Lucas was completely silent. He seemed stunned by what Oliver had achieved. But instead of congratulating Oliver on a doing such a good job so quickly, he looked even more angry.

Oliver wasnt about to apologize for doing what had been asked of him, or for improving on it. He folded his arms and calmly asked, What would you like me to work on next?

Lucas shrugged. Carry on with the coat if you want. See if I care. Youre wasting your time anyway.

It occurred to Oliver then that the cogs assignment was supposed to last him all day, that Armando hadnt left any other work for him to do because this was all hed expected him to achieve. He felt triumphant. He was clearly better than anyone was expecting. He couldnt wait for Armando to get back so he could show him his achievements.

Okay, Oliver said, holding his chin up high. If Im not needed on the floor, Id like to work on this in my room. At least there hed be able to work on the coat without the scrutiny of Lucas.

Whatever, Lucas said, shrugging. He didnt even bother looking at Oliver when he spoke.

Oliver grabbed the trunk of materials and headed away from the workbench. As he walked away, Lucas laughed a horrible cackle.

Good luck, boy. No ones ever solved that. Not even Armando.

Oliver felt his cheeks burn, but he didnt let Lucass words dissuade him. If he could survive the torment of Chris, he could survive mocking from Lucas!

He stalked away with the box, went to his new room, and put the box upon the desk. Carefully, he looked through each material contained inside. The black matte fabric had not worked, and yet out of all of them it certainly looked like the one that would be most successful. Black, after all, was what happened when something absorbed no light at all.

Suddenly, Oliver was struck by a moment of inspiration. Black absorbed no light, but white was what happened when all light was absorbed. Perhaps if he used white instead, it would offer him the least reflection because it was absorbing everything instead!

He rummaged in the box and found some white material. Then he began the painstaking task of sewing a crisscross of wires into one corner of the fabric. As soon as he had a large enough sample area, he turned on the table lamp beside him and held the fabric under it.

With bitter disappointment, Oliver saw that he hadnt cracked it.

He sat back in the chair and huffed. What was he missing? The wire seemed thin enough, and he was certain the white fabric was the best choice out of everything there.