by John Zakour
Diana walked over and looked Grandpa in the eyes. “You had that amazing sense of humor. You always made me laugh. If you had just fought a little for me, I might never have left.” She turned and started to walk away.
“Well, I suppose catching up wouldn’t hurt…” Grandpa responded. “I have learned a few new jokes!’
Diana stopped and turned back. “It has been a while since we’ve spoken,” she crooned at him.
“Great, they’re already flirting!” Polly squawked.
“Let’s leave these two alone,” Tammy suggested.
Marko rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it’s getting gross!”
As we walked out of the room and stepped into the elevator, I could hear Grandpa and Diana laughing and joking already. My heart lifted; just listening to the pair was music to my ears. It looked as though Diana would be a part of our lives from now on. Not sure how I’d explain that to Mom and Dad. But I figured I’d deal with that later. Now that the attack on the lab had been solved, I had a robot battle to win with my class.
Chapter XV
The next morning, I woke up feeling a confusing combination of nervousness and excitement. I looked over at my wall calendar and saw “BOT CHALLENGE!” written in big letters over the date. I knew this was my time to shine. It was comforting to know our team was prepared and that we had done everything we could do to ensure our success. It was not as comforting to know that Tinker Town’s team had a mean streak. They’d stop at nothing to make sure they won.
Worrying wouldn’t do my team or me any good, though. I got out of bed, put on my clothes for the day, and went downstairs. Mom and Dad were both sitting around the breakfast table eating breakfast.
“Good morning, sweetheart. There’s toast with peanut butter and bananas with your name on it!” Mom said to me.
Gosh, I appreciated that so much!
“You have your robot competition today, right?” Dad asked as I sat down at the table.
“Yep!” I answered. “I’m a little nervous.”
“Oh, honey, don’t be! You have Grandpa’s genes. Anything scientific that you do is sure to turn out great” Mom told me.
Maya Message: A good support system is key…such a confidence boost!
After I finished eating, I brushed my teeth, and then biked to school. When I arrived there, I noticed that all the tables in the cafeteria were moved out of the way to accommodate the tournament. My heart sped up a little bit when I looked out the window and saw Tinker Town’s bus pulling into the parking lot.
The Tinker Town students filed out of the bus in a line. I didn’t want to be there when they came in, so I went to homeroom. Before I even reached the room, I could hear my class milling around. I guess everyone else was just as excited and anxious as I was. I could almost smell the excitement in the air.
As soon as I walked in the door, Tina ran right up to me. “We’re going down to the cafe in five minutes! Get your team t-shirt on!” she said, giddily.
“Team t-shirt?” I questioned.
“Yeah!” Tina said, pointing to a table covered in bright green t-shirts with the name of our school on them.
I guess it was nice to wear a team uniform. It made us special.
We made our way down to the cafeteria as a class. Dex, Tina, and I used that time to talk strategy. We were very prepared, so there wasn’t much to discuss, but we had to be prepared for anything. When we finally reached the cafeteria, after what felt like a really long walk, the first person I spotted was Norman. This time his sweater had a sea turtle on the front. He certainly seemed to like sea creatures.
“Well, hello, Dumb Dexter,” Norman taunted. “How does it feel to know you’re going to fail?”
“Hello to you too, Norman. I feel good knowing I am going to win fair and square,” Dex responded.
I pulled Dex away and dragged him over to the arena. I knew we had to survey the space before we used it. Luckily, it was very similar to the space we’d been practicing in. The rest of our team filed in around us. As Team Captain, I got a front row seat. I nominated Dexter and Tina to be second in command, so they got first row seats next to me. Plus, Dex would control the bot during the fight sequences.
I had Sebastian, the team bot, in my lap when I heard the announcement over the megaphone. Our teacher told us to step into the ring with our bots and place them on the ground. I stood up and was followed by Tina and Dexter. We assumed the battle position. Norman and his teammates were in a similar configuration, reminding me of snakes ready to attack their prey.
Finally, the moment was upon us. It was time to prove Tinker Town wrong. As I pressed the button to move Sebastian forward, I realized that the other bot looked really impressive and unnaturally good. I knew something fishy was up.
As our bots inched closer and closer together, my palms grew sweaty and I could hear my breathing speed up. There was so much suspense in the room, you could hear a pin drop. Finally, our bots made contact and started battling it out. Dex had the controller in his hands, pushing the buttons rapidly but with precision.
Seb was holding his own, but the other bot was really doing some damage. I was worried for our robot, but even more concerned that we were going to lose.
As their bot rammed into Seb once more, I ran into the middle of the ring and yelled, “Stop!”
Everyone in the room looked at me like I had nine heads.
“Everybody, please wait a moment! I want to call a time-out,” I said to the referee.
“Well, I suppose that would be okay,” he responded. “You have five minutes.”
“Thank you!” I said, rushing over to where my teammates were huddled.
“Thank goodness you called a time-out. I wasn’t sure if that was allowed or not but I noticed something, and I just have to tell you both!” Dex said, out of breath.
“Go on!” I said, trying to hurry him as we were running out of time.
“I think they’re cheating. Now, I don’t want to accuse anyone of anything but their robot and remote control look too advanced to be homemade. If I had to guess, I’d bet that they are store bought. Which, if you consult the rulebook, is not allowed and would disqualify them,” Dex informed us.
I was so shocked. Norman was mean, but I could tell he was smart. He was definitely smart enough to build an excellent bot. There was no reason for him to buy one. It just didn’t make sense.
“What do we do?” I asked Dex and Tina.
“Well, because we’re losing, they’ll probably just accuse us of being sore losers if we tell the referee now. It’ll look even worse if we turn out to be wrong. We should finish this fight honorably and then write a letter about it to the board tomorrow,” Dex suggested.
I noticed Norman eavesdropping on our conversation but figured he was just making sure we weren’t coming up with a last-minute plan to beat them.
I looked at Tina and then back at Dex and nodded. “Alright,” I agreed.
“What matters most is that we work together, do our best, and believe in one another,” Dex said supportively.
Feeling motivated, we went back into the arena. After the buzzer sounded to resume, I noticed that Norman seemed a little bit off his game. Sebastian, even though he was damaged, seemed to be making strides. It was looking as though we might even be able to win!
For the next five minutes of battling, I watched as Sebastian went from hopeless, to hopeful, to victory. It was surreal to me that we could make such a complete recovery.
Right as I was guiding Sebastian into his final hit, Norman jumped into the middle of the ring. “Wait!” he yelled.
“Uh… Norman? You just interrupted the battle. Let’s just finish this,” I said.
“No, listen. I have a confession,” Norman explained.
I heard some people in the room gasp, but otherwise, it was completely silent as we waited for whatever Norman had to say.
“We cheated…” Norman said as he hung his head.
Now a real gasp went through the room.
Norman’s team started yelling and shouting while everyone on my team looked dumbfounded.
“I bought parts of our robot that were previously assembled… from a store in China. In fact, I used some of their engineers to give us ideas for modifications and improvements. They had some really good hints. I know that’s against the rules, but we just really wanted to win. I’m really sorry…” Norman told everyone.
“Why did you tell us, now? You could have just lost and moved on,” I responded.
“Yeah, son. Now you’re disqualified from this and future tournaments,” the ref added.
“I know; I know… It’s just that I heard you guys talking to each other and saying that even if you lost it would be okay because you did your best. That made me feel really bad, and I didn’t want to be a part of something like that,” Norman admitted. “I’ve actually never felt bad for other people before. I don't know if I like feeling this way. It makes me feel kind of weak, kind of…” He paused and rubbed his chin, looking for the right word or words to say.
“Kind of human?” Tina suggested.
“Actually, I guess that’s it,” Norman said. “I feel human. I guess I feel a connection now. While it hurts to lose, I feel good thinking that I did something right. It feels right. As I said, I’ve never felt this way before. Not since I was a little kid. I always thought it was best to win at all costs. All that mattered was winning. But now I kind of see that winning a robot battle isn’t the most important thing in life.”
“Aw, well, our whole team really appreciates that. Do you want to come out for ice cream with us after school?” I asked.
I could see that he was hesitating, and he looked back at his teammates before he answered. So I cut him off and responded for him.
“Look, either way, you did the right thing in the end, Norman. We’d really like your company,” I said.
“Well… alright. I don’t think that would be a problem,” Norman replied.
“In fact,” Tina said. “Why doesn’t your entire team join us? We can have a two-team get-together. We can compare ideas and designs. We can maybe incorporate some of your suggestions to improve Seb for the next round of the competition.”
Norman’s team all looked at each other. They exchanged a few words. They walked up to us. “We’d be glad to help you guys!” one of the team members said.
“Do we get credit if you guys win nationals?” Norman asked.
“We’ll mention you in our winning speech!” I told him.
“It will be a brief mention, but a mention,” Dex said.
“If you show up and clap and stuff, we will point to you,” Tina added.
Norman smiled. “I’ll take it,” he said. He looked at his team. “What do you think, guys?”
They stood there in silence. “I would have preferred winning,” one of the kids said.
“We didn’t deserve it,” Normal insisted. “You all knew what I was doing, and none of you tried to stop me.”
They all shook their heads. “In our defense, Norman, you can be pretty hard to stop once you get on a roll…”
“I am a good leader,” Norman insisted. “So please follow my lead now.”
The team members all nodded in agreement. Norman turned to me. “Thanks, Maya; you and your team showed me that there are more important things than winning. Being a team, working together….”
I patted Norman on the back. “Any time, my friend. Any time. Now, don’t forget, our team has an ice cream date with you guys after school.”
“Only if you let me pay for all the ice cream,” Norman said.
“Sure,” I said with a smile.
“By the way, Maya, do you have a boyfriend?” he asked.
I glanced at Dex. I saw him looking over at Norman and me. “I know a lot of boys who are friends. But no, I don’t have an official boyfriend yet. I’m pretty sure my parents would have a fit.”
“Well, I would love to take you to lunch sometime,” Norman said.
I smiled at him. “Let’s just start with being buddies and see where that goes!”
“Deal!” Normal replied.
He and Dex both smiled. Their smiles made me smile.
Maya Message: Sometimes the bad guy or girl just needs a good friend or two to talk to. And then the bad guy or girl doesn’t seem so bad after all.
To be continued!
Book 3
Double Trouble
Chapter I
“Come at me!” I told Crash, my training dummy. Yeah, I needed this. I needed to let off some steam.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved that my grandpa left me his amazingly wonderful high tech lab. The lab had to be one of the most advanced labs in the world. I could make robots, androids, and other inventions to help the world. I could grow amazing plants to help feed the world. I could run all sorts of amazing holographic simulations. I had a complete chemistry lab. There was even a telescope that let me see and research the planets! I loved it all. But when you’re a kid and have all that responsibility, it can be a little stressful.
Currently, I was testing super body-armor that was lightweight, yet allowed a person to move really fast and lift far more weight than usual. The armor, made of a high tech Nanofiber, felt soft to the touch and could keep you cool or warm. Plus, it looked like a fashionable bodysuit. You could even control the color. If it worked like the computer and I thought it would, we could help dock workers, senior citizens, and pretty much everybody who needed to lift heavy things and move them around. The armor also included eyesight and reflex enhancers. I had them attached to my temples, and they were helping me to react quickly to the current situation.
Crash swung at me with a left. I blocked him with my right.
“Nice reaction time!” Crash told me.
Grandpa Jack’s holograph image appeared next to me. “Great job, honey! Those new temple enhancers are working well!”
I stayed ready and on the defensive. My best friend, Tina, taught me never to be overly confident when fighting, especially when going up against an advanced robot like Crash. Having super strength was cool, but my mind needed to react quickly and match my improved body speed. So far so good. At least when it came to this fight.
I loved the fact that I could still interact and talk with Grandpa Jack’s intelligent hologram. I could also share his wisdom with the world. That was a good thing. It was just a lot of pressure on a 13-year-old to have both the lab and access to one of the greatest minds in Earth’s history. That was a lot to take in.
Besides being in charge of the lab, I had all the other problems of a normal teen. First of all, there was schoolwork which I loved. But I still had a lot of learning to do so I could use that knowledge to make the world a better place. I now had a high tech lab and new inventions to help me, but If I wasn’t careful, the inventions could fall into the wrong hands. And I certainly didn’t want that.
As well, I had issues with Ivy Jones, who was not only very pretty and very smart, she’d recently begun to make my life very difficult.
With these thoughts in my head, I stood in the corner of a holographic boxing ring complete with a holographic crowd of cheering fans. It gave the effect of being in a really big boxing match. Just what I needed! More pressure.
Crash lifted his boxing gloves and moved in closer to me. I tried my hardest to concentrate.
“You seem extra tense today,” Grandpa Jack told me. “It’s because of the lab, isn’t it? I know it’s a big responsibility, but I also know you can handle it.”
“Thanks!” I said, ducking under a roundhouse punch by Crash.
I hit Crash with a right jab to the nose. I followed that with a left uppercut to Crash’s chin. Crash’s neck extended, his head rocked back and fell to the floor. “Time out!” his head said. His hands made a T sign.
I dropped back and turned to my grandpa. “There’s a lot of schoolwork this semester. I love schoolwork, but there is a lot of it. Plus, I’m captain of our school’s robot team. We don’t hav
e a match this month, but we need to keep working on our robot so we can be ready for nationals over the summer!”
“You have a good team around you,” Grandpa said. “And you’re a good leader. I’m sure you’ll manage!”
“But Ivy Jones is a part of the team, and that girl rubs me the wrong way! She’s smart and pretty, but mean, really mean. Plus,” I added, “she likes to remind me that I’m inferior to her in many ways.”
“Nonsense,” Grandpa Jack said. “I’m sure she has her strengths, but you have many also. I wouldn’t have left you my lab if you weren’t amazing!”
I sighed. “Yeah, well, Ivy doesn’t think so.”
“Your life is challenging, but that will make you stronger!” Grandpa Jack said.
Crash picked up his head and popped it back on his shoulders. “Almost ready,” he told me.
“Take your time,” I replied.
“How are things going with you and Dexter Rose?” Grandpa asked, smiling.
My relationship with Dex was another issue I had to deal with; an issue I didn’t want to discuss with my grandpa. Sure, Grandpa Jack might have been super bright, but teenage romance was not a grandpa topic. Sure, his first love, Diana, had now come back into his life, but that just made my life even weirder.
First off, Diana having a relationship with Grandpa Jack’s hologram was beyond abnormal. Not to mention, she was the person responsible for hacking our lab. Yes, those details made my life even more confusing.
At least Grandpa’s hologram was happy, which was a good thing. I also figured that we were much better off with Diana on our side than against us.
“Leave the girl alone, Jack,” Diana said, smiling. “The girl obviously doesn’t want to talk about her love life with her grandpa!”
“It’s more my like life, not my love life,” I told Diana.
To be honest, I had very mixed feelings about Dex. He was tall, smart, and good looking. He even led the boys’ soccer team in scoring. For the most part, we got along great. But Dex and I were also rivals for being the smartest kid in the school, and man, we both wanted that title. As well, Dex’s grandpa used to be my grandpa’s best friend. Dex’s grandpa, who is a billionaire inventor, was Diana’s first husband as well. Stuff like that just made my life even more complicated.