allonlinenovel Chapter 178 Full of Worries
Chapter 178 Full of Worries
Maple Leaf watched as Steffi slowly put on her newly made prosthetic leg, her heart filled with worry.
The design of these legs was conceived by Maple Leaf more than a week ago, and it has been repeatedly improved (optimized) in her mind.
This is likely the most complex project she has ever undertaken.
Almost all of her school exam papers had sketches of servo motors and supports drawn on the corners, along with notes on the control mechanism of those legs.
At this moment, she is watching a fifth of her life's work being put to use, which makes her more nervous than usual.
“Oh, this is a bit tight,” Steffi said.
She frowned and struggled to push her unresponsive legs into the brace.
Maple Leaf helped from the side, but at the same time, she didn't want to directly grab Steffi's feet and stuff them into the right position.
That would feel too presumptuous and rude.
So, as Steffi struggled to put on her prosthetic leg, Maple supported her as she finished the prosthetic leg and then showed Steffi how to secure it properly.
This prosthetic limb looks a bit like a pair of pants.
It's somewhat similar. Imagine pants that are enormous, made of wood and metal, with joints, servo motors, and a few cables dangling outside.
So, rather than resembling trousers, they were more like... something that didn't resemble trousers. They slipped onto Steffe's normal legs, with a pair of large boots at the bottom for her to slip her feet inside.
The boot is connected to a first set of servo motors around the knee via an axle (a truncated hockey stick). Then there is a support made of a coat hanger and some other equipment that extends from above the knee all the way to the waist.
The uppermost part of the prosthesis is a thick work belt, the kind with several tool pockets sewn on it.
This is practical because she has a bunch of parts that need a place to be placed.
Batteries, remote control, and some other gadgets she made but couldn't quite remember how to make.
Most of them are just ordinary things.
“Alright,” Steffi said, tightening his belt, “now what?”
Maple Leaf swallowed hard. Everyone's attention was focused on her, but what was even more crucial was that everyone was filled with anticipation for her.
“Now you can move it with a remote control,” Maple said, taking a special controller out of a pocket on her belt.
“Hey, that’s the controller for our game console,” Trinity said.
"Did you break the second handle?" Teddy asked.
“This is a spare,” Maple Leaf explained. To be honest, she didn’t remember having this handle, but they definitely had two.
“But we need it to play multiplayer games,” Trinity complained.
“Girls,” Sienna warned, “that’s enough. It’s just a controller. It’s no big deal. Maple, go on.”
"Thank you," Maple Leaf said softly.
She handed the controller to Steffie. "Push it forward to move forward, pull it back to move backward, X is for kicking, Y is for jumping, B is for sitting and standing up, and O is for crouching. Also, here's a hat!"
However, for the hat to read your brain signals and understand your thoughts when you want to move, it still needs some time to be adjusted, so you'll have to wait a while!
The hat was just an old baseball cap with a few coils of wire wrapped around it.
“Understood,” Steffi said.
Maple nodded, then pressed a small switch on her belt to activate the prosthetic limb.
Her prosthetic limb moved slightly, and her sisters jumped back in fright, startled by the sudden movement.
They were all on the terrace behind Steffi's house. Steffi was still in her wheelchair, but her body was contorted at an odd angle to fit her prosthetic leg.
If Sam hadn't been supporting her from behind in the wheelchair, she might have slipped off.
“Okay,” Steffi said. She pressed the B button, and the prosthetic limb moved. The prosthetic limb bent, the boot hit the ground, and then she stood up.
Steffi screamed in panic as she was lifted up and propelled forward, her prosthetic limbs moving on their own while her upper body couldn't coordinate.
Her arms flailed, but she quickly regained her balance. "Wow," she exclaimed, "I've grown so tall!"
“Be careful,” Ms. Hedson said. She looked like she wanted to grab Steffi, but she refrained.
While Steffie stood, Maple did the final checks. Interestingly, her friend was actually a little taller than Maple when she stood up.
However, this extra height is thanks to the thick boots and the prosthetic leg she had made, which made her taller than she originally was.
The battery still has more than 80% charge, the wire connections are all normal, and the ropes and glue used for fixing are not loose. Everything seems to be working properly.
“Alright,” Maple Leaf said, “Hmm, how about trying to walk?”
Steffi snorted, then laughed. "Try walking. Thanks!"
She pushed the controller forward, and the prosthetic limb took a big step in that direction. The movement was a bit clumsy, and Steffie kept her arm outstretched to maintain her balance the whole time, but she did manage to walk.
“I’m walking!” she said.
Maple Leaf thought Steffi would be very happy, perhaps running around with her sisters and playing ball or something.
But she didn't expect Steffi to start crying.
Maple Leaf swallowed hard, looking around for help. Had her prosthetic leg caught in it? What happened?
But then, Ms. Hedson went up and hugged Steffi, saying that everything was alright, and then Sienna hugged Maple Leaf, telling her that she had done well and that everything was fine.
She liked the warm feeling inside her. It was like pouring a bucket of cold water on the raging fire of anxiety that had been threatening to erupt from her heart.
She felt she could get used to this feeling, she made a decision to herself.
Steffi quickly broke free from his mother's embrace, wiped his eyes, and blew his nose.
Maple Leaf understood that she didn't want to show her crying in front of her friends.
Then she set off, trudging through the backyard with clumsy steps, laughing all the way.
They spontaneously started playing soccer, with Athena and Trinity in one group, and Teddy, Steffi, and Trinity wearing a headscarf in another.
Steffi... didn't play very well. Maple Leaf wasn't sure how much of it was due to the clumsiness of his new prosthetic leg, and how much was because Steffi wasn't very athletic to begin with.
Maple Leaf stood aside and watched. She wasn't particularly fond of sports either, and she wanted to keep an eye on her new invention in case it malfunctioned or she needed to make some adjustments.
“That’s amazing,” Sam said.
“It’s incredible,” Ms. Hedson said. “But I’m a little worried… oh, I shouldn’t be worried, but I’m worried it will make her complacent.”
“How could that be?” Sienna asked.
"What if she wants to go to school next? I mean... maybe she can? But... this prosthetic doesn't look very... professional."
Maple Leaf pretended not to hear the last sentence and tried even harder to act as if she wasn't stung by the criticism.
She felt that this might even be true; the prosthetic she made did look rather rudimentary.
She had watched some cartoons and TV shows with superheroes like herself (in terms of abilities, not personality, she wasn't the kind of hero you dislike).
Their invention is much more high-tech, using stainless steel, hard plastic, and small LED lights.
She can make lamps, but other things are a bit tricky, and she's not sure if her inventions will still work properly with those materials.
“I think Maple Leaf could make something more… streamlined,” Sienna said, “but that might take longer and might not be easy for her.”
Sienna placed her hands on the maple leaf head and began to comb her hair with her fingers. It felt very comfortable.
“I think I can,” Maple Leaf said.
“I will pay you,” Ms. Hedson said amidst the laughter of Steffi and the others.
“You’ve already done so much for us,” Sienna said. “I can’t take your money. But…maybe Maple Leaf could?”
Maple Leaf blinked. Asking Ms. Hydeson for money? That felt… difficult. Especially since Ms. Hydeson was looking at her right now. “Uh,” she said.
Sam smiled. "How about a compromise? Maple leaves need some materials."
She usually doesn't spend much money on her products, but if we want the 2.0 version of the prosthesis to look better, then she might need to use better materials to make it.
You know, that's how young inventors are. So if you can afford the materials, within a reasonable budget..."
“That’s perfectly acceptable,” Ms. Hedson said. “And I’ve spent more on medical supplies than you might imagine.”
Many expenses are covered by medical insurance, but those basic things are actually not very valuable.
“That sounds fair,” Sienna said. She gently pinched one of Maple Leaf’s “beaver ears.”
"Do you think this is okay, Maple Leaf?"
“Sure,” Maple Leaf said. It would be great to have a big project to focus on. “Hmm… I still have some points I can use.”
“Oh, right,” Sienna said. “Well, maybe we’ll talk about it when we get home. I’m sure you might find something that can help you improve your little inventor skills.”
Maple wanted to nod, but she didn't want Sienna to stop tickling her ears.
Sometimes, making decisions is really hard, but she felt she made the right choice today.