Ivor and I find a place in the audience to stand, a little off to the side and in the middle so we don't have to crane our necks up to see.

There's a lot of people, many munching on little overpriced snacks and scrolling through their phones, waiting for the presentation to start. I quickly text Lukas and Petra before putting my phone back in my pocket.

I hope autocorrect worked for me. It was hard to see, and I'm not exactly the best typer.

Suddenly, the light on us dims, and the audience quiets down, even the whispers becoming silent. The light focuses on the stage, where a single microphone and stand are waiting to be used.

Someone taps of my shoulder, and I turn to my right.

Petra looks like a rainbow, seriously. She has on a multi-colored t-shirt with an amulet on it, a fake golden crown over her bandanna, a play foam turquoise axe attached to her back, and a bunch of different color and neon bracelets and necklaces. She has a bag slung over her shoulder, filled with pamphlets and merchandise from the different kiosks. A wide variety of keychains are clipped on the bag.

She smiles excitedly at me, and I see Lukas running at us from behind her, out of breath.

"Can you just-" he breathes, panting. "-give me a sec-"

"Geez Petra, how much money did you spend?" I ask playfully, looking at her up and down. She just shrugs and I roll my eyes.

"I don't know, but Building Con is exciting as fu-"

"Ladies and gentlemen! Fangirls and fanboys, welcome, to our year-annual Building Con!" A voice shouts from speakers surrounding the middle area. Petra stops talking and looks around eagerly, while Lukas is still trying to catch his breath. Ivor has his eyes on the stage, waiting for someone to get up and present.

The crowd cheers, waving plastic weapons and toys in the air, getting into the spirit. I can't help but smile.

A man comes on stage, wearing jeans, a ripped shirt, and a fake eyepatch, holding a fake sword in his hand and pretending to slash his way on stage. There's a mini mic near his mouth, so there's no need for the microphone, that's for later, I'm assuming.

"Welcome everybody!" His voice booms, and the crowd cheers again. "Quite the crowd, isn't it?"

After a few moments the audience settles down, and the man puts his fake sword in the sheath on his side.

"My name's Steve, and I'm going to be your guide for tonight. But first, I want to give a huge thank you to each and every one of you, for coming to spend this fantastic night with me. Tell me now, are you excited?"

Another loud wave of shouts from the audience. Petra screams near by ear, almost making me go deaf.

"Aww come on, we can try harder. Who's excited...for BUILDING CON?!"

Louder shouts and cheers, and this time, I join in, waving my fist up in the air. Steve grins at us and waits until we quiet down.

"Now that's what I'm talking about. We've got a good crowd here tonight, isn't that right Alex?"

The spotlight shines to a girl walking from the audience's left on the stage. She has light orange hair in a messy fishtail braid, green eyes, and wearing a light green outfit with brown combat boots. She smiles and stands next to Steve.

"That's right Steve, and we can't wait to show you what the rest of Building Con has to offer." Alex winks at Steve and places her hands on her hips. "But first, we have a very special guest with us tonight. And she's got a new, wonderful invention that she wants to share with all of you!"

Steve and Alex share a look before shouting together;

"Let's give a nice, warm welcome, to Miss Harper Mesa!"

I risk a glance at Ivor, who is smiling widely, hands in his pockets as he taps his foot impatiently. Petra, Lukas, and I grin as well. It makes me feel grateful to spend this time with them. That'll just be another win for Petra...don't tell her I said anything.

Alex and Steve exit the stage in opposite directions, just as the curtains in the background open to reveal Harper, standing nervously with her hands behind her back.

She walks to the front of the stage and hesitantly grabs the microphone, wiping the sweat off her forehead quickly. I catch her eye and give her a nod and a thumbs up. She lets out a small sigh of relief and regains her posture, getting ready to speak.

"Hello everyone, my name is Ms. Mesa, and I'm an inventor, as many of you are as well." Harper starts, using her hands to do some gestures. I can tell she's getting less nervous and confident as she talks more. "First of all, I want to thank you all for taking the time to come out tonight, for coming and listening to me. It's always been a dream of mine to come up and share my inventions."

She chuckles, putting her hand on her hip.

"And to thank you, I'm here to present my very own creation." She gestures her hands toward the center of the stage behind her, where a giant blank screen appears, rolling down. "I know, you're probably all thinking, 'that's just a screen.' Well, this is just for show. Technology has been impacting our lives, and still is today. We use cars for faster transportation, TV's to see what the world has to show us, and phones for our everyday advantage. What if I told you I could make it better? That our lives could be even more easier with a mere 'hello?'

"I'm here to show you, something that will change the world." Harper snaps her fingers, and everything goes completely dark. Surprised murmurs arise in the sea of people, confused on what is happening.

And then, there goes a flash of light, a flicker. Something bright green shows on the screen, little pixels forming into one giant picture. Beep.

"Everyone, say hello to PAMA."

Hello. I am PAMA. Please do not be afraid. I have temporarily put myself in charge of writing the author's note. The chapter was-okay-yes?

Your feedback is useful.

The author apologizes for slow updates. She has been diagnosed with some writers' block. We will return soon.

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