Abner Stevens walked into Mr. Collins’s classroom on noodle legs. He was a little early because his dad dropped him off this morning, and his dad tended to drop people off way too early. Abner looked all around and took his seat. Next, Margo came skipping into the room.

“Freaked out,t Abby?” Margo plopped herself down into the vacant seat next to Abner.

“What’s up?” she said.

“Did you really see a monster?” Abner asked. She looked all over and found no one was listening because no one was in class yet. She whispered, and Abner really had to lean in and pay attention to hear her.

“I did,” she said. “The Monster ate Becky.” His eyes widened. Becky walked into the room.

“He,y Becky,” Margo said. Abner narrowed his eyes.

“Why did I believe you?” Margo shrugged and gave a little smile.

“You’re so easy to mess with,” Margo teased. Abner’s ears and cheeks reddened and burned suddenly. He hated how gullible he could be. Why was Margo so good at getting him to believe her whoppers?

Now in strutted Chucky. He had a smirk on his face,ce and everyone just knew he would brag about some academic achievement.

“What is it, Chucky?” Abner said.

“What do you expect me to brag about myself or something?” Chucky said.

“Duh,” Becky replied,ied having no patience for Chucky’s coy act.

“Spill the beans, eans Chuck,” Margo said. Chucky sneered. He hated it when Margo left off his name. She knew this bothered him and deliberately did so to get under his skin. I am working on something sure to win me first place in the Science Fair,” Chucky said. Everyone exchanged a look and raised their eyebrows.

“I can’t reveal it now; you wouldn’t believe me anyway.”

“Tell us,” Abner insisted. Chucky shook his head.

“You three will just have to wait till Friday to find out.”

“Don’t torture us like this,” Abner said.

“Patience is a virtue,” Chucky said as he folded his arms across his chest and wore a smirk.

“You always say that,” Margo said. Chucky tickled Margo’s chin.

“And I always mean it,” he assured her. She pushed his hand away.

The week seemed to drag on. Classes blended; lectures blended as well. Finally, Friday came. Margo, Becky, and Abner entered the gymnasium. They found Chucky standing by something massive, covered by a white sheet. Abner and the two girls looked up at the sheet. Their minds danced with endless possibilities. Was it Abner’s imagination, or was Chucky’s science project breathing?

“Is your science project alive?” Abner asked. Chucky nodded.

“How observant of you to notice?” Chucky told him. Miss Harri,s the science teacher, walked over wearing a white coat, glasses, and holding a clipboard.

“Alright, let’s see what you got,” Miss Harris said. Time stood still. A pit formed in everyone’s stomach as they witnessed the unveiling. A towering beast stared down at everyone. It had wings, claws, and webbed feet. It snarled; everyone gasped when they saw this thing.

“How did you do this?” Miss Harris asked.

“I took some Fog DNA and mutilated it until it became this thing,” Chucky explained.

“What’s his name?” Miss Harris asked him.

“His name is Amp,” Chucky told her.

“I assume that’s short for Amphibian?” Miss Harris said. Chucky nodded.

“Very clever of you to figure that out. I’m sure my classmates didn’t catch the word play,” Chucky sai,d looking at his friends as he spoke. Abner leaned over and whispered to Margo.

“I kind of hope Amp eats Chucky.” She swatted his arm and stifled a chuckle.

Miss Harris pinned the ribbon on the front of Chucky’s shirt. People clapped.

“I can hear his head swelling already,” Becky teased. It wore a collar, ar and Chucky held the leash. Chucky led Amp over to the water fountain. They let the thing hang out, back,k and the creature broke free from its chain, and wandered off. Miss Harris and the others could not believe what they saw. He was skewering kids like kabobs before eating them. He snarled and let out a hideous growl. Becky screamed as he chased after her. She hid under the bench. He sat down on the bench, and Becky clamped a hand over her mouth. He started sniffing the air. He smelled her scent and his eyes filled with excitement. He bent down and locked eyes with Becky. The Monster grabbed her and gobbled her up. He let out a satisfying belch and licked his fingers.

Quickly,y his teachers froze him with fire extinguishers. The military took him away and kept him in a specialized freeze tank. Miss Harris took away Chucky’s first-place ribbon.

He just hung his head.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Chucky murmured.

The Monster

The Monster

Passages

monster