The Magic Factory

“I can keep it safe myself,” he said. “I’ll show Armando as soon as he’s ready.”

Lucas didn’t budge an inch. Oliver realized then that it wasn’t up for discussion. Lucas was taking the fabric whether Oliver wanted him to or not. With a heavy sigh, he held out his hand and dropped the fabric into Lucas’s palm. Just as before, a little square of invisibility appeared in the middle of his hand, making Oliver blink with the illogicalness of it.

Lucas turned the current on and off several times, staring as the patch of invisibility appeared then disappeared. Finally, he shoved the whole contraption in his pocket.

“The broom is in the kitchen,” he said, his lips twitching into another one of his sly smirks. “I’m taking a break. When I get back, I want the factory floor spotless.”

He stalked away hurriedly.

With an uneasy feeling about handing his invention over to Lucas, Oliver went to the kitchen to fetch the broom. He headed out to the factory floor dragging it behind him, the sensation of disquiet growing inside of him.

He reached the workbench and started to sweep. But that feeling in the back of his mind that something was amiss kept growing.

Suddenly, it occurred to him what the issue was. Lucas. He didn’t trust him to hand the invisibility coat over to Armando at all. He’d always seemed out to get Oliver. Then it dawned on Oliver. What if Lucas was going to claim credit for his invention?

Oliver dropped the broom. It clattered to the floor as he ran, full pelt, across the factory, heading for Armando’s office. But of course the winding, mazelike corridors were too incomprehensible for him to navigate. He got lost, running around in circles, growing more and more confused.

Then he heard voices—Armando’s and Lucas’s. He followed the direction they were coming from. They became louder and louder as he reached a door that stood ajar.

Oliver was about to push the door open when he heard what Lucas was saying.

“I cracked it this morning. Stayed up all night. Can you believe it? After all those people trying, I’m the one to solve invisibility!”

Oliver gasped, horrified. Lucas was taking credit for his invention!

Through the door he caught a glimpse of Lucas with the small piece of invisible cloth in his hand.

“I am very impressed,” came Armando’s voice.

Oliver couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing. Lucas had backstabbed him! He was taking credit for Oliver’s hard work and Armando was falling for it!

He was just about to barge into the room when Lucas sharply turned. Through the small crack, Oliver knew he’d been caught. Lucas’s grin was sinister, and it grew even darker when he realized that Oliver had just witnessed him taking the credit for all his hard work.

With a final haughty glare, Lucas reached over and slammed the door in Oliver’s face, blocking him out and away from Armando before the inventor could even see he was there.

Staring at the wood just an inch from his nose, Oliver floundered, stunned, feeling like the rug had been suddenly ripped from beneath his feet.

CHAPTER NINE

Oliver stood with his nose to the door for a moment, too shocked by Lucas’s betrayal to even move. But just as he regained his senses, there came a noise from the other side of the factory.

Oliver startled and turned. There were men inside the factory! Men in suits. He gasped. Surely they weren’t supposed to be there. A horrible thought crossed his mind: were they looking for him?

He ducked, not wanting to be seen, and peered through the balustrade at the men as they walked with purpose about the place. One was holding a clipboard, another a briefcase. Oliver managed to hear a snippet of their conversation.

“So you can see,” a man with a pot belly and white hair was saying, “there’s great potential here for redevelopment. We have planning permission to add another floor, and there’s plumbing and electricity throughout the entire property.”

Oliver realized then what was happening. One of these men was the landlord, and he was showing prospective buyers around the factory! Was he trying to sell it from under Armando’s nose? Or did Armando know? Perhaps they were in financial difficulties.

Oliver’s stomach clenched painfully. He’d only just decided the factory was where he belonged and now it might be taken away too. The thought of the factory disappearing just when he’d found it was too much to bear.

He watched on helplessly as the landlord continued talking to the suited men, discussing finances. Then they all shook hands and headed back to the fake wall.

“We can get this silly wall removed,” the landlord added as he operated the mechanism to make it turn.

Then they disappeared around the other side of the rotating wall.

Oliver unfurled himself from his crouching position. He had to talk to Armando; about the men, about the invention. He couldn’t just stand by and watch his world crumble around him.

He turned back to the door and knocked purposefully. The sound of muffled voices on the other side stopped.

“Come in,” Armando called out.

Oliver barged his way through the door and into Armando’s office. It was the first time he’d been inside and fully seen the extent of chaos.

Armando had several desks of varying sizes dotted about the outer walls. Each was covered in stacks of paper, some high and teetering. There were books everywhere, strewn on chairs, crammed onto shelves, stacked in piles on the floor, and four computers, each from different eras.

“Oliver, my dear boy,” Armando said, looking up from behind one of the oldest-looking computer models that Oliver guessed was from the seventies. “How can I help you?”

Lucas was standing in a policeman’s pose beside Armando. He looked at Oliver sinisterly. “Yes, how can we help, Oliver? Are you struggling with your task today?”

Oliver narrowed his eyes at Lucas. He was scared to challenge him but he couldn’t stand by and watch the wicked man take credit for all his hard work and ingenuity.

“The coat,” Oliver began, his throat thickening with anxiety. “It’s… you know that it’s…”

“Marvelous,” Armando replied with a nod. “Quite marvelous.”

Beside him, Lucas looked triumphant.

“But—” Oliver tried.

Armando interrupted, “Actually, Lucas, I was meaning to ask whether you could collect the bats and owls. It’s time for their annual maintenance.”

“We have Oliver for that now,” Lucas replied.

“I need him today,” Armando replied. “You can show him how to operate the birds another time.”

Lucas hesitated. He looked indignant, like he’d sucked a lemon. Clearly he didn’t want to leave Oliver alone with Armando. But he had no choice. Armando had given him an instruction. So after a moment of floundering, he finally nodded and left the room, cheeks blazing.

The moment the door shut, Oliver turned to Armando.

“The coat!” he blurted. “I made the coat! It was me, not him!”

Armando chuckled and nodded. “I know, Oliver. It’s okay, I know.”

Oliver paused. “You know?”

“Yes, of course,” Armando replied. “Lucas doesn’t have the talent to make this.” He looked down at the invisible patch in his hand. “Nor the perseverance. I must say it’s quite amazing. You have a real talent, Oliver. I’m proud of you.”