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“Oh?”
“Um… so many kids said they wanted to watch your presentation that they’d like to put you in the school hall. I don’t know how you feel about speaking in front of the whole school?”
“He’s given a presentation to the Prime Minister,” Henry says, “and he gave the keynote speech at a symposium in Sydney. He should be all right.”
“Oh,” she says. “Wow.”
I glare at him, then look back at her. “I’ll be fine, but how does Finn feel about giving a demonstration in front of everyone? I’d hate to embarrass him.”
“He’s okay. Everyone thinks it’s cool that he’s using an exoskeleton for his physio, so he’s the talk of the town.”
“All right,” I say. “Let’s get THOR into the hall, then.”
The tailgate of the van turns into a lift, and we lower THOR down on its trolley, then wheel it through the building and into the school hall. Henry helps me remove the trolley, and then we retrieve a couple more pieces of equipment from the van and get ready for the presentation.
Missie introduces us to the principal, then disappears to her class. As it turns nine a.m. the doors open and kids start filing in, sitting on the floor in rows, the youngest at the front, the oldest at the back. There’s a lot of nudging and pointing, especially when Finn’s assistant brings him in and parks his chair at the front, to one side.
I see Missie come in with her class, and she sits with the other teachers at the edge of the hall. I know her well enough now to realize she’s nervous, although whether it’s on my behalf or Finn’s, I’m not sure.
The principal comes to the front, and the kids gradually fall quiet.
“Good morning, everyone,” she says, speaking into the lavalier microphone. “As you all know, today is Careers Day, and we have lots of people coming in to talk to you all about their jobs. But first we’re lucky enough to have two of the directors from a company called Kia Kaha in Christchurch. Kia Kaha is a computer software and hardware company that makes medical equipment, and today they’ve brought in one of their amazing inventions to show you all. And now I’m going to hand you over to Mr. Winters and Mr. West, who are going to tell you all about their company and what they do.”
The kids clap enthusiastically, and I walk forward and take the lavalier mic from her.
*
Missie
Oh my God, I’m so nervous. Poor Alex. I don’t care what Henry says—nobody likes being thrown into the deep end. There are over two hundred and fifty kids sitting there staring at him. I have no idea what he’s going to say. I’m sure he’s not used to talking to children. If he focuses on the technical details, they’re going to start fidgeting after about five minutes, tops.
I watch as he clips the mic to his lapel. He’s wearing a three-piece navy suit today. It must take his tailor weeks to get it to fit that well. I usually see him late in the day when he always has a five o’clock shadow, but he’s clean shaven this morning, and his hair is neatly combed. He looks young and handsome and wealthy. I’ve already had two teachers ask me for his number. I was very naughty and told them he was taken. I don’t know why I did that.
Who am I kidding? I totally know why I did that.
“Morning everyone,” he says. “Can you hear me at the back?”
“Yes,” everyone calls.
“Cool,” he says. “Okay, I’m Alex Winters, and this is Henry West. We run our own company called Kia Kaha with a couple of our friends. Henry and I are computer software engineers, which is a fancy word for a nerd, or a geek. Which do you prefer?” He directs the question at Henry.
Henry gives a mock frown. “I’m not a nerd.”
“Geek, then?” Alex looks back at the kids. “He’s totally a geek,” he tells them, and a ripple of laughter runs through the hall. “We both are,” he admits. “We’ve been into computers since we were kids. I can still remember getting my PlayStation 3 when I was ten…”
“You’re showing your age,” Henry tells him.
“Yeah, just a bit. I loved that PS3. My favorite game was Ice Age 2 back then.”
“Mine was Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, but then I’ve always been cooler than you,” Henry says, and there’s another ripple of laughter.
“We both knew we wanted to work with computers,” Alex says. “At first, I thought I wanted to develop computer games. Best job in the world, right?” The boys, especially, all murmur their agreement. “People often ask what are the best subjects to take if you want to work with computers. The sciences are great, of course, and maths will always be useful, but the truth is that all subjects are important at school. Maths helps us understand the financial side of running a business. English and history teach us how to communicate and analyze. Art gives us creative skills that are useful in design, and it also gives us a soul.” He looks at me then, and smiles, making the hairs rise all over my body.
“We went to university together,” Alex continues, gesturing at Henry, “still with the intention of making computer games. But in our final year of university, something happened that changed our minds. One of our best friends was involved in a car accident. His name was Tyson. He damaged his spine, and doctors told him he’d never walk again.”
He starts walking up and down in front of the kids as he talks. I glance across the hall, not surprised to see them all mesmerized. There’s something about this guy that makes you unable to tear your gaze away.
“Gaming is important,” he states. “People who don’t game don’t get it, right?” The majority of the kids murmur their agreement. “Gaming improves our concentration, and it teaches us creativity, languages, teamwork, and how to overcome challenges. But when your best mate ends up in a wheelchair, suddenly games don’t seem so important. And that’s when we decided that we were going to use the skills we’d learned to help Tyson.”
