Edited April 28, 2013

-oOo-

For the past four days, Beckett has been sneaking into Artemis's study and stealing gadgets. One day, he spent all day in his room on a sunny day (which caused a lot of suspicion, but he locked his door) working on his invention.

Beckett was known for getting easily distracted. Whether it was for looking out the window, drawing, texting, or just staring at the floor, he was distracted from his studies. That's one reason that he doesn't get good grades. The other is that he's hyperactive, distracting teachers from giving classes and thus getting detention. "Too much detention gets you low grades," Artemis Sr. would say. And he should know. He used to be in St. Bartleby's

Beckett was almost finishing his invention, and he glanced at the clock. It was dinner time, and the thought of dinner caused his stomach to rumble. He silently groaned. No, he had to finish this invention.

"What is Beckett doing?" asked Angeline. Artemis and Myles shrugged, Myles too busy thinking on his project to care, and Artemis too busy on his phone.

Angeline turned her head around for Butler. "Butler?"

Butler was right by her side. "Yes, m'am?"

"Where's Ailward?"

Ailward sighed. "Yes, madam?"

"Go and fetch Beckett. Tell him it's dinner time and I want him here now. He's been locked in his room all day."

"Yes, Madam Fowl." Ailward made his way upstairs and knocked on Beckett's door. "Wait!" There was a big bump, an ow!, and the doorknob shaking. Beckett swung the door open and shoved a box under what used to be the 'speriments desk.

"Beckett, your mother wants you to go downstairs and go eat dinner." Ailward said blatantly.

Beckett and Ailward had a close relationship, just like Artemis had with Butler. Ailward was like a second father, and Beckett was like a friend. The only difference is that Beckett has never done anything criminal and Ailward wasn't as experienced like Butler.

"Yeah, let's go. I gotta go announce something," Beckett said, excited.

Ailward didn't even bother to ask, knowing Beckett.

When Beckett was four, he drew on the cream colored walls of the sitting room in red crayon, 'Beket was hir.' He called that misspelling art.

When he was six, he sneaked in a squirrel, claiming that it could be Alvin. He spent the whole day trying to make it sing Jingle Bells.

When he was seven, he sneaked in Squiggly in Myles' shorts.

And last year, when he, Juliet, Butler, Myles, and Ailward went to the local mall, he spent the whole day trashing the mall after he bumped into some friends. He was banned from the mall afterwards.

Beckett skipped down the hall then slid down the stair railing. Then he sprinted towards the dining room. He slid across the floor with style, then stopped. "I got an announcement to make," he said panting, walking slowly towards the table.

"Which is?" asked Mr. Fowl. He didn't bother telling him not to run in the house.

Beckett smiled wide, like the Cheshire cat. They all knew that smile, and they knew it well. Beckett was up to something, and he and Artemis shared the same determination.

"I'm going to sign up for the science…contest…of inventions thing."

Myles snorted then laughed hysterically. "You? The idiot? You don't honestly think of doing that. And what may the project be? A glow in the dark baking soda volcano? Dear brother, I think this might be added to your list of the stupidest things you've ever done."

Beckett waited patiently for Myles's laughter to cease. The boy was still holding in giggles when he fixed his glasses. He looked around to see his parents glaring at him.

"Don't call you brother an idiot," she scolded, then smiled at Beckett. "And what are you inventing, dear?"

Beckett sat down as Ann the cook served him dinner. "It's a surprise. But if you want to see it then come to the contest. Please?" Beckett said, looking at Artemis, who was still distracted in his phone.

Artemis Sr. nodded, who noted Beckett's begging. "We'll all go."

"You were going to go, anyways. I'm in the contest too." Myles said.

Angeline nodded. "Of course, and we're going to root for both of you, whether if one of you both does win."

"Which will probably be me." Myles said. He received a swift kick under the table.

"Stuck up."

Myles kicked him back. "Imbecile."

"Loser." Kick.

"Brat." Kick.

"Jerk." Kick.

"Simpleton!" Kick.

"Bastard!" Two kicks.

"Stop it, both of you!" Angeline said.

They both glared at each other. Myles tomato red, and Beckett red and fuming.

The holidays were over. Beckett swung his backpack over his shoulder and carried a small box in his hands. Owl was behind him, carrying both his and Myles' luggage.

Myles walked out last, carrying his messenger bag and a big box in his hand. The Fowl family stood at the door, waving goodbye. "Good bye! See you guys at the contest." Beckett said, waving one hand furiously. He got in the car, happily humming.

The ride, was again, uneventful. Myles was reading a book, as always, and Beckett was listening to music, as always. But Beckett was actually excited to go to school. He was excited to see his friends. To start basketball training. But most of all he was excited for the contest. Maybe he would prove Myles wrong and get Artemis's attention. No, not maybe. He knew he would win and get Artemis's attention.

As they approached grounds, Beckett ran out of the car, and ran inside. Boys said, "Hey, dude, what's up," and Beckett would just mumble a hi. He finally got to the administration office, and he slowed down and walked in.

"Good evening," Dean Guiney's secretary, Ms. Olsen said. She looked up from her computer and scowled a bit. "Oh, it's Beckett Fowl." You could say Beckett and Ms. Olsen were the best of friends.

"Heya, Ms. Olsen. How'd you spend your holidays?"

"Fine, thank you. Now, what do you want?"

"Well, I want to sign up for the inventions contest."

Ms. Olsen held in a giggle. "You want to sign up for the contest?" she said, surprised.

"Yep. I honestly think I'm going to win."

"The kid's got confidence." She handed him papers. "Sign here and here." Beckett did so, smiling all the way. Ms. Olsen took back the papers. "Good luck."

Beckett grinned. "Thanks, Ms. Olsen."

"You're going to need it."

Beckett walked to his dorm room. Ross was already there, playing his guitar. He nodded his head to him. " 'Sup?"

Beckett sighed and sat down. "Nothing much. What you get for Christmas?"

"A new drum set and a skiing trip to the Alpines. You?"

"New Ipod, skateboard, and the complete edition of Naruto."

"Sweet."

"Yeah. Dude, dude, guess what?"

"Hm?" asks Ross, strumming the guitar.

"I signed up for the inventions contest."

Ross made a sour note. "What? You serious?"

"Plenty, man. Inventing is fun. No wonder Artemis does it all the time."

"And what does your invention do, might I ask?"

"That, my friend, is a surprise. But I invite you to the contest."

"Yeah, sure…But why?"

"Because Myles has been pushing my buttons these holidays, and Artemis said that anybody that wins the contest is a genius. I have to win it, Ross. I have to."

"And why do you have to?"

"To get accepted by Artemis, for once, at least."

It was the day of the contest. Finally. Beckett was standing in the line impatiently. When he reached the top, he greeted a surprised Ms. Olsen.

"The kid actually came."

"Beckett Fowl? Is that you?" Beckett smiled. "The one and only, Ms. Olsen. I told you I would come. How could I win that way?"

"I had no doubt." Ms. Olsen fibbed.

Beckett nodded. Yeah, yeah. "Now, if you excuse me…"

Ms. Olsen smiled and moved aside. "He's determined, that's for sure."

Beckett entered backstage, and he stopped in his tracks when he saw Myles.

"Myles."

Myles smiled as he looked at the cardboard box Beckett had in his hands. "That is your project?"

Beckett scowled. "No, you idiot. My project is in the box. Jeez, and you call me a simpleton."

"Because you are a simpleton. And I didn't mean that, idiot."

"Uh, duh, I know. I was playing too."

"Then what a stupid game were you playing?"

"The sarcasm game. Don't you play that too?"

They bickered a bit, but then Beckett walked away and peeked out the curtains. His family was in the front row, with the exception of Owl and Butler in the back. Artemis Sr. and Angeline were whispering to each other and Artemis was yet again, talking through the phone.

Ross and several other boys were in the back, horsing around. Ross caught his eye and gave him a thumbs up. Beckett smiled and gave another thumbs up.

He glanced at Artemis again. He was still talking to the phone.

Probably to Rachel, thought Beckett. He wasn't sure of this, but he hoped it was Rachel. Rachel was a French model, that appeared on the Fowl doorstep on Christmas eve. She hugged and kissed Artemis, as if they were long lost lovers. But on New Years he heard him arguing with his mother that he didn't know her ("Curse the press."). That she was probably a gold digger of some sort. Beckett didn't know about gold digger, but he liked Rachel. She was pretty, and she was very nice to him. He got three pats on his back. Dean Guiney said to him, "The show's about to start, son. Get in line."

Beckett nodded. "Yes, sir." He scurried to the line, horrified that he was behind Myles. "No, no, why behind you?"

"Same thing I ask myself."

"Ahem," Dean Guiney cleared his throat. "Welcome to the annual Teen Inventors contest. Some of the greatest minds have been known to come from St. Bartleby's, take for example, young Artemis Fowl II, who has been nominated for the Noble Prize and is with us right now."

There was a loud applause. Artemis stood up briefly then sat back down. Beckett felt more pressurized.

"Now, we will be continuing with our contest. Joining us as judges is…"

Beckett lost his attention. I still wonder what LEP stands for. Little Eager People? Nah, sounds stupid for a weapon. Live Every Present?

"…and the grand prize for first place is for his or her project to be in Sweden's science fair and a full scholarship."

No, I think it's for Lake Equals Pie…hmmm.

First up was Reese Carter. He invented an automated bike, but got disqualified because it was deemed an electric bike, which already existed.

Maybe it's for Lies Enter Pain. Too sad, though.

Whitney Gale made a robot that pushed wheel chairs, but the bot malfunctioned and dropped her grandfather off the stage.

Lice Eat Pears. Ha.

An hour passed, it was finally Myles turn. Myles went up the stage and took out a baseball cap. "Dear guests," he started. "I would like to present the mind hat."

How original, thought Beckett, paying attention again.

Myles put the hat on. "The hat was made out of magnets, then camouflaged as a hat. It moves any metallic thing. For example…" Myles took out a metal ball the size of a baseball, and placed it on the middle of the stage. The ball moved half a foot up into the air, then fell.

Myles sighed. "The only defect the hat has that it has the tendency to cause migraines. I would like to thank you all for your time." Myles walked off the stage as the audience gave a loud applause.

Beckett strolled down the stage, carrying the box in his hands. His friends made a loud applause for him, with whoops and "Go Beckett! You the man!"

Beckett bowed. "Thank you, thank you." He set the box on a table provided by the stage crew as requested by him. "Before I present my invention I would like to thank my brother Artemis. Without him I couldn't have worked hard enough." There were slight awws from the crowd.

Beckett opened the box and set a small silver dish on the table and set the box on the floor. He held the dish on his hands. "This, my dear audience, is the Beckett dish. You all may think, 'that's just a dish. Silly boy,' but you are wrong. Yes, you too, the one with the silly eyebrows." He was referring to his friend Finnian. He had grown a unibrow during the holidays.

He set the Beckett dish on the table again, and said, "Activate." The room was enveloped in blue light emanating from the dish. The crowd awed, and the shock from his friends and Artemis's, especially Artemis's, amused him. "Show file 12." The room was then in white light, then there was Beckett on the left wall, smiling wide and waving. Then Beckett pressed a something in the air where it left his fingerprint, and the video disappeared.

"Oh, dear," thought Artemis.

The room was back in it's normal lighting, and Beckett opened the back of the dish. "That is one of the dish's many operations. It is also a computer. The dish is powered by an ion battery. Therefore, the battery is environmentally more friendly."

"Oh dear."

Beckett whispered something to the dish, and they were suddenly watching Avatar in very high quality. He heard a "Ohhh, my favorite movie," from one of his friends.

Then he said something to the dish again. It started playing River Flows in You from Yiruma. It sounded as if it was live, but with better quality. Overall, everything was better quality.

"Oh dear."

Beckett bowed, said his thank you, and left the stage. An hour later, Dean Guiney went up the stage. "Well, the vote was unanimous. The winner is…"

No, no, no, please, thought Artemis.

Please, please, please, thought Beckett.

"Beckett Fowl."

"Lord, please help me."