The Gremlins Consortium - Episode 6

Baz and his friends leaned in closer. The fat man glanced around and pulled his baseball cap a little lower, as if nervous that he might be recognized.

"I've got a plan to...have a little fun with an old acquaintance of mine. Maybe you've heard of him," he added with a smirk. "The right respectable Dr. Thom M. Kristoff?"

Black and Petey looked blank, but Summer Dream and Baz exchanged a surprised glance. Dr. Kristoff was the president of Faust Academy, a small college across the river that was the rival of their own recent alma mater, St. Karl College.

"We went to Faust together, back in the day. He was a nut, let me tell you. Wilder'n a tumbleweed on fire." Baz tried to imagine Dr. Kristoff - who was devout, dignified, surprisingly funny, and notoriously tall - tumbling around on fire. It wasn't pretty. The Texan continued. "Hell of a prankster, too. Burned mah butt a couple times, that's for sure - all in good fun, y'all understand, and I almost got him back once or twice. Yep, those were the days." He sighed nostalgically. "I'll never forget the noodle incident..."

Baz cleared his throat quietly, and the Texan snapped back to the present.

"Well, he doesn't know I'm in town, and I'm gonna arrange a bit of a surprise for him. Are all o' y'all Karls, or just Mr. Brisbane here?"

"I'm a Karl, too," said Summer Dream. St. Karl students were more commonly known as Karls.

"And you are?" The Texan turned to her and offered his hand. She shook it.

"You can call me Summer."

"And you can call me Tex. Pleased to make your acquaintance, miss." He touched his hat brim again. "And you two?" He turned to Black and Petey.

"Oh, we're just Baz's mates over for winter holidays."

"Excellent, excellent. Well, I reckon y'all know me a little better now, but I guess I still haven't gotten to what y'all might call the juicy part. This is where you come in."

Up next: Episode 7 - The Lair

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