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the lady walk over. He’s got a wide forehead, a wide nose, and smiling eyes. “That must’ve been some whistle. That dog hasn’t budged since his owner died. He keeps waiting for old Bob Simon to come home from work; he only goes intothe house at night. We all take turns feeding him.”
    He gives the dog a pat. Adler looks back across the street at his yard.
    â€œYeah, you made the journey finally, didn’t you, boy?” The man sticks out his hand. I shake it firmly. “Ellis Grand. Franny’s grandfather.”
    â€œAlso known as El Grande,” Franny says.
    â€œThat’s a great name, sir.”
    â€œI coached baseball a while back and the players called me that.”
    â€œWow. That’s, like, the ultimate. I’m Jeremiah Lopper.”
    â€œWelcome to Hillcrest, son. Are you a baseball man?”
    â€œI’m a maniac, sir.”
    The lady says, “You two will get along just fine. I’m Val Engers, Franny’s mom.”
    I shake her hand, too. “Have fun at the game tonight.”
    Franny’s grandpa smiles. “Should be a good one.”
    â€œI think the Reds will win, sir. The Cubs weren’t hitting strong against left-handed pitchers in spring training, and Cincinnati’s starter has wicked breaking stuff. Plus with their midwinter trades and the two kids up from Triple-A, the manager’s finally got the lineup right.”
    Franny’s mom laughs. “Are we ready for you, Jeremiah?”
    Possibly not.
    â€œYou play ball, son?”
    I hate this question. “Not right now.”
    He points at me. “We’ll talk again.”
    They climb into their car and head off.
    There goes . . .
    EL GRANDE
    Happy birthday, Franny.
    Adler cocks his head and looks at me. I rub him behind the ears. “Adler, I really like it here.”

Chapter
8

    â€œJERWAL, HOW WAS your day?”
    Jerwal glows and beeps.
    â€œYeah, mine too.”
    I’m in our kitchen getting dinner ready. I have a few no-fail menus. Tonight I’m making chicken sausages with sautéed apples and salad, and multitasking this with homework.
    The three-paragraph essay. Ideas to write about
:
    â—†Â Living with Robots (Jerwal’s favorite)
    â—†Â What Eagles Can Teach Us (Baby’s favorite)
    â—†Â The Intense Power of Baseball to Transform Life as We Know It (my favorite)
    â—†Â Being a New Kid at School (probably the teacher’s favorite)
    I get the sausages out, slice the apples. I take a minute to put up my robot poster that I made for the fourth grade science fair. I couldn’t go to the fair, I was too sick, but Jerwal went and he was a big hit. On the poster, I summed up Isaac Asimov’s first law of robotics: “A robot must protect humans and may not injure them.”
    I showed pictures of good robots through the ages, including Jerwal. I had photos of how Walt and I built him. I won third prize and got the school’s Inspiration Award.
    Jerwal is the ultimate robot who protects and doesn’t injure. He was there for me when I was in the hospital. I told him everything, even things I wouldn’t tell Walt. I told him every time I was afraid, every time I got side effects from the medicine they gave me. He’d glow in the dark, which was comforting. A robot is an excellent listener.
    The nurses got used to this. One nurse told him about her cheating ex-boyfriend, and Jerwal glowed at just the right times and beeped sensitively.
    I put out all my medicine on the counter—I have eight kinds of pills and I need to take them on time.My phone dings three times a day to remind me, then Jerwal makes a backup noise so I won’t forget.
    My phone buzzes. It’s Aunt Charity calling.
    Her worried face fills the screen.
    I gulp meds. “Hi,” I say. I click so she can see me.
    â€œYou look pale,” she announces.
    â€œI’m fine. Really.”
    â€œAre you