"Ronnie Anne~! It's almost eight o'clock! Time to get ready for school!"

Mmph~. Talk about perfect timing. I had just opened my eyes when I heard Abuela knocking on my door. I suppose I can think of worse wake-up calls; especially living in the city.

"I'll just be a minute, Abuela!" I called back. As I let out a yawn and stretched myself out, I could hear the sizzle of the stovetop coming from the kitchen. Yep, sounds about right. Abuela never fails to whip up something tasty for breakfast. Guess I gotta get my rear in gear if I wanna snag anything before the rest of my family snarfs it down.

Okay, let's see. I did all my homework and packed up my bag last night, so that should be all ready to go. I'll just get out my clothes, grab my phone, and…

Oh, hey! I got a text message from Sid! Looks like she sent it just now. I hope it's nothing serious. Eh, it's probably not that bad if it's just a text. Let's see what it says.

"Hey, Bestie. Just a heads-up: I might be running a little late today. If I'm not out the door when you are, you can head to school without me."

Huh. That's a bit strange. Ever since Sid moved into our building, we've always made it a point to go to school together. And just when I was about to write off today as being completely normal. Meh, whatever. I might as well ask what's up.

"Everything okay, Sid?" I texted back.

Sid's response came within a matter of moments.

"Yeah, everything's cool. I just need to negotiate with my mom about bringing a little someone for Show and Tell."

Ah. Show and Tell. That actually explains a—

Wait a second. Show and Tell? That's today?! Ugh, dang it, that totally slipped my mind! How could I've been so stupid?!

Okay. Don't panic, Ronnie Anne. You've got some time to figure this out. There's gotta be something you can bring in. Maybe my skateboard? Nah, I brought that in last time. One of my video games? I dunno, that's gonna be pretty hard to show without the right equipment. Oh, what about my vlogs? That could be… wait, no. Most people have seen those already. Ugh, c'mon, think!

"Brawk~! Breakfast time! Early bird gets the chilaquiles!"

As I kept going through my stuff, Sergio flew in through the window, squawking all the while. Hmm…

"Hey, Sergio!" I said, waving him down. "Y'mind doing a huge favor for me?"

Sergio landed on his perch and raised an eyebrow. "Depends. What kind of favor?"

I took a deep breath. "Well, I just found out that we have Show and Tell today, and I was wondering if…"

"Nope."

I couldn't help but flinch at Sergio's quick response. "What do you mean no?"

"I've got a full day working in the mercado today," Sergio said with a shrug. "I need to maintain my Employee of the Month status."

…

See, that sounds like just a lame excuse to get out of going to school with me, but believe it or not, that Employee of the Month thing is actually true. I still don't know how that's possible; all he seems to do in the mercado is annoy Bobby nonstop. Then again, that bird is always full of surprises; most of which you're better off not knowing. Still, whether he's telling the truth or not, I could tell he wasn't keen on the idea.

"Dang it," I grumbled, massaging my temples. Okay, what's left? Family photos? No. Some ice pops from my mini fridge? Don't have enough for everyone. I could ask Tio Carlos and Tia Frida if I could bring Lalo. Hmm, no. A dog that big walking around our school is just asking for trouble. Ugh, is there nothing I can use here?

"Ronalada~! Is everything alright in there, mija?" Abuela called out.

Oh jeez. If Abuela's resorting to using my full Spanish name, that can only mean that I'm running out of time. Heck, I'm not even dressed yet! Alright, get it together, Ronnie Anne. Just find something for now; you can deal with the rest later.

Um, uh… ah-ha! There we go! My Royal Woods sweatshirt! Man, that brings back memories. Hmm, now that I'm thinking about it, this could really work! Most of my classmates see me as a born and bred city girl, but only my closest friends know that wasn't always the case. I actually spent most of my life in the sleepy suburbs of Royal Woods. I could use this sweatshirt as a springboard to talk about my life before I moved to Great Lakes City!

…

Okay, saying that out loud, I'm pretty sure not everyone is gonna exactly find that riveting. But a, I find it kinda interesting, and it might be nice to revisit my roots like this. And b, it's the best I could come up with. Especially since I completely blanked on Show and Tell being today. Tch, still can't believe I did that.

"Ronalda~! I'm not going to call you again!"

I snagged a glance at my phone. 8:10 already? Yikes, that is cutting it pretty close. I guess it's not as bad as it could've been, but man, I need to hustle. Just because Sid's gonna be running late doesn't mean I should be, too.

"Just a second, Abuela!" I hollered. Alright, let's do this.

By the time I got dressed and brushed my teeth, I was out the door and on my skateboard. I didn't see Sid around, and according to my phone, I was already behind schedule. I don't know whether she was still running late or if she went off without me, but it doesn't matter at this point. I need to get a move-on if I'm gonna make our usual train.

While I didn't have time to sit down and enjoy Abuela's delicious chilaquiles, I wasn't gonna go without breakfast. I knew for a fact that Bruno's hotdog cart was right on the way to the Glart station, so I managed to snag one. I didn't get a good look since I was in a big hurry, but I'm pretty sure Bruno rolled his eyes at me when I bought my usual. This actually isn't the first time I've hit up his hotdog cart for breakfast. In fact, I pretty much do that every time I can't get something from home for whatever reason. Which happens a lot more often than you'd think. But, I'm rambling here. I should focus on making up for lost time.

When I made my final approach to South Street, where the Glart station is, I saw that Sid was waiting around the entrance and checking her watch. Heh, how ironic. She tells me she's gonna be late, and then she ends up waiting around for me. I was about to call out to her, but I soon realized that I was holding my breakfast in my mouth. Phew, close one. I am not making this day any worse than it already is.

Luckily, Sid managed to spot me as several onlookers muttered in confusion. I guess it is pretty strange seeing a girl like me racing down the sidewalk on her skateboard with a hotdog in her mouth. But hey, that's life in the big city. Sometimes, these things happen.

"Oh! Hey, Ronnie Anne!" Sid called out, waving at me. "I was getting kinda worried."

I skidded to a stop and took the hotdog out of my mouth, taking a moment to catch my breath. "Yeah, well… I didn't… know we had… Show and Tell… today… until you… reminded me," I panted.

Sid frowned. "Oh. Geez, I'm sorry, Ron. Did you manage to find something?"

"Y-yeah, I did," I said with a smirk. "I-if anything, I should be thanking you for saving my butt."

"Uh, sure. No prob," said Sid, scratching her head. "Well, c'mon. I think we can still make our train."

I nodded and slid my skateboard into my backpack. The two of us then went down into the Glart station. Luckily, we managed to board our usual train just in the nick of time. Again, not as bad as it could've been. But man, that was a rush. My heart's still pounding something fierce.

"So, what did you manage to find for Show and Tell?" Sid asked.

"H-huh? Oh, just a little something from my time in Royal Woods," I said. "I don't know if anyone'll be that interested, but it's better than nothing." Just then, a thought struck me. "What about you? You said you'd be running late because you had to discuss Show and Tell with your mom?"

"Oh, that," said Sid. "Well, the thing is my presentation is still kinda a work-in-progress. I'm not sure if it's ready yet, so I asked to borrow one of my mom's animals as a backup."

So while I was running late because I was completely unprepared, Sid was running late because she was over-prepared. Must be one of those "grass is always greener" situations, because I am so jealous of her right now.

"What do you mean by 'work-in-progress', exactly?" I asked. "You whip up a new gizmo or something?"

Sid smiled. "You know me so well, Ron. You wanna see her?"

I shrugged. "Uh, sure, I guess."

Sid opened up her backpack and started rifling through it. As she did so, I saw a little squirrel dash up her arm and perch itself on her shoulder. I'm guessing that's the backup plan she was talking about. Man, Sid's got it so easy. Between her knack for robotics and her mom being a zoologist who often brings animals home, Show and Tell has always been a shoe-in for her. Me, on the other hand, well… You all saw what I just went through.

"Hmm. I know she's in here somewhere," Sid mused as she rummaged through her bag. "Uh… yes, ah-ha! There we go!"

She pulled out a small device and showed it to me. Honestly, I'm not sure what I'm looking at here. It looks like one of those novelty buttons you get at the copier store or something. It's a dim teal color, and it has a picture of… a sleeping emoticon? It's certainly not like any of Sid's other robots.

"Um, okay," I said. "What is it?"

"This little guy's called the Emotitron," said Sid. "I'm planning on entering her in our school science fair later this year, and I thought it'd be fun to give you guys a little sneak peek."

"Uh-huh," I said, nodding slowly. "So, what does it do?"

"Maybe it's best if I just show you," said Sid. She pressed the button, and it lit up. "Good morning, Emotitron~! It's a really beautiful day today~!"

Suddenly, the light on the Emotitron changed from teal to green, and its face changed to a smiley face emoticon.

"GOOD-MORNING-SID-CHANG! LOVELY-DAY!" it chirped.

I'm… totally lost. "What, you say 'good morning' to it, and it says 'good morning' back?"

As soon as I said that, the Emotitron changed from green to yellow, and its emoticon face gave me a blank stare.

"MY-HOW-CONFUSING. DOES-NOT-COMPUTE," it said.

I… what? "Um, is it supposed to do that?" I asked. "And, what exactly is it doing?"

"DOES-NOT-COMPUTE. VERY-SURPRISING," the Emotitron said.

"Well, here's the thing," said Sid. "The Emotitron here listens to sounds, and she translates those sounds into emotions and displays it back to you."

The Emotitron turned green and beamed. "ISN'T-THAT-NEAT?" it chittered happily.

"I guess," I said, scratching my head. "Um, where'd you get the idea to make this?"

"From my mom," said Sid. "I wanted to make something that'll help people understand animals as much as she does. Though while it's good at picking up human emotions, I haven't really been able to have much luck with animals. I'm still working out the kinks."

The Emotitron briefly flashed a dark blue color before changing back to green again. "IT'S-A-STRUGGLE-BUT-WELL-WORTH IT."

…

Wow. Now I'm really jealous of Sid. No one in our class is gonna be able to top that. And personally, I don't really want to. I know I said she has a knack for robotics, but she's really outdone herself this time.

"That's awesome, dude," I said. "I'm sure everyone's gonna love it."

"AW-SHUCKS. WHAT-A-NICE-THING-TO-SAY," the Emotitron said.

Sid chuckled. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ron." Her face suddenly lit up. "Hey, I just got an idea."

"What's that?"

"How would you like to help me demonstrate the Emotitron for Show and Tell? We could make it a group project."

That… kinda caught me off-guard. I mean, I shouldn't really be surprised; Sid's always coming up with ideas like that. But, uh… I dunno. Something about that thing knowing how I'm feeling and broadcasting it to the world just makes me… uneasy. Yeah, let's go with that. Even so, I flashed Sid the biggest smile I could muster.

"Well, it's very sweet of you to offer, Sid, but I'm good," I said.

Just then, the Emotitron changed from green to blue, and a digital display of tears seemed to roll down its emoticon cheeks.

"I'M-SCARED," it whimpered. "PLEASE-DON'T-HATE-ME."

See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. I had to look around the car to make sure none of the other passengers were overhearing this. Ugh, I'm starting to think I should've stayed in bed today. Sid noticed me squirming and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay," she said. "It was just a suggestion. You don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"THOUGH-IT-WOULD-BE-DISAPPOINTING," added the Emotitron.

Oh, great. Now the mood ring robot is trying to guilt trip me. Fantastic. Sid's face flushed bright red.

"Emotitron! Bad girl!" she scolded. "She didn't need to know that! Apologize to Ronnie Anne right now!"

The Emotitron flashed red and scowled at me. "'EY-LOOK-I'M-SORRY-OVER-HERE," it said indignantly. "YOU-WANNA-MAKE-SOMETHING-OF-IT?"

W-was that an apology or a threat?! Sheesh, that thing's really getting on my nerves. I seriously don't need this right now.

"Sid, maybe turn that off before it causes a scene," I growled.

The Emotitron flashed between blue and red. "EMBARRASSMENT-IS-FRIGHTENING-AND-FRUSTRATING," it quipped.

Before I could respond to that, Sid tapped the Emotitron, and it went back to its original teal color as its light dimmed. She sighed.

"Crud muffins. It's still too sensitive," she said. "I'm sorry, Ron. I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"N-not your fault," I said, slowly getting my bearings. "But yeah, I can see what you meant by having some kinks to work out."

Sid nodded. "Well, good thing I had a backup plan. Isn't that right, Can—?"

She turned to her shoulder to address the squirrel, but it was nowhere to be seen. Did it run off while we were distracted by the Emotitron? Geez, this day keeps getting worse and worse.

"C-Candy? Candy A. Corn?" Sid whimpered, her breathing becoming erratic. "Candy~?! Wh-where are you, girl?! Oh man, my mom's gonna kill me!"

"C-calm down, Sid," I said, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. "She probably didn't leave the car. We've still got time before we reach our stop, so let's go find her."

Sid took in a deep breath to calm down before nodding. "O-okay. I'll go ask my dad; you check the back of the car."

"Got it," I said. Oh, right. I should mention that Sid's dad is a train conductor, and most of the time, his train is the one Sid and I end up taking to school. Before you ask, we didn't set it up like that. That's just how it is. Okay, gotta focus. Where could that squirrel have…?

"Excuse me, little dudette. Is this yours?"

I turned to see an unfamiliar woman holding the squirrel in her hand. She was dressed in this baggy tie-dye shirt, and her blond hair was so long it reached her shoulders. She was also wearing a flower crown and rose-tinted glasses. All that was missing was a guitar over her shoulder. But hey, I'm not one to judge. The important thing is the crisis is averted.

"Yeah, that belongs to my friend," I said. "Thanks, miss."

The woman nodded. "I see. So you know Becca Chang."

Well, that came out of nowhere. "Um, yeah. Why?"

"No reason," said the woman with a shrug. "Just wondering if she's always this… carefree with her animals." She lifted the squirrel up and tickled its tummy. "What say you, little dude? Is your master treating you well?"

Okay, this sounds like a whole lot of stuff that's none of my business. I'm gonna end this before it gets awkward.

"J-just a sec," I said, turning to Sid. She looked like she was busy talking to her dad. "Yo, Sid! I found the squirrel!"

Sid whipped around, and her eyes sparkled. "Oh! That's great!" she said. She quickly apologized to her dad and dashed over to us. The woman looked over at her, raising an eyebrow.

"So, you're Becca Chang's little girl," she said.

Sid blinked. "You know my mom?"

"I should hope so," said the woman, adjusting her glasses. "She's been making quite a splash in Great Lakes City. She has quite a way with animals, or so I'm told. Blessed be."

Sid brushed the back of her head sheepishly. "Um, thank you. Listen, she's gonna get really mad at me if I lose Candy, so…"

"Oh, of course," said the woman, giving the squirrel to Sid. "I must say, it's quite interesting that she trusts wild animals with her children. I wonder, does she always do this, or is this a special occasion?"

Sid gave me a look, and I just shrugged. Honestly, if she doesn't know what this woman's talking about, how am I supposed to know?

"I mean, I'm just bringing Candy here for Show and Tell, and my mom said it was okay," said Sid. She then cleared her throat. "Look, it was really nice to meet you, but we're getting off at the next stop. We gotta get to school, y'see."

"Ah. Message received," said the woman with a nod. "Have a groovy day at school, young Sid. Tell your mom that Andrea Dracar says hello, and that I look forward to seeing just how well she treats her little ones. Peace out, dudettes."

With that, she moved off to another car. Um, ooooookay. Not sure what that was all about, but hey, we got the squirrel back.

"Well, that was… a thing that happened," said Sid blankly. "Yeesh, what a crazy morning, huh, Ron?"

She didn't have to tell me twice. Eh, I guess that just comes with living in the big city. Some days are just crazy like that. But who knows? Maybe the rest of the day'll be normal.

…

Why do I get the feeling that I just jinxed it? Hmm, maybe I'm just nervous about Show and Tell. At least, I hope that's what it is. I'm not sure how much more strangeness I can take today…