Flip the Silver Switch

by Jackie Yeager

  “Hello,” says Gwyndol. “We just heard a large group of people talking about the American invention from the New York team.”

  “Mm, yes,” says Maelle. “They said it was very good.”

  “Your costumes are so very nice too,” says Danielle. She smiles and her whole face lights up. Her hair is long and wavy with a small clip on the side.

  “Thanks,” says Jillian. “It took us forever to make them.”

  “What are you supposed to be?” asks Stephan.

  Ander starts to answer, but then he looks at me. I nod at him to let him know he can tell them. “We dress up like pretend characters to show our invention to the judges.”

  “You are finished with judging, yes?” asks Zoe. Her dark curls bounce as she talks.

  “Oh yeah,” I say. “We were judged a little while ago.”

  “Were you nervous?” asks Maelle.

  “No, not too bad,” I say. “It was weird when the crowd started getting bigger.”

  “The crowd?” she asks.

  I realize she may not know what that word means. “Yes, all the people. A lot of people came to watch.”

  “Is that allowed?” asks Zoe. “Don’t the judges watch in private?”

  “No,” says Ander. “It’s a showcase. Anyone can watch.”

  “I must not have understood that correctly,” says Maelle. “We have not been judged yet. I think I will be nervous.”

  “It wasn’t bad,” says Jillian. “It’s like being on stage!” She tosses her feather boa over her shoulder. Gwyndol laughs as he throws his scarf over his shoulder too.

  “Do you want to see it now?” asks Ander. “We’re supposed to show anyone who asks.”

  “Oh yes!” says Maelle. “I would.”

  “We’re not doing our whole play, right?” asks Mare.

  I think about that for a second. Even though the French team seems really nice, I don’t want them to see our whole play. “No,” I say. “Just the Ancestor App.”

  Ander walks over to the Circle Spinner with the remote in his hand. He pulls out the air screen and programs in the information. After a minute or two, the French team is watching with their eyes wide. “How did you make up that invention?” asks Gwyndol. “That’s good.”

  “Thanks,” says Ander. “We sort of figured it out together.”

  “Well,” says Maelle. “I like it very much.”

  Danielle smiles. “We are judged at two-thirty. You may come to see our invention before then if you like.”

  “Okay, sure! We’ll come as soon as we can.”

  But we spend forever explaining the Ancestor App to the people visiting our booth. At times, there are so many people that Seraphina and Gregor answer questions too. I feel like a celebrity. I had no idea the distinguished guests and other teams would be this excited about our invention.

  In the back of the crowd I see Witch Girl—I mean Martina. She’s watching us with her arms crossed in front of her. When she catches me looking at her, she runs away, probably because she’s spying on us. This is not good.

  THE INVENTIONS

  Later, when the people have cleared out of our booth, Seraphina calls us over. “Look, my Crimson Kids, the Showcase Festival is almost over, and you haven’t seen any of the other teams’ inventions. Gregor and I will pack up your materials. It’s time for you to walk around and see the amazing work out there.”

  “What time is it?” I ask.

  “Four o’clock. The festival closes in an hour.”

  “Oh no!” I exclaim. “We told the French team we’d stop at their booth before they were judged, but that was a while ago. I hope they’re not mad.”

  We race through the aisles, not sure where to find the French team, and pass some really cool-looking inventions along the way. We wave hello to several teams but keep a fast pace as we search for the French flag.

  “Don’t worry about stopping to see our invention,” a voice calls from behind us. I spin around and Martina is standing in her booth with the rest of the Michigan team. The boys are huddled around a computer.

  “Sorry,” I call without looking back. My team is already ahead of me, and I don’t want to see her invention anyway.

  Finally, we find the French kids standing outside a booth halfway down the row. Jillian runs up to Gwyndol. “We’re so sorry we didn’t come sooner. We had a lot of people in our booth. We couldn’t leave at all!”

  Gwyndol smiles. “That is alright. We have been very busy too.”

  “How did judging go?” I ask.

  “It went very well. The judges were kind and nice,” says Maelle.

  “Except for the judge who would tell us to not be so, how you say, anxious?” says Zoe.

  “Yes,” says Danielle. “She was the one who made us so anxious.”

  Ander shakes his head. “I know! What’s up with that? I wasn’t even nervous before she said that stupid stuff about feeling like we’re going to throw up.”

  Mare makes her voice sound like the lady. “Here, children, put those nervous feelings in my hand. All your worries will float away like pixie dust.”

  Maelle and I laugh. What an idiot that judge was. I thought all the Piedmont people were so smart. Why would she try to make all of us nervous on purpose?

  “Can we see your invention?” Ander asks.

  “Yes, of course,” says Zoe.

  Stephan steps up to a long table. Situated on top of it is a pitcher of water and a small container. “The task in our country was to create a food or drink that begins as one type and turns into a new food or drink that will improve our society in some way. We chose a pitcher of water.”

  Zoe steps up to the table. “You can see it is a pitcher of water, yes?”

  I nod. “Yes.”

  Stephan continues, “We developed a formula for increasing a person’s honesty, which would definitely improve our society. It is here, in this small container.”

  Danielle opens the container and smiles. Inside are tiny silver gel packs shimmering under the fluorescent lights. “These are the honesty gels.”

  “When we add them to the water, the water is no longer regular drinking water, it is now honesty water,” says Gwyndol.

  “And most importantly,” says Stephan, “we have invented something that will help our society be more honest.”

  “Wow!” says Ander. “That’s cool.”

  “Does it really make a person more honest?” I ask. “Just by drinking a glass of it?”

  “If it does, it would be a really important invention,” says Jax.

  Maybe even more important than the Ancestor App.

  “Definitely,” says Jillian.

  “We think it works,” says Gwyndol. “We have conducted hundreds of tests. We are almost certain the government will agree with our formula.”

  I bite my ring nail. “Wow, I bet the judges really liked it.”

  Maelle frowns. “We are not sure. They have such serious faces. It is very hard to tell.”

  “We know what you mean,” I say. “The judges were very serious with us too.”

  “Well hello, my New York friends!” Their preceptor Mathilde calls as she approaches the booth. “I am happy you were able to stop by to see us.”

  “Hello, Mathilde,” says Jillian. “Your team’s invention is really good.”

  “Why merci! I’m sure yours is quite good as well.”

  Maelle smiles. “Oh Mathilde, you should see it. They invented an object that has capability for people to communicate with their relatives who have died many, many years ago!”

  “That’s an impressive invention,” she replies. “I would have liked to see it.”

  “Seraphina has probably already packed it away,” says Mare.

  “Maybe soon it will become a real invention, not just a prototype, and I
will see it then.”

  “I hope so,” I say.

  “We should get going,” says Jax.

  “Yeah.” Ander is already walking off. “I want to see if we can catch a few more inventions before all the booths close down.”

  We say goodbye and hurry away. In the far row of booths, we see that a team from Mexico is still showcasing their invention.

  We stand there quietly while they explain it to a man in tan pants. When he leaves, one of their team members looks over. “Your outfits are . . . different.”

  I look down at my yellow overall shorts, and Ander adjusts his jester hat. I had forgotten about our costumes. We must look like idiots.

  “Oh, these?” laughs Jillian, tossing the feather boa over her shoulder. “We haven’t changed back out of our judging clothes.”

  “You guys must be the team from New York. Everyone is talking about your play.”

  Ander grins. “Everyone?”

  “Well, maybe not everyone.”

  Mare smiles at him. “Can we see your invention?”

  “Sure. We made a parachute suit. We had to design an object that would improve an already existing item that we use. We hate carrying parachute packs on our aero-scooters. They’re too heavy. So we built one into this suit. You wear it over your clothes. It saves you from getting splashed with bird crap while you’re flying too.”

  “Hmm.” Ander gives it a once over. “I would wear it.”

  Jillian reaches out to touch the fabric. “Are there other colors?”

  Mare shakes her head. “This isn’t a store, Jillian.”

  The boy smiles. “Yeah, fashion isn’t really my specialty.”

  We thank the boy and continue down the aisle. The rest of the booths are deserted now, except for one that’s close to ours. It belongs to the team from Switzerland, and when we walk up, two boys are placing a cover on a large box.

  “Hello,” says one of them. “We were just about to pack up.”

  “Sorry,” I say. “We’re kind of late getting around. We’re from New York, in the USA.”

  “I’m Finn,” says the other boy. “And this is my teammate, Lars.”

  “What’s your invention?” asks Jillian.

  “It’s a Thought Translation Box,” says Finn.

  “A what?”

  Finn laughs. “A Thought Translation Box.”

  “What does it do?” asks Jax.

  “It decodes thoughts in your brain and puts them into words up on the screen inside.”

  “Whoa! So it’s like a mind reader?” asks Ander.

  “Sort of. It’s designed for people to make sense of an idea—an idea that’s stuck in their mind. When you sit inside the box, the sensors all around you will extract what you’re thinking from your entire body. If the thought is in the very forefront of your brain, it will take only a second or two. If the thought is buried and working its way to the forefront, it will take a little longer, but the Thought Translator will eventually help you decode it.”

  “Wow,” Jax says in complete awe.

  “Can I try?” asks Ander.

  “Sure,” says Lars. “Just take your shoes off. Lasers will be sensing your feet too. When the thought translator is done figuring out your thought, it will flash it on the screen up there.”

  Ander crawls inside the box. Finn closes the door, and Ander waves at us like a circus clown. Immediately, laser beams fill the walls around him. Within seconds, Ander is pointing at the screen. He pushes the door open. “It worked! Did you guys see that? It said, ‘This is the coolest invention ever!’ and that’s what I was thinking!”

  I can’t believe they invented a mind reader.

  “Yeah, I was trying to think of what I was going to think, but before I could, the screen flashed that message, and it was right.”

  “That’s amazing,” says Jillian.

  “Thanks for showing us,” says Jax.

  We walk away, and I feel sick to my stomach. That’s totally better than the Ancestor App. I wish we never saw any of these other inventions.

  By the time we get back to our booth, Seraphina and Gregor are sitting on our pile of boxes. “Did you get to see any inventions?” she asks.

  “Yeah,” says Mare. “Some were really good.”

  “I thought they would be. It’s inspiring to see all the great ideas.”

  Yeah, and demoralizing.

  “But now you better change so we can head over to le Cantine for dinner. The Sport and Game Festival is tonight, and you won’t want to miss that.”

  THE SPORT AND GAME FESTIVAL

  After dinner, Seraphina and Gregor lead us out of le Cantine to the fields behind the university building complex. Twenty flags, one from each country, are staked into the ground. Kids are running around everywhere, scattered like bugs.

  “Okay,” says Seraphina. “Here’s the deal. Each country is going to be showcasing their own local sport or game. It’ll be demonstrated by a group of preceptors chosen by the Piedmont Organization.”

  “Are you and Gregor going to be demonstrating for the United States?” asks Jillian.

  “No, we already have jobs here, silly! The preceptors chosen were from teams who didn’t qualify to compete here.”

  “Oh, that makes sense.”

  “What sport is our country showcasing?” I ask.

  “Nacho Cheese Ball, of course!”

  “Awesome!” Ander exclaims. “Will we get to play?”

  “That depends,” Gregor replies. “The showcase is a chance for you to learn about the different games and sports originated in each country. Once you’ve learned about as many as you can, you’ll be allowed to sign up to participate in the activities of your choice.”

  “Could we sign up for Nacho Cheese Ball?” asks Jax.

  “You could, if that’s what you all decide. But I would remain open to playing the other games or sports as well.”

  “Okay,” says Mare. “When do we start?”

  “Master Freeman has a brief welcome message, and the games will start shortly after. Let’s go find a spot on the grass to sit and listen.”

  The night is warm even though the sun is low in the sky. Music plays loudly from hidden speakers. When we arrived, the song that was playing was in English, but the one playing now sounds like it’s in Spanish. We walk past kids from all over the world—some that I recognize from the gala last night and the Showcase Festival earlier today, and many more that I don’t. I recognize some words as I weave through the crowded field, but mostly I hear languages I don’t understand at all. I suddenly wish that I had learned another language, or maybe even two. At Crimson Elementary, we only learn English in our Communications class. I wonder if that’s one more thing that’s against the rules of our country now. That never bothered me before, but now it kind of does.

  We find a spot on a hill not too far from where Master Freeman will be speaking. The stage is decorated with the Piedmont Crest and purple, gold, and white streamers. Two women dressed in purple dresses with ribbons woven through their hair stand tall on either end of the stage. They smile brightly as they hold silver harps.

  Master Freeman steps up to the microphone, and the music fades away. “Welcome, children, to the Piedmont Game and Sport Festival! As you know, here at the Piedmont Organization, we believe in the power of imaginative play and healthy competition. Tonight, you will see a plethora of each. This is creativity at its very best, showcased by some of the very best minds and bodies from around the world.”

  He raises his arm. “And now, let the fun begin!” He blows a whistle and the preceptors run out from the crowd to take their places on the fields behind him.

  Hundreds of kids scramble to their feet and race to watch. “Where should we go first?” I ask.

  “I don’t know,” says Mare. “Let’s watch the Swiss ga
me. Those boys yesterday were cute. Maybe they’ll be there watching too.”

  We start looking for a red flag with a white plus sign in the middle and find it at the far end of the field. Next to the Switzerland flag, a banner is staked into the ground: The Swiss Chocolate Game.

  “Ooh, this looks fun—and yummy,” says Jillian.

  We stand against the ropes, ready to watch the game begin. Ten Swiss preceptors walk up to a long white table in the center of the field—five on either side, half wearing red shirts and half wearing white. Kids from other teams crowd around us, and soon there are about twenty other kids watching too.

  A preceptor, a teen boy of about eighteen years old, turns toward the crowd. “Hello everyone, you are just in time! We are about to demonstrate to you how one of our traditional birthday party games is played—for both children and adults. It is called the Swiss Chocolate Game and is very fun. Over the years it has evolved and has now become a popular backyard team sport.

  “On this table, you will see in front of each team: an oversized pair of dice, a wool hat, a long knitted scarf, a pair of very large gloves, a knife, a fork, and a delicious chocolate bar—of course made from the finest Swiss chocolate. When the whistle blows, a player from each team will take turns rolling the dice. When a set of doubles is rolled, that player will put on the hat, scarf, and gloves, unwrap the chocolate, and attempt to cut it with a knife and fork. Whatever is cut must be eaten. The other players will take turns rolling the dice until he or she rolls a double. At that time the hat, scarf, and gloves will be removed and passed along with the knife, fork, and chocolate to the player who rolled the double. He will then proceed to cut and eat the chocolate. The game continues until each player on the team has rolled a double, worn the clothes, and therefore cut and eaten chocolate. In order to win, the last player on the team must cut the remaining piece in two and eat both halves. The first team to do this and finish the whole chocolate bar is declared the winner. Please stay and watch, and if you like, please sign up to play with your team later this evening.”