It is amazing, Ben thought, how much good stuff people throw out. He knew something most grown-ups didn't know: Junk plus Imagination equaled Great Inventions. The Great Invention he and Jack were working on at the moment was a catapult. Ben dragged an old shovel and a flat piece of wood out of the shed.
"Yeah!" Jack said. He grabbed a piece of wire. "Let's use this."
Ben ran over to the bike rack. "Jessy, guess what?"
Jessy waved goodbye to her dad and turned to lock up her bike. "What?" She took off her helmet and smiled at him.
"You know my robot I've been building?"
"Of course." Jessy looked interested.
"Well..." Ben looked around to make sure no one was listening. He spoke in a whisper. "I know this sounds crazy, but it really works."
Roman Diary
