"So what are you telling me?" The words were evenly spaced, said in a flat, menacing tone. Not a question really. More of a demand. Mrs. Rossi, at that moment, was not a mother that you wanted to cross.

The second assistant to the Dean, Samantha Younger, was internally cringing. She mentally cursed her boss once again for not having the balls to do this himself. She tried to distance herself from the decision. "They are saying Dan is too young. That he may have falsely represented his age on the application."

"Dan never saw the application. His professor submitted his work. I signed where I was told. How old did he need to be?"

"Well, he had to be at least eighteen."

"Where did it say that? Show me."

Flustered, Samantha explained she did not have an application available, that they had all been processed months ago, before the judging ever started. When Dan's mother indicated she would wait, Samantha decided this was something she could legitimately pass up to her boss. She had tried.

"Mrs. Rossi, I am Jud Samuels, assistant to the Dean here at Barbury Tech." He shook her hand and turned to the man standing next to her. "And you are...?"

"This is my friend, Terry. He was in the neighborhood and thought I might need some support,"

Samuels squinted. "You look familiar, have we met before?"

"Perhaps. I am a great fan of Barbury Tech. I write about you guys all the time in my consumer help column 'Ask Terry'.

Samuels took a step back. "Uh, yes, well. I just came down to say hello and let you know that Dean Waters wants to meet you and explain the situation himself. Can Samantha get you anything? I'm sure the Dean won't be long." Samuels left the room to try to find the Dean.

--

Dean Waters was tall with a bearing and a head of white hair that immediately called to mind the word "distinguished". He apologized for the delay and started by restating why they were all there. "Your son Dan is sixteen and and a sophomore in high school. He is taking a night course here at Barbury and this is where he built a revolutionary robotic arm. His adjunct professor liked his work and entered it in the engineering contest where he beat 117 entries by some of our brightest students. My staff notified you Dan had won first prize and now want to revoke it because of his age. Did I miss anything?"

Samuels was about to make a comment but at a glance from the Dean he shut his mouth.

Dan's mother decided to take a softer tone with the Dean, but was not going to let him off the hook. She sensed a compromise coming and wanted to see what was offered. "That pretty much sums it up. So far." The last two words said in a way that invited the Dean to continue.

"Our rules clearly stated on the application that the student should be full time but since it appears to be our fault that this was overlooked, and Dan was actually taking a course here, this is what we are going to do. Our first place award will go to what is now the second place winner, a full time student. We will create a new award, recognizing Dan for an outstanding accomplishment by a part-time student. It will be equal to what he would have received as the first place winner. Will that be satisfactory?"

"Yes. Thank you. Just one more thing, Dean. Your rules state that the winning entrant agrees to a licensing arrangement with the school. Since Dan is not the first prize winner, I assume we can talk to other universities or manufacturers about a better deal. Thank you for your understanding and support." For once the dean was at a loss for words. He limply shook her hand as she left.