6. The Invention Convention

CHAPTER 6 THE INVENTION CONVENTION The following day started out sunny and cheerful. The students and faculty filed into the gymnasium and checked the seats very carefully before sitting down. "Greetings," said Mr. Krupp, who was standing up at the microphone. "You don't need to worry about sticky seats today," he said. "I've taken measures to ensure that this Invention Convention won't be a disaster like last year's."

Everyone settled in as Madison Mancini, a third grader, stepped onstage to demonstrate her Automatic Dog-Washer. "First," said Madison, "you put your dog in the tub. Then you press this button." Madison pressed the "Start" button. At first, nothing happened. Then suddenly, a spurt of inky black water sprayed up

and out over the crowd. Everyone (except the dog) got soaked, as Madison tried desperately to turn off the sprayers. "I can't stop it!" she cried. "Someone turned all the nozzles around!" "Now, who could've done that?" asked Mr. Krupp.

Next up was Donny Shoemyer, with his Ping-Pong Serve-O-Matic. He turned the machine on, and immediately it began hurling extra-large grade-A eggs into the crowd. Phoop!-Phoop!-Phoop!-Phoop!-Phoop! went the machine. Splat!-Splat!-Splat!-Splat!-Splat! went the eggs. "I can't turn the machine off!" cried Donny. "Somebody jammed a paper clip into the controller!" "Now, who could've done that?" asked Ms. Ribble.

Freddie Moore's Volcano Detector was also a big flop. When Freddie connected the circuits to the nine-volt battery, a large spring (which had been crammed into the center of his miniature volcano) launched a giant plastic bag of butterscotch pudding high into the crowd. It landed somewhere between the third and fourth rows. Splat! "Hey!" whined Freddie. "Somebody put pudding in my volcano!" "Now, who could've done that?" asked Mr. Meaner.

The rest of the day went on much the same way, with people shouting everything from "Hey! Who put oatmeal in my solar- powered leaf blower?" to "Hey, who let all the mice out of my treadmill dune buggy?" It wasn't long before everyone fled the gymnasium, and the Second Annual Invention Convention had to be called off. "How could this have happened?!!?" cried Mr. Krupp as he wiped chocolate syrup, pencil shavings, and cream-of- mushroom soup off his face and shirt. "George and Harold have been in study hall all day long! I put them there myself!" "Um, excuse me, Mr. Krupp," said Melvin Sneedly. "I think I have an answer to your question."