Running a hand through tousled curly hair, and wiping sweat from his brow, Leo was determined to conquer this project and this summer heat wave. The air conditioning in his apartment building had gone out two days ago, while Leo was still in the sketching stage of his designs. The heat had actually given him the idea for his newest invention, sort of. It was to be called the Ice Ghost, and shot a small electric current into your body that gave you chills and goosebumps. He couldn't wait until it was finished so he could use it on himself.

Considering his budget, Leo grabbed tools and wires and batteries from where ever he could. Which would explain why the technology enthuse had no working technology in his room. A disassembled CD player lay at his right side and the now broken ShopKeeper to his left. Tiny screws and all other little pieces were kept in a shallow bowl right in front of him, ensuring that this project would not be duct taped together. The device itself would be the size of a staple remover, and could clamp down on the pressure point between one's thumb and pointer figure, emitting a faint pulse of electricity that made your hair stand on end and your body cool down. He had to look up the biology surrounding that premise—which took many hours, surprisingly— and decided that his little flying robots would be able to look that kind of stuff up for him! So far, he would need at least five flying robots to be able to accomplish each task deigned for them. Two more whims and he would have seven of Snow White's closest pals. Despite the setback of not having these imaginary helpers, Leo finished the first draft of the product with only two days until the contest.

His first test subject would be himself, seeing as he was the only person home today. He unplugged the mechanism, hoping the battery would last more than one use, and carefully placed it between his thumb and forefinger. Clamping down, he pressed the button.

He woke up thirty minutes later, his hair definitely on end, with fun little smoke signals coming from each follicle. The air smelled like burnt skin and singed hair and melting metal. Leo quickly opened the back of the device and pulled out the hot, melting battery.

"Okay, so too much charge. I can fix this." He mumbled to himself. Most of his conversation took place by himself these days. He found himself quite agreeable and he held intelligent conversation every day. He liked working alone, much to his surprise. He was his best partner in crime.

And fix it he did. The charge was still too high, even with the smaller battery, and left you with an unpleasant taste in your mouth and a slightly hazy feeling for a good ten minutes. Nothing caught on fire, thankfully, but it still was not performance ready. He lay awake all night thinking of ways to alter his machine for the better.

The next morning awoke the final day of production before the contest's advent. But Leo's bravado would not be squelched. Since his mind had been active all night, he had come up with at least four possible ways to fix the Ice Ghost, two of which he didn't have the funds for and the other two that would be harder, but plausible.