Cragbridge Hall, Book One: The Inventor's Secret (31 page)

Abby started to laugh. Carol joined her. Soon everyone but Derick and Rafa were laughing.

“I suppose someone will explain to me why that’s funny,” Derick said.

36

Assembly

Abby walked with Carol in Cragbridge Hall. She took her time, enjoying the fact that she didn’t have to worry about keys or missing parents or falling off a sinking ship to her death. She didn’t even have to worry about class, at least for the next hour or so. She was walking to some sort of surprise assembly.

“Hey, Abby,” Jacqueline said, who approached from the other side of the hall. Her hair was pulled back into two braids, and her clothes matched flawlessly. “I saw on our grade updates that you’re behind on a lot of your homework. If you need to, you can sign up for a tutor. Oh, wait, there
are
no tutors here. If you need a tutor, you should—”

“Oh be quiet,” Carol said, walking beside Abby. “You’d think that with your intelligence, you’d be able to come up with something new to say.”

Abby smiled at that.

“I’m glad Abby has at least one friend,” Jacqueline said.

Abby faced Jacqueline. “Jacqueline.” Her tone was commanding. She felt different—stronger, somehow. “You are beautiful and smart and talented and charismatic. And I’m not as pretty as you. I don’t have my own business or great fashion sense. I don’t have as many friends as you.” Abby stood a little taller and stepped closer to Jacqueline. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m not ordinary. I have something to offer, and if you were as much of a genius as you say you are, you’d see that I
deserve
to be here.” Abby said the words slowly for emphasis. They felt good, and what’s more, she believed them.

Jacqueline stood silently for a moment before breaking from her surprise. She let out a loud laugh. “Tell yourself whatever you need to, to help you sleep at night.” Jacqueline turned down the hall and went into the assembly.

Abby shrugged at Carol.

“She gets under my skin,” Carol said. “Little missy prissy sissy. I don’t know where she gets off.”

“Eh,” Abby said, shrugging. “She doesn’t bug me so much anymore.”

“Really?” Carol asked as they left the hall and stepped into the large auditorium. Two floors overlooked one stage, which was set with lighting from the ceiling.

“Yeah,” Abby said. “I guess I used to think her opinion was from one of the world’s brightest, so she had to be right.” They walked down the middle aisle, slowly making their way toward the front. “But now I think she’s like a dog—a little one that always has to be barking about something.”

Carol laughed. “You’re right. Though she’s probably the best-dressed little dog I’ve ever seen. Have you seen her new line of ruffle skirts? So cute! I wanted to ask if it would be a threat to our friendship if I bought one.”

Abby laughed. She found a row, slipped in a few spots, and sat down. “Buy as many as you want.”

A voice boomed over the loudspeaker as the lights dimmed. “Welcome, Cragbridge Hall student body. To begin this surprise assembly, we would like to introduce ...”

Image after image flashed across the auditorium in the largest three-dimensional projection Abby had ever seen: earthquakes, armies, queens being crowned, Abraham Lincoln delivering a speech, people waiting in soup lines, a peace treaty being signed, a concentration camp, a tsunami. Each image was vivid and powerful—larger than life.

“The man who founded this school. He is responsible for many of the inventions ...”

Images of the Bridge, the Chair, and the avatar lab flashed across the hall. Was Grandpa here, at the assembly? Why? Images of several other inventions appeared. Abby didn’t recognize all of them. How many things had Grandpa invented?

“ ... that make this academy the premiere academy in the world: ...”

The crowd cheered, a boy or two taking it upon themselves to yell louder than others at random times.

“Oscar ... Cragbridge!”

The crowd erupted as Abby watched her grandpa walk across the stage. One after another, the students stood on their feet. Soon the entire auditorium had joined in the ovation. It was strange to be there with everyone cheering on her grandpa. Abby had seen moment after moment like this on the web, but this was the first time she had attended anything like it.

Yet her grandpa seemed somewhat at ease. He wore a simple button-up shirt, his Cragbridge Hall blazer, loose slacks, and his old unpolished, imitation-leather shoes. He was dressed up as he would be to go to the all-you-can-eat buffet with his family.

“Thank you, thank you,” he said, motioning for the crowd to quiet down. They didn’t respond right away, but eventually they calmed and sat. “Are you enjoying yourselves?”

Again the crowd erupted in applause and cheers.

“Good, good,” he said, a huge smile on his face. “I invented these machines because I believe that young people’s minds are our best investment. I think you’re worth all the trouble, thought, and effort that went into them. Please do your best to live up to the great expectations we have of you. Don’t worry too much. Don’t stress too much. Just do your best, and everything will be just fine. You won’t let me down.”

The crowd clapped, less boisterously and more thoughtful.

“I give you my highest compliments. I know that some of you out there may well outdo my accomplishments, and do so soon. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I hope I am of help.”

Abby thought that if he wasn’t her grandpa, he would have won her over.

“I’m here,” he said, raising his cane in the air, “to honor someone. Actually, several people. As some of you may have heard, I have been missing for the past several days. It was because ... I was kidnapped.”

The crowd grew solemn.

A view of a press conference streamed in across the projector. A woman in a police uniform stood in front of several small microphones and made a formal announcement. “We are happy to report that Oscar Cragbridge, his son Jefferson, and Jefferson’s wife, Hailey, have all been returned home safely. We will not release any details about their time in captivity.” She flicked her finger, probably to bring up the next page of notes. “We have the perpetrators in custody. They will be prosecuted according to the severity of their crimes. There have been some allegations that implicate Charles Muns, but we cannot find any record or evidence as of yet that the perpetrators worked with him.”

Another flick of the finger, and the woman continued. “Several people were instrumental in rescuing Oscar Cragbridge and his family members. He asked for the chance to honor them himself at an assembly at the school he founded, Cragbridge Hall. We’ll go there live.”

The auditorium appeared on-screen. The students went wild—standing, flailing their arms, whooping. Apparently even geniuses enjoyed a little attention. They were live on the air.

Oscar Cragbridge motioned for silence. “It is true. I was kidnapped and held against my will, as were my son and his wife.”

Abby tried not to think about the nightmarish last few days.

“Although I will not share the details of that time, the end results could have been disastrous for me, my family, and the entire world—a calamity unlike any humanity has ever known—if it had not been for several people. Please honor them with me. First, Coaches Horne and Adonavich.”

The two coaches stepped forward, and the students again erupted in applause. Coach Horne was on crutches, his shoulder and leg heavily bandaged. The students clapped harder, realizing he had been injured in whatever escapades he had been in.

“Minerva Entrese,” Grandpa continued. The English teacher stepped forward, wearing a black dress. Her hair was pulled back with a black ribbon. Though she smiled, Abby thought she still looked nervous. Her actions over the last twenty-four hours had made it clear that she was against Muns, and this honor would remove any lingering doubts.

“But the greatest heroes,” Grandpa said, “were four students.” The crowd hushed. Abby gasped in shock. No. Would he really bring her up there? “First, Rafael Pereira Silva dos Santos. Rafa, would you please join me onstage?”

Rafa stood in an aisle to the far left, and the spotlight found him as he made his way to the stage. Grandpa put both hands on Rafa’s shoulders, then hugged him. After he pulled back, he told the crowd, “Rafa is a man of exceptional talent—talent that proved vital to my escape.”

“Second, Carol Reese.”

Carol rose from her seat as the crowd clapped. She blew kisses in every direction and practically danced her way onto the stage. Grandpa gave her a hug too.

“Carol showed extreme bravery, even facing a gunman.” The crowd hushed. “I owe her a great debt of gratitude.”

“Finally, the two ...” Grandpa’s smooth voice broke. He took a moment to swallow and collect his emotions. Abby wiped her eyes. “Sorry,” he apologized. “The two I owe the greatest gratitude to are those I love the most: Derick and Abby Cragbridge.”

Abby felt the spotlight shine on her. She moved to her feet and slowly made her way to the stage, knowing that the whole school was watching. Part of her hated the attention, but she liked the applause coming from her classmates. Maybe she had a chance with them. Maybe she could fit in here. Maybe she could make it.

Abby caught a glimpse of Jacqueline, whose mouth hung wide open.

Derick joined Abby onstage. At the sight of Derick’s T-shirt, she shot him a questioning look. It said “I’m in love” in bold red letters and had Carol’s face underneath.

“Don’t ask,” Derick said. “I had to wear it today of all days.” He shook his head.

Grandpa hugged them both together for several moments. He let go, and then hugged them again. Finally, he addressed the crowd.

“If it were not for these two, this story would not have a happy ending. They have saved more than you will ever know. They faced fears and death, and just kept on going.” Abby smiled wider to keep her bottom lip from quivering. She twisted her hair into a ponytail.

The projector flashed back to the news story. “Apparently Oscar Cragbridge’s grandchildren and their schoolmates were instrumental in finding him trapped in an auditorium under reconstruction. The details of how they helped their grandfather escape and left his captors incapacitated are classified. All we can do is wonder, but in the end, we have to trust the word of one of the great geniuses of our time, that they are heroes.”

The crowd again rose to their feet. Abby and Derick waved as hundreds of students applauded. Then the four students moved into a hug.

• • •

Abby stood once again on the porch of her grandfather’s 1997 home. This time she was excited that he answered and let her in; seeing him at the door almost helped erase her terrible memories.

“So,” Grandpa said with a smile. “Great to see you two again—especially when the world isn’t watching.” He motioned for Abby and Derick to follow as he hobbled back toward his study.

“Yeah,” Derick said, following him, “you could have warned us about that.”

“No, I couldn’t have,” Grandpa said. “Then you would have refused. I couldn’t have that.”

“Oh, I would have refused alright,” Abby said.

“And I would have worn a different shirt,” Derick mumbled.

“But the assembly was about more than giving you a little attention,” Grandpa said, sitting in his old leather chair. “It was a strategic move. Now that everyone knows who the heroes are, they’ll pay more attention to you, which will make it more difficult for Muns to do anything to you.”

“Oh,” Abby said, fingering some books on one of the many shelves. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“How is school going?” Grandpa asked.

“The new history teacher isn’t nearly as good of a presenter as Mr. Hendricks, but she’s also probably not secretly trying to fight against my grandpa and kill my parents.”

“That’s good,” Grandpa said with a laugh. “Mr. Hendricks won’t be back.”

“You never really trusted him, did you, Grandpa?” Abby asked.

“I didn’t give him a locket. He had to steal that. But at one time, yes, I did trust him,” Grandpa said. “At the time, he deserved my trust. But then Muns got to him. No doubt Muns made some promises to bring back Mr. Hendricks’s wife. That would be very appealing to a grieving widower.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Abby paused and then said, “Are we sure we shouldn’t ... I mean, save people like his wife?”

“Absolutely,” Grandpa said. “I am sure. And I know that it’s a difficult thing to accept, but we can’t afford to play with time. Tragedies have their purpose; they teach us. True, many people have been broken because they’ve lost a loved one. But many people have grown. Many have gone on to change their lives, paying more attention to those they have while they still have time. These things bring people together. I know that ever since I lost your grandma, I ...” Tears welled up in Grandpa’s eyes. “I have loved you even more. She would want me to love you as I do, not bring her back.”

“But don’t they ... I mean, doesn’t Muns, have a key?” Derick asked.

“At least one, yes,” Grandpa said. “We have to assume that after they stole it from Abby, they continued through the steps to gain the actual Bridge key. They also have my copy of the Bridge, which they stole from my basement. I believe it was what they used to show me the
Titanic
in the auditorium, but unfortunately, Ms. Entrese and I had no way of taking it back to the school before Muns’s reinforcements showed up. We barely escaped ourselves. That Bridge, and the one in the basement of the academy, are the only two working time machines in the world.”

Grandpa rubbed his temples. “So they have at least one key and a time machine. They could have persuaded others I’ve given lockets to. I’m in the process of communicating with everyone who has a locket to consult with them. The situation is more dangerous than ever.”

“What about the energy burst, or whatever you said it was, that they used to put Mom and Dad on the
Titanic
?” Derick asked. “Do you understand what it was? Couldn’t they use that again?”

Grandpa leaned on his cane. “I think I understand a bit of the theory behind it, but not all of it. Unfortunately, they could use it again. We’ll have to be on the lookout. Nothing is safe. No
time
is safe. But for now, we have avoided a disaster, and we have the upper hand.” Grandpa looked at both of his grandchildren. “And we have you two to thank for it.”