The Many Worlds of Albie Bright by Christopher Edge

Author:Christopher Edge
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2017-05-30T04:00:00+00:00

“Come on.” Wesley grins, pushing the door open. “Let’s go catch a platypus.”

I freeze, trying to think of a way to get out of Wesley’s crazy scheme as he slips inside the Montague Wilkes Wing. Looking back along the gallery, I can see the rest of Class 6 having fun inside the museum. I spot Kiran bouncing inside what looks like a giant hamster ball in the Atomic Zorb Zone, while Victoria Barnes is taking a selfie with her friends in front of an erupting volcano. Even Miss Benjamin is getting in on the action as she stands inside a Clone Zone pod as the curator presses a button to print an instant 3-D copy. How have I got caught up in a platypus kidnap? If Miss Benjamin finds out…

This is the moment when something clicks inside my brain. Since I arrived in this parallel universe, I’ve been duct-taped to a chair, rejected by my best friend, and even forced to hold hands with Victoria Barnes. I don’t belong here, and the first chance I get I’m climbing back inside that cardboard box to escape from this crazy place.

So what does it matter if I help Wesley MacNamara steal a stupid stuffed platypus? If I get caught, the only person who’s going to get the blame is the Albie Bright in this universe. Suddenly I don’t feel scared anymore. I can do what I like here and get away with it scot-free.

“Albie?” Wesley’s voice floats out into the gallery. “Come and look what I’ve found.”

With a last glance over my shoulder to make sure nobody is watching, I quickly slip through the door.

Wow.

That’s the only word I can use to describe what’s inside.

The large room is lit by bright fluorescent lights and filled with stuffed animals of every kind. There are lions and tigers, leopards and bears, monkeys, zebras, and crocodiles. And those are just the ones I can see straightaway. But what’s really creepy is that every one of these animals is dressed in clothes like it’s a real person.

There’s a walrus wearing a wedding dress, and it looks like it’s getting married to a polar bear in a three-piece suit. A monkey in a waistcoat is riding on the back of a mountain goat, and they’re both being chased by a koala in an old-fashioned car. I can see a model school filled with skunks, sitting in rows behind desks in their black-and-white uniforms. There’s even a team of kangaroos playing cricket against a couple of crocodiles, all of them dressed in white sweaters. These weird scenes are displayed on platforms all around the room, each one a bit higher as the walkway curves around the exhibition.

“Pretty freaky, eh?” Wesley says, inspecting the display at the front of the room. “It says here that this Montague Wilkes guy stuffed all these animals himself to remind him of home when he was traveling around the world back in the olden days.”

I’m feeling a bit homesick myself, but this spooky exhibition isn’t making me feel any better.

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