Chapter 6

6 The ground began to shake. Out of nowhere, a hidden door in the floor opened. A circular platform rose, holding four shiny robots. Each one sat on a single wheel and had a round face with two eyes that glowed. Aria raised her eyebrows. "That looks like the one that crashed earlier," she said. "That robot went a little…" Dr. Crisp paused and scratched her head with her pencil. "Off the rails!" she finished. "These are working just fine. Hop on, Makers!" She grabbed her backpack and

jumped on a stand attached to the back of the robot. Violet ran over and jumped on hers. Pablo followed, but Aria stayed behind. "Promise it won't crash?" Aria asked. Dr. Crisp made the Maker's honor sign and said, "Promise!" Pablo looked at his watch. It read ninety-five minutes. About an hour and a half left. "We should get going," he said. Aria straightened her shoulders and said, "Okay. Let's do this."

Dr. Crisp pressed a button on her watch. A purple laser shot out! She aimed it at the wall in front of them. Suddenly, a hidden door opened. The Makers' jaws dropped. "Cool!" they said. Then Dr. Crisp yelled, "Hold on tight!" She pointed to two hooks in the robots' shoulders. Without warning, the robots launched forward at full speed. They zoomed out of the room and turned sharply down the never-ending hallway. The Makers held on tightly. They were going so fast their hair formed Mohawks.

"Yippeeeeee!" Dr. Crisp hollered. She pulled a lasso from her lab coat and whipped it overhead. Violet laughed and tilted her head back. "Woohoo!" she yelled. The robots came to a screeching halt at door number one hundred three. The Makers jumped off. "Can we ride again?" Violet asked with a wide, toothy smile. "Soon enough!" Dr. Crisp winked. She tossed her rainbow hair over her shoulder. "But for now, follow me!" The Makers shook themselves out and hurried through the open door. The room was large and empty.

"Okay, Makers!" Dr. Crisp said, tapping her watch. "It's that time!" Aria adjusted her glasses and asked, "What time?" Violet and Pablo jumped in the air and replied, "Making time!" "Oh, I love making!" Then Aria pointed down at her left leg. "My mom and I 3D printed this," she said.

"Whoa!" said Pablo. "That's so cool!" added Violet. Dr. Crisp pulled out the Maker Manual. It snapped open to a page with three circular shapes at the top. "In-flu-EN-zuh?" asked Aria, looking closely. "Like the flu?" "Yes indeedy!" replied Dr. Crisp. "What about this one?" asked Violet.