Free Cragbridge Hall, Volume 2: The Avatar Battle by Chad Morris Page A

“I’m not sure I see the connection.”
    “I’m not sure I even know what these are,” Abby admitted.
    “Let’s figure it out,” Derick said, reaching in and scooping up the spheres. Once in his hand, one of the three glowed. It was a dim glow, but it glowed just the same.
    “Whoa, trippy,” Carol said. “Maybe it’s just a really cool flashlight for when we go in the basement.”
    “It’s not that bright,” Derick said. “Besides, what about the other two that aren’t glowing?”
    “Maybe they’re out of batteries,” Carol suggested.
    “Can I hold them?” Abby stretched out her hand. Derick agreed and passed them to his sister. Once they changed hands, the glowing sphere went out, but a different one began to glow. “Huh. Why did that happen?”
    “My turn, my turn,” Carol squealed. Abby passed the orbs. The same thing happened again, but this time, the third sphere illuminated. “There’s one for each of us.”
    “Awesome,” Derick said, taking the sphere that glowed with his touch.
    Abby picked hers up, holding it close for a better look. “Now all we have to do is figure out what to do with them.”
     

10
    A Virtual Bridge
     
    Abby tried not to think about flaming dirigibles and Brazilian dance-fighting teachers. She tried not to think about Muns. She tried not to think about the sphere in her pocket that lit up when she touched it. Now it was the first day of a new semester. Abby had a new start. She had to focus.
    “Welcome to your second semester at Cragbridge Hall.” A tall, thin woman with dark brown skin and short cropped hair stood at the front of the room. “I hope that you enjoyed your first semester, but because my class wasn’t part of it, this semester will go down in your personal histories as the best so far.” She winked. “But I have a question first, ‘Who is ready for some MATH ?’” She asked it like she was introducing a rock star or beginning a prize fight.
    She didn’t get much of a response.
    “What?” she said. “I said, ‘ WHO is READY for some MATH ?’” She put her hand to her ear like she was waiting for the class to go wild with cheers and applause. It didn’t happen. “How about some ENGINEERING ?” A couple of people clapped.
    She stood up straight. “I can see I have some work to do. My name is Mrs. Trinhouse, and I will be your Math and Engineering teacher. And before you leave my class, you will be so much more excited than this.” She smiled big, her white teeth standing out against her full dark lips.
    Trinhouse. Abby had heard that name before.
    “You have already completed your first semester of math and that will be absolutely vital to what we do here. But now it is time to amp up the learning and your experience. You’ll notice that, like many classrooms at Cragbridge Hall, this one has several booths along the walls. Each booth is designed for a more interactive experience. I will invite you to enter a booth, and then put on the suit and sensors that you find there. The booths and their equipment are very similar to the avatar equipment you’ve used. Oscar Cragbridge has found methods of using much of the same technology in many different ways. In this case, your suit will not connect to a robot avatar or even to any place that is actually real. These virtuality booths will allow you to experience a world that doesn’t exist. You will see what has been programmed, what has been built. You will feel what someone in this virtual world would feel. The experience is completely immersive.”
    Mrs. Trinhouse opened a flat case and displayed what was inside to her class. Abby gasped. It was a series of small white spheres about the size of grapes. Each rested in a soft encasing. “These are the worlds I have built,” she said. “Because creating each world requires massive amounts of data, we have to use physical spheres to hold it all.” She plucked one marble from the case and held it up for the class. “Building each one