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  As I explained how everything worked, Amy had the robot begin making pancakes, just like we’d rehearsed. She measured out the mix, poured in milk, and then stirred it all together with a large whisk. The audience seemed most amazed when she cracked not one but two eggs without a hitch. There were more oohs and ahhs than at a fireworks show.

  Amy finished the demonstration by pouring out a circle of pancake batter into a large frying pan. She had worked the robot flawlessly all around. She even made it wave at the audience as they applauded. I was proud of her. She was really pushing past her comfort zone tonight.

  I waved a good-bye and as I was removing our equipment from the stage, I caught a glimpse of my father standing in the back. He applauded and then gave me two thumbs up.

  Speaking of my dad, the case of the missing hard drive full of blueprints? That was easy. I found out from him that Holly Jensen was fired from his company for trying to steal company secrets. And when the police searched her home, they found the missing hard drive. Apparently, if she couldn’t get secrets from my dad’s high-security company, she was planning to sell invention ideas from the low-security academy next door. If they hadn’t caught her, I might’ve seen my mathematical alarm clock in stores for Christmas!

  Ms. Jensen’s friendship with Joey had been real, which didn’t surprise me given their similar lack of morals. But Joey had finally convinced the authorities that he had nothing to do with her corporate espionage. She had simply arranged the reality show as one big distraction.

  Joey’s lack of involvement also came as no big surprise, since he never showed interest in anyone’s inventions, anyway. And from the way he explained how reality television worked, I think he could’ve made the exact same show at any school—just like the man said, cutting it together a hundred different ways if he wanted.

  “Last up is Noah Newton,” Mr. Edge announced.

  I pulled out my phone as Noah took the stage. I noticed that I wasn’t the only one. All the academy students had their phones up, knowing what was coming.

  “Uh, hi,” Noah said with a quick wave. “If you haven’t already downloaded my app, this is your last chance.” He pointed to the large television screen beside the stage. “Or you can watch what happens here.”

  While some stragglers quickly added the app to their phones, Noah explained what augmented reality was and how his app worked.

  Sam gave me a nudge. “Did you download the update?”

  “Definitely,” I replied.

  Noah had to make some last-minute tweaks before the big presentation. For one thing, he had to change the direction of the beast’s attack, since everyone would now be gathered at the back of the school, instead of by the front. He also had to make it so he could trigger the beast’s arrival. That way, his presentation wouldn’t overlap with anyone else’s.

  “Okay, here we go,” Noah said as he tapped the screen on his phone, then pointed it toward the eastern horizon.

  Immediately, I felt the familiar footsteps vibrating in my palm. Sam, Amy, and I raised our phones and aimed them toward the east. I scanned the horizon until I spotted a tall figure lumbering through Shopton. From the murmurs coming from the audience, I could tell that most of them had spotted it too.

  My phone vibrated harder and the chatter from the audience grew louder as the beast tromped into view. Even coming from a different direction, it made its usual beeline toward the school.

  “Did you add any more animations?” I asked Amy.

  “Wait for it,” she replied, never taking her eyes off her screen.

  Suddenly, my phone rattled in my hands as an old biplane buzzed overhead. The audience gasped in surprise as the plane motored toward the beast. I laughed as its machine gun opened fire on the giant creature.

  “Good one,” Sam said. “Just like in King Kong.”

  “Thank you,” Amy replied.

  As the plane zipped by, the beast swiped at it with its buzz-saw arm. The appendage connected and the plane blew up in a ball of fire. A few audience members clapped.

  Then something else flew into the sky. A cartoon watermelon sliced through the air, falling short of the approaching behemoth.

  “Too soon!” Noah shouted, shaking his head. “There’s always someone.”

  A few academy students laughed, but everyone else held their fire.

  The creature roared as it marched even closer. My phone nearly buzzed out of my hand with each step.

  Then, just before it reached the school, Noah gave the order. “Now!” he shouted.

  Suddenly, the sky was alive with lines of cartoon loot sailing toward the creature’s mouth. There were giant cantaloupes, T-bone steaks, ham hocks, and comically huge strawberries. Every one of them streamed into the beast’s mouth. Even though the spectators could merely watch the show, every academy student present launched collected loot from their phones. My phone vibrated again as the behemoth let out a loud belch.

  The sky cleared, but the beast continued toward the school. I didn’t understand. Noah and I had spent the day making sure all of the loot was collected. He told me about every hiding spot, and we made sure we collected whatever wasn’t found by the other students. According to Noah’s program, all of that should have been enough to truly feed the beast.

  “I don’t understand,” I said. “That should’ve done it.”

  Amy glanced at me and rolled her eyes. “Noah’s probably holding back. He told me he wanted to show some of the school’s destruction to the audience.”

  Sam shook her head. “Show-off.”

  Just as before, the towering beast began cutting into the school with its spinning buzz saw. Sparks flew as chunks of the building fell away. I heard a few audience members gasp as large slabs of concrete seemed to hurtle toward them.

  I glanced up at Noah just in time to see him tap his screen. I aimed my phone at him to see another line of loot stream away from his phone and toward the beast. The animated food items poured into the creature’s mouth just before another belch made my phone vibrate.

  Then something new happened. The beast halted its attack. It pulled a large white napkin from out of nowhere and dabbed at the corners of its grinning mouth. Then it tossed the napkin away and broke into a dance.

  I laughed as a thumping beat blasted from my phone’s speakers while the beast performed all the latest dance moves. It dabbed, flossed, and then went into a few routines that must not have gone viral enough for me to recognize.

  The audience laughed and then erupted into cheers.

  “Yeah!” I shouted as I joined in.

  I caught Noah’s eye and gave him a thumbs-up. He grinned back at me and danced along with the towering beast. I laughed so hard, I nearly dropped my phone. Sam and Amy joined me as we danced along with him.

  I was thrilled for my best friend’s success. He may not have become a reality star, but he was the star of this show!

  More from this Series

  The Blurred Blogger

  Book 7

  The Drone Pursuit

  Book 1

  The Sonic Breach

  Book 2

  Restricted Access

  Book 3

  More from the Author

  On Top of the World

  Rocket Racers

  Read all the books in the TOM SWIFT INVENTORS’ ACADEMY series!

  The Drone Pursuit

  The Sonic Breach

  Restricted Access

  The Virtual Vandal

  The Spybot Invasion

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ALADDIN

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.Simo
nandSchuster.com

  First Aladdin paperback edition March 2021

  Text copyright © 2021 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Cover illustration copyright © 2021 by Kevin Keele

  TOM SWIFT, TOM SWIFT INVENTORS’ ACADEMY, and related logos are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Also available in an Aladdin hardcover edition.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

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  Cover designed by Heather Palisi

  Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Appleton, Victor, author.

  Title: Augmented reality / Victor Appleton.

  Description: First Aladdin hardcover edition. | New York : Aladdin, [2021] | Series: Tom Swift Inventors’ Academy ; 6 | Audience: Ages 8 to 12. | Summary: Tom Swift Inventors’ Academy is hosting an Invention Olympics, but Tom suspects that the crew filming a new reality show about the academy may be planning something nefarious.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2020030069 (print) | LCCN 2020030070 (eBook) | ISBN 9781534468894 (paperback) | ISBN 9781534468900 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534468917 (eBook)

  Subjects: CYAC: Inventors—Fiction. | Contests—Fiction. | Reality television programs—Fiction. | Television—Production and direction—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Science fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.A652 Aug 2021 (print) | LCC PZ7.A652 (eBook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020030069

  LC eBook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020030070