by Kim Long
“Argh,” Ron said, not taking his eyes off his paper. “I need a break. This last one’s next-to-impossible.”
Mal fingered one of Ron’s worksheets. “Yours are the hardest, that’s for sure.”
Ron yawned.
“Do you want me to take a look?” Lexi said. I might be able to recognize the scientist’s name.
Ron slid the sheet her way. “Be my guest. I rewrote what I figured out so far underneath.”
8. TD PVWK ULQD ADCWDQDCLFXD LFO LSZQD LHH XZFERODFXD RF ZVCWDHQDW.—PLCRD XVCRD
Hint: H=L
WE PVWK HAVE AECWEVECANXE AND ASZVE ALL XZNEIDENXE IN ZVCWELVEW.—PACIE XVCIE
Lexi stared at the puzzle. “We blank have blank and blank all blank in blank.”
Mal laughed. “Nice. I’m sure that’s helpful.”
“Wait.” Lexi pressed her fingertip onto the last two words. “Marie Curie,” she whispered. “I don’t know what the quote is, but I bet you anything that the scientist is Marie Curie. Look at the i-e at the end of the first and last names. What other scientist’s name is like that?”
“Let me see,” Ron said, taking the page. A second later, he nodded. “Yeah, that’ll work. Give me a minute. I’ll switch all of the Cs to Rs and Ps to Ms and see what’s left.”
Lexi and Mal leaned over, watching Ron work. A scratch here, a mark there, and a few scribbles later, he showed them:
WE MUST HAVE PERSEVERANCE AND ABOVE ALL CONFIDENCE IN OURSELVES.—MARIE CURIE
“That’s it! We’re done,” Lexi said as they all traded fist pounds. “Way to go, Ron!”
Mal nudged Lexi. “Let’s see what’s next.”
Team RAM brought their completed sheets to the tournament monitor amid a few gasps from the other teams.
“Stay here,” the official said. “I’ll check the answers and be right back.”
Screech.
Doppler Daredevil Chris shot out of his chair, and his team bounded to the counter. “I think we got it, too,” he said.
Lexi pursed her lips. If other teams were about to finish, it would come down to how quickly everyone solved the second part of the clue. Team RAM’s slight lead would mean nothing if they stumbled.
“Here you go,” the official said, returning. He noticed Chris. “Please stand back with your team. I’ll be right with you.” The official slid another envelope across the counter. “This is the second part of the clue. Since you don’t have electronics, we’re not going to ask you to find the teleport station. Simply note your destination location at the bottom of the sheet.”
“Got it,” Lexi said, and Team RAM darted to their table.
Ron made quick work of the envelope and set the clue in front of them.
DESTINATION No. 7 (Part Two)
To determine the identity of the mystery physicist, use your answers to the worksheets to find:
1. The last letter in Word Scramble word #12:
2. The last letter in the seventeenth word in the solved quotation of Cipher No. 1.
3. The letter in the 6th row, 3rd column of Word Search #1:
4. The second letter in Word Scramble word #14:
5. The third letter in the fourth word in the solved quotation of Cipher #8:
6. The letter in the 6th row, 23rd column of Word Search #1:
7. The last letter in Word Scramble word #3:
8. The most popular letter in the scientist’s name in Cipher #7:
9. The letter that appears twice in Word Scramble word #8:
ANSWER:
Now, to determine your next destination, which is where this scientist taught physics, use your answers to the worksheets to find:
1. The letter in the 20th row, 13th column of Word Search #1:
2. The eighth letter in Word Scramble word #2:
3. The last letter in the thirteenth word in the solved quotation of Cipher No. 1:
4. The letter in the 1st row, 24th column of Word Search #1:
5. The third letter in Word Scramble word #5:
6. The letter in the 23rd row, 4th column of Word Search #1:
7. The most popular vowel in the solved quotation of Cipher No. 2:
8. The third letter in Word Scramble word #11:
9. The first letter in the 6th row of Word Search #1:
10. The first letter in the first word in the solved quotation of Cipher #4:
11. The letter that repeats itself in the same word in the solved quotation of Cipher #3:
12. The first letter in Word Scramble word #7:
13. The second-to-last letter in the third word in Cipher #5:
14. The last letter in Word Scramble word #13:
ANSWER:
“All right,” Ron said. “At least all we have to do is plug in the letters.”
“I’ll read the sentence, and then you guys can look at the worksheets and let me know the answer,” Lexi said. “If it seems tricky or weird, we can all look at it.”
Mal distributed the worksheets. She leaned over the table and whispered, “Don’t say the letters too loud. We don’t want the other teams to hear.”
Ron slid his chair closer to Lexi, and Mal did the same.
Team RAM worked their way through the first half.
“Hold up!” Ron said as Lexi reached the second to last question. “Read that one again.”
Lexi reread number 8, “The most popular letter in the scientist’s name in Cipher Number Seven.” She peered over Ron’s arm at his worksheet. “What’s Cipher Number Seven?”
Ron showed her.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.—Albert Einstein
“Oh,” Ron said. “It’s E. I was looking at his last name and saw a tie between E and N. Never mind.”
Lexi wrote, E and moved to the next clue. After all the letters were completed, Lexi wrote:
E-L-M-E-R-I-M-E-S
“Elmer Imes,” she said. “Let’s move on.” Team RAM continued with the second half clues. When they were done, Lexi wrote:
F-I-S-K-U-N-I-V-E-R-S-I-T-Y
“So it’s Elmer Imes at Fisk University,” she murmured. “Let’s get to the booth!” She slid her chair back from the table, then caught herself. She set the paper on the table. “Here. You guys take a look to make sure I wrote everything down right.”
Ron scanned the answers and pushed the page to Mal, who nodded after a glance.
Team RAM ran to the booth, where the Powerful Protons and Isaac Fig Newtons were receiving the second part of their clue. Lexi peered over her shoulder. The Doppler Daredevils were packing up, apparently having completed the second part of the clue as well. Lexi checked the time—it was nearly midnight. She exhaled, relieved Team RAM wouldn’t be battling for one of the last two spots in the middle of the night.
The tournament official approached, and after a quick check of Team RAM’s worksheet, declared, “Congratulations. You’re team twelve.” He punched keys on the computer and printed their teleport tickets. “Start time tomorrow is nine a.m. The sleeping area and computers are in the back tent.” He pointed to an opening in the canvas on the opposite side of the room. “Right through there.”
Team RAM grabbed their tickets and turned to one another to exchange high fives. With the teleport ticket in her hand, Lexi let it sink in. They had made it!
“Here are your electronics,” the official said, placing the bin on the counter. He reached behind him to the power strip and unplugged Lexi’s phone. “And here’s the phone that was charging.”
Electronics in hand, Team RAM headed to the rest area. Lexi turned on her phone, and a barrage of sounds proved it had come to life.
Ding. Chirp. Ding.
One voice mail, one e-mail, and one text. Lexi dropped to an empty cot and opened the e-mail first.
Dear Rental Customer:
*****ATTENTION*****ATTENTION*****ATTENTION*****
This is your second notice. We have detected unusual activity in Tel-Med No. 610116271. Please report to the nearest Wren Tech store or facility wi
th Tel-Med No. 610116271 so that it may be inspected.
Please be advised that further use of the Tel-Med may trigger the Critical Protocol, where problematic features will be disabled, potentially resulting in complete deactivation. We strongly advise you to visit our facility so that TEL-MED NO. 610116271 can be cleared for use.
We at Wren Tech take the safety of our customers very seriously, and these measures are put in place for your protection. Please contact us for additional details.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
John Hardek
Wren Technologies
Lexi closed the message and checked the text and voice mail. They were from Wren Tech, too, and they said the same thing—“irregular activity” had been detected and her Tel-Med could enter the critical protocol—whatever that was (though Lexi admitted it didn’t sound good)—at any time. Worse, her Tel-Med could eventually deactivate.
Her phone slipped between her trembling fingers and fell to the floor. Team RAM might not get to finish the race.
“What’s wrong?” Ron said, dropping to the cot across the aisle. “You should be celebrating. We made it.”
“Yeah,” Mal added as she unwrapped her wrist and headbands and set them on the table beside her cot. “We’re top fifteen!”
Lexi blinked and dug the Tel-Med out of her cargo pants. She turned it over in her palm so the bright blue RENTAL stamp was visible. It was time Ron and Mal knew the truth.
She held it out to Ron. “I rented it.”
“So?” Ron said.
Lexi passed her phone to Ron. His eyes grew wide as he read the e-mail.
“I’m guessing it’s the tracking and disabling chip,” Lexi explained as Mal stood and read alongside Ron.
Mal grabbed the Tel-Med and rubbed it between her fingers before holding it up to the light. “It looks okay to me.”
“Me too,” Lexi said. “But the company probably detected installation of the chip and thinks there’s a glitch.”
Ron furrowed his brow and flashed the e-mail to Lexi. “What does this mean, second notice?”
Lexi blew out a breath. “They sent an e-mail yesterday saying basically the same thing, that irregular activity had been detected.” She shrugged. “But it was working, and it’s not like I could do anything about it.”
“Sure you could. You could do exactly what it tells you to do—bring it to Wren Tech and have them check it.”
Lexi rose to her feet. “Yeah, but what if they had made me take out the chip? Or said it’s been damaged and confiscated it? I wouldn’t have been able to race.”
Ron shook his head. “You don’t know that. It’s equally likely Wren Tech wouldn’t have even cared as long as the Tel-Med wasn’t damaged—you just had to tell them.”
Mal nodded. “He’s right, and even if Wren Tech had wanted its Tel-Med back, we could have told Dr. Harrison or asked for help.” She gestured to their surroundings. “Now it is too late. It’s near midnight, and we’re in a tent in the middle of nowhere.”
Lexi slumped. “I… I never thought of all that. I don’t know. I just didn’t want to risk it.” She looked at her teammates. “I should have told you. I’m sorry.” She read the e-mail again. “What should we do? The way I read this, they can shut it off at any time. We might not even make it to the university.”
“We can’t think of it like that,” Ron said. “We can’t think about the fourth quarter when we’re in the first half. It won’t help. The only thing we can do now is keep going.”
Mal handed the Tel-Med back to Lexi. Lexi eyed the blue RENTAL stamp again as she stuffed it back into her pocket. “Stupid rental.”
“I can’t believe you rented one,” Mal said. “That must have been expensive.”
“It was—my birthday and allowance money for a year, but…”
“Aw, man, I wish you would have said something,” Ron said. “My mom might have been able to loan one to you. They have a few for their office.” He held up his Tel-Med. “That’s where I got mine.”
“Yeah,” Mal said. “My parents got mine from the university’s history department. I totally could have asked if they had another.”
Lexi rubbed her forehead. “I used to have one,” she said. “But we had to sell it when my dad lost his job. I didn’t want you guys to know.”
Ron and Mal stared at her with blank expressions.
“I thought you’d think it was weird, you know, how I’m really into science and wanted to race in a teleportation tournament, but didn’t have a Tel-Med. It’s embarrassing.”
“It’s not embarrassing,” Mal said. “It’s… inspiring. A total make-it-work moment. You did what you had to do.”
Lexi cocked an eyebrow. “What?”
“Moreno’s right,” Ron said. “Knowing you spent all your money on a Tel-Med to race with us is super motivating. It also explains why you want to win so badly. I bet your family can really use the money.”
“Yeah,” Mal said.
No, Lexi thought as guilt pulsed through her veins. The prize money wasn’t for her family—well, except for tickets to a Brewers game for her dad—it was for her to attend the academy. With a slight groan, she hung her head. She didn’t deserve her teammates’ respect. She glanced at their still-beaming faces. There was no way she couldn’t tell them the truth.
“Actually,” Lexi said. “I’ve been planning to use the money to re-enroll at the science academy.”
“What?” Mal asked.
“For real?” Ron added.
Lexi nodded. “I’ve been going there for years, and there are all these classes and clubs that West Elm doesn’t have, like robotics, inventions, and teleport science.” She tipped her head toward Ron. “Plus, like you said, it’s not like I have tons of friends here. But over there, even without Haley, there are kids that like the same things I do.”
Mal tapped her lips. “Hm. Well, I’d be interested in an inventions club. I can help people draw their designs, maybe build models, too?”
Lexi scrunched her nose. “Really?”
Ron slid his hands together. “And I might go for a physics club, but it’d have to be geared toward useful stuff—like how you figured out Moreno didn’t flush her Tel-Med down the toilet.”
Mal lightly punched Ron in the shoulder.
“No, I’m serious,” Ron continued. “Football is all about force and motion and acceleration and stuff, and I’m wondering if you could be a special consultant to the team and figure out the best positions to place our feet or hands or move our body to make more of an impact.”
Lexi’s eyes widened. Special consultant to the team?
Mal turned toward her cot. “I think if you asked around, there would be other kids who might be interested in this stuff, too.”
“Definitely,” Ron said, dropping to his cot. “I can talk to Coach when we get back, if you want.”
“Wow,” Lexi said, her mind racing faster than the speed of light thinking of all the ways she could help the football team. Torque, center of mass, axis of rotation, velocity… the possibilities were endless. Forget programming a grasshopper to jump over a can. She’d be doing meaningful science—stuff to help Ron and her classmates win games.
And there were tons of ways physics interacted with photography and fashion, too. There was luminance and motion blur’s effect on photos—and magnetic nail polish totally involved physics! She swallowed hard. Her teammates’ suggestions were brilliant. She didn’t have to be at the academy to do science.
Lexi slid into her cot. She hadn’t been this excited about science since before she left the academy. And it was all because of Ron and Mal, two classmates who didn’t even necessarily like science.
Lexi turned on her side. Now more than ever, she wanted Team RAM to win. She crossed her fingers. Just one more day, she whispered as she drifted off to sleep. Please let the Tel-Med work one more day.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Next!” called the telepod engineer.
Mal nudged Lexi forward. “You go first. If you can’t travel, we’re out.”
Lexi set down her backpack and locked the Tel-Med in place. Straightening, she rubbed the Brewers logos on her shirt and her cap for luck and then flashed a thumbs-up.
Lights blinked, and Lexi opened her eyes. A large sign suspended from the ceiling said “Welcome to Fisk University, Tennessee.” Her knees buckled, and she gripped the Tel-Med shelf to steady herself before bounding off. Whew!
Seconds later, Mal arrived, placing a palm over her heart upon seeing Lexi. Ron teleported in a minute after that, heaving a breath as he caught Lexi’s eyes. He ran to his teammates… and then kept running past them.
Mal and Lexi watched, confused.
“Blue arrows!” he called, pointing to the blue arrows taped to the floor. “Quit lollygagging. Let’s go!”
Mal dashed to catch up to the Filipino Flyer. A second later, Lexi followed. She had to hand it to her teammates. They didn’t waste even a moment dwelling on her Tel-Med fiasco. They were already thinking about the next puzzle. As she chased after them, Lexi tried to do the same. It was like what her dad said whenever she made an error in a softball game. Forget about it and focus on the next play. If her teammates could do it, she could, too.
The arrows led to the school’s gymnasium, where pennants hung from rafters and banners adorned the walls. They checked in at the tournament booth, and Ron opened the envelope for the next clue.
PUZZLE TIME!
Use the directory to find Elmer Samuel Imes (or, as he’s known to us, E-S-I) on campus.
“Well, that’s short and sweet,” Mal said.
“We should try the physics department,” Lexi suggested.
Ron nodded. “Let’s find the directory.”
Team RAM left the gym and entered a courtyard framed by older brick buildings. A track and field stood to their right. Ron tapped Lexi’s arm and pointed to a sidewalk, where the Phenoms, Techies, and Comets crowded around a campus directory.
Lexi bit her lip as they approached, not sure what to say if Haley tried talking to her. While part of her wanted to confront Haley about the lie, another part wanted to ignore Haley completely. Ron and Mal deserved her undivided attention.