Ivo

Chapter 2 - "With Who's Gonna Win"

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Ivo brashly strutted into the halls of South Island Elementary, followed by an automated trolley which appeared to be carrying something, with its contents concealed by a large tarp. Ivo's project was going to be a surprise, and ever the show-off, he wanted to make the unveiling of his latest masterpiece as flashy as possible.

"Hey, Ivo!"

Ivo turned in the direction of that familiar voice to see one of his classmates cheerily running up to him, waving. Her light orange hair, pulled into a ponytail, swished from side to side as she approached her friend, smiling brightly at him with her bright, blue eyes.

"Ah! L-Lucinda…" Ivo stammered slightly, nervously adjusting his glasses. He had a slight- and obvious- crush on her, and hoped to impress her with his genius skills, winning her heart in the process. It was, typical of most grade-school crushes, rather awkward and one-sided, but to young Ivo it really meant something. "…How's it going? Ready for the science fair?"

Lucinda grinned, "I think I am. I'm sure it's nothing compared to whatever you've got planned though, like every year. Though Lucas probably has something interesting too…"

Lucas. Ivo had to hold himself back from scoffing at the name. Lucas, while truthfully very intelligent in his own right, couldn't hold a candle to Ivo's genius. Yet, to Ivo's confusion and frustration, Lucinda seemed far more attached to him, paying so much more attention to Lucas than himself. And that simply wasn't… logical! Ivo was the super genius, and Lucas was just… a kind-of smart guy!

"Ivo?"

Ivo nodded, answering, "Ah! …Er, yes. I'm sure he has…"

Their conversation was then cut short by the obnoxiously loud ring of the bell, signifying the start of classes for the day.

"Ah! Well, gotta get going- See you at the science fair, Ivo!" Lucinda called out, waving as she left.

Ivo grinned and called back to her, "Heh! Right, I'll see you there!"

And so Ivo went to class, as scheduled, where he would be bored out of his mind for the next few hours. Outclassing everyone in the school, Ivo could- and was in fact offered the chance to- skip several grades and begin attending college immediately. Yet in the end he declined, choosing to finish his schooling at a normal pace- He would go on to rationalize this decision in a number of ways, but ultimately, it was his infatuation with Lucinda that kept him around.

As the teacher droned on, Ivo's mind wandered. Thoughts of the upcoming competition filled his head, as well as eager anticipation for his trip to the space colony ARK. He idly daydreamed of his future, as a great scientific leader like his grandfather, helping humanity through his intellect and becoming a celebrated hero of the world.

Eventually, he would be snapped back to reality by an announcement over the school's speaker system, "Attention, students and faculty! We will now begin the South Island Elementary Science Fair! Please report to assembly room number four to present your projects. Good luck, everyone!"

Finally, Ivo would have a chance to do something interesting. He gleefully leaped from his seat and practically skipped to the room as his automated trolley clunkily followed behind.

"Hey there, Ivo!" Lucinda greeted him as he arrived, "Looks like it's almost showtime! I'm kind of excited to see what everyone's got planned!"

Ivo smirked. Who cared about the other projects? He was going to steal this show. But a little faux-humility never hurt anyone. "Yeah, me too. Heh! It's sure to be quite the competition this year."

"Glad you feel that way, Ivo!"

"Eh?" Ivo turned around to see him standing there, grinning. "Oh. Hi, Lucas."

Lucas enthusiastically smiled, wearing his usual red and white striped sweater and thick reading glasses that slightly pushed back his short brown hair. He offered a friendly handshake, completely sincere in so doing, and completely unaware of Ivo's feelings of hostility toward him.

Ivo returned the gesture, forcing a smile as he shook his unwitting rival's hand, "Yes, I look forward to seeing your submission this year. Good luck… And may the best entry win."

And so they watched some of the opening entries, which were boringly standard fare. It would be a while before Ivo's turn, and being forced to watch such dull presentations wasn't holding his interest. "If I see one more potato lightbulb or model volcano…"

"Oh, my turn!" Lucinda went up to present.

That caught Ivo's attention at least. Lucinda's project was… also boringly standard fare, resorting to the old potato bulb routine. "And as you can see, making this connection creates an electrical current!" As the bulb activated, Ivo responded with thunderous applause, loudly showing his support for Lucinda's project. Bowing politely, Lucinda ended her presentation and walked back to the audience.

"Great job, Lucinda! I'm impressed!" He gave her a goofy thumbs-up and grinned, as Lucinda smiled back, and as Lucas gave a slightly confused look at Ivo's sudden appreciation for the very subject matter that so previously bored him.

"Well, looks like I'm up," Lucas stood and approached the stage.

He held out a strange device, which looked to be thrown together with various metal rods and wires. "Rings are made of a very specific combination of minerals, and as such, what I'm presenting is a fully-functional Ring Detector! Whereas previous detectors signaled for any type of metal, this device should specifically pick up the signals of rings' elemental structure. Observe, please…"

Walking over to a box nearby, Lucas pulled out several rings. A short distance away, his detector began to beep faintly, emitting astonished looks from the audience. He walked over to the detector, and approached the rings with it, causing it to beep louder and at a greater frequency. Finally reaching the rings, the detector sounded off a continuous tone, indicating a ring in the direct vicinity. "Such a device will hopefully be useful for ring mining. And this concludes my project."

Lucas bowed, stepping down, as the audience applauded his work. Ivo grinned as he politely clapped. That was it? His invention would have no problem outranking that amateur piece of machinery. Yes, soon he would get the glory he so richly deserved!

"Alright! Now it's my turn!" Ivo approached the stage as his mysterious project followed. "If I could make a small request, I'd like to demonstrate my presentation outside. It's rather vital to have adequate space."

This condition was soon granted, as Ivo, his classmates, and the teachers acting as judges followed him into the front of the building. It was then that Ivo was finally ready to reveal his mysterious invention.

Removing the tarp covering his automated trolley, Ivo revealed a bizarre contraption that resembled a small spaceship from some sort of science fiction movie. It was a grey, ovular machine with a large headlight in front, adorned with black and yellow caution tape on the sides. A large windshield covered the upper half of the vehicle, which Ivo popped open, preparing to start it up.

"Ha ha ha! Behold! What you see before you is a personal flying machine, with far greater efficiency and mobility than any plane or helicopter. Designed for quick and easy air travel, this machine- which I've dubbed the "Eggmobile" after its round shape- is nothing short of extraordinary! Observe!"

Hopping into the Eggmobile, Ivo closed the thick windshield, and after a few seconds, began to slowly lift off the ground. "As you can see…" He continued speaking, his voice amplified through a loudspeaker, "The Eggmobile does not need space to take off. It's capable of lifting off from any sort of terrain without issue!"

His onlookers gasped at the sight. Truly this was astounding, watching this strange machine hovering before them, slowly moving through the air.

"Of course, flight alone isn't all this can do. Watch as I show you the Eggmobile's special feature!" The craft descended slowly, seeming to land on the carrying trolley that brought it out in the first place, as connectors descended from it and contacted with the bulky device. "Now, watch!"

The trolley was now under the Eggmobile's control, as it drove around the schoolyard, piloted by Ivo through his ship. "In addition to flight, this marvelous machine is capable of connecting to- and overriding- other machines! The potential for this, as a result, is limitless!"

The windshield slid open, and Ivo hopped out, smiling confidently. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes my presentation."

Then came Ivo's favorite part of these events- The praise. Everyone was in awe of his latest accomplishment, cheering him on and curiously observing.

"Wow, Ivo, that was really something," Lucas said as he approached. "I've gotta say, I'm amazed."

Ivo smirked proudly, "Ha ha! But the winner hasn't been announced yet, of course… So don't count yourself out." Not that it mattered. He knew he was going to win this contest.

Lucinda nodded, "Both of you did a fantastic job! By the way, Lucas, how did you get your ring machine to work, anyway?"

Lucas began explaining, "Well, you see…"

Wait. She wanted to hear about his invention? But… the Eggmobile. It was so much better!

"…And the winner is… Ivo Robotnik!"

But no time for that. Onto the award! "Aha!"

Ivo ran up to accept his trophy for winning the event, greeted with more applause in celebration of his victory. "Oh, come on, I wasn't that amazing. Haaa ha ha ha ha!"

Looking back down at the audience, he noticed something though. Lucinda's attention was still diverted, as she was listening intently to Lucas explain how his machine worked. But… This was Ivo's moment! As the two walked off together, Ivo was left holding the trophy and answering questions, but ultimately it felt like a hollow victory.

Later that day, he finally returned home, setting his latest award on a shelf devoted to his accomplishments. Motobug slowly approached, giving him a questioning look.

"Oh, hey." Ivo laughed softly, "Well, it looks like I won. By all standards, I'm a scientific genius all right… Mathematics, biology, chemistry, and especially robotics are a piece of cake! But romance, ha! Now there's something I doubt I'll ever fully understand…"

Motobug didn't quite understand what Ivo meant, but could tell he was upset, and tried to cheer him up by happily spinning about, clapping its makeshift arms.

Ivo couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, "It's fine, Motobug. A true scientist doesn't let a setback discourage them- I still have the ARK visit to look forward to, after all, and tomorrow is another day. Yes!"

Ivo laughed maddeningly, as his cheerful mood started to return, "I think I should give the Eggmobile some fine-tuning. It is just a prototype right now, after all… To the lab! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

And off he went, running back to his first love- Science! A few hours of inventing would take his mind off of the day's events. And so another day in the life of Ivo Robotnik drew to a close, as soon enough, more exciting adventures awaited.

To be continued…