The Adventures of Tedesco - Robot Invasion

The following tale is based on a nightmare my boy had recently. A robot invasion at school.

“That sounds cool,” I told him after he shared the details of his dream.

“Wasn’t cool for me,” he responded in a dejected tone. True enough, my friend. But thanks for sharing it anyway.


The Adventures of Tedesco - Robot Invasion


Tedesco lay awake in his bed. Another school day. Seeing through his window blinds the sun was up, the sky bright blue and it looked like another warm one. ‘Good day out there,’ he thought to himself. Tedesco was almost eight years old. Second grade was winding down and it was almost summertime.

With his parents and sister still asleep he rolled out of bed and went downstairs. His good dog, Kira, was sitting at the bottom of the stairs waiting for him. Her tail was wagging briskly brushing the carpet.

“Good dog, Kira. Let’s get you a snack, but don’t tell anyone,” he said. Reaching into the refrigerator he grabbed a slice of his dad’s sandwich meat and gave it to his dog. It was gobbled and consumed seemingly too quick to enjoy.

He sat down at the kitchen table and poured himself a bowl of cereal and milk. He ate while leafing through his Visual Dictionary, a recent book acquisition. He took down a second bowl and forwarded it to the sink and got dressed for school. He had been in the habit of getting up before everyone else, so his mom had been laying his clothes out the night before on the couch.

He could hear his parents upstairs. He figured he’d give them a break and make his own lunch today. He retrieved his lunch bag, a blue ice from the freezer, and proceeded to pack. Two pop tarts, cookies, juice bag, two granola bars, a cheese stick and a banana. Nobody was there, yet, so he also tossed in a soda, the rascal.

“Morning, Bongo. What can I get you for breakfast,” asked dad walking into the kitchen just as Tedesco zipped his lunch closed.

“Thanks, dad. I already ate and packed my lunch,” he said stuffing his lunch sack into his backpack. “It’s a great day out. Is it OK if I ride my scooter to school,” he asked.

“If you’re willing to wait fifteen minutes I’ll drop you off,” dad offered.

“I’d like to ride today, if you and mom don’t mind,” requested Tedesco. They lived close to school and he sometimes rode his bike or scooter. But his parents didn’t know that he sometimes also brought Kira to school.

“OK, but say good bye to your momma and sister before you go,” said dad.

“Hi, Tedesco,” said his little sister coming downstairs just now. She was in preschool and her class started an hour after Tedesco’s.

“Morning, Jackie. Hi, mom,” with his momma coming downstairs right behind his sister. “I’m leaving for school now. Dad gave me the thumbs up to ride the scooter this morning.”

“Good bye, Tedesco. Have a super day,” said mom reaching down to pick up his pajamas off the floor.

With that he slipped into the garage with his dog, got the scooter, and exited the rear gate. It’s probable that nobody would even know that Kira was gone. She usually flopped herself out in the yard or behind the couch all day.

His ride to school was brief and his dog ran alongside. There was a hill right by school adjacent to a park. There were a few very large overgrown bushes and trees and this is where his faithful noble beast would await his return.

“Stay, Kira. I’ll come back after school. You watch my scooter, good dog.” He tossed his scooter down in the bushes, patted Kira’s head and ran the half block to school.


After the morning spelling test there was an announcement over the loudspeaker, “Robots have invaded the city and we need someone to check it out. Volunteers will please come to the office.” It was the principal.

Tedesco and two friends volunteered. First things first, suggested Tedesco, he had to check on his dog. They got to their hideout but Kira was gone! Trouble was at hand. The scooter was there, so he picked it up and they continued on their way. They heard noise and commotion at the park. Staying hidden in the overgrown vegetation along the park’s perimeter they moved toward the noise.

At the park they saw the robots and a spaceship! There were six robots. They were tall as a grown man, made of a shiny black metal and had skinny arms and legs like baseball bats. Their torso, however, was thick and round like a barrel of root beer.

There was a playground fort at the far end of the park. Running along in the overgrown hillside the boys dashed to it unseen. Tedesco left his scooter on the ground by the swings while the three boys hid out in the fort and decided what to do next.

The boys could see most of the park from the vantage point provided by the fort. The spaceship was large and silver with lights all throughout its underside. It was round like a soccer ball and as tall as a two story house. It had no windows and it rested on one large rectangular protrusion extending from the belly of the craft. There was a door at the bottom where they could see robots coming and going. The robots had also captured some adults and held them in the jungle gym with a metallic netting. The boys saw that one of their teachers was amongst the captured.

Suddenly, a robot appeared as if out of nowhere and picked up Tedesco’s scooter. It hadn’t seen the boys as it turned to go back to the spaceship. But Kira, who must’ve been in the bushes, saw the robot grab her boy’s mode of transport and charged the robot!

Kira lunged and collided with the robot between steps. It was caught off balance and the thing toppled over.

“Let’s help Kira,” yelled Tedesco. The boys hopped into action. He jumped down and grabbed the scooter. He saw the robot was having difficulty getting back to its feet. With the arms flailing back and forth Tedesco saw the there were wires in the arms. He got an idea. He remembered how his own battery operated toys stopped working when they got wet or fell into the bath tub.

“Come on guys, we need to get them wet! The robots won’t work. Turn the sprinklers on and get that hose on them,” he yelled pointing to the park’s utility shed.

At this point the robots’ alarm siren started to ring and robots rushed out of the spaceship like ants charging out of an anthill. There were now more than 20 robots! The boys were scared, but they were committed to action. These crummy robots weren’t going to take his scooter and wrestle with his dog without suffering the consequences.

Two boys ran to the shed. They turned the sprinklers on and then the hose. The spacecraft and robots were getting blasted with water.

Tedesco was riding around on his scooter and the robots couldn’t move fast enough to catch him. Kira was running next to her boy making sure he was safe.

The robots were all caught in the spray and began to act erratically. It was then the captured adults managed to climb out of the jungle gym entrapment and scampered off to safety.

The robots, now thoroughly doused from the sprinklers and hose, had stopped moving or making noise. Their circuitry was totally destroyed by the water. They were out of commission as completely as Tedesco’s dad while watching football on Sunday afternoons during football season.


Tedesco and his friends were rewarded by the school with a homework pass! “Awesome,” the boys exclaimed. If they got a homework assignment they didn’t like they could simply turn in the homework pass. Kira was rewarded with a hamburger patty. It was gobbled and consumed seemingly too quick to enjoy.

The school bell rang and class was dismissed. Tedesco and Kira raced home.

“Hey, did you hear about the robot invasion today,” asked his mom when he got home. “I heard it was right near the school.”

“Yeah, but they didn’t seem too tough,” replied Tedesco. “Can Jackie and I go to the park and run through the sprinklers,” he asked as if it were just another day.

-klem
4/2009

[Other Adventures of Tedesco have been posted on 2/15/2009 and 3/12/2009.]