimaced.

2
    The headphones in the test room were broken. Definitely broken. The high-pitched beeping was beginning to get annoying. Jasper gave the headphones one last tap before ripping them off his head.
    He looked around the dark room for any sign of a monster. His eyes were stinging. His head was aching. Maybe I’m getting a cold from standing in the stupid snow so much, he thought distractedly. He was finding it hard to concentrate. Test. Think about the test , he reminded himself.
    Jasper heard something shuffling around in the room. Something clumsy. It grunted as it walked right into a wall.
    Silently, Jasper pulled the net from his hunt belt. He could just make out a figure in the far corner of the room. It was about the same size as him. Too easy , thought Jasper, raising the net.
    A small doubt niggled at the back of Jasper’s brain. The figure edged slightly to the right. Jasper knew that if he waited, it could all go wrong. He shook the doubt from his head, ran towards the figure and swung his net.
    The next thing Jasper knew, his legs were kicked out from underneath him and he thumped onto the floor. Not exactly how monster-hunting was meant to go. At least I’ve got the monster, thought Jasper. He grabbed the torch from his hunt belt and switched it on.
    â€˜Felix?’ Jasper whispered. His friend stood tangled in the net.
    â€˜Where are we?’ asked Felix.
    Jasper shook his head. ‘We’re in a test, aren’t we? But what are you doing here? You’re not meant to be here, are you?’ He shivered and pulled his hood up. It was cold .
    â€˜Why am I in a net?’ Felix scratched his head.
    Jasper shrugged and shone the torch around the room. Where are we?
    Jasper could feel an idea trying to burst through his skull, desperately wanting to be heard.
    He shone the torch directly in Felix’s eyes.
    Felix blinked and looked around the room, as if trying to get his bearings. Jasper saw something purple flash inside Felix’s ear, then disappear.
    He felt a tingle of excitement in the tips of his fingers. Without really knowing why, he tackled Felix to the ground.
    Felix struggled hopelessly in the net.
    â€˜Stay still!’ yelled Jasper.
    He grabbed the ear plunger – which looked like a mini toilet-plunger – from his hunt belt and shoved it roughly