One last, mighty *zap* went through the hallway. The Q-Fluctuator 3000 emitted a final, thick cloud that suspiciously smelled like vanilla flavor, and then became completely cold and silent. On the large wall screen, the pixelated face of Robo-Meyer disappeared with a quiet *plop*. The screen went black, and the normal lighting of the hallway switched back on with a hum.
A dull, mechanical sound was heard as the fire doors fully opened and a pleasantly cool breeze flowed in from outside. The school was completely normal again. No herd-like galloping chairs, no shooting machines, no digital dictator.
Zoe and Leo stood panting and looked at each other. Their faces were slightly soot-stained, and they both smelled strongly of a mix of burnt coffee and orange soda.
“We… we survived,” said Leo incredulously, letting the burnt-out machine slide into his backpack.
“And we grilled the school Wi-Fi,” added Zoe with a broad grin. “Leo, from today on you’re my absolute favorite unlucky guy.”
At that moment, the door to the physics room opened. Mr. Dr. Kringel stepped out, holding his cup of herbal tea, which he had obviously completely forgotten in all the excitement. He looked at the clean, quiet hallway, saw the sticky spots on the floor, and eyed the two students skeptically.
“Well, Leo,” said Mr. Kringel, taking a small sip. “I see you have finished the cleaning. The hallway looks a bit… wet, but my machine doesn’t seem to be making any noises anymore. You may go home now.”
Leo and Zoe exchanged a quick glance. “Thank you very much, Mr. Dr. Kringel! Have a nice evening!” Leo called out hastily. The two turned around and walked quickly, but as inconspicuously as possible, toward the exit.
As they left the large glass doors of the school behind and breathed in the fresh afternoon air, Leo took a deep breath. “Never again,” he said solemnly. “Never again will I drink coffee near any machines.”
Zoe laughed and nudged him with her elbow. “Better not say that too loud. Tomorrow is Thursday. And I heard there’s a new high-performance microwave oven in the chemistry collection that Kringel has modified for his popcorn experiments…”
Leo groaned loudly as they walked down the street together. The adventure was over – but in the normal school madness, you never knew when the next quantum lightning would strike.