Many Worlds of Albie Bright (8 page)

In my universe, the Clackthorpe Museum of Natural History and Mechanical Wonders is in an old detached house that looks more like a dusty antique shop or the kind of run-down hotel you usually find in a horror film.

But the huge building in front of me is made of glass and steel, all sharp angles and straight lines rising up into the sky like an alien spaceship that’s taken a wrong turn at Mars and landed in Clackthorpe by mistake. I rub my eyes, certain that this time I must be dreaming. But the spaceship doesn’t take off and
instead I see the sign above the entrance as Miss Benjamin begins to lead Class 6 inside.

FUSION

SPONSORED BY THE C.E.B. FOUNDATION

Formerly the Clackthorpe Museum of Natural History and Mechanical Wonders

As Victoria rushes to follow the others with a squeal of excitement, I suddenly feel a long way from home.

“Welcome to Fusion.”

My jaw drops in surprise as Dad greets me and the rest of Class 6 as we stand waiting in the huge entrance hall.

“In this immersive museum you’ll discover the secrets of the universe. Do you dare to stare into the mirror of infinity? Or take a spin at nearly the speed of light around the Large Hadron Collider? From the Chillerator, where you’ll learn how cold fusion uses the power of the stars, to the Dark Matter Detector, where you will search for the secret ingredient of space itself, every interactive exhibit will help you to
learn how science can explain the wonders of the universe.”

Of course it’s only a hologram. A life-size 3D image of my dad beamed on to a raised platform at the entrance to the museum. The real thing is on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, probably eating breakfast at the White House, but the hologram looks so realistic that I can’t stop myself from reaching out to touch it.

“Albie!” Miss Benjamin’s voice rings out with a warning note.

A pattern of coloured dots crawls over my skin as the image of Dad’s hand passes through my own, the beams of light coming together to create the hologram. It’s just a cheap trick to make you think that Professor Ben Bright is really here. Even in this parallel universe, the only way I get to see my dad is virtually.

“Before you leave you’ll even have the chance to invent your own experiment in the Eureka Zone.” The hologram of my dad looks straight at me now, his face suddenly serious. “Who knows? You might even make a discovery that could change the universe.”

I think about the Quantum Banana Theory – my
mum’s laptop hooked up to the Geiger counter as the banana inside the cardboard box slowly turns brown.
I already have, Dad. I just can’t tell you about it because you’re not here
.

As my dad’s hologram fades away Miss Benjamin claps her hands together to keep our attention.

“Right, Class 6. I want you to think about the questions we’ve been exploring in class. Where does energy come from? What is matter made of? How fast is light? This morning you’re going to get active to discover the answers to all these questions and more. Work in your colour-coded groups to explore the exhibits and then we’ll all meet back together at twelve in the Collider Cafe to share what we’ve found out.”

This is the signal that Class 6 has been waiting for. With a buzz of excitement, everyone swarms off to try and find the most exciting and potentially dangerous exhibits. Beneath the spectacular glass roof, the museum’s huge hall looks like a gigantic science theme park. Atom-shaped pods zoom in opposite directions around an elevated race track that loops around the museum, zipping past each other at high speed. Fluorescent rainbow-coloured columns gurgle multicoloured bubbles
into the air, each one popped by a giant pin that swings back and forth. I can see robot exoskeletons and dinosaurs, space probes and steam engines, an imitation volcano and something called the Big Bang Simulator. Glass bridges and galleries lead from one zone to the next, neon signposts directing you to the Clone Zone, the Cosmic Space, the Invention Station and loads more amazing-sounding places.

This must be the best museum in the world. And it’s in Clackthorpe.

“Catch you later,” Victoria says, giving me a peck on the cheek. “I’m going for a ride on the Large Hadron Collider with Olivia and Kim.”

Somewhere inside my brain, my blush switch is suddenly flicked to maximum beetroot. Grabbing hold of her friends’ hands, Victoria disappears in the direction of the atomic racetrack leaving me looking like I’ve just landed from Mars.

I don’t know which colour-coded group I belong to. I don’t know why Victoria Barnes thinks I’m her boyfriend. And as I look around the museum I don’t really know what I’m doing here.

“Come along, Albie,” Miss Benjamin snaps, clicking her fingers together. “Your partner in the
Grey group is waiting to get started.”

There’s only one other person in Class 6 who hasn’t rushed off already to explore the museum.

Standing next to Miss Benjamin, Wesley MacNamara is wearing a sly smile on his face. That’s when I realise I really hate this stupid universe.

“Where are we going?” I ask nervously as I follow Wesley along the empty gallery that skirts the edge of the entrance hall. “All the cool stuff is back that way.”

“I’ve found it,” he replies, tapping the side of his nose as if keeping a big secret. “We can put the plan into action.”

“What plan?” I ask, feeling even more confused as I look around the deserted space. There are no dynamic demonstrations, electrifying experiments or interactive exhibits anywhere to be seen in this corner of the museum. I don’t know how we’re going to find out the answers to any of Miss Benjamin’s questions here. I glance back over my shoulder to see my antique teacher deep in conversation with one of the museum staff, his bright-red jacket emblazoned with the logo of the C.E.B. Foundation.

At the back of my mind I can’t help worrying that Wesley is trying to lure me to a lonely part of the museum so that he can subject me to a grisly science experiment. But at least he hasn’t given me a dead arm – yet.

“Operation Platypus,” Wesley replies with an evil grin. “Don’t try and pretend you’ve forgotten our brilliant plan.”

Oh no, don’t tell me that the Wesley MacNamara in this parallel universe is as crazy as the one I’ve left behind. I’d forgotten all about his failed science project to dissect a duck-billed platypus. I remember the pictures of the stuffed animals I’d seen on the website of the Clackthorpe Museum of Natural History and Mechanical Wonders. Surely there’s no space for a pickled platypus in this high-tech theme park?

The sign above the frosted glass doors at the end of the gallery gives me the answer to this question.

THE MONTAGUE WILKES WING

HOME OF THE WORLD’S FINEST COLLECTION OF ANTIQUARIAN ANIMALS
CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT

“Come on,” Wesley grins, pushing the door open. “Let’s go and 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 3D 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 gaffer-taped to a chair, bad-mouthed 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 any more. 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 they’re just the ones that I can see straight away. 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 jumpers. These weird scenes are displayed on platforms all around the room, each one getting 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 travelling 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. It’s like a zoo where the animals have eaten all the visitors and then dressed up in their clothes.

“And there’s the furry freak we’re looking for,” Wesley says, pointing towards the platform in the centre of the room.

I look up to see an animal orchestra arranged around the stage. There are penguins playing violins, a racoon with a bassoon, ferrets with trumpets and an animal that looks like a civet – a small jungle cat I’d seen Snake Mason catch on
Wild Survival
– playing the clarinet. Whoever put this orchestra together really liked to give the animals
an instrument that rhymed.

And standing on a high podium in the centre of the platform, surrounded by the stuffed musicians, is a duck-billed platypus dressed in a white tuxedo. His flippers are spread wide and it looks like he’s holding a long wooden stick.

I feel a rush of adrenalin as I eye the goal of our mission. It’s time to steal a platypus.

At first I don’t know how we’re going to get up on to the orchestra platform. The museum has put up a see-through guard rail to protect the stuffed animals from any nosy visitors – or maybe the other way round – and this is way too high to climb over. But then Wesley wheels a ladder up the walkway.

“Here we go,” he says with an excited grin, pushing the ladder into position. “They must have left this out from when they were putting up the exhibits.”

“Leave it to me,” I tell him, putting my foot on the first rung of the ladder. Above my head, the duck-billed conductor is waiting on top of his podium, ready to start the band. “I’ll get the platypus.”

As I climb the ladder I can’t stop myself from grinning. For the first time since I got here, I’m in
control. My head’s buzzing with excitement. I’m going to steal an antique platypus and I don’t even care if I get caught.

When Mum first got ill I tried so hard to do the right thing all the time, not wanting to cause her any worry or make things worse. But even though I kept everything bottled up inside – the bullying at school, my dad’s disappearing acts – this didn’t help to make Mum any better and I just had to watch her fade away. But in this universe there’s no Mum for me to worry about any more. Here, I can do what I like – just like Bad Albie does.

At the top of the ladder, the platypus seems a bit further away than it looked from the floor but it looks twice as freaky. Dressed in a white tuxedo, with a black bow tie knotted beneath its enormous beak, its beady eyes stare back at me suspiciously.

“Have you got it?” Wesley calls out.

Holding on to the ladder with one hand, I reach out for the platypus. It’s about as big as my backpack, with a couple of nasty-looking spikes near the front of its flippers. My mouth is dry and I can feel my heart thudding in my chest as I grab hold of its shiny brown fur. And that’s when everything starts to go wrong.

“I can’t wait to see the animals!” It’s Miss Benjamin’s voice and it sounds like she’s right outside. “I used to love bringing the children to see them in the old museum. Thank you for giving me this sneak peek.”

Panicking, I glance towards the frosted doors and see two shadows behind the glass. Miss Benjamin is going to catch me red-handed.

“What do we do now?” I hiss, but when I look down Wesley has already let go of the bottom of the ladder and is heading towards a sign saying EMERGENCY EXIT. I’m on my own.

Then several things happen at once.

Without Wesley holding on, the ladder starts to jolt backwards, tipping me forward into empty air. One second I’m reaching out for the platypus, the next it’s the only thing I’m holding on to as I fall down towards the platform. On the way, my flailing elbow somehow connects with a button on the side of the podium, switching it from Off to On.

As the runaway ladder picks up speed, trundling down the walkway towards the cricketing crocodiles and kangaroos, the sound of an orchestra suddenly fills the room. A fanfare of trumpets announces my
arrival as I crash-land in the middle of the animal orchestra, a row of flute-playing huskies cushioning my fall.

As I lie there dazed, a stuffed penguin stabbing me in the ribs with his violin bow, I hear a huge crash as the ladder smashes into the platform at the bottom of the walkway. I’m still holding on to the platypus, and as I open my eyes his beak is millimetres away from my face and his beady gaze tells me I’ve made a massive mistake.