BALLOON MESSAGES

We meet the boys in a living room outside Appelonia Dining Hall. Ander is sprawled on a couch, and Jax is sitting up straight in a chair. Gregor, our other preceptor, stands stiff beside the fireplace. When he sees us approaching, he reaches out his hand.

“Hello, ladies, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Gregor Axel, and I will be helping Seraphina prepare your team for the competition.”

Seraphina grins. “Gregor, I present to you the girls from our New York team: Miss Marianna Barillion, Miss Kia Krumpet, and Miss Jillian Vervain.”

“It’s Mare. Not Marianna.” Mare whispers urgently.

Seraphina corrects herself with a smile. “Excuse me. Mare Barillion.”

Gregor bows while we stand there awkwardly. I try hard to think of something to say, something that will make me sound smarter than everyone else on my team, but I just stand there quietly. Gregor doesn’t seem to mind the silence, though. He doesn’t even change his expression. He seems kind of weird, like he just stepped out of a museum case or something.

We make our way into the dining hall, a colorful room filled with banners that say: dream, create, explore, and imagine. My favorite kinds of words! The round tables each hold a sign shaped like a ball. We find the New York table and sit down together. I pick a seat next to Ander, and Seraphina sits next to me. I scan the rest of the room packed with teams from every state and bite my thumb nail. There are so many kids here and all of them must be really smart, maybe smarter than me. They probably have cool ideas too, like the floating sparkles and robotic monkey assistants. Maybe one of them has already thought of how to build an underwater bubble bike. Maybe they have the same idea I have to make flying suits for treetop scavenger hunts.

Ander leans over and whispers, “What’s with Seraphina? Did she eat too much grape juice for breakfast?”

I wrinkle my forehead. “What do you mean?”

“Her nail polish and lip stuff—all purple.”

I smile. “I love her nail polish.”

“Maybe we can borrow some to solve our task. You know, mix some with rusty metal to make recycled paint.”

“Ha! Finally, someone is thinking about this competition.”

We talk until a million bells ring out, drowning every other sound in the dining hall. Master Freeman and Andora Appelonia stand up like soldiers at the head table; five grown-ups flank them on either side, wearing jumpsuits. They look like they’re going to leap out of an airplane.

The bells fade away and Master Freeman bellows, “Welcome, State Champions, to Camp Piedmont on this prestigious campus of Piedmont University. You have accomplished a great deal to earn your place here. I commend your efforts and applaud your achievement!” Balloons drop from the ceiling. One lands perfectly in each of our laps. Mine is yellow. I touch it and it pops, just like everyone else’s. It’s a symphony of pop, pop, popping. The balloon pieces float away and somehow drift behind a curtain near the head table—as if on cue, a breeze got rid of the mess. I look down in my lap and see a message written on a slip of paper.

Don’t be afraid of change.
Have the courage to believe in what you can achieve.

I look at my teammates to see if they’ve gotten messages too. Before I can ask, Master Freeman bellows again, “You’ve each been given a message that’s for you and you alone. Do not share what it says with anyone. It was chosen for you especially based on your psychological evaluations and is for you to study and understand. When the right time comes, you will know how to use it.”

That’s strange.

I memorize my message and tuck the paper into my pocket.

“All two-hundred and fifty of you have proven your ability to think through problems in many areas, to think creatively, and to think spontaneously. Now, you must do the same with four teammates. You see, it takes great talent to work with other people, and in this competition, those who form the strongest unions with their teammates will achieve the best results.”

I knew it! We do have to spend time bonding as a team.

“Later tonight, you will learn what task you’ll be challenged with in this competition, but first, we celebrate with a feast chosen especially for you by Andora. Tonight, we also remember her late husband, Lexland Appelonia, the Founding Father of the Piedmont Organization. He saw the value of creative thinking, teamwork, and children. And so with that, I urge you to nourish your body, which will, in turn, nourish your mind and creative energy.”

The ball at the center of our table starts spinning, slow at first and then practically at warp speed. I feel dizzy watching it. When it stops, it breaks apart like flower petals into seven sections. Each one holds a different type of food. The flower slowly rotates, and as it does, each petal slides the food onto our plates! I wonder if this gadget is something a past team invented for the finals too.

While we eat our feast, Gregor and Seraphina ask us questions. Seraphina turns to Jax. “So, Jax, how was your aero-bus ride this morning?”

He gets red in the face. “It was good.”

“I’m familiar with the bus you rode in. I hope it was more than good.”

Jax looks at his spoon. “Oh, it was. I checked out the engine and the jet propulsion system at all the scheduled stops. I was amazed to see the bus lift off the ground like our scooters back home. The driver showed me how it can switch from driving on the ground on regular roads to driving above it on the expressways. At first, I couldn’t see how the system could change like that with just a flip of a switch, but the more I saw, the more I realized that the system is really simple. I can’t wait to use something like that for the competition—if we need to use motion to solve our task.”

That’s the most I’ve heard Jax say all day.

Gregor leans forward on his elbow. “Yes, of course, it is very simple. I have many more tricks to teach you in that area should you be inclined to hear them.”

“I’m inclined. I mean, yes, I’d really like to learn whatever you can teach me.”

Mare laughs at Jax, but this time I don’t give her a dirty look. I feel like laughing too, but then I see the expression on his face, and I feel bad. I’m glad I held it in.

Seraphina smiles. “You’re right, Jax. Your task may require knowledge of mechanics and that certainly will help. When I was in this competition, my team used the concept of motion to create our solution.”

“How long ago was that?” I ask.

“I was here six years ago when I was in sixth grade.”

I put down my fork. “Are you eighteen?”

“Seventeen.”

“How did you become a preceptor?”

“If you are able to achieve the status of Threeble, you have the choice of positions here at Camp Piedmont. I chose preceptor.”

“What’s a Threeble?” Jillian asks.

A Threeble is a person who has studied at the Piedmont Inventors Prep School for two years and then has trained at a Camp Piedmont job for three years after that. Only the brightest students receive jobs.”

I feel like a sponge as I listen to her talk, soaking up everything she says. She must be really smart.

“What was your camp job?” asks Mare.

“Oh, I had three different ones. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about me another time though. For now I have more questions for each of you.”

“But what were the other choices,” asks Ander.

“What do you mean?”

“Instead of being a preceptor, what were the other choices?”

“That’s privileged information. You only learn that if you become a Threeble.”

Ander laughs. “If? I’ll become a Threeble for sure, so why don’t you save me some time and tell me right now?”

Seraphina laughs. “Nice try. Why don’t you do your best to become a Threeble. That way I won’t waste my time if you don’t.”

Ander jumps out of his chair. “Oh, that sounds like a challenge to me!”

Gregor pulls Ander back into his seat. “You must sit down. We have rules to follow during dinner.”

Ander looks over at the head table and slinks back into his chair.

Jillian yawns. “What state are you both from?”

“Why, New York State of course!” Seraphina replies. “You can only be a preceptor for your own state.”

The lights dim and the bells return. In a flash, the centerpiece petals reach out, scoop up our dishes, and they disappear into the spinning food flower. Almost just as fast, Master Freeman opens his arms and a large screen rolls down behind him. “State Champions, I now present the official task of the Piedmont National Finals!”

At his announcement, the butterflies in my stomach wake up. Andora opens a scroll, and a hundred circles dance on the screen behind her as her voice crackles into the microphone. “This year, each of our fifty state teams is challenged to find a solution to the following task:

Our home, the Earth, is shaped like a circle.

Your task is to create an object that transforms three times into something else, and then transforms back to its original position . . . creating a circle effect. The object you create must answer a question that is universally asked, but has not yet been answered by mankind. Your solution must include elements from each of the six academic categories and 1 original language. Your presentation to the judges may not exceed twelve minutes.

What? I shove my thumb nail into my mouth. We have to use strategies from all six categories? This task is not fair—it’s impossible! I rattle off each category in my head: Art Forms, Communication, Earth and Space, Human History, Math, and New Technology. How are we going to use all six? My brain feels like it’s going to explode right here at the New York table.

“Crap, this task is hard!” says Ander.

“What’s a universally asked question?” asks Jillian.

“And how do we make an object transform?” asks Mare. “What does that mean?”

We look to Gregor and Seraphina. Gregor’s face looks concerned. Seraphina’s face breaks into a smile. “What? Are you guys worried? This task looks fun!”

“Fun?” I say. “We have to use skills from all six categories to solve it!”

“Exactly,” she says. “That’s what makes it fun.”

After the five of us mope through dessert, Seraphina hustles us out of the dining hall. “Enough of the pouty faces. Let’s go see Ander and Jax’s room. Gregor, lead the way.”

I tell myself to forget about our task, but I’m not so sure I can. At least Ander’s non-stop talking as we pass by all the golden doors distracts me. Eventually, we end up on the boys’ floor, and Jax opens their door just before Ander barges through.

“Okay girls, wait until you see this!” He points to a giant board on the back wall. Streaks of color arrange themselves in different positions with each step he takes. “Come in, but then don’t move, got it?”

We enter the room, take a few steps, and then freeze. The streaks on the wall change colors and find another spot. “Now, watch this.” He doesn’t move, but the sound of his voice causes the streaks to move to a new spot.

I squint at the wall. “What are those?”

Jillian reaches out and touches a blue streak. “They don’t feel like anything.”

“They’re sound beams,” says Jax. “They display the sounds made in the room.”

“Why?” asks Mare.

“It’s a way for people who can’t hear to know what’s going on around them.”

“How does it work?” I ask.

Gregor explains, “Many non-hearing people can detect vibrations and beats. The sound beams are harnessed using a computer and laser images. The computer program was designed by a team from California. They found a way to make these beams interpret those sounds and turn them into visual messages.”

Mare grins. “So if a person couldn’t hear at all, they could watch this wall and know if their favorite song is playing.”

“Yes,” Gregor replies, “but only if the person knows the language of the sound beams.”

Ander stands up on the desk chair. “This could change how deaf people communicate with hearing people!”

“Yes, it probably will,” agrees Seraphina.

Jillian shakes her head. “That’s amazing.”

Ander jumps off the chair. “Wait until you see our bunk beds.”

I pick at my nail polish. I bet it’s going to be another amazing invention.

We follow him through an archway just like the one in our room. The bunk beds look normal to me. Ander stands before us like he’s about to give a speech.

“Now, the girls may think these beds look like any they’ve seen before, right Jax?”

“Right.”

“But they would be wrong, wouldn’t they?”

“Yes. They’d be wrong.”

“So, girls, you are about to see how unique they are. We’ll demonstrate.”

Ander sits down on the bottom bunk and Jax climbs up to the top.

“Let’s say that I usually sleep down here and Jax usually sleeps up there. One night, I may say to Jax, ‘It’s not fair that you always get the top bunk. I want a turn.’”

Jax sits up straight. “Then I would say, ‘I don’t feel like moving my blankets.’”

“Okay, no problem,” says Ander. “Let’s take the beds for a spin . . .”

Ander pushes a button on the bedpost. The bottom bunk moves out on rails to the right side and the top bunk moves out to the left. Then the bottom bunk slides up to the top spot and the top bunk slides down to the bottom spot.

Ander shouts. “The beds can switch spots!”

“That’s so cool!” I exclaim. “Can I try?”

“Me first!” squeals Mare.

Before the boys can protest, Mare and Jillian have pulled Ander off the top bunk and climbed into his spot. Jax looks at me and slowly stands up. I sit down and Ander pushes the button. My feet leave the ground and dangle below me as the beds switch spots again.

Mare laughs, of course. “What team came up with this idea?”

“The Ohio team—four years ago,” Seraphina replies.

Ander grins. “This place is awe-some!”

I can’t believe the stuff we’ve seen today. How will we ever think up something amazing like switching bunk beds and robotic monkeys? I mangle my thumb nail again.

“Pardon me, ladies,” says Gregor, “but it is nearly time for evening announcements, and we must all be secured in our own bedchambers.”

“Right,” says Seraphina. “We have a big first day tomorrow.”

We make plans to meet Ander and Jax in the morning, and when Mare, Jillian, and I get back to our bedchamber, Seraphina reminds us that Swissa will be here to wake us at seven o’clock. I wait for my turn in the bathroom but suddenly all I can think about is sleep. I’m too tired to worry about our solution or to even miss my mom, but I send her a good night message anyway. She sends one back and I promise to call her in the morning.

I wash up as quickly as I can in the purple bathroom, then slip into the star bed full of pillows. My mind jumps around thinking of this fancy bedchamber and the fancy campus and the fancy bus ride that only began this morning. If I can just stay awake until the evening announcements. But just like that, I fall asleep dreaming of Grandma Kitty. I have so many things to tell her about, like blueberry milkshakes, floating sparkles, balloon messages, switching bunk beds . . .