Over The Rainbow by Meredith Badger Read Free Book Online

inflated to her exact size and shape. When the covers were drawn up around it, Elly nearly laughed. It looked exactly like she was still in there!
    If the Rule-Ruler saw this it would go totally crazy, she grinned to herself.
    Luckily, the Ruler seemed to be asleep. Elly could hear little wooden-y snores coming from her backpack as she slipped it on.
    Elly and Saphie sneaked out of the dormitory and headed towards the Rainbow Laboratory. The corridors of the Academy were bathed in the soft, silvery light of the full moon.
    It was so quiet that it made Elly jumpy. She was glad when they finally arrived at the gates. She kept expecting someone to leap out of the shadows and catch them!
    But when Elly looked properly at the gates, she frowned. ‘Uh, Saph?’ she said. ‘Any ideas on how we get past these?’
    Saphie gave her a grin. ‘Yes, actually. I found another interesting book in the library a while back,’ she said. Then she glanced at her watch, and whispered, ‘In exactly one minute, the full moon will have completely risen. Then, if the book was right, something pretty freaky will happen.’
    â€˜What?’ asked Elly, bursting with curiosity.
    But Saphie shook her head. ‘Wait and see. You won’t believe me if I tell you.’
    Suddenly, the corridor was aglow with bright beams of moonlight.
    Saphie grabbed Elly’s hand. ‘Come on!’ she whispered urgently. ‘We have to walk through the gates now, while the moon is at its brightest!’
    Saphie started walking towards the gates, but Elly hesitated. ‘Saph, the gates are locked, remember?’ she said, confused.
    â€˜You have to trust me,’ said Saphie softly. ‘I’ll explain later.’

    So Elly walked quickly towards the gate. She scrunched her eyes closed, waiting to crash into the metal bars. But no crash came.
    â€˜It worked!’ chuckled Saphie.
    Elly opened her eyes and discovered, to her amazement, that they were now standing on the other side of the gate, at the top of the stairs. ‘Hang on,’ she said. ‘What just happened?’
    â€˜The gate is made from moon metal ,’ explained Saphie.
    â€˜What’s that?’ asked Elly.
    â€˜It’s a fairy metal made from moonbeams,’ explained Saphie. ‘Usually it’s super strong. But on very bright full-moon nights, it turns back into beams of light – even though it still looks totally solid!’
    Elly wasn’t sure that she believed Saphie. She reached out for the gate, but again her hand went straight through it!
    â€˜That’s amazing!’ she marvelled. ‘It’s so lucky you read that book, Saph.’
    â€˜I read everything. Even boring old books about gates,’ laughed Saphie. ‘Come on. We’d better hurry!’
    Elly and Saphie hurried down the narrow stairs into the darkness, towards the door of the Rainbow Lab. They didn’t dare use a torch, in case someone walking past noticed the light. The further down the stairs they went, the darker things got. Elly was really glad that Saphie was there with her.
    Gradually, Elly noticed a strange flickering light reflected on the walls. One moment it was red, then it was purple and then, almost as quickly, it changed to blue.
    â€˜I think that’s the rainbow we can see!’ whispered Saphie excitedly. ‘It must be shining under the door of the Rainbow Lab.’
    The lights became brighter and brighter as Elly and Saphie went further down the stairs, until the narrow stairwell glowed with colour.
    â€˜I think we’re near the entrance of the Rainbow Lab,’ said Saphie, her eyes wide.
    Elly felt shivery with excitement. ‘I can’t believe we’re about to see where the rainbow actually comes from!’ she said.
    â€˜Me neither!’ said Saphie. Then suddenly, she stopped. ‘There’s just one small problem.’
    â€˜What?’ asked Elly.
    Saphie pointed. Up