“No, no, bring it. I mean, no one’s ever cared whether I’m warm or not,” he said, blushing red as his voice trailed off. “Not that you care, of course.”
“I certainly don’t!” agreed Evie. Caring was definitely against the rules at Dragon Hall and could turn anyone into a laughingstock. “We were going to throw it out.”
“Excellent, just consider my home your Dumpster.”
“Er, okay.”
“Do you think you might have a pillow you were going to toss out too? I’ve never had a pillow.” Carlos turned red again. “I mean, I’ve had tons of pillows, of course. So many! We have to keep throwing them away. I get so many pillows. I mean, who’s never had a pillow in their life? That’s preposterous.”
“Yeah, I think we were going to throw away a pillow,” Evie said, turning just as red as Carlos, even as a warm, sunny sensation had taken over her chest. She changed the subject. “Still working on that machine of yours?”
“Yeah, wanna see?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Evie replied, following Carlos out of the room toward the back of the house, away from the party. Carlos slipped outside, holding the door open for Evie.
“Where are we going?”
“To my lab,” Carlos replied, pulling out a matchbook and lighting a candle to lead the way into the weedy backyard.
“Your what?”
“My science lab. Don’t worry, I don’t, like, sacrifice toads or something.”
Evie let out a hesitant laugh.
They approached a huge, gnarled tree with a rope ladder. Carlos started climbing up it. “I have to keep it all in my tree house. I’m afraid my mom is going to get some big ideas and turn my chemicals into makeup and hair products.”
Evie scrambled up the ladder behind him. The tree house was more elaborate than any she’d ever seen, with miniature turrets and a tiny balcony that looked out onto the dark forest below. Inside, Evie spun around, gaping. The walls were lined with shelves of glass beakers, vials, and jars containing various neon-colored liquids. In the corner sat a small, old television with about fifteen different antennas strapped to it.
“What is all this?” Evie asked, picking up a jar of something white and snowy.
“Oh, that’s from Chem Lab. It’s sodium polyacrylate—I was trying to see if I could use it as a sponge when mixed with water,” Carlos said. “But here, this is what I wanted to show you.” He pulled out the wire-box contraption he’d been working on in class. “I think I got the battery to work.”
Carlos fiddled with a few buttons and flicked a few switches. It sputtered to life, then died. His face fell. He tried again. This time, it emitted a high-pitched squeal before dying.
He looked up at Evie sheepishly. “Sorry, I thought I had it.”
Evie looked at the black box. “Maybe try connecting this wire t
o that one?” she suggested.
Carlos peered at the wires. “You’re right, they’re in the wrong place.” He switched the wires and hit the switch.
A powerful electric burst shot out of the box, sending Carlos and Evie flying back against the wall and falling to the floor. The beam of light burst up toward the plywood ceiling, blasting a hole in the tree-house roof and up to the sky.
“Maleficent!” Carlos cursed.
“Oh my goblins!” Evie screamed. “What just happened?”
They both scrambled out onto the tree-house balcony and stared up at the sky, where the light was streaking all the way up, through the clouds, up, up, up, all to the way to the dome!
The light seared through the barrier as easily as it had burned a hole in the tree-house roof.
Lightning flashed, and the very earth shook with a supersonic rumble. For a second they could see through the dome and directly into the night sky. The black box began to emit a strange beeping noise.
Carlos and Evie scrambled back inside, and Carlos picked up the box. It was making a sound neither of them had ever heard before.
And for a brief moment, there was something on the television in the room, which had burst to life all of a sudden.