Loonatics Revamp Rise of the Loonatics Episode 1 (Saved)

Chapter 6

Come on... you can do this...

That's what Tech told himself since this morning – or rather, tried to convince himself of. All he needed to do was to present his science project to the public and he was done. His hands gripped the bottom of his green jumper as he memorized the patterns of the presentation: what he had to do, what he had to say and most importantly forcing himself to focus on the public. If he followed his carefully planned presentation to a T, he would be fine.

He woke up early this morning, around six a.m., to prepare the amphitheater for the science forum's prize-winning – of which he was the winner. When his professor Barney Snout went to him with a bright smile, saying that the university had chosen him this year thanks to his teleporter on which he worked days and nights through the year, he barely raised an eyebrow. Not that he was unhappy with the news; in fact, he was glad to have been selected. Then again, according to those who dared point it out, his face rarely showed any kind of emotions, which wasn't exactly true – he only had that "resting" face if he was thinking or analyzing at the same time, and his mind wasn't registering he was supposed to express his contentment at the same time in that case when Mr. Snout told him the good news.

While he was glad, the memory of what happened the previous year and how badly it went, and how Tech barely prevented the inevitable, still plagued his mind. It was absurd, of course, to think that this year's presentation would end up the same: this time, he had been alone on this project. No partner, no false pretenses, no backstabbing... And yet, maybe it was because of the negativity last year's project brought on him, he couldn't really be overjoyed like his professor was when he told him he won again. Expect this time, there wouldn't be any incident and he would be able to go through with the presentation and receive his prize. He wouldn't have to sabotage his invention at the last second to stop his partner from ruining hundreds of lives...

He exhaled a deep sigh, forcing himself to come back to the present. His golden gaze searched for his fidget cube and he found it standing on the table next to him. He quickly grabbed it and began to push the button on one of its faces back and forth, again and again, keeping his fingers busy. He owned many of these toys, but this one was his oldest and seemed to clear his mind faster than the others. He sat on the stairs leading to the stage, his eyes unfocused, his hands still playing with the toy.

He didn't know how much time passed, sitting here with his hands fidgeting the cube before he heard someone walking in. A simple glance toward the newcomer told him it was his professor. The old dog smiled at him when he saw him.

"Ah, Tech! You're already here, that's great!" Prof. Snout said. "I guess everything is ready, then?"

"Yes," the coyote responded, glancing toward the stage behind him, hands still busy. "The teleporter is set. I took the liberty to make an early test, just to be sure there wouldn't be any problem during the presentation that I could have prevented beforehand. Everything seems okay."

"Good, that's good."

There was a little silence only filled with the click-clack of the fidget cube. And then, Prof. Snout asked:

"And what about you? Do you feel ready?"

"I studied my speech for days," Tech naturally replied, not understanding the real question behind his professor's words. "It should go smoothly."

"I mean... how do you feel? Are you anxious?"

Tech's hands slowed down on the cube as the coyote, looking at the professor's feet without seeing them, thought of the question. He didn't feel relaxed, that was for sure. Then again, the days he wasn't a bit on edge were rare. He was, after all, navigating in a world he couldn't fully grasp. As if everybody had been given an instruction manual at birth and he was the one unlucky guy who didn't receive it. There was comfort in knowing he wasn't alone in the world, that there were many other individuals like him, but that didn't erase the daily hardships he had to face.