by Felice Arena
Mr Presticott turned his back on the class to find his calculator. Andy leaned towards Reggie. ‘It’s 42,240.65,’ he whispered.
‘What?’ Reggie hissed, baffled.
‘ELEVEN, TEN, NINE …’
‘Quick! Just write it down!’ Andy pressed. ‘42,240.65!’
Reggie quickly wrote out the answer.
‘THREE, TWO, ONE …’
‘GOT IT!’ cried Reggie.
‘WHAT?’ Everyone gasped.
‘HUH?’ choked Mr Presticott. He turned and snatched the answer from Reggie’s hands. A few seconds later he looked up from his calculator, confused. ‘I don’t know how on earth you did it, Hopkins,’ he complained, ‘but it’s correct. No baseball everyone. We’re staying in.’
Hunter and his friends groaned and began calling Reggie names, but Reggie didn’t care. ‘Thanks,’ he whispered to Andy. ‘But how did you …?’
‘Just a guess.’ Andy grinned. ‘You would have got it, too – eventually.’
Andy and his classmates piled on to the bus and Reggie started explaining to Andy what the field trip was about – in great detail as usual.
‘It’s about researching different types of jobs for our Write Like A Reporter project in Mrs Harper’s English class,’ he said excitedly. ‘But Mrs Harper has just left to have a baby, so Miss Taylor has taken over – that’s her up front. She’s new. I think it’s her first year teaching. She’s always kind of nervous. Anyway, today we’re going to interview people who work in a bank, then we have to write all about it as if we’re writing for a news media site. Cool, huh?’
‘Um, yeah, thrilling,’ Andy said, not quite sharing Reggie’s level of excitement. At least we’re not going to the zoo, he thought. One head-to-head encounter with a rampaging gorilla was enough for Andy. Visiting a bank would be super boring, but at least it would be super safe.
‘Hey, Reggie!’ Hunter called out from the last row of the bus. ‘What number do you get when you put two and two together?’
Reggie ignored Hunter and stared out the window.
‘Come on!’ Hunter pressed. ‘You’re the big brain-head who ruined our baseball game. Come on! I bet you can’t work it out.’
Finally, Reggie caved in. ‘It’s four!’ he yelled back. ‘It’s four, all right? Now leave me alone.’
‘Nah, it isn’t.’ Hunter cracked up laughing. ‘It’s twenty-two! Get it? Ha-ha! You loser!’
Hunter’s friends roared laughing.
Miss Taylor did her best to try to settle them down with her very soft voice. But it didn’t help.
Finally, Judd looked like he’d had enough. ‘What would you know, Hunter?’ he said, turning around to look him in the eye. ‘When they were handing out brains, you thought they said beds and asked for a soft one.’
‘You’re gonna pay for that,’ snapped Hunter, standing out of his seat.
‘Really?’ said Judd, raising his hand and reminding Hunter of his killer grip. ‘And next time you’re big-mouthing and picking on Reggie you should really check your breath. It stinks so bad your teeth duck every time you speak.’
This time everyone on the bus laughed.
Hunter looked totally embarrassed and his face turned bright red. He sat back down sheepishly and pretended to joke with his mates.
Andy looked over at Judd, impressed. Maybe he really was as cool as he thought he was. He didn’t seem to care what anyone thought of him – good or bad. Reggie was about to lean over and say thanks when Judd stood up and walked down the bus to where Gabriella Lopez and her friends were sitting.
‘So … it’s Gabriella, right?’ he said.
Gabriella looked up and nodded.
‘I’m the Juddster, but you can call me Judd. Anyway, do you wanna hang out with me sometime? Maybe we could do lunch or catch a movie?’
‘Is he serious? He’s hitting on the most gorgeous girl in the class,’ Andy whispered to Reggie.
‘Maybe he’s actually got a chance,’ said Reggie, looking in disbelief as Judd sat down next to Gabriella.
But Gabriella was shaking her head, ‘Um, well, I don’t think I should,’ she said.
‘Why not?’ asked Judd.
She turned, looking back at Hunter. ‘Because you just made fun of my boyfriend,’ she replied.
‘What?’ said Judd, quickly pretending that he didn’t care. ‘That’s cool, yeah, whatever, totally. Catch ya round then.’
Reggie sighed. ‘Okay, maybe he doesn’t have a chance,’ he said.
‘So this job is incredibly rewarding. I have often found …’
Andy and his class stood listening to Sunlight Credit’s bank manager – a short chubby bald man who didn’t seem to take a breath. He was talking as if he was on autopilot. All his words rolled into one.
Everyone was totally bored – except of course for Reggie, who was busily scribbling everything down word for word in his notebook.
In between some very large yawns, Andy glanced over at Judd, who was looking pretty dejected. Poor dude, he thought. He must really like her. Gabriella’s popular and smart – what’s she doing with a jerk like Hunter?
‘Now if you follow me this way …’ said the bank manager.
Everyone shuffled across the main foyer of the bank towards a woman who was standing opposite the row of bank tellers.
Hunter and his mates were talking loudly over each other about the security guard by the front door. They were arguing about whether his gun was real.
‘I bet it’s totally real, and totally loaded,’ Andy heard Hunter say. ‘It has to be – you know, to totally blow robbers away!’
The security guard glanced over at Hunter and his friends, unimpressed.
‘This is Ms Jenkins,’ said the bank manager. ‘She deals with international money transactions. Actually, it looks as if we have some international customers now … so let’s watch her in action.’
The ‘international customers’ were a couple of elderly German tourists who wanted to exchange some money.
They were a bit embarrassed when they saw all the students staring, and the old man fumbled with his wallet as he opened it. It dropped to the ground – Gabriella picked it up and returned it to him.
‘Ach, ja … Danke schön! Du erinnerst mich an meine Enkelin … Ja, ja, genau so hübsch wie sie!’ he said.
‘Um, sorry?’ said Gabriella. ‘I don’t know what you’re saying. But you’re welcome! I think …’
Before Andy knew what he was doing he blurted out: ‘He thanked you and said you remind him of his granddaughter. He said you’re just as pretty as she is.’
Everyone turned to Andy, stunned. But he was even more shocked than they were.
‘Do you speak German?’ Miss Taylor asked Andy.
‘Um, yeah, I guess I do,’ Andy said, wondering if his parents had forgotten to tell him that they had also installed some kind of translation app.
I probably should’ve switched myself off after Maths, he thought. He had dimmed the lights in his hands that showed he was switched on, but finding out about special powers in front of everyone like this was definitely not a good way to keep a low profile.
‘Can you say, “Thank you for visiting our bank?”’ the bank manager said.
‘Um, okay,’ Andy said, a little reluctantly, not really sure whether he could or not. ‘Danke schön dass Sie unsere Bank besucht haben.’
The German tourists smiled broadly at Andy and said his accent was perfect.
‘Andy, that’s wonderful!’ said Miss Taylor. ‘How did you learn German?’
‘Um, my, um, my grandmother is German,’ Andy lied, thinking quickly.
Suddenly Andy’s dad’s voice echoed loudly in the room – the sound was coming from his left hand. He shoved it in his pocket, but everyone could still hear.
‘Andy! Andy!’ the voice said. ‘We need to talk! Now!’
Talk about rotten timing for a face-to-face chat! he thought. Everyone was staring at him.
‘Um, it’s my mob
ile,’ he said. ‘I must have pressed speaker phone. Sorry!’
Andy had a mini-touch screen just beneath the skin on the palm of his left hand. His dad could use the screen to make video calls.
‘Miss Taylor, can I go to the toilet, please?’ he asked, banging his knees together and overplaying the need to go. ‘Please, please, I’m desperate. I’m busting.’
The class cracked up, but Andy didn’t care. He had to find a quiet place where he could talk to his dad and tell him not to worry.
The bank manager said Andy could use the staff toilets. He handed him a key and pointed him towards a door at the other end of the foyer.
Andy ran and hurriedly locked the door behind him.
‘Dad, I’m sorry I couldn’t talk,’ he said, staring down at his palm. ‘You called me right in the middle of the class field trip. You could’ve blown my cover.’
Andy’s dad’s face looked worried. He pushed back his floppy hair and straightened his glasses. ‘Yes, I thought about that, but you’ve been switched on for a while and it’s the second time today. We agreed you wouldn’t switch on at all,’ he said. ‘Hologram me now!’
Andy tugged at his left pinkie finger three times, and a hologram of his father popped up above the screen.
It's kind of like having a moving, talking action figure in the palm of my hand, Andy thought. That is, if they made action figures of nerdy dads who wore brown corduroy pants and checked shirts.
‘But I didn’t switch myself on,’ he said, trying to avoid a lecture. ‘My teacher, Mr Presticott, hit me on my neck in class earlier today. I just forgot to switch myself off.’
‘He did what?’
‘No, it’s not what you think. I mean it is, sort of … look, I’ve gotta go. My class is waiting for me. Everything’s cool. I’m not doing anything to stand out. Trust me. Everything is normal.’
‘Well, just be careful,’ said his dad.
‘Okay.’ Andy sighed. Since he had become Andy Roid, his parents had paid heaps more attention to him. But it’s all worry and concern, he thought. And that’s no fun at all. Then he remembered he had a question to ask. ‘How many languages do I speak now?’ he said.
‘Aha, so you’ve discovered that little feature, have you?’ Andy’s dad grinned suddenly. ‘That was your mother’s idea. After the accident a part of the left side of your brain, the side that controls communication and language, was damaged – so we basically rebuilt that portion of your temporal lobe with some very nifty enhancement sensor chips. If you’re switched on you excel in languages and mathematical logic. You’re able to speak and understand twenty languages.’
‘Fantastic!’ Andy said. ‘Or should that be fantastico? Or toll? Or … ¡estupendo! Or … ! See ya, Dad!’
As Andy zapped off his dad’s hologram, he heard something from the other side of the door that nearly made his heart stop. Andy was sure it was a gunshot.
A few seconds later there was another shot …
BANG!
It was followed by screams and cries.
‘Please don’t shoot! Please don’t shoot!’
Ever so slowly, Andy inched open the bathroom door, just a crack. His classmates, Miss Taylor, the German tourists, the bank manager and all the employees were lying face-down on the floor with their hands behind their heads. Standing above them all and waving his pistol was the security guard. There were two bullet holes in the ceiling.
‘Whoa!’ Andy whispered under his breath. ‘The security guard’s robbing the bank!’
‘Keep your heads down and don’t move and you won’t get hurt,’ the guard ordered as he locked the front door.
Some of Andy’s classmates were hysterical and Miss Taylor was crying. Andy looked around for Reggie and Judd. Reggie was doing as he was told, staring at the floor. Judd looked strangely calm, even though his eyes were darting all over the place.
So much for a normal outing with my class, he thought. What is it with me and school trips?
He heard police sirens howling in the distance. Andy couldn’t believe it. It was like something from a full-on action blockbuster. But this was no movie. This was the real deal.
Andy knew he could use his powers to make a difference. If he acted fast, no one would get hurt. But he was torn. He couldn’t risk bursting out and revealing his secret identity.
Then an idea came to him.
Since everyone has their heads down, he thought. Maybe I can blow out the security cameras and take this dude down without anyone seeing me. Yep. I gotta go for it!
Andy pointed his forefinger at the camera above the entrance and pressed his right thumb into the screen on his left palm. The top of Andy’s finger tip slipped open to reveal the tiny barrel of his built-in laser gun.
He pressed again.
ZZZZAAAAAAAAPPPPPPP!
A thin red beam shot across the foyer and burst the camera lens.
Andy clenched his fist. ‘YES!’ he whispered. ‘And no one even noticed!’
Without wasting another second, Andy swiftly took out the three other cameras in the lobby.
Right … the cameras are down, he thought. Now I’ll try to take out the security guard’s gun. I’ll have to melt that sucker right out of his hand.
Andy held his breath and took aim, but just as he was about to fire, the security guard turned his back to him and Andy couldn’t get a clear shot at the gun.
Should I shoot the guard in the back? wondered Andy. Or maybe I should wound him in the leg? He shook his head. I can’t do it, he thought. I just can’t do it.
He didn’t want to hurt anyone, no matter how bad they were.
‘YOU!’ the security guard barked, kicking the bank manager to get him to stand up. ‘Tell your staff to pack five sacks of cash. NOW! Any funny business and the nerd gets it!’
Andy looked on in horror as the guard grabbed Reggie from the floor. He pointed the gun directly at his neck, but Reggie wasn’t doing as he was told now. He was twisting around in a panic, trying to get away from the guard.
Miss Taylor begged him to leave Reggie alone, but the guard just shouted at her. It was chaos.
Andy looked at Judd, wondering how he would react. He had stretched out his hands, as if he was about to jump to his feet.
Behind Judd, sitting next to Gabriella, Hunter had started to sob. ‘Please don’t hurt me,’ he cried. ‘Not me, I’m too young to die!’
So much for being a tough guy, thought Andy.
‘Shut up!’ the guard roared. ‘Or I will shoot someone for real.’
Through the slightly open door, Andy looked at Reggie’s frightened face – he remembered what it was like to have someone point a gun at him. He knew it was now too risky to shoot at the guard’s gun. He couldn’t risk hitting Reggie – especially because of the way he was thrashing about.
‘Stop moving!’ the guard shouted suddenly. For a second he moved the gun away from Reggie’s neck to get a better grip, but Reggie freaked out. He pulled away from the guard, who dropped the gun.
Reggie broke free and ran in Andy’s direction.
‘AWWW!! YOU LITTLE …’ the guard shouted.
‘Good one, Reggie!’ Andy whispered. For a moment he had a clear shot at the gun, but just as he took aim Gabriella looked up, in his direction.
Andy quickly pulled his hand back behind the door. And in that second, the guard reached down for his gun and aimed it directly at Reggie.
‘Nooooooooooo!’ Andy cried. Without thinking, he threw open the door and charged out across the foyer just as the guard pulled the trigger.
BAAAAANNNNNGGGGG!!!
For a horrifying moment, Andy felt as if everything had gone into extreme slow-motion, even though it was all happening within a hundredth of a second.
The chilling crack of the pistol shot, followed by his classmates’ screams echoed into one long, loud drone – as if his head had been shoved underwater.
Then Andy could hear his heart thumping out of control as the bullet whizzed through the air
.
Andy crashed into Reggie just as the bullet tore into his leg. Andy and Reggie hit the ground with a thud.
Andy felt a weird sensation shooting up and down his right leg. It was a sharp painful sting – as if he’d touched an electric fence.
Lifting his head he saw a hole in his upper right thigh. To his horror, he realised that his skin had been completely ripped apart, but there was no blood. Instead, black, vein-like wires were sticking out of the torn material of his trousers.
‘Whoa!’ He gulped. He quickly pulled his shirt down over it, trying desperately to cover it up.
Still in shock, he helped Reggie to sit up. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked.
Reggie nodded, so terrified he could hardly speak. ‘L-look!’ he stuttered. ‘The guard …’
Andy looked back over his shoulder. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The guard was sprawled on the floor completely out cold – and Judd was sitting on top of him!
‘Did you see that?’ Hunter exclaimed, one of the first to jump up. ‘Judd karate-chopped the guard from behind. He knocked him right out. That’s what I was so going to do!’
‘Is anyone hurt?’ cried Miss Taylor, running over to Andy and Reggie. ‘Are you two okay?’
‘Yeah. I think so.’ Andy nodded. He suddenly worried about how much Miss Taylor had seen, but to his relief she didn't seem to know he'd been hit.
Electrical zaps were still shooting painfully up and down his leg. At least I can stand up, Andy thought. At least I’m not bleeding. Then he had a weird thought – do I even have blood anymore? Either way, he was pretty sure the bullet was lodged in his leg somewhere. He shuddered.
‘Andy, I … I …’ stammered Reggie. ‘I can’t believe you pushed me out of the way of a bullet. You could have been killed. I’ll never forget this.’
‘It was nothing. Anyone would’ve done the same thing for a friend,’ said Andy.
‘I’m your friend?’ said Reggie. ‘Seriously? For real?’
‘Yeah, I s’pose you are,’ Andy replied, realising it was true just as he said it. ‘I’m glad you’re okay.’
‘Thanks, Andy.’ Reggie grinned.
‘It’s just lucky he was such a bad shot,’ said Miss Taylor. She sighed. ‘At least you'll have something interesting to write about in your assignments.’
