Free Grasshopper Glitch by Ali Sparkes Page B

perfected a S.W.I.T.C.H. potion now. You can drink S.W.I.T.C.H. instead of spray it on. It’ll have the same effect.”
    â€œWe’re not drinking anything!” declared Josh.
    â€œOf course you’re not. But if you ever did , it’s all quite safe. Look, there’s a S.W.I.T.C.H. antidote potion too! I made it just in case drinking S.W.I.T.C.H. makes the changes last longer than the spray. It gets right inside, of course, so it probably lasts longer. But the antidote can stop it all at anytime like the gas back in my lab. I’ve got both the potion and the antidote in my bag.” With one hand on the wheel, she turned around to rummage in the bag between them. She was just hauling out a small plastic bottle when Josh shouted,
    â€œLOOK OUT!”
    There was a screech of elderly brakes. All three of them jerked violently forward. Petty’s car nearly collided with the crossing guard. School bags, lunch boxes, and Petty’s stuff went flying everywhere. It was good that Josh and Danny had been hanging on to the little leather straps above their heads. They might well have shot through the windshield.
    Petty had bashed her nose on her steering wheel. “Oh, all right! All right! Keep your stupid shiny hat on!” She was shouting at the crossing guard. He was waving his yellow STOP sign around and looking very angry.

    â€œPlease—just drive around the corner, so we can get out,” wailed Josh. He kept his head down behind the front seats in case anyone from their school was watching. He and Danny scrabbled about, picking up their bags, books, and lunch boxes.
    â€œMy bun’s all squashed!” moaned Danny. He picked up a sweet pastry bun that now looked more like a cookie.
    â€œWell, mine had a pretty hard whack too. Thanks for your concern!” sniffed Petty. They pulled at last around the corner, away from the angry crossing guard.
    â€œMy buNNN! BuNNN—not BUM!” squawked Danny. He gave a horrified shudder.
    â€œThanks for the ride,” said Josh. They fumbled with the tipping front seat and the passenger door. He and Danny grabbed their school stuff. They got out as fast as they could, slamming the door behind them.
    Petty rubbed her nose. She called to them. “I’m off around the park to try the potion and the antidote out on the squirrels. I’ll let you know how it goes!” She did a violent U-turn, nearly knocking a passing cyclist off his bike.
    â€œCome on,” said Danny. He shoved his drink and flattened pastry back into his lunch box. He slung his bag over his shoulder. “I never thought I’d say this, but I can’t wait to get to school, where it’s safe.”
    He went on through the school gates. He had no idea that something very, very un safe was slurping about in his bag.

“Who is making that noise?” snapped Miss Mellor.
    Everyone in the class froze and widened their eyes. Then they looked around for the culprit. The room was silent.
    â€œThat scrapey, scratchy noise! It’s really irritating,” went on Miss Mellor. She put down her spelling test grading, stood up, and folded her arms.
    â€œDon’t know, ma’am,” muttered a few innocent pupils.
    Josh nudged Danny, but his brother just shrugged.
    â€œWell, whoever it was, stop it at once,” commanded Miss Mellor. She sat down again, heavily. She picked up her red pen. She sent a warning glare around the classroom.
    A few minutes passed as the class got on with “quiet reading.” Then the noise began again. Scratch, scrape. Scratch, scrape. Scratch, scrape.
    Josh nudged Danny again. But his brother was engrossed in his book. He was quite unaware that he was moving his legs up and down against each other. The seams of his new school pants and the Velcro tabs on his school shoes kept scraping and scratching.
    â€œTeacher! It’s him! It’s Danny,” called Claudia Petherwaite. She pointed at her