EN2Story preview
Tomorrow's Missing Robots
On a rainy Monday, Kai reached the school door before Zoe and placed both hands on the shiny handle. The moment they pushed, the bell rang backward, the hallway stretched like chewing gum, and the two friends tumbled through a whirl of chalk dust and glitter.
They landed on the same welcome mat, but everything was different. The lockers floated a few inches above the floor, the windows showed tiny flying buses, and the halls were so quiet that Kai could hear his own shoelaces squeak.
‘This is definitely our school,’ Zoe whispered, pointing at the trophy case. ‘But unless the chess club won a cup for time travel, I think we are many years in the future.’
Kai’s eyes shone when he saw a wall covered with glowing buttons. ‘Maybe one makes pizza,’ he said, reaching out. Zoe grinned and pulled his sleeve. ‘Or maybe one turns your eyebrows into homework.’
Before Kai could test that terrible possibility, something trembled behind the trophy case. A tiny robot rolled out, its blue eyes blinking like frightened stars. ‘I am Pip-7, hallway guide,’ it squeaked. ‘All the friendly robots have vanished into the charging room, and I cannot unlock it alone.’
Kai forgot the buttons. Zoe crouched beside Pip-7 and spoke softly, the way she talked to nervous puppies. ‘We’ll help. But first, tell us what happened.’
Just then, a silver cleaning cart burst around the corner, brushes spinning and mop strings flapping like monster hair. It was not alive, but it was fast, and it chased the three of them down the silent hall with a horrible squeak-squeak-squeak.
Kai wanted to mash every button on every wall. Zoe grabbed his hand and puffed her cheeks. ‘Balloon breathing,’ she said. ‘In slow, out slow.’
They breathed once, twice, three times. Kai’s thoughts stopped bouncing. ‘It follows loud footsteps,’ he noticed, so they tiptoed into the library and hid behind a beanbag shaped like the moon.
The cart rolled past, bumped a shelf, and stopped with a sad little clunk. Zoe peeked out and saw a sock tangled in its wheel. ‘It wasn’t scary on purpose,’ she said. ‘It just needed help.’
Together they gently pulled the sock free, and Pip-7 showed Kai one blue button marked PAUSE. Kai pressed only that one, very carefully. The cart gave a grateful beep and rolled away to clean some dusty corners.
At the charging room door, a screen blinked: WHY DO ROBOTS HELP? Kai almost answered, ‘Because buttons,’ but he stopped. Zoe smiled, and he said, ‘Because helping makes everyone safer and less alone.’
The door opened with a warm golden glow. Dozens of friendly robots rolled, hopped, and floated out, cheering in little beeps around Pip-7. The school filled with humming, sweeping, and happy hallway music again.
The front door began to shimmer, calling Kai and Zoe home. As they stepped through, Kai glanced at the buttons one last time. Zoe raised an eyebrow, and Kai laughed, keeping both hands in his pockets until they were safely back in their own rainy Monday.
