Lexi Magill and the Teleportation Tournament
Page 21
Dr. Harrison proceeded to gather with Dr. Bressler, Dr. Kent, and Dr. Vogt, while Team RAM held a huddle of their own.
“Thanks, Lex,” Ron said as they set their trophies down. “But you didn’t have to say anything. You made us sound fantastic when we screwed up, too.”
“Yeah,” Mal said. “You didn’t even mention all the good things you did. You determined we were at the wrong castle, found my Tel-Med… you totally deserve the internship.”
Lexi’s throat constricted at the mention of the internship, but she shook her head. “No, it wasn’t right.” She met her teammates’ eyes. “We did this together. The internship would have been great, but it’s not worth lying about. Coming clean was the right thing to do.”
“It’s a good way for Team RAM to end,” Ron said.
Lexi caught her breath. She didn’t want Team RAM to end. More than that, she didn’t want to lose Ron and Mal as friends. She liked hanging out with them, even though they weren’t into science as much as she was.
“It doesn’t have to be the end,” she said. “Like you said, if I stay at West Elm, I can help your football team with physics stuff. And, Mal, maybe you can teach me about photography? Oh, and I bet there’s other kinds of teleportation tournaments we can enter. Winning this one proved we’re good at a bunch of different things.”
“Really?” Mal asked.
“Really,” Lexi answered.
“Heck yeah!” Ron yelled. He threw his hand between them. Mal set hers on top, and then Lexi set her hand on top of both. “On the count of three! One, two, three…”
“TEAM RAM!” they shouted together.
As Team RAM cheered, the microphone screeched. Lexi jolted. Dr. Harrison had parted from the scientists and was standing by the microphone.
“Here we go,” Lexi said.
Mal clenched Lexi’s hand. Lexi squeezed back.
“The winner of the internship is…”
“You got this, Magill,” Ron whispered. “They’re gonna reward you for your hones—”
“Mr. Tomoka Seto!” Dr. Harrison exclaimed.
Without hesitation, Lexi roared, “Yay, Tomoka!”
Ron and Mal slumped. “Sorry, Lexi,” they said.
Lexi paused her celebration, surprised how much she didn’t feel even a speck of sadness over not winning the internship. No rumbles of jealousy, no knot in her stomach. All she felt was pure joy for Tomoka.
“It’s all good,” she said. “Really. I came here to win a tournament, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Ron and Mal joined Lexi’s cheers and clapped excitedly as Tomoka was mobbed by family and friends rushing onto the field. Haley wasn’t one of them. She turned on her heel, scowled, and stormed off.
The stands started to empty. “Hey, now we get to eat, right?” Ron said.
Lexi exchanged glances with Mal, and they both laughed. Some things never changed.
“What’s so funny?” a voice called from the stands.
Team RAM whirled to the speaker. Lexi’s parents walked through the gate and onto the field. Lexi wrapped an arm around each. “You made it!”
Dad set a hand atop Lexi’s head. “Of course we did! One of the tournament directors left a message where the finish line was.”
Mom cupped Lexi’s cheeks. “Congratulations! I suppose this means we’ll have to get you re-enrolled at the academy for fall, huh?”
Smiling, Lexi pulled away and shook her head. “Nah, that’s okay. I’m going to give West Elm a chance.”
Lexi’s parents widened their eyes. “What?”
She gave a firm nod. “It’s not like I need a special school to study science.” She gestured to her teammates. “Besides, we need to keep the team together.”
“Really?” Mom asked.
“Yeah, who are you and what have you done with our daughter?” Dad teased.
Lexi hugged them both.
“Oh!” Mal said. “There are my parents!”
Mal ran to greet her family, and Ron did the same after spotting his.
Lexi stepped out of her hug and faced her parents. “So, since I’m not going to the academy, maybe we can use some of the prize money for a summer vacation?”
Her mom and dad looked at each other. “But the new family budget has us staying put this summer, remember?” Mom said.
“But now we don’t have to,” Lexi replied. She nodded to her dad’s Brewers T-shirt. “And I definitely want to use some of the money for Brewers tickets.”
Dad squeezed the back of Lexi’s neck and kissed the top of her head. “Thanks, sweetie. We’ll think on it. Promise.”
Ron and Mal approached with their parents, and after quick introductions, everyone headed to the tailgate. Team RAM lagged behind their families.
“Guess what?” Ron said. “My dad told me this is really going to bolster my chances with high schools and colleges. He said a student-athlete is a much better draw than an athlete, and it will do as much for me as any summer football camp would.”
“Nice!” Mal said. “My parents were impressed, too. They said we can definitely go back to France this summer and spend more time at Versailles.”
“That’s awesome, you guys,” Lexi said.
Team RAM exited the stadium and stepped into the sun.
“Ms. Magill?” an accented voice called.
Lexi spun. She knew that voice.
Dr. Vogt reached for Lexi’s hands. “I found your honesty refreshing, young lady. One of the traits of a good leader is taking responsibility for her actions—not blaming others or finding excuses when things go wrong. You made a mistake, and you owned up to it—even when you didn’t have to.” She motioned to Ron and Mal. “And you stuck up for your teammates and recognized their accomplishments. A good team member gives credit where credit is due.” She patted the top of Lexi’s hand.
“Thanks, Dr. Vogt.”
Dr. Vogt squeezed her hand. “Those are precisely the qualities I look for in putting together my team.”
Lexi tilted her head to the side. “Your team?”
“Yes. While Dr. Bressler, Dr. Kent, and I share some employees, we also have our own staff. Tell me, Ms. Magill, would you be interested in working as my personal assistant this summer?”
Lexi stared at Dr. Vogt. She heard the words. She really did, but she couldn’t formulate a response. Personal assistant? She lifted a hand to her head as her body tingled. Personal assistant?
“You bet she’s interested!” Ron shouted.
“Heck yeah!” Mal added, jumping up and down.
Mal bumped Lexi, and she unfroze. Her head still felt so light it could float away, but she forced out a response. “I, uh, yes, Dr. Vogt. I would love to!”
Dr. Vogt squeezed Lexi’s elbow. “Good. We must talk with your parents and get their permission, of course, but good.” The scientist turned. “Now, I’m hungry. Where’s the food?”
As Dr. Vogt walked ahead and joined her colleagues, Lexi traded fist pounds with her teammates.
Two new friends.
First place in the tournament.
Prize money.
Dr. Vogt’s personal assistant.
“I can’t believe it. What a perfect weekend!”
Buzz.
“Is that your phone?” Ron asked, pointing to Lexi’s pocket.
“Yeah, I think so.” Lexi pulled the phone out of her cargo pants. “It’s a text.”
***ALERT. PLEASE BE ADVISED TEL-MED NO. 610116271 HAS COMPLETED THE CRITICAL PROTOCOL AND HAS BEEN DEACTIVATED***
Ron and Mal peered over Lexi’s shoulder. “Wow,” Mal said. “Looks like we made it just in time.”
“Yeah,” Lexi said, more relieved and happy than anyone would ever know. She tucked the phone safely in her pocket. First thing tomorrow, she’d return that Tel-Med and get it out of her sight for good.
Lexi grabbed Ron and Mal, and the three linked arms. Together, Team RAM entered the food tent to one more roaring round of applause.
The End
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The idea for this story was born several years ago while commuting home from work. Stuck on the so-called expressway, I started wondering, wishing, actually, to have the ability to teleport home and out of traffic. That idea percolated in my brain until it found its way to Lexi and her race around the world. But writing the story was only half the battle. A lot of people helped bring Lexi to life, and I am extremely grateful for their assistance:
My agent, Natascha Morris, at BookEnds Literary Agency, for her amazing editorial notes that injected more heart into Lexi’s journey, and for finding this book a home at Running Press Kids.
My editor, Allison Cohen, who took a chance on a genre mash-up, and then fell in love with Lexi and her friends as much as I did. Her enthusiasm was infectious from the start, and this book would not exist without her.
To the entire team at Running Press Kids, especially Cisca Schreefel, Christopher Eads, Frances Soo Ping Chow, and Valerie Howlett, and illustrator Charles Lehman for such a dynamic and wonderful book cover.
I did quite a bit of research on the various locales and scientists mentioned in this book, but deserving of a special shout out is Bryan Kent Wallace, Assistant Professor of Physics at Fisk University, who was a tremendous help to my research into Elmer Imes.
Writing is a solitary profession, but I have been lucky enough to be part of an incredibly supportive writing community. For that, I owe a resounding thanks to Brenda Drake, creator of Pitch Wars, for welcoming me as a middle grade mentor in 2015. I’ve met so many wonderful writer friends through Pitch Wars since then, including Wade Albert White, Juliana Brandt, Naz Kutub, Taylor B. Gardner, Julie Artz, and Melyssa Mercado. They all read drafts of this book at one time or another and provided fantastic insight as to how to make the story stronger.
The best writing support group anyone can ask for—the ladies of March 39, Hymn Day: Lynnette Novak, Kelly Hopkins, Mónica Bustamante Wagner, and Fiona McLaren. Thank you for your encouragement and support throughout my writing journey. I am so glad we found each other!
Finally, thanks to my family, especially my parents, who passed on their joy of reading to their children. Weekly library visits were routine, as were summer reading programs and story time. To this day, the one thing we all have in common is always having a good book nearby. Hopefully, this one makes the cut.
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ANSWER KEY
MARIE CURIE PUZZLE
1. Take the year Madame Curie was born: 1867
2. Multiply it by the number of Nobel Prizes she won in Physics: 1
3. Subtract the atomic number of Radium: 1867-88=1779
4. Add the melting point of Radium (Celsius), rounded to the nearest hundred: 1779+700=2479
5. Subtract the mass number of Polonium: 2479-209=2270
6. Add the number of neutrons in Polonium: 2270+125=2395 (mass# -atomic# = neutrons)
7. Add the number of neutrons in Radium 2395+138=2533
8. Subtract the number of elements in the periodic table that exist naturally (as opposed to synthetically): 2533-94=2439
9. Subtract the year Madame Curie died. 2439-1934=505
10. Reverse the order of the numbers. 505
WORD SEARCH # 1
ELEMENTS
ALUMINUM
CARBON
COPPER
GOLD
HELIUM
HYDROGEN
KRYPTON
MERCURY
NEON
NICKEL
OXYGEN
PLATINUM
POLONIUM
RADIUM
SILVER
SODIUM
SULFUR
TIN
XENON
ZINC
WORD SCRAMBLES
PHYSICS
1. TOERCCALRAE: Accelerator
2. NCVCIEOTON: Convection
3. MTOA: Atom
4. DCORLILE: Collide
5. UNNRTEO: Neutron
6. ROLTCEEN: Electron
7. SEPOOTI: Isotope
8. SMSA: Mass
9. TMPSUCRE: Spectrum
10. AURQK: Quark
11. WHEGLNETVA: Wavelength
12. JUOEL: Joule
13. EOITYVCL: Velocity
14. TZHER: Hertz
15. YRGVATI: Gravity
16. PWEOR: Power
17. TOHPON: Photon
18. NYEGER: Energy
19. TCSNDAIE: Distance
20. CNINUTODCO: Conduction
CIPHERS
GREAT SCIENTIFIC MINDS
1. WEH’B PT KLCKRW EL XKCW DECZ. HEBXRHY DECBXDXRGT JEATU TKURGS. WEH’B GTB EBXTCU WRUJEOCKYT SEO EC BTGG SEO BXKB SEO JKH’B WE RB.—YTCBCOWT TGREH
Hint: W=D
ANSWER: Don’t be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don’t let others discourage you or tell you that you can’t do it.—Gertrude Elion
2. QNU QADU KEIM TJ EMQUXXEIUMPU EK MTQ LMTFXUWIU HDQ ESBIEMBQETM.—BXHUAQ UEMKQUEM
Hint: H=B
ANSWER: The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.—Albert Einstein
3. VL MOWRI YBQJLGWOA CRQ WGWO SRYW CBINLPI R ULHY MPWQQ.—BQRRJ VWCILV
Hint: O=R
ANSWER: No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.—Isaac Newton
4. THPK XLBSKHUOH YC GB XLBS GJH HMGHLG BN BLH’C YOLBTPLEH.—EBLNZEYZC
Hint: N=F
ANSWER: Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.—Confucius
5. PBMFDTDH DBKBF BJIMSXVX VIB OTDU.—PBADMFUA UM KTDYT
Hint: O=M
ANSWER: Learning never exhausts the mind.—Leonardo da Vinci
(here) 8. TD PVWK ULQD ADCWDQDCLFXD LFO LSZQD LHH XZFERODFXD RF ZVCWDHQDW.—PLCRD XVCRD
Hint: H=L
ANSWER: We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.—Marie Curie