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⊹ Book 1 of the Aldergrove Duology ⊹
After being told he has only six months left to live, Clementine decides to track down his sister's murderers, leading him to Aldergrove A...
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Biology had never really interested Clementine. As he glanced around the dreary lab, the fascinated looks on each of the students' faces made him cringe. The mutilated body of a toad lay in front of each of them, legs pinned to a cutting board, and when the professor told them to get to work, Clementine just stared down at the lifeless amphibian.
It was strange; to think that he had no problem slaying another boy, but the thought of bringing a blade to a dead toad forced guilt into his heart. But it wasn't the same. The people he was after had done horrible, unspeakable things; this toad...what had it done other than try to live its life in the forest?
Elliot, who was sharing Clementine's workspace, nudged his arm. "What are you doing?" he asked quietly, already cutting into his toad.
If he didn't get to work, Elliot wouldn't be the only one with questions. So, reluctantly, he picked up the smallest scalpel from a selection of metal tools and held it between his index finger and thumb. Then, as Elliot got back to work, he glanced over at his toad and copied what he did. He knew this academy was meant for the most prestigious of kids, and the fact they were already painting models and dissecting toads on the first day of classes made that even more evident. All these students had probably studied for their subjects before attending, but Clementine...he didn't even have half a clue as to what he was doing.
His eyes soon wandered around the room, though. Despite his earlier assessment of his attacker, he found himself still searching for him—for that white-haired boy.
"I want you to really understand the animal's structure," Professor Quincy called, sitting behind his desk. "Understand that they are not so very different from us."
"Be careful," Elliot uttered.
Clementine took his eyes off the professor and looked down at his toad to see he had just sliced through one of its organs. He rolled his eyes—to his relief, there was only a little blood, which he let pool in the cavity of the creature's split chest.
"Gross," Elliot muttered.
Ignoring him, Clementine sighed and prodded the toad's face with his blade—
A wet squelch and clamour broke the quiet; everyone looked over at the group of dark-haired boys as they snickered and groaned in revolt, backing away from one of their friends. Blood had sprayed over his face, which contorted into a disgusted scowl. He held a scalpel in one hand and his toad's head in another.
Clementine recognized them as the group of boys everyone had looked rather cautious of in the lunch hall. Ian, Connor, Horace, and their two friends.
