Tech: Delivery drones + route AIJob: Drone-café delivery runnerAuthors: E. H. Ackerman & J. D. AckermanARQS Press
Reading band: Ages 6–11Headline tech: Delivery drones + route AIThe job: Drone-café delivery runnerLocation: The sunlit rooftop Drone Café above the busy neighbourhood plaza
The Hook
The Drone Café needs lunch-rush runners: its drones keep giving soup dramatic sightseeing trips. Tray has a plan, Jay has a snack emergency, and Rae has a wrench AND a warranty.
Jay (8): Hungry chaos engine; lime rocket shirt and glowing-lace sneakers.
Rae (12): Deadpan purple-jumpsuit engineer with goggles and wrench.
Mizz Zee: Neighbourhood job-broker.
Ms. Lin: Careful Drone Café manager.
Bolt: Tiny scruffy rescue dog, suspicious of whirring things.
Comic Pages
PAGE 1
PANEL 1Bright food drones hover over rooftop pads. Mizz Zee flips “GIG” to “PAID GIG.” MIZZ ZEE: “Who wants a first shift?” JAY: “Bet. Is it cookie-shaped?”
PANEL 2Tray scans an order. TRAY: “We check orders, approve routes, and hand off safely.” RAE: “Lids locked; feet behind yellow; never touch spinning props.” JAY: “I can rule-follow extremely.”
PANEL 3On Tray’s map, a blue route avoids a parade balloon. MS. LIN: “Route AI is a map brain: it picks safe paths and updates.” TRAY: “A crossing guard that never needs a bathroom.” JAY: “That tracks. I need three.”
PAGE 2
PANEL 4Rae clips a Propeller Gauge by her wrench. RAE: “New tool: it checks blades before takeoff.” JAY: “Your belt got a glow up.” RAE: “It began glowing with the wrench.”
PANEL 5They load sealed noodles into Drone 7. TRAY: “Library roof garden. Plan first, panic later.” JAY, in a vest: “No cap, I’m a tiny parking cone with ideas.”
PANEL 6BIG COMIC GAG: Wind plasters the order slip on Bolt’s face as a moustache; he marches while Jay salutes.JAY: “Manager Bolt passed my vibe check.” RAE: “He promoted himself to Snacks.”
PAGE 3
PANEL 7Drone 7’s line loops around the fountain. MS. LIN: “The balloon blocked its lane; AI picked a scenic loop.” JAY: “My lunch is on a side quest!”
PANEL 8TRAY: “It knows not to hit the balloon; we choose the shortest safe detour.” RAE: “Library alley, then garden pad.” JAY: “Hold my juice box. I’ll set the arrival cone.”
PANEL 9BIG COMIC GAG: Jay trips over a glowing lace and lands in an empty crate; it slides two inches.JAY: “Seated scooter!” TRAY: “Two inches per giggle.” RAE: “Helmet stays on.”
PAGE 4
PANEL 10Tray taps “approve.” The drone takes the alley and lowers noodles at the garden pad. MS. LIN: “Obstacle spotted, safe route chosen, delivery complete.” JAY: “No fountain noodles. Real ones win.”
PANEL 11Ms. Lin gives Rae twelve coins. MS. LIN: “Fair work, fair pay.” RAE: “Pay us properly: achieved.” JAY: “Can the app buy celebratory snacks?”
PANEL 12At home, coins enter a glass jar marked CREW BANK; Tray tapes on a paper ledger. BIG COMIC GAG: Bolt’s moustache-slip falls in; he peers down like paperwork was filed.TRAY: “01, Drone Café wages: +12. Total: 12.” RAE: “Tomorrow problem: not spending it.” JAY: “Twelve cookie ideas.”
Tech Talk with Rae
RAE’S TOOLBOX BOX: Drones are flying carriers; route AI is their map brain.
It checks safe paths and landing spots, then can reroute around obstacles.
People still inspect, approve, and hand off orders safely.
Funny caveat: it finds gardens but cannot tell noodle jokes.
TRY IT: Draw two safe delivery routes. Which avoids more obstacles?
The Job Board
Job title: Drone-café delivery runner
Who hired us: Ms. Lin, manager of the rooftop Drone Café
Rules of the job: Check orders and drones; stay behind yellow; approve safe routes.
What went wrong: A parade balloon made Drone 7 take a fountain loop.
How we fixed it: We approved the safe library-alley detour.
What we got paid: 12 coins in first-shift wages, saved in the Crew Bank.
Slang Decoder
Bet:** “Yes, I’m ready for that.”Vibe check:** A quick check that feels right.Side quest:** A surprise extra task.Big brain:** A clever idea.Real ones:** Dependable people on your team.
Tray, Jay, and Rae have their first paid job: rooftop lunch delivery! When a parade balloon turns a noodle run into a fountain-loop fiasco, can their plan save the soup? With Bolt, a whirring drone, and twelve coins on the line, the crew’s workday takes off—where will the next job land?
Full-colour graphic-novel cartoon, thick clean outlines and saturated warm colours: sunny rooftop Drone Café with plaza below. Tray, warm brown skin, is 10 with short curly black hair, lightning-bolt shaved part on the LEFT, blue camera-dot smart glasses, mustard gear-patch hoodie, teal cargo shorts, orange sneakers, and slim drone-zipper backpack. Jay, lighter brown and freckled, is 8 with wild black hair, missing front tooth, lime rocket shirt, red gadget-pocket shorts, striped and polka-dot socks, and glowing-lace purple sneakers. Rae, dark brown, is 12 with two long black braids and gold cuffs, purple rolled-sleeve jumpsuit, goggles on forehead, right-wrist smartwatch, silver-pink high-tops, and belt with wrench and Propeller Gauge. They laugh beside a noodle drone; Bolt wears a paper moustache.
Issue 01 appears in the collection Tray & Jay: World Explorers with its full-colour comic
illustration, Tech Talk page, Job Board card and Slang Decoder.
