Flashback ( PDFDrive )

“Okay, what was that?” she asked, only half sure she wanted to
know.
“I believe that’s Sprocket,” Mr. Forkle said as the same clawed
black hand reached around a tangle of wires, grabbed what looked like
a small circuit board, and yanked it back.
Tinker rushed over and scooped up a black furry creature with a
shiny nose and folded ears like a puppy—a gremlin, Sophie realized.
And it wasn’t letting go of its new treasures, no matter how hard
Tinker pulled.
“I can’t believe you keep a gremlin around all of this tech,” Dex
murmured as Sprocket won his tug-of-war and leaped from Tinker’s
arms, quickly breaking the circuit board into itty-bitty pieces.
“Gremlins love to dismantle things,” Mr. Forkle explained to
Sophie. “And I’ve made the same observation, Mr. Dizznee. Many
times. All Tinker ever tells me is . . .”
“Aren’t some challenges worth it?” she finished, reaching into her
tool belt and pulling out a tiny metal cube, which she traded with
Sprocket for whatever remained of the circuit board. The happy
gremlin scurried under the table and immediately set to work prying
the cube apart, tossing each piece over its shoulder—which might
explain why the floor was so messy. Maybe even why so many of the
gadgets looked unfinished.
Sophie wondered how much time Tinker spent redoing what
Sprocket had undone.
“It’s a way to fill the day, isn’t it?” Tinker asked, somehow guessing
what Sophie was thinking—and Sophie finally understood what Mr.
Forkle meant about her way of communicating.
All questions, no answers.