The Amphiblets by Helen Oghenegweke Read Free Book Online

to pick them up and leaf through the pages. Suddenly they became aware of another presence in the room.
    ‘Hello,’ smiled a young girl, roughly the same age as the boys.
    ‘Hello,’ Will replied, jumping nimbly and landing on his feet. ‘Where did you come from?’
    ‘Over there,’ said the girl pointing behind her towards a wall.
    ‘Professor Kyle never mentioned having a daughter,’ said Will, grinning.
    ‘I’m not his daughter, silly,’ she laughed and threw her hair back behind her. She eyed them curiously. ‘Are you the Amphiblets?’
    Will nodded.
    ‘What’s it like?’ she asked.
    ‘What’s what like?’ replied Will.
    ‘What’s it like being an Amphiblet?’
    Will shrugged. ‘It feels normal to us but other people find it interesting,’ he replied, remembering his father remarks on how special they were.
    ‘I bet they do,’ agreed the girl, observing their webbed fingers and staring curiously into their frog-coloured eyes. ‘I’m not actually meant to be here but Mum says it might be good if I introduced myself to you while you’re waiting to perform tonight. She came here with Peter. She’ll be in the audience and wants to meet you. She likes interesting people. By the way, my name is Ruby. Which one of you is Riley?’
    Riley put his hand up.
    ‘And I’m Will,’ said Will politely, reaching to shake Ruby’s hand. Will had never seen a girl before and was absolutely smitten with Ruby. She was beautiful, with her long, black hair and bright, green eyes that shimmered. As their fingers touched he felt how warm and soft her hands were. Ed quickly knocked his brother’s arm away from her touch.
    ‘What did you do that for?’ complained Will.
    ‘We shouldn’t touch anyone,’ said Ed. ‘You could become ill.’
    ‘He’s right,’ said Riley. ‘That’s what Dad told us.’
    ‘Oh,’ said Ruby. ‘I’m sorry. I hope I won’t get you into any trouble. I didn’t know. Well, it’s lovely meeting you all. Good luck with tonight. Oh, and before I forget, Mum wanted to know if Professor Snipes was treating you nicely.’
    ‘Huh?’ replied Will.
    ‘She wanted to know if Professor Snipes was treating you well.’
    ‘Of course he treats us well. He’s our dad. That’s what dads do.’
    Ruby frowned and bit her lips, as if knowing something they did not. ‘That’s okay then.’
    ‘What did you mean by that?’ asked Riley.
    ‘Nothing,’ she said a little too fast to be convincing.
    Before they could discuss it any further, their attention was drawn to the door, which clicked opened. The Professor and Hugo had arrived to collect them. When the boys turned to Ruby she appeared to have vanished but not by the door, for there was only one and Hugo was totally blocking it.
    ‘Time to rock and roll!’ said the Professor, grinning merrily. ‘This is your night! So go out there and enjoy it.’

10
A Spellbound Audience
     
    ‘Huh?’ said Will, scratching his head and turning around. ‘Where did she go?’
    ‘Who?’ asked Professor Snipes, glancing around him.
    ‘The girl who was here?’
    Professor Snipes frowned. ‘This is no time to be making up silly stories.’
    ‘I’m not!’ insisted Will, angrily.
    Riley nudged him in the ribs. ‘Joke’s over,’ he said, warning Will to drop the subject.
    Will was fuming. Why didn’t Riley and Ed back him up? In that instant, he felt betrayed. He turned around and half expected to see Ruby’s leg sticking out from behind the leather chair.
    ‘Well, let’s not have this spoil our night,’ said the Professor. ‘You can undress here before we go any further.’
    Wondering whether Ruby was watching them from her secret hiding place, the boys shyly undressed down to their swimming trunks, before following the Professor through to the back of the house and then outside through the sliding patio doors. One of the first things they noticed, apart from a white marquee, was the sound of many voices talking at once. The boys stepped