alley Oh no Tadashi groaned realizing they’d been caught up in a gambling raid It wasn’t long before he and Hiro were headed to jail along with Yama and everyone else the cops were able to catch A short time later Tadashi sat in his cell staring across the hall at Hiro Because of Hiro’s age he was given his own cell while Tadashi was locked up with Yama and his goons Hiro could see that Tadashi was furious Finally a police officer yelled Tadashi and Hiro Hamada The boys stepped out of their cells and glanced sheepishly at their aunt Cass She’d come to pick them up and she looked worried Uh hi Aunt Cass Tadashi said She rushed to embrace them both Are you guys okay Tell me you’re okay We’re okay Hiro said ducking his head She twisted both their ears Then what were you two knuckleheads thinking It was a long ride home Aunt Cass started in on them as soon as she got behind the wheel For ten years I’ve done the best I could to raise you Have I been perfect No Hiro and Tadashi nodded They had expected her to lecture them and they knew they deserved it They hated making her upset 6
Is it like the blind raising the blind Yes she continued as she parked her pickup in front of the café she owned the Lucky Cat It was on the first floor of an old Victorian and they all lived together in the apartment upstairs We’re sorry Tadashi said as they got out of the truck love you Aunt Cass Hiro knew he had to say something too We Hiro and Tadashi cringed at the Closed sign hanging in the window They knew she’d had to close up to get them out of jail Well I love you too she grumbled as they entered the café She grabbed a giant pastry from the counter and took a bite Stress eating Because of you she mumbled with her mouth full Then she walked upstairs to their apartment with her fat cat Mochi following her Hiro and Tadashi also went upstairs to the bedroom they shared Hiro gathered some tools that were scattered on his desk while Tadashi watched I hope you’ve learned your lesson Tadashi finally said Absolutely Hiro said You’ve got your priorities straight I really do Hiro replied making an adjustment 7
to his robot then heading for the door Wait Where are you going Tadashi asked Hiro smiled There’s another bot fight across town If I book it I can still get there on time Tadashi threw up his hands in frustration Seriously Are you gonna keep hustling bot fights or are you gonna do something with your life Hiro fidgeted for a second What like go to college like you so people can tell me stuff I already know Tadashi shook his head Unbelievable What would Mom and Dad say Hiro shrugged They wouldn’t say anything They’re gone The answer hurt But it made Tadashi realize he was the only person who could steer Hiro in the right direction Fine he said I’ll take you Really Hiro said surprised I can’t stop you from going but I’m not going to let you go on your own Tadashi rode off with his brother on the back of his scooter But suddenly he made a turn 8
Chapter 3 Hiro looked around as Tadashi drove through the gates of the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology often called SFIT for short What are we doing at your nerd school Hiro asked Bot fight’s that way Pit stop Tadashi replied as he pulled up to a gleaming steel-and-glass building Hiro impatiently followed Tadashi into SFIT’s robotics lab Is this gonna take long Megabot wants to fight Relax you big baby We’ll be in and out Tadashi said as he led Hiro into the enormous lab Oh great I get to see your lab Hiro said sarcastically Out of the corner of his eye Tadashi saw Hiro’s attitude change His lab was high-tech heaven Tadashi smiled Heads up said a girl with purple-streaked hair as she whizzed by on a bike She stopped short and tossed the bike onto a rack Tadashi 9
