“W-w-what are they?” Lono asked.

  “I think they are robots. But … it seems like they are confused. Nobody move,” Kasia said in her I’m-not-playing voice.

  Rahim and Lono and his crew took a step backward in unison.

  The three figures moved forward.

  “They had pictures of us on its … face,” Rahim said.

  “Of course! They have images of us, but they’re not going around asking if anyone has seen us. They are using facial-recognition liminal software to identify us,” Kasia said.

  “English?” Rahim said.

  “They are using a computerized facial ID system. It won’t work as well as long as we all stand together.”

  “It can’t see us in groups?” Kimo said.

  “Yes,” Kasia said. “That’s part of it. And it’s especially bad at recognizing people of color. These technologies get built by and tested without thinking about different skin tones. Usually that would made me mad, but right now I’m liking it.”

  “I’m not,” Kimo said. “I’m out of here!” He took off running, hopped the fence, and disappeared down the street. His panic broke apart the group a little, and the three metallic figures started to come forward.

  Rahim stood in front of Kasia to protect her, but the figure with its hood down and the metallic head picked him up by his shirt and held him aloft, while the other two immobilized Kasia and plucked the phone from her hands. Then they turned, took off, and ran through the chain-link fence, ripping the metal wire and poles apart like they were tissue paper.

  “Well, that’s just great,” Rahim said under his breath.

  Metallic Head sat Rahim down on the ground, then followed his two partners. He moved so fast it was like Rahim was watching a superhero movie.

  Rahim lay back on the ground and covered his face with his hands. This was worse than the wrong person being the forty-fourth president. This was worse than forgetting the rock. This was even worse than the last time he had been stuck in the past. At least then he had Kasia in the present working to get him back.

  “How are we gonna get home? They took the phone! And you’re not at your computer to help me!” Rahim said.

  Kasia sat next to him for the understatement of the year. “Rahim,” she said. “This time-travel stuff is way harder than I thought.”

  7

  R-2 and K-2 went through the rest of the night with relatively little trouble. They ate dinner with Kasia’s and Rahim’s families, then went to bed in Rahim’s and Kasia’s beds. The closest they came to getting found out was when Rahim’s mother noticed R-2 didn’t ask for a second helping of corn pudding.

  “You all right, Rahim? You sure you don’t want any more?”

  “Yes, I would like another helping of corn pudding,” R-2 had said. Rahim’s mother had given him a look, but it didn’t last long. She shook her head and heaped another helping of corn pudding onto his plate.

  After R-2 spooned the corn pudding into his mouth, it finished the iced tea and stood up from the table.

  “How was your music lesson?” Professor Reynolds asked.

  “It went well. We studied much music. Can I be excused now? I would like to go upstairs and…” It paused for what seemed like an hour. “Read,” it said finally.

  “Are you okay, son?” Professor Reynolds asked.

  “I am, Father. I would very much like to read now.”

  Mrs. Reynolds looked at Professor Reynolds.

  “Okay. You can go upstairs,” Professor Reynolds said.

  R-2 went up to Rahim’s room. It went in and closed the door. As it looked around the room, its eyes began to glow like bright-green glow sticks. It stood in the middle of the room and shut down for the night.

  The next morning, R-2 and K-2 walked into school side by side, step by step in perfect formation. They went to Rahim’s locker first, then to Kasia’s. As they were standing there, Man Man came up to R-2.

  “Hey, what’s up, punk!” Man Man said. He slammed into R-2. R-2 didn’t budge. Instead, Man Man went flying across the floor.

  “Oh snap!” someone said. Man Man hopped up and went up to R-2 again. A crowd began to gather around the two of them.

  “Oh, you wanna throw down?” Man Man asked. He swung at R-2 with his left fist. R-2 ducked and moved to the right. Man Man’s momentum carried him past R-2 and sent him sprawling across the floor again. Man Man got up and tried to swing on R-2 again, this time with his right fist. R-2 leaned all the way back until he was almost parallel to the floor. Again, Man Man’s momentum sent him flying, this time into a row of lockers. The crowd began to laugh. Even Man Man’s two sidekicks laughed a little.

  Man Man got up slowly. When he was on his feet, he gestured to his two cohorts.

  “Get him!” he said. The three of them ran at R-2. The android began to weave and move. He ducked a punch from Lavell, and this caused Lavell to accidently hit Tron. Man Man tried to hit R-2 from the back, but R-2 dropped down and did a split. Man Man fell over him and landed flat on his face. Lavell and Tron grabbed him and helped him up.

  “Get off me! I’ll catch up with you later, Tomato Head,” Man Man said, panting. His two sidekicks helped him down the hallway. There was a pause in the laughter in the hallway, and then everyone exploded in cheers.

  “Way to go!” a kid said as he slapped R-2 on the back.

  “About time someone put him in his place,” another kid said.

  R-2 looked at K-2. They nodded at each other and went in opposite directions. R-2 made it to Mrs. LoCash’s classroom in time. She was Rahim’s math teacher. He sat behind Olivia Reed and pulled out his notebook.

  “Man, you think we can at least get a C or a D today? Mrs. LoCash be making her test hard as all get-out,” Olivia said.

  “I’m sure I will perform adequately,” R-2 said.

  “Um, okay, then,” Olivia said.

  Bilal, the kid who sat behind Rahim, had a question. “You and Kasia still gonna do the talent show? I’m thinking of doing something in it. Maybe some magic tricks. We was going to the mall the other day, and we saw a guy out front doing street magic.”

  “You don’t have the dexterity to perform magic tricks,” R-2 said. “You should seek out another talent.”

  Bilal sat back in his chair. “Man,” he mumbled to himself, “that was just mean.”

  * * *

  In Kasia’s advanced geometry class, her teacher, Mr. Abrum, stood by the whiteboard, dry eraser in his hand. He’d asked Kasia to come to the board to solve an equation. “I don’t think you’ll have trouble with this,” he said, “though it might take you a minute or so.” K-2 solved it so fast there was still marker dust hanging in the air. Mr. Abrum looked confused and a little alarmed.

  “You can, um … have a seat, Kasia,” he said. K-2 returned to Kasia’s desk. He told everyone to work ahead independently on the classwork website and kept staring at the board. Next to the alphas, betas, and deltas were strange letters he didn’t recognize.

  “What is that equation?” said Donnell Jameson. He was the other smartest kid in class.

  “It’s a simple part of computational and analytic geometries. The more traditional equation would only apply in this dimension,” K-2 said.

  “If that’s simple, I’d hate to see you do something complicated,” Donnell said.

  “Complicated equations would make you pass out,” K-2 said.

  All day long, R-2 and K-2 moved through each of Rahim’s and Kasia’s classes with much the same results. Rahim’s teachers were pleasantly shocked with how well he was performing. Kasia’s teachers were a little afraid of how well she was doing. In Kasia’s science class, K-2 was asked to work with a Bunsen burner for a class experiment. Instead of using a striker to light the burner, K-2 snapped its fingers. The flame lit instantly.

  “Um … thank you, Kasia. You can take a seat,” Mrs. Salgado said.

  Keisha Anderson was sitting behind her in that class. “How did you do that?” Keisha asked.

  K-2 just stared at her until she looked down at her textbook.

  In Rahim’s gym class, R-2 was asked to climb the rope. Coach McIntyre usually picked Rahim to go first in drills like this because he struggled. Coach McIntyre thought he was teaching him discipline.

  “Just try to do your best, Reynolds,” Coach McIntyre said in his gruff voice. R-2 grabbed the rope with both hands. “All right, go!” Coach McIntyre said.

  R-2 scrambled up to the top of the rope, then slid back down like a fireman going down a fire pole. The whole class was shocked into silence. R-2 went and sat back on the bleachers next to Harris.

  “You been working out?” Harris asked.

  “Something like that,” R-2 said.

  At lunch, R-2 and K-2 sat at a table alone. Dasha, Tomas, and Jaleen approached them with their trays.

  “Hey, can we sit with you?” Tomas asked.

  “No. Please go away,” K-2 said.

  Dasha and Tomas looked at each other, shrugged, and walked away. Jaleen stayed behind. “Hey, K,” she said. “Dasha told me you worked on a song for us. You want to watch us practice our routine after school?”

  “No. Please go away now,” K-2 said again.

  Jaleen frowned, started to say something else, then changed her mind and walked away.

  Now that the coast was clear, R-2 and K-2 each pulled out a sleek white cell phone and laid them on the table in front of them. They both touched their screens, and a video link came up. Future Rahim and Future Kasia were in a bright white room sitting next to each other.

  “Is your excursion going successfully?” Future Rahim asked.

  “Yes. We have assimilated into the culture of their school and their homelife,” R-2 said.

  “Good. Prepare to stay in place until otherwise notified,” Future Kasia said.

  “Or until Rahim or Kasia return,” Future Rahim said.

  Future Kasia gave him a look. “Like I said. Until otherwise notified.”

  “Or until the two return,” R-2 said.

  “No,” K-2 said. “Do you not recall the explanation provided earlier, that an obstacle in the past will…” Future Rahim and Future Kasia ended the connection, and K-2 immediately stopped talking.

  R-2 and K-2 put their phones back in their pockets and began to eat their lunches. They both tore into their square pizzas and wolfed down their pieces of fruit. Man Man walked toward them, but when R-2 raised its head, Man Man turned back around and went to the other side of the lunchroom.

  As the last bell rang, R-2 and K-2 headed out the door together. Harris came running up to R-2 and put his hand on his shoulder.

  “I never thought I’d see you stand up to Man Man,” he said. “Especially after that atomic wedgie. You just became the most popular kid in school.”

  “That is satisfactory,” R-2 said.

  “Hey, do you have to practice the trumpet today or are you coming to chess club? I just learned the French Defense. Can’t wait to show Tommy Dunn what’s up,” Harris said.

  “No, I must spend time with my family to establish a deep bond so that our relationship will be stronger in the weeks to come,” R-2 said.

  “Um … all right. Can you come over after that?” Harris asked.

  R-2 and K-2 paused.

  “Neither Rahim nor I will be spending time with you for the foreseeable future. I hope this clarifies things for you,” K-2 said. They turned and headed down the steps of the school. Harris stood at the top of the steps with his mouth hanging open like a barn door.

  “Wow,” Harris yelled after them. “Ya’ll two tripping for real. Whatever.”

  * * *

  R-2 and K-2 reached the steps of their houses at the same time. They climbed up in unison and entered with startling precision.

  Rahim’s father was reading in his chair as R-2 entered the house. R-2 went up to where Professor Reynolds was sitting and cleared his throat.

  “What are you doing here, son? I know you have a lesson with—” R-2 cut him off midsentence.

  “I had a productive day at school. It was very informative. I learned a great many interesting things. I would like to go to my room now until the time at which dinner is served.”

  “Rahim, are you okay? Don’t you have a lesson today with Mr. Alves?” Rahim’s mother asked. She was walking a music student to the door. They waved at R-2 but received no wave in return. Mrs. Reynolds closed the door behind her and crossed her arms.

  “I forgot. I will go upstairs and get my…” R-2 paused with his mouth agape and his hands down by his sides.

  “Your trumpet,” Professor Reynolds said.

  “Yes, my trumpet. Excuse me,” R-2 said.

  After he went upstairs Mrs. Reynolds turned to Professor Reynolds.

  “Do you think we are being too hard on him? He doesn’t seem like himself,” she said.

  Professor Reynolds grunted.

  “Probably staying up late watching old rap videos on that iPad. Which I’m still against, by the way. The iPad, not the old videos.”

  “Omar, he needs it for school. And last night he was sound asleep by ten. No, no. Something isn’t right,” Mrs. Reynolds said.

  “We’ll talk to him after his lesson. We paid too much money to Mr. Alves for him to be late,” Professor Reynolds said.

  * * *

  Kasia’s parents were not there when K-2 arrived at the Collins home. There was a note on the kitchen table about a problem at the store. The note also said there was bean curd soup in the fridge to heat up. K-2 crumpled the note and tossed it in the trash can. The trash can was about fifteen feet away. It did this without looking.

  Suddenly K-2 froze. Its eyes lit up with an eerie greenish glow.

  In Rahim’s room, R-2’s eyes had the same green glow.

  “I have to go to a lesson of trumpet. You should join me in case we get orders from the Aevum,” R-2 said. Across the alley, K-2 responded.

  “I will meet you downstairs.”

  * * *

  Moments later Rahim’s mother watched the two of them head toward Mr. Alves’s studio. She closed the curtain and turned to Professor Reynolds.

  “Kasia is going with him to his lesson. Are we sure we aren’t pushing him too hard?” Mrs. Reynolds asked.

  Professor Reynolds closed his book. “They’ve been best friends since they could both walk. If she is going along, I’m sure it’s just to give Rahim some moral support. And that’s fine. I’m sure he knows we love him. I’ve heard him through his bedroom door practicing his rap songs. He is talented. And he’s smart, smarter than he thinks. But he can’t just graduate from school and hit the road on a pipe dream. Learning an instrument is good for him. He’s been more responsible over the past year, but he still needs to learn more discipline. It’s a good foundation whether he ends up a lawyer or a rap star or a music teacher like his beautiful mother.”

  Mrs. Reynolds turned and looked out the window again.

  “I know, I know,” she said. “That all sounds right. It just seems like he isn’t our little boy anymore.”

  * * *

  R-2 and K-2 had turned down the street to Mr. Alves’s studio when Man Man and his two sidekicks stepped into their path.

  “Let’s see you use that fancy MMA stuff now!” Man Man said as he and his two cronies jumped on R-2.

  K-2 grabbed Lavell and Tron by the tops of their heads and lifted them off their feet. It carried them, kicking and screaming, toward a dumpster at the end of the alley. Then it tossed them in and shut the lid.

  R-2 grabbed Man Man by the throat and held him in the air. His Nike-clad feet kicked and jumped.

  “You are not going to approach me anymore. You are not going to approach her anymore. If you do, it will be … will not be good for you. Do you understand?” R-2 said. It pulled Man Man toward him. “Not good at all,” it said.

  “Okay!” Man Man groaned.

  R-2 sat him down on the sidewalk. People flowed around them as Man Man put his head in his hands.

  A homeless man with long gray dreads, pushing a shopping cart and wearing a tropical shirt, passed by Man Man. “You ought to learn to leave people alone,” he said.

  8

  Rahim and kasia were sitting against what was left of the chain-link fence. They had a few scratches and scrapes, but Rahim thought they looked okay for two people who’d gotten into a fight with three robots.

  “I wish you still had the phone you first built. Be nice to have a spare,” Rahim said.

  Kasia pulled Iago out of her pocket.

  “You can’t think of everything. That’s my job,” Kasia said. Iago in his dormant state looked a little like a big bug, like a metallic ladybug or beetle. Kasia touched Iago on the back. His pincer arms extended as his shell opened and his propellors unfolded. He rose into the air as his primary interface came online. Now he resembled a drone with arms like a praying mantis’s. Kasia touched the temple of her glasses. She had built them herself after popping her lenses out of their original frames and adding a fiber-optic skin to them. She had built wireless controls for Iago into the frames.

  “Turn on tracking,” Kasia said. Iago emitted a few short beeps, spun around in a circle three or four times, then started flying north.

  “Let’s go get our phone,” Kasia said. She stood and held out her hand to Rahim. He took it and rose to his feet.

  “You put a tracker in the phone so Iago could find it. Smart,” Rahim said.

  “I figured one of us might lose it one day. Better safe than sorry, you know?” Kasia said.

  “I guess we better get him to fly high so we don’t freak out too many people. Remember, we are still in 1978. They don’t have cell phones, never mind drones with AI,” Rahim said.

  “Already on it,” Kasia said. She touched the temple of her glasses. “Ascend to seventy-five feet,” she said. Instantly Iago flew straight up into the air. Rahim could still hear a slight hum from his propellors.

  “Follow the phone, Iago,” she said. Iago took off down the street. Rahim and Kasia followed him. Rahim almost ran into a king palm as he craned his neck to follow Iago’s flight.