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The Watch That Saved The World
(Oh, come on. At least a city.)
By Zain Salam.
Dedication
Dedicated to my family, for guiding me through when it was tough.
Copyright 2015
Maple Leaf Writing Project
Brattleboro, Vermont.
James is sitting in his room in a zombie trance, looking at his computer screen, mumbling incomprehensible nonsense, with a word or number now and then. “mdjfjdbhbndbndnb1011111001111111100000001” “dhdnnnddncfnfjfjvnnjfnjgnfhfhfh...No way!” His friend, Jane, walks into his room. They were both about 12 years old. They had met in preschool, and had been good friends all of their lives. They lived on the same block. “Hi, zombie. How ya’ doing?”
“What? Oh, hi Jane.” Jane pulls a chair up and sits down.
Jane says “Hey, I think I have an idea on the design of a smartwatch. Can you make the software?”
“Sure. You have it with you right?”
“No, dummy. I just said I had an Idea, not that I had made it. Sheesh.”
“Oh. Can you make it then?”
“Yep. Can do.”
“Okey-doke. I’ll start making the software as soon as you make the hardware.”
۞۞۞۞
“5...4...3...2...1...0!” The smartwatch powers on. During start up it displayed their logo. Their company was called Bluejay Electronics. Their slogan was Take Flight. They didn’t exactly have a store or anything, but they still sold their devices to their friends and family members. They of course kept one for themselves, as well. The smartwatch finished loading. James asked Jane “What are we going to call it?” Jane was very good at coming up with names for their gadgets.
“How about……………BluejayWatch?”
“Great idea! How do you come up with this stuff? You’re so good at it!”
“Thanks, and I guess it just comes naturally.”
“I wish I could come up with names that were as good as yours. But anyway, wanna have a big release party again? That was fun.”
“You bet I want another party! They are soooo fuuunnn!!!!”
“Can’t disagree with you there. Should we make a party map on the computer so we know where everything should go when we set up?”
“Yeah. It sure helped a lot last time, didn’t it?”
“Yup. It did. Let’s make it.”
“Okey-dokey.”
James and Jane huddle around James’s computer and start making the plan.
۞۞۞۞
Jane fiddles with the microphone while James checks the wires for it. “Everything’s hooked up! Let’s give it a little test!” James says, with a glint in his eye. Jane says “Okay, but I’m doing it first!”
“Fine by me.” James says. Jane walks up to the microphone and says “Hello!! I like pie! Moooo!”
James asks “What the heck was that?”
“Testing. What else?”
“Well then, it’s my turn to test now! Here I go!” James walks up to the microphone and says into it “Once upon a time there was a pie that went moo. Then the pie got eaten by a cow. The end!”
“Who’s doing the crazy talk now, huh?” Jane asks.
“Me. But let’s get all of the BluejayWatches onstage so that the guests can buy them here. But we should put it a little off to the left side so that the audience can see both us and the BluejayWatches.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Let’s finish getting ready.”
۞۞۞۞
“Hey Jane, come over here! The guests are arriving! Let’s go and welcome them!” James said excitedly.
“Okay. Race you!” said Jane. They tore across the lawn like predators competing for the same prey. Jane won by a foot, according to James’s calculations. “Hello, welcome, welcome!” said James and Jane. When the last guest had finally arrived, James went up to the microphone. “Hello and welcome to you all!” he said. “My wonderful friend, Jane and I, are going to be simply floating about until, in one hour we unveil our newest product, the BluejayWatch. Have a good time!” Jane was blushing furiously by his second sentence, but it gave her some comfort knowing that he had been as well. James came off the stairs and made a beeline towards Jane. “You didn’t have to call me your ‘wonderful friend’.”
“Why not? You are wonderful.” he said, his face as red as a ripe tomato. “And the best hardware designer ever.”
“Oh, come on. I’m not that good. But close. You’re a lot better at making software than I am at making hardware.”
“That is so not true. You’re the best. Period.”
۞۞۞۞
“Hey James, it’s time to go on stage and introduce the BluejayWatch!”
“Okay. Let’s do this!” They both walked up to the stage. James spoke into the microphone. “Enough of all this talking. Let’s move on to the real purpose of this party, which would be the unveiling of the BluejayWatch!” he paused when the audience applauded. “Remember my ‘wonderful friend’ from before? Well, she did the bulk of the work designing this smartwatch. She made the hardware, which looks very stylish. And compact. As she calls it, this is Bluejay Electronics answer to the Samsung Geo smartwatch. Now let me hand over the microphone.” With one swift movement, he twirled around and slipped the microphone into her hand. She smiled at him and spoke. “Mr. Chatty Cathy over here is saying that I did all of the work. But really, we both did equal shares of it. Now, let’s get on with it and unveil the BluejayWatch already!” She said. They grabbed each other’s hands and twirled over to a table covered with velvet. Then they simultaneously ripped it off the table (a move that they had been practicing ever since their first product, but had just recently perfected). A BluejayEye (Bluejay Electronics answer to an Elmo) was placed over a BluejayWatch. The ripping of the cloth had triggered the boot up of a BluejayShare (a unique projector) and at the same time a white screen fell from in between the cloths of the stage. The BluejayWatch appeared on the screen.
“Let’s power this baby on.”said Jane. The logo appeared on the screen. It then went to the home screen. “On the BluejayWatch, you can do a lot of things. It’s connected to your Bluejay Phone so you can receive notifications, make and answer calls, and so on right from your wrist. It uses your Bluejay Phone's WiFi or 4G connection to connect to the internet. Why do you need 4G on your watch? So you can receive emails, go on the internet, and sync with all of your other Bluejay devices. You can also make phone calls. But don’t try watching YouTube on it. Unless, of course, you want to behead your actors.” She smiled and said,
“Look who’s Chatty Cathy now!” while looking at James.
“May I be allowed to speak, or are you going to throw me into a jail cell if I try?” Jane replied, acting like a 2-year-old, “Show stealer!” and pretended to go pout by the BluejayShare. The audience roared with laughter. James said in a deep voice, “Jane, you are released from time-out. Please come and join us.” Half of the audience doubled over laughing, while the other half was simply roaring in their seats. Jane walked over and stood besides James. James spoke, “Now, where were we? Oh, yes, we were at the part about murdering innocent (or at least mostly innocent) hollywood actors. So, don't watch videos on YouTube from your BluejayWatch. But don't worry, there are plenty of other things you can do on your BluejayWatch. Did I mention that you can look at your photos? Well, you can. Very easily, in fact. Although the photos may be small, they show up on a very good display. I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that it can make text messages as well." James gave the microphone to Jane. “So people, what do you think?”
۞۞۞۞
James and Jane stood behind the makeshift checkout line, serving the customers one by one. At first, there had only been about 100 people, family and friends. But then people told their friends, and then their friends told their friends, and so on. Now, they had helped 200 customers, and estimated that there were about 800 still in line. They had had to give their trusted family members the blueprints so that they could assemble more. The “Trusted Family Members” had gotten quite used to this, and were very good at it by this point. So there they were, helping out by assembling more BluejayWatches. James and Jane were getting tired, but they needed to serve their customers. Otherwise, they might lose them. No one wanted to lose their customers. Especially not them. In fact, this was the most they'd ever sold of a product at a time. So they weren't risking that just to take a nap. Then a hooded stranger walked up to the checkout line. He slipped a paper into James's hand and left. The paper was folded, and on the front that said, "Open when you are alone." He slid the paper into his pocket. Jane gave him a questioning look, but it quickly disappeared when he said, "It's probably just nothing but a party invitation or something. It's fine." Little did he know that that paper was going to change his life.
۞۞۞۞
Give me the software. Insert it into my P.O. box by the 20th. It’s number 27. Don’t disappoint me. These were the words in the note. He sat in his room, pondering them. Should he do what the person asked? Or should he ignore them? He was pretty sure that the second choice was the best one. But the note had said not to disappoint whoever had given it to him. But the software was supposed to be a surprise. If he followed the instructions, his mother was sure to find out. He decided not to follow the instructions. He was pretty sure it was the best choice.
۞۞۞۞
He was sleeping soundly when a sound woke him up. The sound was odd, like someone was rustling in the bushes outside his window.He looked at the window, but saw nothing. The sound came again. It was louder this time, and more definite. He had now ruled out the possibility that he was still dreaming, and got up to get a closer look. What he saw startled him. There was a black, humanoid looking figure in the bushes looking through his window at him. Once the figure saw him looking at him, he ran away out into the night.
۞۞۞۞
When he got up in the morning, James promised himself that today would be normal. No mysterious black figures in the bushes, no one stalking him on his way to school, nothing unusual at all. He would just have a normal day like he used to. Over the past couple days, he had seen people following him. At night, more mysterious figures in the bushes. Was it possible that this and the note were connected? People had started this business on the 21st. Of course! The day after the note said! He didn't know what was going on, but he hoped it wouldn't be too bad.
۞۞۞۞
Jane was standing by her locker, opening it. She had about 100 tons of books in her arms, and wanted to put them down somewhere. When the locker finally open, she dumped the load of books inside and sighed. It sure felt good to let go of that extra weight! Lately, James had been acting strange. She wondered why. Then again, it might just be because the report cards were coming soon. Everyone worried about report cards for some reason or another. Such was the way of life. But he didn't act this strange last year for some reason. He’s probably fine, she reasoned. She should start worrying about her report card, not his.
۞۞۞۞
James was starting to freak out a little. People had been following him more often, but were getting less and less noticeable. Who were these mysterious people? I mean, it was just a silly note. But it was causing more trouble than it was worth. What if it wasn't so silly after all? What if it was deadly serious and he had been ignoring it all along? No, he told himself, it probably was just nothing. But somehow, he thought it was more than just nothing.
۞۞۞۞
Jane was starting to get more than just a little worried about James. He acted strange even after the report cards came home, and he was starting to worry her. They had both gotten 3’s and 4’s this year, as they did every year. So why was he acting so strange? He had been ever since they had unveiled the BluejayWatch. Could it be the note that was making him act strange? She sure hoped not. He had said it was nothing, but she couldn't be sure. She would have to find out for herself.
۞۞۞۞
It was a nice Saturday morning. Birds were chirping in the trees, the sun was shining brilliantly through the few clouds in the sky, and the slightest touch of morning dew was still on the leaves of the flowers. James had gotten up early that morning to water the garden, and was glad he had. If he hadn’t, he would’ve missed this amazing view. It really was breathtaking. Then a black van pulled up to his house. A man dressed in black stepped out of the van. “You James?” he asked in a gruff voice.
“Yes.” James replied.
“You’re comin’ with me then. Get in the back of the van.”
"No.” said James. The man pulled a metal pole out of the van.
“Don't make me use this, kid. Just get in the van, and nobody has to get hurt. You get it?”
“Yes.” James said from the inside of the van.
“Good.” James could feel the van moving, but he didn't know where it was going. The back of the van was dark, like the inside of a shoe box. But the seats were comfy. Anyway, back to the main question: where was he going?
۞۞۞۞
It was 9 o'clock. On weekends, she and James talked (or texted) every morning at 9 o'clock, on their phones or computers. So why wasn't he calling or texting her? Maybe she should text him for once. So she did. Jane: Where r u?
James: Oh, just at home.
Jane: Then y didn't u talk 2 me?
James: I was watching tv and got distracted.
Jane: Mmm-hmmm.
James: What?
Jane: That's not like u.
James: Hey, it was a really good show!
Jane: Whatever.
James: Sorry!
Jane: That's ok.
James: So, how u doing ?
Jane: Good. How about you?
James: Great !
Jane: :)
James: Oh, I have to go now. Talk to you later!
Jane: TTYL!
James: Bye!
Jane: Bye!
Jane was feeling uneasy about the text message conversation. James hadn't used his usual abbreviations, and he had acted differently than usual. Where was he? Jane smiled. This was a perfect opportunity to use Find My Kid.
Jane held her Bluejay Watch up to her mouth and said, "Find James." The watch opened up a map with a green dot on it and said in a silky, female, computerized voice, "It looks as if he is at the headquarters of Zombie Electronics."
"So it looks like he isn't at home." Jane said. "I'm gonna go find him."
۞۞۞۞
The van jerked to a halt.
"Get out, punk."
"Okay." On the ride in the van, Jane had texted him. His Bluejay Watch and BlueJay Phone had beeped simultaneously, so it only sounded like one device. The driver, who obviously didn't know about the Bluejay Watch thought it was only his phone so he took James's phone and replied to Jane's texts.
The driver of the van told James to follow him. James obeyed. He followed the man up the steps of a gigantic building made of marble. He didn't know where he was, but it was very woodsy, in the middle of nowhere. The man stopped at the door. There was a fingerprint scanner right beside it. The man put his finger on it. It seemed to have recognized the fingerprint, because the man could open the door without any problems. They stepped inside huge room that seemed to be made of marble. At the front of the room, there was a large marble desk with a clerk sitting behind it. The clerk said, "How may I help you?"
"Tell The boss I got James."
"Okay." The clerk dialed a number on her cell phone. Someone picked up.
"We've got James. You can? Oh, good. See you soon! Bye!" The clerk got off of the phone.
"He'll be down in a minute. I'm glad I could help!"
"Thanks, clerk dude."
"My name is Rebecca, thank you. What's yours?"
“My name is George.” James suppressed a laugh. This bear of a man was named George? Just then a person who looked like a supermodel stepped into the room. He said, “Allow me to introduce myself. My names Josh. Josh Williams. I run this place.”
“You kidnapped me!” James raid.
“I wanted to talk to you. You seemed to have pieced it together yourself, but the man who gave you that note was one of my many agents.”
“So, what kind of company are you guys?”
“Our company is named Zombie Tech. Your’s is called Bluejay Electronics, isn’t it”
“Yes.”
“We want your software. If we get it, we’ll be world famous!”
“Yeah, well, sorry. It’s mine.”
“Well,it can be ours. As in, Both of our companies. All you have to do is sell yourselves to us.”
“You’re crazy if you think we’re selling ourselves to you. We are a proud and independent company. I decline your offer.”
“You may not accept willingly, but you will accept eventually. We didn’t want to use force, but now we must. James, we know about 90% of everything about you. We know that your favorite color is blue, and where you live, which is probably obvious. We know much more than that, too.”
“You’re trying to steal my software. I can’t allow that.”
“Oh, of course you won’t allow it. But we’re capable of things beyond the capacities of your imagination. If there is a tree in the way of our delivery trucks, but it’s not on our property? It gets struck by lightning and has to be cut down. We are very powerful.”
“Okay, I get it. But can I go home now?”
"No. You will remain here until you give us the software."
۞۞۞۞
Jane sat in the passenger seat of her Dad's police car, waiting impatiently for them to arrive. The second her dad had heard about James, he had practically flown to his police car. They went as fast as the speed limit would allow, and arrived shortly. They took a left turn, and her Bluejay Watch said, "You have arrived at your destination. Have a wonderful day." They were in front of a huge marble building that was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees. Her dad got out of the car and said, "It looks like James is here. See, Jane? I told you it would be alright."
"It'll be alright when I can see him face to face. Until then, nothing is alright."
۞۞۞۞
Jane's dad went up to the door. There was a communicator and a fingerprint scanner. Her dad pressed a button on the communicator. "Hello, this is officer John. May I come in?" There was silence for a moment, and then there was a reply. "No. You are not recognized." Her dad sighed. "Well, it looks like we'll have to find another way in." Jane had an idea.
"Maybe I can hack in."
"It's worth a try," her dad said. Jane pulled out her Bluejay Phone and started typing frantically, her fingers practically dancing across the screen. In under a minute she said, "Done. The doors will open in a matter of seconds." The doors slid open, and her dad stared open mouthed at her.
"How did you -" Jane cut him off.
"We'll have time to talk later. Now, we have to save James."
Jane walked through the doors. "Where is my James?" she asked furiously. Numerous employees sprung up and dashed towards her, but she simply tapped on her screen and their security system backfired. Metal walls came from the ceiling and trapped the employees. She pulled up a map of the building on her phone, and proceeded down the hallway. According to the map, James was in a metal room with no escape and that could only be opened from the outside. She and her dad came to the room, and unlocked the door. James was sitting inside on a wooden chair, looking bored. "Jane!" he cried, his whole face lighting up. "How did you get in here?"
"That's a story for another day. Now, let's get out of here."
Epilogue
“Oh my god, James, I love it!” Jane cried as she saw what the software could do on James’s computer. “But why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“It was a surprise.” he said sheepishly. "And thanks for saving me. You could have been hurt."
“Well, it’s a good surprise, and you're welcome. Jane replied happily. They stared at each other and hugged each other.
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