by Caline Tan
The door was open and Mr Foo was seated behind his desk. He was wearing a white shirt with blue stripes. In fact, every day he wore a white shirt with blue stripes. The students called him Blue Zebra behind his back.
Mabel knocked. “Mr Foo, we’ve got something to show you.”
Mr Foo looked up from his desk. He squinted his eyes and looked at the two small girls standing outside his office. From the colour of their name tags, he could tell that they were from the Primary 2 level. Now what would two Primary 2 girls want from him? He walked over from his desk. He was in his forties but most of his hair had fallen off, so he had a bald patch on the top of his head.
“You do? What is it?” asked Mr Foo, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
“It’s a video of two boys using their water bottles to hit the flowers in the park,” said Julie. She felt much braver now and was no longer afraid to talk to Mr Foo. She had not done anything wrong so she should not feel afraid.
“Let me see it,” said Mr Foo.
Mr Foo took the camera from Mabel and watched the video.
“Ha, I know these two boys. They’re John and Peter from 3F. They’re always up to no good,” said Mr Foo. “How did you girls know about this?”
“They walk the same way to school as I do. I saw them doing it and decided to do something about it. Julie said we should record it so that we could show it to you,” said Mabel.
“Good thinking, Julie. And well done, Mabel. Can I keep the camera for a few days?” asked Mr Foo, his mind already thinking about what he should do to punish the two boys. Make them sweep the floor? Make them water the plants every day?
“Sure, Mr Foo,” said Mabel.
The two girls left Mr Foo’s office happily. They had completed their task! Now the boys would not hit the flowers anymore. The flowers would be so happy. Mabel felt so proud of herself.
“What do you think Mr Foo will do to the two boys?” she asked.
“I don’t know? Give them a caning?” suggested Julie.
“Ouch! I don’t want any caning!” said Mabel.
“Mabel,” called Robozonic.
“Yes, Robozonic?” answered Mabel.
“For the good work that both of you have done, I’m going to give you a reward.”
“Oh, we don’t really need a reward. But since you mentioned it, well, what reward are you going to give us?” Mabel asked as she took Robozonic out from her pocket.
Just then, two metal rods slowly moved out from another two of the green specks on Robozonic. When the metal rods were fully extended, lights appeared at the ends of the two rods. After some time, two yellow stars appeared.
“Pluck the stars off from the rods, girls,” said Robozonic.
The two girls glanced at each other and turned to look at Robozonic again. They did not move. They were too shocked. Then Mabel stretched out her hand to take a star and Julie followed.
“What are these for?” asked Mabel, looking at her star. There was a tiny button in the middle of the star, and on the other side, there was a mirror.
“They are my little children – Robostars. You can use them to talk to me even if we’re very far apart,” said Robozonic.
“How far?” asked Julie.
“Like between here and Mabel’s house,” said Robozonic.
“Fantastic! Can I use it to communicate with Julie too?” asked Mabel.
“Sure. It works like a walkie-talkie. You just have to press the tiny button on the star,” explained Robozonic. “You can see each other on the screen.”
Julie removed one of the blue ribbons from her pony tails. She put one end of the ribbon through a tiny hole in the Robostar, placed the two ends together and tied a knot. She hung the ribbon over Mabel’s neck. The yellow Robostar lay on Mabel’s chest. Then, she did the same thing for her Robostar.
Mabel instantly pressed the button on her Robostar and said, “Calling Julie, calling Julie.”
Her voice immediately sounded from the Robostar on Julie’s chest. Her face also appeared on the mirrored surface. Julie pressed the button on her Robostar excitedly and answered, “Yes, Mabel. Yes, Mabel!”
“Excuse me,” a voice interrupted. It was the vice-principal, Mr Ahman. “Why aren’t you girls in class? The bell has rung.”
“Oops, sorry, Mr Ahman,” Mabel apologised. “We’re going right now.”
“And why have you brought toys to school?” asked Mr Ahman, seeing the stars hung around the girls’ necks. “Don’t you know that you’re not supposed to bring any toys to school?”
“Sorry, Mr Ahman, we will not bring them again,” said Mabel. Mabel and Julie turned and scurried down the corridor. They stopped outside their classroom, panting.
Mrs Lim was already in class. The two girls quickly tucked their stars inside their school uniforms and went into the classroom.
“Mabel and Julie, why are the two of you late?” asked Mrs Lim. “Don’t tell me you have a stomachache again, Mabel?”
“No, she didn’t have a stomachache, Mrs Lim. We were helping Mr Foo at his office,” Julie answered quickly and looked at Mabel.
“Yes, yes. We were helping him with something,” added Mabel.
“Alright, please come in now,” said Mrs Lim.
The two girls went to their seats hurriedly. Mabel squeezed Robozonic as she sat down.
“Stop squeezing me!” said Robozonic. Mabel did not answer. She just smiled and took out her textbooks.
And that was how Mabel met Robozonic.
THE
ROBOZONlC
SERIES
Save the Flowers!
Fishy Tales
Into the Goal!
Squirrel Away
Dragonfly Rescue
Do you want to
get to know Robozonic?
Visit the Robozonic website:
www.robozonic.com
or interact with Robozonic on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/robozonicpebble
You can post comments and pictures on the
wall as well as get the latest information on
upcoming books and talks!
Remember to click “Like”!
“A fascinating story with a good plot…
a must-read for children!”
Sean Dooa, 10, Maris Stella High School
“A good read for young readers. We can
learn new vocab without having to check the dictionary!”
Wesley Low, 8, Shanghai American School
“I like it when Robozonic talks to Mabel. Those parts are so funny!”
Elodie Tan, 8, Raffles Girls’ Primary School
“It’s an interesting book, especially for those who like
science fiction.”
Ng Yu Min, 8, Singapore Chinese Girls’ School
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Caline Tan was a teacher with Singapore’s Ministry of
Education for about ten years.
Even though she left her teaching job to devote more time to
her two children, she hopes to continue to stay connected with
young children through her stories.
The story ideas for the Robozonic series first materialised when
she created bedtime stories for her children using their soft toys.
An ardent fan of thrillers and mysteries, Caline wishes to create
an exciting series that kids can relate to.
COPYRIGHT
First published in 2011 by Bubbly Books Pte Ltd
40C Hongkong Street, Singapore 059679
First published in digital form in 2012 by Monsoon Books ISBN (ebook): 978-981-4423-48-9
Text and Illustrations Copyright © 2011 Caline Tan
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise),
without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons is entirely coincidental.
Monsoon Books Pte Ltd
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Singapore 139951
www.monsoonbooks.com.sg
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