Pencil of Doom! Read Online Free PDF

chequethe wind blew it out of the editor’s hand and it almost chopped off my head. What happened to you?’
    â€˜I broke my wrist,’ she said. ‘My dad and I were arm wrestling and Dad was winning, but then I suddenly felt this huge surge of power. I managed to get my arm back up and then I slammed his down onto the table. That’s when I heard the crack, and then my wrist started throbbing and swelling up.’
    â€˜Is your dad all right?’ I asked.
    â€˜Yes,’ said Gretel. ‘Apart from being a bit upset that I beat him, of course.’
    I nodded. ‘I guess we have our answer.’
    â€˜What do you mean?’ she said.
    â€˜That pencil is dangerous,’ I said. ‘Even when you draw something nice, something bad happens.’
    â€˜You think the pencil’s responsible for our injuries?’
    â€˜Look at the evidence,’ I said. ‘First it was Fred and Clive who suffered. Then Jack. Now it’s you and me. The question isn’t whether the pencil is responsible or not. The question is, who will be next?’
    We looked at each other.
    â€˜Jenny?’ said Gretel.
    â€˜Yes,’ I nodded.
    â€˜But she drew a kitten,’ said Gretel. ‘Kittens aren’t dangerous! They’re cute!’
    â€˜Let’s hope so,’ I said.

20
Back in class

    The next day at school I had a big white bandage around my neck.
    Gretel’s arm was in a sling.
    Jenny was very worried about us, although she was quite okay herself.
    Newton was scared that something was going to happen to him, even though he hadn’t used the pencil to draw anything.
    Jack was sympathetic, but still refused to believe that our injuries were due to anything more than coincidence.
    The first half of the day was relatively uneventful.
    Nobody was hit by flying bags of money, giant cheques or people falling off the roof.
    Mr Brainfright didn’t even fall out the window.
    Not once!
    The trouble didn’t start until after lunch.

21
How to cut a student in half

    As we came in from lunch, we found Mr Brainfright standing behind a long black box that was mounted on top of a stainless-steel trolley. The box was decorated with yellow stars.
    Mr Brainfright was wearing a black cape and had a shiny silver saw in his hand.
    â€˜What are you going to do?’ said Jack, grinning. ‘Cut somebody in half?’
    â€˜That’s exactly what I’m going to do, my boy,’ said Mr Brainfright. ‘Knowing how to cut somebody in half is a very important life skill—though perhaps not as important as knowing how to put them back together. But don’t worry, I’ll teach you that as well!’
    There was a burst of excited chatter. The prospect of watching Mr Brainfright cut somebody in half certainly beat the prospect of maths, or English, or history, or . . . well . . . 
anything
, really.
    â€˜I need a volunteer,’ said Mr Brainfright.
    The excited chatter stopped.
    The room went completely silent.

22
Mr Brainfright’s important lesson no. 2

    Knowing how to cut somebody in half is a very important life skill—though perhaps not as important as knowing how to put them back together.

23
Jenny volunteers

    Mr Brainfright looked around. ‘Come now, 5B,’ he said. ‘Surely one of you would like to be cut in half? I promise I’ll put you back together again. Well, I’ll try my best, anyway.’
    It was not exactly a promise that filled any of us with great confidence or an overwhelming desire to jump into his box, despite the twinkle in his eye.
    â€˜What’s the matter, 5B?’ Mr Brainfright asked, looking hurt. ‘Don’t you trust me?’
    â€˜I’ll do it,’ said Jenny, getting up from her desk. She couldn’t stand to see anybody looking sad . . . even if they were just pretending to be sad in order to get somebody to volunteer themselves to be cut in