1.1 HALLWAY B
"Oh, big whoop, Maxine," said Krysti. "Another robot."
Max made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a growl.
First of all, Max didn't like being called Maxine, and Krysti knew it.
Second of all, Max hated the new trend of using fifty-year-old slang like "big whoop" and "awesome, bro," and Krysti knew it.
And most of all, Max loved robots, and Krysti knew that, too. So Krysti was pretending she wasn't interested in the biggest news of all time: Today was the day that the Robot Integration Program started. There had been a lot of hype about it and even some news coverage. Their school, Vanguard Middle, was getting the first-ever robot student. Anywhere. Ever. It was a big whoop, at least in Max's opinion.
Now Max was walking the halls before school started, hoping to see the robot in action. Unfortunately, Krysti was not just slowing Max down but also driving her crazy.
"Seriously," continued Krysti, "this school is already mega overrun with robots. Janitors, lunch ladies, librarians—all robots!"
"Krysti," said Max, "it is not just another robot. This is an artificially intelligent, fully—"
"If it's already so smart, then why is it going to school?" asked Jack Biggs, who had come up behind them.
This time Max definitely growled. It was bad enough listening to Krysti, who was supposedly her best friend, but Biggs was basically her best enemy. He always tried to hang around them, but then constantly picked on them—especially Max. It was maddening.
"Yeah," said Krysti, who tolerated Biggs much better than Max did. "It's supposed to be this big-deal super-smart robot and it has to take seventh-grade math?"
"Well, even geniuses like myself have to take seventh-grade math at some point," said Biggs.
"Hey, where are you guys going?" said Jack's sidekick, Simeon, as he approached them.
"Oh, Maxine is totally on the hunt for that robot," said Krysti. She gave the back of Max's head an affectionate tap with her ever-present sketchbook.
"Yeah, it's her best chance of getting a boyfriend," said Biggs.
Why me? thought Max. Why do the three weirdest kids in the whole school always hang around me?
But deep down, Max had to admit she felt closer to these three than to anybody else at the school. And she realized that she herself might very well be the fourth weirdest.
Then she saw a commotion up ahead. The robot must be up there.
She moved faster.
She didn't want the others to ruin this moment, and she wasn't going to let a gaggle of onlookers get in her way. Sure, everyone wanted to see the robot, but she wanted to see it more, so she zigged and zagged through the swarm of kids to get a look …
And then, there it was!
The robot!
Walking right toward her.
It looked absolutely ridiculous. It was only a little taller than Simeon—who was the shortest kid at Vanguard—and was dressed in boys' clothes at least five years out of style, and was wearing a dark wig.
And its face was … kind of creepy. The features were all there, but different. The bright blue eyes never blinked, the eyebrows looked as though they were painted on, the mouth was a closed straight line, and the nose was formed by straight planes that made its tip look pointed.
A lot of people were laughing at it, but Max thought, That's just the way they dressed it. It can't help what it looks like. The important thing is that this is one of the most advanced robots on the planet, and it's right here where I can—
And then it fell over.
Max actually had to jump back so it didn't land on her foot.
KLOMP! It must weigh a ton, she realized. It would have crushed her toes!
And then it just lay there. Frozen. Completely still. Bricked.
"Nice work," said Biggs, catching up from behind. "You already broke it, Max."
