“Are we too late?” asked Sam, running up to Bella. Maddie, Emily, and Bella’s parents followed seconds later.
“Nope,” said Bella. “Check it out.”
She borrowed the phone controller from Jenna and put the robot into action. Once again, it performed perfectly.
“That is so cool!” said Emily.
Bella smiled. Now this was a dream machine.
A crowd was gathering around the judging stand. The judges had posted the results!
Naomi ran over, and Bella and the rest of the team waited with bated breath.
When Naomi ran back, Bella burst out, “So? How did we do?!”
Naomi smiled. “Our team won the silver cup—we got second place overall!”
The Mason Creek Robotics Team jumped up and down and cheered.
Then Naomi turned to Bella. “Bella, I’m sorry for the way I treated you when you first joined the team.”
“So am I,” added Bryce. “We should have given you more of a chance from the start. After all, if it hadn’t been for you, we would have finished in last place—not second!”
“Thanks, guys. Although I wish we had come in first,” Bella admitted.
Naomi laughed. “Well, we came in fifth last year, so this is a big win for us! And next year maybe we will come in first. You’re staying on the team, right?”