Electrigirl

Electrigirl — page 7 — CHAPTER 1 I’m getting ahead of myself Let me take you back a month Back to where all of this started really with the opening of the new CyberSky building in town CyberSky is a cell phone company We have a TERRIBLE signal down here on the coast and half the time we end up on a French network which costs crazy money CyberSky said we’d all get five bars from now on so I was kind of pleased that they were here But Bluehaven is full of people who get upset and SHOUT about the tiniest things so it had been all over the news before the building was even finished Yup you’ve guessed it Not much happens here They put up a huge high-tech tower on top of the hillside my hillside I love that hillside it’s my favorite place in the whole world There’s enough space to run and practice cartwheels or just sit and look at the view I don’t go near the edge I’m not stupid But you know what After the tower was built I kind of forgot it was there half the time The day of the official opening of the CyberSky headquarters I was down in the town with Mom and my brother Joe and my best friend Imogen Mom was holding a big sign on a wooden post It said DON’T RADIATE MY KIDS She and her friend Nicky are always protesting about something rain forests whales banks Nicky is one of the shoutiest people in Bluehaven This time they were complaining about the phone tower being so close to the town which it wasn’t really and they’d persuaded about twenty people to come along and protest too Joe and I

Electrigirl — page 8 — always find it SO embarrassing Dad would never show up to this Joe muttered Dad’s in the army and he’s away a lot He says cell phones and the towers are perfectly safe and that all this worry about radiation is a complete overreaction from people who believe everything they read online It’s one of the few things he and Mom argue about when he’s home He thinks she gets all riled up about silly stuff Sometimes I think Mom’s right to get mad about things I mean if no one ever made a fuss nothing would ever get changed would it I just wish she didn’t have to drag us into it I don’t like drawing attention to myself There were plenty of other people at the official opening people who thought that the new company would be good for the area and create lots of jobs The Bluehaven mayor Mr Foley was there in support He was nearly bald but tried to pretend he wasn’t by wearing a wig We could sneak off and go buy ice cream Joe muttered No one would notice I was tempted Have you got any money No I spent it on this Batman figurine My brother is OBSESSED with superheroes He makes his own films and collects comics and figurines Sometimes he talks to them as if they’re real people when he thinks no one can hear him Which is kind of sweet but also kind of disturbing Imogen was gazing up at the CyberSky building She’s taller than me and has long brown hair that she wears in a braid It’s almost like it can make itself invisible she said You know All those glass windows like mirrors They reflect the sky so that it almost looks like the building isn’t really there I looked up too Hmm I said It was a building you couldn’t get away from that Tall and square like it belonged in a city business area or something But Imogen has this way of looking at things differently She pulled out a sketchbook and a pen from her bag she’s never without them and started drawing the building I watched over her shoulder marveling My sketches of buildings haven’t progressed beyond the most basic stage two vertical walls a triangular roof a door and square windows and a chimney on top If I have time I’ll color the roof in red That’s the extent of my artistic abilities But Imogen is really amazing Within seconds she had sketched and shaded in the building so that it looked like it was made of clouds and sky Watching her draw I

Electrigirl — page 9 — understood what she meant about the building almost being invisible Joe nudged me Look someone’s coming out The front doors had opened and a woman in a gray suit walked out into the sunshine She was pale with gray hair in a shiny bob and gray shoes She looked like the sort of person who stayed out of the sun Her name was Professor Macavity and she ran CyberSky I knew that because her photo had been in the newspaper for months Mr Foley stepped forward mopping his shiny brow His mayoral chain glinted His wig blew up in the breeze and exposed a bit of bald patch CyberSky out shouted the thin line of protesters Nicky’s voice was the loudest Don’t radiate our kids Mom went Yeah and waved her poster aggressively Joe and I tried to hide behind Imogen Mr Foley shook the professor’s hand and nodded and smiled The professor nodding but not smiling went to a microphone set up just in front of the doors Good morning she said and for a moment my heart went THUD because she sounded gray too I’m not kidding Her voice was like a cold wind on a gray day It made me SHIVER She said how pleased she was to be here she didn’t sound pleased and how welcoming the residents of Bluehaven had been which wasn’t really true especially not Nicky and my Mom and how CyberSky was at the forefront of technology development which according to Imogen’s dad who reviews gadgets for his job is actually true It was all very boring But then she said something that made me SQUEAK with excitement As a thank you CyberSky will be delivering a free cell phone to every resident over the age of ten in Bluehaven along with six months free calls and internet services Imogen and Joe SQUEAKED a bit too and Imogen even put her sketchbook away A brand new phone EACH My brother just turned ten He looked like he was about to explode with happiness Nicky shouted We don’t want your filthy phones but some of the protesters were looking a bit uncertain now After all a free phone is a free phone

Electrigirl — page 10 — And then the mayor said something and someone cut a ribbon and my Mom put a supportive arm around Nicky and muttered something about not giving up the fight and we went home Imogen and Joe and I chatted ALL THE WAY about the brand new phones we were going to get IF ONLY I’D KNOWN THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW

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