Grow Up

“Grow up.” They all said. Their hurtful words stabbed me like a knife.

“You need to grow up, Kiera.”

“Your ideas aren’t good enough.”

“Be better at what you do.”

These statements were all that I got every day at school.

I was enrolled in one of the top schools for inventors, the Invention Academy. And, if I’m being honest, I was kinda the nerd that everybody always hated. Until one day, I triumphed.

“Hey, Ben.” I said as I closed my locker door, “How was your weekend?”

“It was pretty good. I came up with a new idea for our invention that we’ve been working on for only 2 weeks!”

“Okay, okay. I get it. You want to turn it in. But, we need to make sure it's perfect!” I exclaimed, leaning my side against my locker. A couple of students who were walking by heard me and gave me the, “Eww” look. I smiled at them and returned to my conversation with Ben. Then, he took out the notebook he had since he was 6. He then flipped through the pages with disastrous inventions. He got to a new page and said, “So…I figured out how to make the engine work.” He took his pencil and drew an engine on his paper. “Instead of 400 horsepower,-.” He said as I cut him off. 

“We need 800 horsepower!” I said as I had a lightbulb moment. “Right!” 

“That’ll do it,” Ben said, as he shut his little notebook. 

Then, Ruby came by. 

“Hey, Loser.” She said, “How’s your stupid invention going?” 

“Better than yours.” I mumbled, under my breath, “If you even have one.”

“What did you say, Kiera?” 

“Nothing.”

“Good.” Ruby snapped. All of a sudden, she grabbed Ben’s notebook and started flipping through the papers, until she got to our new invention. 

“Grow Up.” She said, “This will never work.” 

Those words stung. 

“Go away, Ruby.” I said as I snatched Ben’s notebook back from her. “Leave us alone.” 

“Fine by me. I didn’t want to stay here with you losers.” She said as she walked away. 

Before Ben could say anything, I burst into tears. 

“W-what i-if she’s-she’s right?” I stuttered. 

“She’s just wanting to get under your skin. She picks on you because she’s jealous. Her project could never be as good as ours. Even in her dreams.” Ben said as he gave me a tight squeeze. 

“Okay,” I said, wiping away my tears away with my sleeve. “Are we still on for after school today?” I asked him. 

“Yes. Is my house good? My mom is making banana bread, and I want some before anyone else. You know?” He said. 

“No. I don’t. I don’t live in a house with 7 people.” I chuckled. 

“Good point.” Ben stated, as he threw his backpack over his shoulder, and started walking. 

“Wait up!” I hollered as I ran towards him. 

We walked until we reached Mrs. Dowsley’s classroom. We sat down. 

“Now that everyone is here, I have an announcement.” She said as she sat down in her chair. “The exams are coming up, and we have decided to move the test dates to May 4th instead of May 31st. Which means-your inventions for this year will be presented tomorrow.”

The class went silent. While I was secretly cheering in my head, Ruby was not. Ruby’s face was pale, and her eyes; wide with fear. 

“This timing is inconvenient, I know, but you will manage. Because of this news, the rest of the period may be used to finish your inventions. Good luck students!”

As soon as Mrs. Dowsley finished her sentence, I ran up to Ben. 

“Ben! I have the best idea!” I hollered. 

“What is it, Kiera?”

“When the thing pops out of the front, there needs to be a golden ring around it!”

“YES!” Ben said, and from then on we started brainstorming these great ideas. 

School went by like a breeze since most periods were free periods to work on the inventions. 

Soon enough, it was 2:50, and time to go work even more on our invention. I walked to the lockers to wait for Ben when I overheard Ruby talking to her friends. “I haven’t even started, and I have to present tomorrow! I’ll just call in sick. Or-.” But, my listening was interrupted by Ben. 

“Are you sticking your nose into something that doesn’t involve you?” He asked.

“Uhm, No,” I said, as I forced a smile.  

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Ben said as he started walking towards the line of cars. “You coming?” He asked.

“Yup!” I said, running to him. 

It took us 14 long minutes to reach his home. After hours of intense waiting, we finally made it to his house. I ran up to his door, entered the house, and headed straight towards his backyard. 

“Wait up!” Ben choked as he ran fast. 

I sprinted to the table outside where we were making our invention. Our plan was to make an invention that would change the world. It is called the change-the-world-in-a-tor. 

First, to get it started, you need to press the power button. 

Second, the box of metal then tells you, “The thing that will change the world is…” Last, I can’t tell you. You will understand later. 

Ben pressed the big red button, and the machine came to life. With a few cranks and more batteries, this invention was perfect. 

“This should do it,” I said as I set the screwdriver aside. With the tap of a button, the machine was up and running and ready for tomorrow. 

The day went by fast, a lot of studying and preparing for our speech. The next thing we knew, we were already in 5th period. 

“Okay, class.” Mrs. Dowsley said, “First on the list is Ruby.” 

“Actually, it’s alright. I think other people might want to go first.” Ruby said, her eyes scanning the classroom for any sign of a raised hand. And yet, there was none.

Ruby slowly got up and ambled to the front of the classroom. From inside of her backpack, she took out a simple hairbrush. 

“So, this is my invention,” Ruby announced. “It’s called the mirror brush.” Ruby turned the brush around, and there was a poorly taped mirror on the backside of the brush. “When you are brushing your hair and you don’t have a mirror, this brush has got you.” Ruby said, slipping the brush back into her bag. And then she stood there, waiting for applause. 

“Can I get a round of applause for Ruby?” Mrs. Dowsley said after a short while. The class clapped. 

“Okay, next on the list I have, Kiera and Ben?” My hands were sweaty, and I could tell by the look on Ben’s face he was nervous too. I got up and walked confidently to the front of the classroom, and carried the big machine too. Before I started talking, I saw Ruby in the corner with tear-stained cheeks.

I took a deep breath and began our speech. 

“This is the change-the-world-in-a-tor.” I said. 

“I know this may seem like a big chunk of metal, but it's not. This is the key to ending world hunger, poverty, and so much more.” Ben added. 

“With this being said, we will show you how it works.” I announced, pressing my finger on the big red button. 

“Please don’t blow up, please don’t blow up, please.” I thought to myself. 

The machine turned on, and the class was silent. 

“Can I have a volunteer?” Ben asked. The entire class raised their hands, except for Ruby. This was the perfect opportunity. 

“Uh…Ruby.” I said. 

All of a sudden, Ben gave me the, “What are you doing?!” look. 

Shocked, Ruby got up out of her seat and stood up in the front of the class. 

“The thing that will change the world is…” The machine said.

“Stand right here.” Ben said, moving Ruby to where she was supposed to stand. 

A big mirror popped out of the top of the machine. 

“What?” Ruby stuttered. 

“You will change the world.” 

A small tear streamed down Ruby’s face and this time I knew it was a good one.