Numbed! Read Online Free

your skills. The reboot could be enough to overcome the freeze.” He hopped off his stool and headed down the hall.
    â€œBut how can we pass math tests if we can’t do math?” I asked.
    â€œAnyone can do math inside the matheteria,” he said. “It generates a special field that makes it easier for people to work with numbers. It was designed to help people overcome their fear of math. I’ve never encountered numbed brains before, but I’m pretty sure the field can handle even that. I guess we’ll find out in a minute.”
    â€œAnd then we’ll be fixed?” I asked.
    â€œThat’s up to you,” he said. “The effect will fade once you’re outside the matheteria, unless you pass the tests.”
    We followed him all the way to the end of the hallway. He let us into a room that had a door on our left, a door on our right, and a door at the far end, marked Maintenance.
    Dr. Thagoras pointed to the door on the left. There were a bunch of plus and minus signs painted on it, circling the words Give and Take . “Step right in,” he said.
    â€œWill this take long?” I asked. “My mom’s waiting in the car.”
    â€œNot long at all,” he said. “Really, it will only take two minutes.”
    â€œGreat.” That was a relief, even though I wasn’t sure how long two minutes was. I stepped inside the room with Benedict. It was smaller than my bedroom but a whole lot less messy. All I saw in it was a table with pads of paper and a bunch of pencils in a big cup. “So, we’ll be right out?”
    â€œUnless you fail the exit exam,” Dr. Thagoras said. “Then it could take hours to get you out. Maybe even days.”

CHAPTER
1 ÷ 2 × 10
    â€œ W ait!” I screamed as the door swung shut. I couldn’t figure out what time we’d get out if we were in the room for hours, but I knew my mom would come looking for us way before then. And that would not be good.
    I heard a loud clank, like a big bolt had just slid into place. “Hey, wait. Don’t lock us in!” I grabbed the door handle and yanked at it.
    The door was locked. A hum came from the walls. I felt air rushing back into my head. Glowing bits of light swirled around me. Was that my math skills returning?
    â€œOkay, 2 + 2 = 4,” I whispered. Yeah, I could add.
    There was a small screen in the center of the door, with a keypad below it. The screen flickered. Then a message appeared. A familiar voice read the message out loud. I wasn’t happy when I realized that it sounded just like the robot.
    â€œAdd the numbers from 1 through 99. Enter the total. Hurry—you have two minutes.” The word hurry flashed a bunch of times, and then the whole message vanished. A countdown clock replaced it. The display showed 1:59.
    Benedict reached for the keypad.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” I asked. There was no way he already had the answer. If he was a math genius, he’d kept that information a total secret from me his whole life.
    â€œUsing the calculator.”
    â€œThat’s not a calculator,” I said.
    â€œSure it is. It has keys for the numbers.”
    â€œYeah. And how are you going to add anything?”
    â€œWith …” Benedict didn’t say another word. I guess he’d realized there was no plus sign or any other buttons for doing math. Beside the digits from 0 to 9, there was only one other key, with Enter on it.
    The timer had counted down to 1:47. “Let’s get to work,” I said.
    â€œHow?”
    I grabbed a couple of pencils from the table and two sheets of paper. I realized, outside of this room, I wouldn’t have even been able to figure out how much paper to grab.
    â€œLet’s just do what it says and add the numbers.” I started to write out the whole problem, “1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5,” but I realized that would waste a lot of time. The display was now at