Clean Start

Max Welling had been building his robot, Walter, in secret for months.

Max was able to build Walter because his father ran a repair shop. His dad worked on old computers, TVs, toasters, and clocks. The family’s basement at home was full of extra odds and ends. Max would rummage through them and sneak things into his room. A piece here. A part there. Finally, Walter the robot was ready for action!

Max had finished Walter just in time. His father needed to sell the repair shop soon. It was struggling. People were buying new things, not fixing broken ones. His father was taking college classes at night so that he’d be able to find new work. Meanwhile, his mom had started a full-time job. With both of his parents so busy, Max had to help out more at home. He didn’t like that idea, but he had a plan. Walter could help. 

In Max’s new routine, he had to do chores after school. Then he’d walk two blocks to visit his great-grandmother, Matilda. She was 92 and lived in a home with other older people. They were well cared for there. One of his parents would pick him up around dinnertime.

On that first day, Max took the bus home from school. He had to put dirty dishes into the dishwasher, wipe countertops, and sweep the floor. This was exactly what Walter was built for! Max got Walter out of his bedroom closet, where the robot was hidden.

He turned him on. Walter’s eyes blinked on, glowing blue. “How may I help you?” Walter asked.

Max told him to do the chores. “Get back in the closet by five o’clock,” he said. 

Max left Walter hard at work. Then he went to Grandma Matilda’s. She introduced him to a man who had just moved into the home.

“Mr. Gravis, this is my great- grandson, Max,” Grandma Matilda said.

Mr. Gravis sat in a chair, staring ahead with a mad face. He wouldn’t even look at Max.

“Poor Mr. Gravis has come out of his room only once,” Grandma Matilda told Max as they walked away. “He asked me to play chess and won in five minutes! Then he said, ‘What’s the use?’ and went back to his room. Guess I’m not challenging enough. He has no family. His friends have died. I wish I knew how to make him feel better!”

Max and Grandma Matilda stopped by the parakeet cage. They got ice- cream sandwiches. Then they worked on a crossword puzzle. As Max filled in the little squares, he thought about Mr. Gravis. In a way, Mr. Gravis was also like a puzzle that needed to be solved.

When Max and his parents got home, his mother was shocked. “Wow! The kitchen is sparkling!” she said.

“Proud of you, son,” his father said.

“It was nothing,” Max said. Which was true. Walter had done all the work.

Max felt a little guilty. His parents were pleased. Things were going as planned. But why didn’t he feel happier? 

The next day, when Max got home from school, his parents had a new list of chores waiting for him. Max felt bad when he got Walter out of the closet. He felt like he was lying to his parents. But he had spent months building Walter. He didn’t want to let him go to waste! He told Walter what his chores were and told him to get back in the closet by five.

Max went to visit Grandma Matilda. As usual, she beat Max at chess. She was the best player Max knew. Mr. Gravis would really have to be an expert at chess to have beaten Grandma Matilda in just minutes!

“Is Mr. Gravis doing any better?” Max asked as they put the chess game away.

Grandma Matilda shook her head. 

When Max and his parents got home that night, they were in for a surprise. The shelves had been dusted, but the board games were all over the floor. A plant had been knocked over too.

“What happened, Max?” his father asked.

Max had to think fast. “I was organizing the games, and then I knocked over the plant. But I didn’t want to be late to go see Grandma Matilda. I’m so sorry! Really I am! I will pick everything up here in a minute! I promise!”

Max ran into his room before his parents could say anything. He threw open his closet door. Walter’s wires were showing. His eyes blinked on and off.

“How help you I may?” Walter said loudly. He must have gotten an electric shock that made him all mixed up.

Max turned Walter off. The robot’s eyes dimmed and didn’t come back on.

Max spent the rest of the night cleaning up the mess. Then he opened his closet door and stared at Walter.

He knew he should probably take Walter apart. He should sneak the parts back into the basement. It wasn’t right to lie to his parents. Max shouldn’t have forced Walter to do things Max should have been doing himself. Still, the thought of taking him apart made Max sad. He felt close to Walter. That’s when he noticed Walter was holding something in his hand.

A chess piece.

Walter must have picked it up earlier when he was trying to organize the games, before he went crazy.

Max took the piece from Walter.

Then Max had an idea. He took Walter out and began to work on him. 

A month later, Max was done keeping secrets. He showed Walter to his parents. He told them he’d used Walter to do his chores. But he had a new plan for his robot. He’d been working on him nonstop. Today, Walter was ready for his new job.

After finishing his chores, Max carried Walter to Grandma Matilda’s. She asked Mr. Gravis to come out of his room. “My grandson has the perfect chess partner for you,” she told him.

In the game room, Walter sat waiting at a table. His blue eyes were lit up. He had a chessboard set up in front of him.

“I’ll give it a try,” Mr. Gravis grumbled. He sat down across from Walter.

The first game between Mr. Gravis and Walter lasted for more than 90 minutes. Other people in the home had come to watch. Mr. Gravis seemed to enjoy the attention. And when Walter won, Mr. Gravis smiled! No one in the home had seen him smile until now.

They were still playing another game when Max’s parents came to get him. “Good job, Walter!” Max said. He left Walter with his new friend, Mr. Gravis.

Max turned around to look at Walter one more time. He wasn’t sure, but he could have sworn Walter winked one eye at him.