“Come on, Amy,” I said. “We’re up next.”
Ashley Robbins was just finishing up demonstrating her plastic water bottle shredder and recycler.
Amy pulled off her protective suit. “Ugh, I can’t believe I agreed to do this.”
“Come on! You’re a natural,” I said. “Besides, everyone’s going to be watching the robot, remember?”
I had decided to showcase my robot after all. I was even going to have it make pancakes again. Well, it would do everything but the actual cooking. I wasn’t planning on feeding everyone.
But the most brilliant part of my demonstration (if I do say so myself) was to have Amy pilot the robot. Like I said, she was a natural. She operated it flawlessly during our rehearsals. She could even crack an egg using both robot claws and not get any shell in the mixing bowl.
“This is turning out to be the Amy Hsu Show,” Sam said.
“Yeah, this is her big night,” Noah agreed. “Way to go, Ames.”
“Oh boy,” Amy said as she donned the VR gear.
“Please,” I said. “Can we not add any more pressure before she helps with my presentation?”
They were right, though. Not only was Amy going to be on stage twice, but she had also received full credit for editing the short video that had launched events that evening.
Joey and his crew had left the school and all the editing equipment behind. The way things ended, I was surprised they let the school keep the editing suite as promised. Fortunately, my father’s company ended up paying for the equipment, as well as siccing its legal team onto Joey’s production company, just in case Joey wanted to make trouble.
But the most important thing Joey’s guys had left behind was all of that raw footage. Amy had taken a week to cut together a cool video that really showcased the school. Best of all, the final video wasn’t so character driven anymore. Heck, there wasn’t even any dialogue. Music played over clips showing students happily building their inventions, collaborating, and testing them together. You know… just like how things really were at the academy!
“Next up, we have Tom Swift,” Mr. Edge announced, “assisted by Amy Hsu.”
The audience applauded as Amy and I took the stage. I carried the robot, while Sam and Noah brought up a small table with all the things we’d need to make pancakes.
“Hi, everyone,” I said, trying to keep my nerves in check. “I originally created the glasses that Amy is wearing to help with Noah Newton’s app, which you’ll see in a minute. But then I realized that I could do more with them.”
As I explained how everything worked, Amy had the robot begin making pancakes, just like we’d rehearsed. She measured out the mix, poured in milk, and then stirred it all together with a large whisk. The audience seemed most amazed when she cracked not one but two eggs without a hitch. There were more oohs and ahhs than at a fireworks show.
Amy finished the demonstration by pouring out a circle of pancake batter into a large frying pan. She had worked the robot flawlessly all around. She even made it wave at the audience as they applauded. I was proud of her. She was really pushing past her comfort zone tonight.
I waved a good-bye and as I was removing our equipment from the stage, I caught a glimpse of my father standing in the back. He applauded and then gave me two thumbs up.
Speaking of my dad, the case of the missing hard drive full of blueprints? That was easy. I found out from him that Holly Jensen was fired from his company for trying to steal company secrets. And when the police searched her home, they found the missing hard drive. Apparently, if she couldn’t get secrets from my dad’s high-security company, she was planning to sell invention ideas from the low-security academy next door. If they hadn’t caught her, I might’ve seen my mathematical alarm clock in stores for Christmas!
Ms. Jensen’s friendship with Joey had been real, which didn’t surprise me given their similar lack of morals. But Joey had finally convinced the authorities that he had nothing to do with her corporate espionage. She had simply arranged the reality show as one big distraction.
Joey’s lack of involvement also came as no big surprise, since he never showed interest in anyone’s inventions, anyway. And from the way he explained how reality television worked, I think he could’ve made the exact same show at any school—just like the man said, cutting it together a hundred different ways if he wanted.
“Last up is Noah Newton,” Mr. Edge announced.
I pulled out my phone as Noah took the stage. I noticed that I wasn’t the only one. All the academy students had their phones up, knowing what was coming.
“Uh, hi,” Noah said with a quick wave. “If you haven’t already downloaded my app, this is your last chance.” He pointed to the large television screen beside the stage. “Or you can watch what happens here.”
While some stragglers quickly added the app to their phones, Noah explained what augmented reality was and how his app worked.
Sam gave me a nudge. “Did you download the update?”
“Definitely,” I replied.
Noah had to make some last-minute tweaks before the big presentation. For one thing, he had to change the direction of the beast’s attack, since everyone would now be gathered at the back of the school, instead of by the front. He also had to make it so he could trigger the beast’s arrival. That way, his presentation wouldn’t overlap with anyone else’s.
“Okay, here we go,” Noah said as he tapped the screen on his phone, then pointed it toward the eastern horizon.
Immediately, I felt the familiar footsteps vibrating in my palm. Sam, Amy, and I raised our
