Tungsten Carbide

Five

"Photo, photo!" Honey gathered everyone together to snap a quick picture before Hiro's presentation. "Everyone say Hiro!"

"HIRO!" they all exclaimed in unison. The flash on the camera blinded them for a second.

"Come on, come on! Let's go get a good place in the front of the stage," Honey said, pushing them all towards the spot. "Good luck Hiro!"

"You'll do great," Gogo said. "We believe in you."

"Don't worry about anything, little man," Wasabi encouraged.

Hiro nodded nervously, trying to smile. "Thanks, guys."

Tadashi fist-bumped with his brother. Honey glanced back at them as Tadashi gave him one last word before Hiro climbed onstage.

Hiro walked forward apprehensively. The stagehand offered him the mic, and he took it.

"How's he doing?" Honey whispered to Tadashi as he took a place beside her.

"He's really nervous," Tadashi said. "But I know he can do it."

Honey saw Hiro flick his eyes at his brother. Tadashi smiled and motioned for him to breathe. Hiro took a deep breath and held up his invention- a small, diamond-shaped device about two inches long.

"This," he began, "is a microbot."

As he continued his presentation, the crowd grew. Honey scanned the group, looking for classmates and teachers. Then she saw a familiar face that surprised her.

"Dash! Look," she said, pointing towards the tall man in a business suit.

Tadashi gasped. "Whoa. Is that Alistair Krei?"

Honey tore her eyes from the prominent businessman and looked at Hiro, who was demonstrating how his army of microbots could connect magnetically and do the work of teams of people. 

"The applications for this tech are limitless. Construction: what used to take teams of people working by hand for months or even years can now be accomplished by one person!"

The crowd applauded wildly as he showed the crowd how his microbots could be used as transportation. He had the microbots carry him over the top of the crowd, bringing gasps of amazement from the viewers. Tadashi jumped up and high-fived his brother as he moved by.

When the presentation was completed, Hiro landed on the stage and motioned to his invention. "Microbots!" he concluded strongly, a huge smile on his face.

Honey squealed, jumping up and down. Tadashi ran to the stage and grabbed his brother in a bear hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Hiro!" he said. The rest of the gang ran up and congratulated Hiro.

"That was amazing!" Honey exclaimed. "They loved you."

"Yes, that was very impressive," a voice said. They all turned to see Professor Callaghan walking up to the group. "Your microbots are an inspired piece of tech, Hiro. I'd love to have you in the program."

Hiro's smile widened as Callaghan offered him the customary envelope sealed with the SFIT logo.

"Thank you, Mr. Callaghan!" he stammered.

"Way to go, Hiro," Gogo smiled. 

Fred tussled Hiro's hair. "You're a real scientist, buddy!"

"I look forward to seeing you in class," Professor Callaghan said. He smiled and left them to celebrate.

Aunt Cass ran up to the group. "Hiro!" She squeezed him in a hug, then pulled Tadashi into the hug too. "My family! I love my family!" She looked down at the envelope and gasped. "Hiro!! You got accepted?"