Weird Little Robots

by Carolyn Crimi

  Chimney. Of course.

  When Lark first saw the squirrel with the black smudge on his tail, she decided he needed a name.

  “His tail looks like it was dragged through some soot,” she had said. Penny Rose thought it was the perfect name for the odd squirrel.

  “So I was thinking that for Halloween we could both be robots,” Lark said. “We could make our costumes out of old boxes and use silver paint and stick all sorts of things onto the boxes, like dials and tubes. What do you think?”

  Penny Rose loved the idea of dressing up in the same costume for Halloween. It was something best friends did, and it was better than anything she could ever think of. Maybe even better than becoming a member of the Secret Science Society.

  “We’ll be Best Friend Robots!” she said.

  “Halloween is coming up! We better get to work on them soon,” Lark said.

  They stayed in the shed fussing with the lights and the ramps and the paper-clip chandelier until the sunlight dimmed. Finally, after they had hung the last string of lights, Lark got off her chair and took a step back.

  “Let’s see how they look,” she said, dusting her palms together.

  Penny Rose flicked the switch. The strings lit up like a city skyline.

  Lark clapped. “I LOVE IT!” she yelled.

  They stared at it until they heard Penny Rose’s mom calling to them from the back door.

  “Lark, your mother wants you home. It’s almost time for your dinner,” she said. “Penny Rose, time for you to come in now, too.”

  “OK!” Lark and Penny Rose called back in unison.

  Penny Rose unplugged the lights before leaving the shed.

  “It’s getting too cold to work in here anyway,” said Lark.

  “It is,” Penny Rose agreed, rubbing her hands together.

  “Bye, robots,” they both said. Lark gave Penny Rose a quick wave before going home.

  Penny Rose went straight to the kitchen to wash her hands. She stood in the middle of the kitchen wiping them off with a dish towel when she heard a thump of footsteps on the porch, then a rustle by the front door. She walked into the front hall and watched as a green envelope slipped through the mail slot.

  The mail carrier always came at noon, so whatever was in that envelope wasn’t ordinary mail. Penny Rose cautiously picked it up. Her name was scrawled across the front. She opened it. The note inside was written with the same green ink.

  Penny Rose pushed open the front door and stood on the porch. She looked up and down the street. It was empty. Whoever had put the note through the mail slot was long gone.

  Or hiding.

  She had the distinct feeling that someone was watching her.

  That night Penny Rose couldn’t fall asleep. Every time she got close, she would have a new exciting thought about the Secret Science Society, and her eyes would pop open.

  The fact that they had a cell phone that wasn’t just for emergencies fascinated her. She didn’t have one. Maybe the Secret Science Society had a secret cell phone. That was even better.

  They probably had some kind of secret handshake, too.

  And a secret language.

  She spent a few minutes worrying about how she would text them. She’d need to use her mom’s phone and then delete everything afterward. She also worried she would not be able to learn the secret language. She was not very good in Spanish, and that wasn’t even secret.

  She also didn’t know what to show them. The robots seemed like the obvious choice, but she wasn’t sure that was a good idea.

  But the most important question of all was, Who was in the Secret Science Society?

  Penny Rose flipped and flopped. Finally she switched on her bedside lamp. Arvid blinked.

  “Sorry,” she said to him. “Just can’t sleep.” She got out of bed and walked over to her desk.

  “This deserves a new notebook,” she said. She rummaged through her desk until she found an empty one. On the cover she wrote: POSSIBLE SECRET SOCIETY MEMBERS. She knew that they had to be in her school, and they were probably in her class. She wrote down a list of her classmates and everything she knew about them.

  Lark Hinkle — best friend, does not seem particularly interested in anything other than birds and roboTown

  Lily Proom — wears cool purple boots, has the best hair in all of fifth grade

  Pete Smithers — feet the size of watermelons, makes lots of fart jokes

  Jose Goldbloom — best friends with Pete, laughs too hard at Pete’s fart jokes, nose-picker

  Max and Jack Fantini — skinny, quiet, never talk to anyone but each other

  Jeremy Boils — owns the meanest dog on earth, seems mad all the time, has never said one word to me

  Britta Rosen — talks about dragons, writes stories about dragons, and wears dragon T-shirts

  Michael Yoo — stares out the window all day, never raises his hand, hums a lot

  Laticia Washington — complains about homework all the time, draws pictures of ponies instead of taking notes

  Sarah Stew — sits in the front row and keeps her hand up all through class, even if the teacher hasn’t asked anything

  Dale Grimes — always has crumbs in the corner of his mouth, smells like pea soup

  Alfonso Segreti — best athlete in school, very popular, good at math

  Merry Zwack — best soccer player in school, did an amazing video on global warming, wears blue rubber bands in her braces

  Penny Rose went through the list and wound up crossing off every single name. Some kids were too popular for something as geeky as a science club, like Merry Zwack and Alfonso Segreti. Others were too shy to want to be part of a club, like Max and Jack Fantini. Others, like Jose Goldbloom, didn’t have any interest in science. And some, like Jeremy Boils, seemed to actively dislike her, so she doubted they’d invite her to join a club.

  Maybe someone from a strange out-of-town science club had sneaked into her school to deliver the first note. Somehow this person disguised himself or herself as a student and tucked the note into Penny Rose’s locker without anyone noticing.

  It was an exciting thought, but Penny Rose doubted it.

  Penny Rose yawned. She put down her pen and stared out her bedroom window.

  And that’s when she saw it.

  Something flashed in her yard, like a light had been switched on for a second.

  But there were no lights in her yard. In fact, the only things in her yard were the old shed, a clump of overgrown bushes, a few fir trees, a bird feeder, and a hose.

  Penny Rose got up and walked over to the window. She half expected to see a burglar with a flashlight, but the yard, which was dimly lit by the moon, was empty.

  She kept staring out her window until her eyeballs felt dry and itchy with the effort. Nothing happened. Could the flash have come from the Gilmores’ yard, or —

  It flashed again. But this time she saw exactly where it came from.

  Inside the shed.

  She was sure of it. The Christmas lights in the shed had been switched on for just a second. Someone was in there.

  It couldn’t be Lark. Although they had talked about spying on the shed, she would have told Penny Rose if she had decided to do that. She would have no reason to go in there by herself at night.

  No, Lark wouldn’t go into the shed at such an odd hour without her.

  It flashed again. Twice. Someone was in her shed!

  Someone was trespassing! And they were trespassing in her shed! With her robots!

  Penny Rose stuffed her feet into her slippers. She pulled a sweater over her pajamas and tiptoed toward the hall.

  “Shhh,” she said to Arvid. “No meowing.” She pulled her door closed.

  Her parents’ bedroom light was off. She tiptoed down the stairs, grabbed a flashlight from the front hall closet, and slipped out the back door.

  She stood just outside the doorway, staring at the shed. A cold breeze ruffled the hair around her face. She squinted, but the
shed looked as empty as ever. She knew what she saw, though. Someone, or something, was in her shed.

  Penny Rose gripped the flashlight and walked across the yard slowly until she was only a few inches away from the door. All was silent except for the rustle of leaves. Then she heard a floorboard squeak from inside the shed. She took a deep breath and turned the doorknob.

  Penny Rose stood motionless until her eyes adjusted to the dark. She could see something moving in the corner.

  Just then the Christmas lights turned on again and stayed on. Clunk was standing by the outlet. She had the plug between her antennae arms. She pulled the plug out, and the lights winked out once more.

  As if in a dream, Penny Rose went over to the plug, bent down, and took it gently out of Clunk’s arms. Her hands shook as she plugged the lights back in. Penny Rose stared at Clunk for a moment before picking her up.

  Clunk’s ON/OFF button was positioned at OFF. What was happening?

  Penny Rose flicked her switch on and off and put her back down. Clunk immediately zoomed over to the Christmas lights and unplugged them.

  “But your switch is off! How are you doing that?”

  She had also not programmed Clunk to use her arms that way, and yet there she was, unplugging the Christmas lights. Penny Rose reached down and plugged them in once again.

  Penny Rose straightened up and looked around. This was not possible. She must be dreaming.

  A square of blue light in the corner caught her eye. It was iPam. The small screen on her belly glowed. iPam moved toward her slowly on her toy-car wheels. Penny Rose held her breath as she watched iPam approach.

  There were words on her screen.

  A text, to be precise. Penny Rose knelt down next to her and read it out loud:

  HELLO, PENNI ROSE.

  The next morning’s air was damp and cool. Penny Rose shivered in front of the shed’s door. Every muscle in her body was tense as she listened for the sound of the robots’ movements.

  What had happened the night before was strange. Part of her was frightened of what she had seen. But a larger part of her was thrilled. If it was real — if her robots did come alive — it meant that she, Penny Rose Mooney, had created artificial intelligence!

  She thought she heard a tiny thump from inside the shed.

  The night before, after reading iPam’s text, Penny Rose had slowly backed out of the shed. As soon as she was in the yard, she raced to the back door, yanked it open, dashed up the stairs as quietly as possible, and hopped into bed with a startled Arvid. She pulled the covers over her head and curled up into a ball. Breathing heavily, she went over and over what had happened and came to the same conclusion each time. The robots had moved on their own, and iPam had texted her. It seemed scientifically impossible.

  She hadn’t slept at all.

  Now, as she was standing in front of the shed in the early morning sun, she could definitely hear a faint whirring noise. She opened the door wide enough to poke her head in.

  Everything was still for a moment. Then Clunk spun in a circle. She waved.

  Penny Rose gingerly stepped inside.

  Sharpie rolled into a corner and stared at the wall. Fraction zoomed over to her and tapped on her sneaker.

  “You’re alive,” she whispered hoarsely, picking Fraction up. She punched in 1 + 1 on the calculator and got 2. Fraction was the same as always, and yet very, very different. After Penny Rose set her back down, she did a quick spin before joining Sharpie by the wall.

  iPam’s screen flashed.

  GOOD MORNING.

  “H-h-hi,” Penny Rose stammered.

  The back door slammed. Penny Rose jumped.

  “Penny Rose! Lark’s on the phone!” Mom called.

  Lark! Of course! She had to tell Lark! After all, Lark had spent almost as much time with the robots as Penny Rose had. She would want to know this important development. She and Penny Rose were a team.

  “OK!” Penny Rose called back. “See you guys in a second,” she said before racing out of the shed. Once she was in the house, she grabbed the phone Mom held out to her.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Hi there! What are you —”

  “Can you come over?” Penny Rose said quickly.

  “OK,” Lark said. “I was going to bring —”

  Penny Rose interrupted her before she could go into a long monologue. “Great,” she said. “See you soon.”

  She hung up the phone and dashed past her puzzled mom. She bounced up and down on her tiptoes in front of the shed as she waited.

  Lark strolled through the back gate minutes later.

  “What’s the rush? Why did you hang up the phone like that?”

  “It’s the robots,” Penny Rose whispered, waving Lark closer.

  “What about them?”

  “They came alive last night.”

  Lark snorted. “Very funny.”

  “I’m serious,” Penny Rose said.

  “Come on.”

  “I’m not kidding you,” Penny Rose said. “They really did! iPam even texted me. Twice now. They were still alive this morning, and they’re zooming around in the shed!”

  Lark looked right into Penny Rose’s eyes. Penny Rose stared back without flinching.

  “You’re not kidding,” Lark said.

  Penny Rose shook her head. “No.”

  Lark took a deep breath. “OK, let’s go in, then.”

  Penny Rose turned the knob and pushed open the door. She and Lark stood in the doorway.

  A sliver of sunlight stretched across the floor. The light bounced off of iPam and Clunk, but they didn’t move.

  Penny Rose scanned the shed. Fraction was in the corner with Sharpie. Data stood by the slide. None of them moved.

  “It’s just Lark,” Penny Rose said. “You guys can move around now.”

  They didn’t stir.

  “Come on, you guys!” Penny Rose said. “Move! Text! Do something!”

  A wave of prickly heat spread across Penny Rose’s chest and face. A piece of paper on the card table fluttered for a moment in the breeze, but that was it. “Come on, move!” she yelled.

  The stillness in the shed mocked her. She stormed over to iPam and picked her up. “She sent me a text last night! It said, ‘Hello, Penni Rose’! She misspelled my name and everything! And she sent another one this morning!” Penny Rose held iPam close to her face and pleaded with her. “Please, please talk to me! Send me a text!”

  But iPam was as cold and lifeless in her hand as an old mug. She put her back down on the floor.

  “I don’t get it,” Penny Rose said. “They were moving just this morning! Maybe if you go outside and come back in suddenly —”

  Lark shrugged. “OK,” she said. She left the shed.

  As soon as she left, Penny Rose crouched down on the floor. “Come on, you guys, it’s OK to move. I promise!”

  The robots stayed in their places.

  “Please? Pleeease?” Penny Rose begged. She shifted into a cross-legged position and sat very still.

  Nothing happened.

  Lark came back into the shed. She looked down at Penny Rose on the floor.

  “I know this sounds impossible,” Penny Rose said. Her voice shook, and she could feel the tips of her ears burning. “But you have to believe me. They were alive last night. They really were.”

  Lark came over and sat next to Penny Rose. “I believe you,” she said quietly. She put her arm around Penny Rose’s shoulders. “You are my very best friend, and I know you would never lie to me. If you say they moved, they moved.”

  “Really?” Penny Rose asked. Her eyes filled with tears. She looked down and brushed them away.

  “Really. They probably just aren’t in the mood or something.”

  The sun warmed Penny Rose’s back. She let out a shaky sigh.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  Penny Rose saw something flash out of the corner of her eye. She slowly turned her head.

  iPam’s scre
en was lit up.

  One by one, the other robots moved.

  “Oh, my gosh . . .” Lark whispered.

  Data rolled over to Clunk, who spun in slow circles, then stopped. Sharpie’s dentures clacked together. Fraction used the tin-can elevator to get to the top of roboTown and then rolled down the slide.

  iPam wheeled herself over to the girls.

  WELCOME, LARK! HOW R U?

  “Hey, you,” Lark said. A huge smile spread across her face. “Took you long enough.”

  “Yeah,” Penny Rose said, wiping a stray tear off her cheek. “Sure did!”

  They watched in awe for hours as the robots zipped around the obstacle course, slid down the slide, and rode in the tin-can elevator. Every once in a while, iPam texted them with a brief LOL or WOOT! When dinnertime rolled around, Lark sighed.

  “Guess I’d better go,” she said.

  “Yeah, me, too,” Penny Rose said.

  As soon as she said that, the robots stopped what they were doing to gather in a tight circle. They beeped and waved their antennae arms.

  “What’s going on?” Lark asked.

  “I have no idea,” Penny Rose said. “Looks like they’re discussing something important, though.”

  Finally, iPam rolled up to them on her toy-car wheels.

  WE WOULD LIKE A PET PLEASE.

  Lark and Penny Rose looked at each other and shrugged.

  “OK, then,” Lark said. “We’ll see what we can do.”

  The next day at school crawled by. Penny Rose and Lark thought it was too risky to talk about the pet for the robots with so many kids nearby, so they waited until they got off the bus to discuss it.

  “How are we going to get them a pet?” Lark asked. “Could we bring Arvid into the shed?”

  “You’re too allergic,” Penny Rose said. The few times that Arvid had brushed up against Lark had brought on sneezing attacks.

  “We’ll keep thinking,” Lark said.

  The robots greeted them with beeps and flashes of light as soon as they walked through the door.

  “This is a dream come true,” Lark said. “It’s even better than bird-watching.”