After the presentations were over, some time passed. This week was quite busy as things for the cultural festival were being prepared. Since the staff was in charge of the preparation, the students only had to worry about how they would do their presentations and what they would show. Of course, I was no different.
I decided that it would be at the cultural festival where I would showcase something that I had been wanting to do for some time. With this in mind, I was walking towards the academy's library. Recently, we have been meeting there to talk about the cultural festival. Besides, the place naturally pleased everyone in my class since they are all what we call nerds.
As soon as I opened the door, I walked to the table at the back of the room. In my hands was a huge cardboard containing the entire steam train project. As I approached, I could hear the noise of some people talking. Turning one of the shelves, a table with several students was in sight.
Although it was divided between a number of men and women, I would say that the number is almost equal, being 6 men and 6 women. In the middle of this distinct group, Emi's hair certainly stood out. In other words, the air around Emi was different from the others. It was noticeable that she came from a good family, even for those who didn't know her.
Of course, even with all of this, I still felt afraid to show something of this level to people I had only recently met, at least at first. But I quickly changed my mind as I got to know my classmates. They all have dreams that, although they may seem crazy at first glance, were something proven in my old world.
These kids possess what it takes to be geniuses, in my opinion: an insatiable curiosity for the unknown. That's why I decided to share my plans with all of them.
"Oh, welcome back, Ren"
Said one boy as soon as he saw me, making the others notice me. I wasn't particularly close to my classmates, but thanks to this activity where the whole class needs to be present, I have gotten quite close to them. I can also say the same for Emi, although the others still find it hard to address her casually since she's the princess.
"Sorry for the delay"
I said as I sat down in the chair. As soon as I put the cardboard on the table, all eyes focused on it.
"What's that?"
A girl asked as she pointed to the cardboard. Everyone was listening carefully to the answer I would give.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"This will be our project at the cultural festival. I have been working on it for months and decided to show it to the public at the cultural festival"
As soon as I said this, several curious eyes turned to the card. It seemed that they couldn't wait to see what was on it.
"You can have a look if you like"
I said with a soft smile on my face. Hearing my words, the first to do something was Emi. She slowly unfolded the cardboard, and soon her eyes widened as she looked at the cardboard. Seeing her reaction, the others followed Emi's example, and soon they were all wide-eyed.
"Incredible"
Emi's voice was the only thing that echoed through the place. Everyone was looking at what was on the cardboard with glowing eyes.
"What's here... will it really work?"
Asked one boy, catching the attention of the rest of the group. They all looked at me, indicating that they also had that doubt in their minds.
“I can guarantee that it will”
I said. I wasn't saying that because I thought it worked in my world, so there is no reason it shouldn't work here.
“Although the explanations are on paper, I will give a brief explanation of how the steam train's mechanism that allows it to move works”
I said, getting everyone's attention. They didn't even look like they were going to blink for fear that they might miss any of my words.
“Above the furnace is the boiler, in this place, the water is turned into steam, which, in turn, is carried under pressure to the cylinder. Inside the cylinder is the piston, a moving part that is cyclically pushed back and forth by the pressure of the steam and carries the motion to the wheels and the centrifugal governor”
I said with a small smile on my face. Hearing my words, everyone looked surprised, and their mouths were open.
“Well, I know talking like this sounds easy, but I spent months doing trial and error calculations to get the mechanism finished”
I said as I sighed. This was another truth. To tell you the truth, it wasn't that the mechanism itself was difficult to replicate, but when you don't understand the reason behind some things, it gets really hard to put the puzzle together.
“This will be revolutionary. Can we really participate in something this big?”
Asked a girl looking anxious. The others seemed to share the same apprehension.
“You don't have to worry about that. Even though it was only for a short time, we know each other and share our ambitions and dreams. I trust you enough to do at least that”
I said with a soft smile on my face. Hearing my words, everyone seemed moved, and you could see small tears falling from their eyes.
“Thank you, we have always been told that we are too childish to understand how the world works. Hearing this from you is really comforting”
Said one boy as he seemed to think of something.
“We all promise that we will not let you down. We will use the best of our abilities to make this a reality”
Said a girl, receiving a nod from the others. They really seemed excited about this project.
“Thank you, guys. After the cultural festival, I am sure we will go down in history”
As soon as they heard my words, they all smiled happily and started talking about the steam train. While this was happening, I glanced at Emi and noticed that she was looking at me seriously, as if she was thinking about something important.