by Nancy Krulik
Then he started barking like a dog. “Ruff. Ruff. Woof. W—”
Java stopped mid woof. He stood there staring into space.
Phew. I was glad that was over.
“Cows can go up stairs, but they can’t come down again,” Java blurted out suddenly. “Moo, Moo!”
But it wasn’t over. Why was my cousin acting so weird?
A group of kids gathered around. They stared at him.
“A blue whale’s head is so big that fifty football players could stand on its tongue.” Java started talking faster and faster. “Hairy spiders make milk. Cats cannot taste sweets. The longest toenail is …”
Suddenly, smoke blasted out of Java’s ears, nose, and mouth. Steam exploded from his rear end.
Something was really, really wrong.
9.
What’s the Buzz?
“MOM!” I shouted. “HELP!”
My mom came running over.
“Look at him,” I said, pointing to Java. “He’s exploding!”
Blasts of green, yellow, and red lights were shooting out from Java’s eyes. They looked like stoplights.
“Do something, Mom! People are staring.”
“There’s a lot of metal inside Java,” she said. “Nadine’s magnet must be moving it around. We have to get him into a quiet room where I can rewire him.”
“I’ll get him!” I shouted.
I ran over and grabbed my android cousin by the arm. I tried to drag him from the gym.
But Java was too strong to be dragged by a human boy. He yanked himself free and started spinning around on his head.
What was I going to do now?
I looked at the giant magnet in Nadine’s hand and … suddenly I had a fantastic idea!
I grabbed the second magnet from Nadine and Cayla’s project. Hopefully, my magnet would pull Java right toward me. Then I could drag him away from everybody else.
I held up the magnet. Java started moving in my direction.
“I can do it! I can do it! I can do it!” Java shouted over and over.
Uh-oh. There was no telling what could happen when Java said that. I had to get him out of there.
“I thought you wanted to try my project!” Nadine said to Java. She held up her magnet and tried to hand it to him.
Java started being pulled toward Nadine.
I couldn’t let that happen.
I held my magnet closer to Java. He moved toward me again.
Nadine moved her magnet closer to Java. He pulled toward her.
Now, it was tug-of-war. And I couldn’t let Nadine win. I moved my magnet even closer.
Java slid between the magnets. Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Back and …
CRASH!
Java tripped over his shoelace and slammed into the Silverspoons!
The twins fell right into their beehive. It smashed on the floor.
Everyone turned and stared.
A honeybee flew out of the hive and started to circle around the gym.
Another bee followed him.
And another.
Then suddenly …
Buzzzzzzzzzzz.
It seemed like about a billion bees broke out of the hive! They started buzzing around the gym.
AAAAHHHHH!
Everyone was screaming! People stampeded out of the room. They couldn’t get away from the angry insects fast enough.
Kaboom!
Suddenly, Principal Kumquat knocked over a volcano. Ooey-gooey lava erupted and spilled all over the floor.
Whoosh!
Teachers, students, and parents all started slipping and sliding through the gooey gunk as they raced toward the door.
Crash!
Smash!
Everyone looked like human bumper cars as they hurried to get out of the way of the zooming army of Silverspoon bees!
The twins were running around and around in circles. Jerry was holding the hive. Sherry was trying to catch bees in a glass jar.
Slam!
Jerry smacked right into Sherry. Sticky, yellow honey dripped from the hive. The twins stuck together like glued paper!
Now, that was funny!
Ha-ha-ha … “Ouch!” I cried as one of the bees stung me right in the butt. Boy, did that hurt.
I looked over at my robot cousin. Bees were zooming at him from all sides. But he wasn’t crying. He wasn’t even hurt.
Bee stings can’t do anything to robots.
It’s magnets that mess them up.
10.
Time’s Up!
“That might have been the strangest science fair we’ve ever had,” Stanley said as we stood outside school the next morning.
“You’re telling me,” I agreed. “These bee stings on my butt hurt! I don’t think I’ll be able to sit down for a week.”
“The judges didn’t even get a chance to give prizes for the best projects,” Stanley said.
“At least the Silverspoon twins didn’t win,” I said. “That’s something.”
I looked over by the flagpole. Java was standing there all by himself. I felt bad for him. But I didn’t want to be around him right then, either.
He wasn’t alone for long. The Silverspoon twins were stomping over to him.
“You ruined our project!” Sherry shouted.
“And the whole science fair,” Jerry added.
“You freak,” the twins said at the same time.
That did it!
I hurried over to the flagpole to rescue my cousin from the evil twins.
“Who are you calling a freak?” I asked.
“You and your weirdo cousin, Java,” Sherry said.
“You can’t talk that way to my family!” I shouted.
Then I stopped. I couldn’t believe I was calling a bucket of bolts “my family.” But that’s what it felt like.
The twins glared at Java and me.
“You’re going to be sorry you kept us from winning,” Sherry said.
“You’d better watch out,” Jerry added. “No one messes with the Silverspoon twins!”
They rolled their eyes and walked away.
A moment later, Nadine came over. “Java, you were hilarious yesterday!” She giggled. “Where did you get all those weird facts?”
“The facts are in my hard drive …” Java began.
Ha-ha-ha. I laughed over him, loudly. “That’s my cousin. He’s always full of weird facts.” I smiled at Nadine. “So, did you get any bad bee stings yesterday?”
“Not as many as Java got, I’m sure,” Nadine said. She smiled at him. “I couldn’t believe how brave you were with those bees. You didn’t even cry when they stung you, like everyone else did. It’s like you’re part machine.”
Gulp.
“Well, another science fair has come and gone,” I said, changing the subject quickly. “It went so fast. Time really flies.”
Java looked at me and smiled. “I can do it!” he exclaimed as he grabbed my wrist and yanked off my brand-new glow-in-the-dark digital watch.
He threw it way up in the air, higher than the flagpole.
Kablam!
Crack!
My watch plopped down from the sky and crashed right onto a rock.
“You are incorrect, Logan,” Java said. “Time does not fly.”
Nadine burst out laughing. But I didn’t think it was so funny.
Brrringgg. The bell rang. It was time to go to class. It was being held on the playground, since the school was still infested with bees.
As I walked toward the slide, I glanced at my cousin. He sure had made things different around here for me. But some things hadn’t changed at all.
Stanley was still my best friend.
The Silverspoon twins were still bullies.
Nadine still had no idea that I liked her.
And, luckily, none of them had figured out why Java always acted so strangely. His secret was safe.
For now, anyway.
You can make
Logan and Stanley’s
Supersonic Spud Machine!
Turn the page to see how …
Here’s what you will need:
1 adult to help you make your Supersonic Spud Machine
2 medium-sized raw potatoes
2 pennies
2 zinc (galvanized) nails
3 insulated wires each cut to measure 6 to 9 inches long. Ask your adult to strip off two inches of the insulation from one end of each wire.
1 hammer
1 low-current LED clock
Adult
Nails
Potatoes
Wires
Hammer
Clock
Pennies
Here’s what you do:
Place the two potatoes on a flat surface.
Wrap the end of one piece of wire around one of the nails.
Wrap the end of another piece of wire around one of the pennies.
Gently hammer the nail and the penny into the first potato. Be careful to make sure that they do not touch each other. (You might want your adult to help with this, too.)
Wrap a third piece of wire around the second penny and gently hammer it into the second potato.
Gently hammer the other nail into the second potato. Make sure this nail does not have any wire wrapped around it.
Connect the wire from the penny on the first potato to the nail that is stuck into the second potato. (The nail with no wire wrapped around it.)
Touch the free ends of the wires in the potatoes to the plus and minus terminals in the battery compartment on the back of your clock.
You may have to try connecting the wires to the clock a few different ways, until you get the energy to flow from the potato battery to the clock. But before you know it, your clock will be telling time!
About the Authors
Nancy Krulik is the author of more than two hundred books for children and young adults including three New York Times bestsellers and the popular Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo; George Brown, Class Clown; and Magic Bone series. She lives in New York City with her husband and crazy beagle mix. Vist her online at www.realnancykrulik.com
Amanda Burwasser holds a BFA with honors in creative writing from Pratt Institute in New York City. Her senior thesis earned her the coveted Pratt Circle Award. A preschool teacher, she resides in Santa Rosa, California.
About the Illustrator
Mike Moran is a dad, husband, and illustrator. His illustrations can be seen in children’s books, animation, magazines, games, World Series programs, and more. He lives in Florham Park, New Jersey. Visit him online at www.mikemoran.net
