Chapter 34
I’ve never particularly enjoyed group hugs. The too-close mingling of breath, the awkward spread of arms, the one person who is always mysteriously sweaty. However, as Fatimah, Sonny, and Chris all wrap their arms around me, I can’t stop beaming, even if my cane is crunched into my side.
“It really sucks that all of your flights leave before the fight,” I sniffle.
“I know,” Fatimah sniffles back. “But I’ll be watching the fight when it airs.”
“And obviously, text us if you win, so we can start celebrating immediately,” Chris says.
All that’s left is to screw the armor on, which Jacob is currently doing as I say goodbye.
“Thank you all for staying a couple extra days,” I say, voice squeaking. “I really appreciate it.”
“If I didn’t have three dogs waiting for me in a very expensive doggy daycare,” Chris says, wiping a tear from his eye, “I’d stay.”
“It’s okay; I understand,” I say, patting him on the back.
If I make it through the Trot, and somehow miraculously make it through the finale, that’s eleven more long, arduous days with no guarantee of a payout.
I understand why they can’t stay. I have no sponsors, only a few spare parts.
And after the Trot, I’ll even be out Jacob.
I’m truly a team of one. No more Team Jaxon. I am Team ZetaMax.
“We’ll be rooting for you,” Sonny says, patting me on the back as I walk them out of the Builder Bay.
“Eat a snack,” Fatimah clucks. “And bring a stool with you.” I assure her I will. With only an hour until the fight, my body vibrates with nerves. Without her reminder, I would have forgotten to eat anything.
We say another round of tearful goodbyes, and my heart is full as I walk back to my workstation. No longer “ours,” only “mine.”
Jacob sets his drill down, the last panel in place.
His gaze roams over me slowly, from my pink Docs, up my legs.
I suppress a shiver as his eyes catalog my pink leather jacket.
No longer needing to conform to Joel’s team, I’m letting Circuit Smack see me as I am, even if parts of it make me nervous.
I hope my blush isn’t as bright as my jacket.
“You’re ready,” he says. He doesn’t ask me if I am. He already knows.
“Yeah,” I croak, turning away to open a protein bar with shaking hands. My pulse whooshes too loudly in my ears to hear the other teams getting ready in the Bay. I let my eyes close, chewing the bar and visualizing the fight.
Coincidentally, my qualifying fight will be against Glitterbomb, Jacob’s friend Ramona’s bot. A robot with a saw blade that can hack through top armor and wheels and jam weapons. However, it’s weak on the back and, from the fights I’ve watched, slow to turn. That’s a problem I no longer have.
“Mari.” Jacob’s voice is gentle behind me, cutting through the imaginary fight. “You’re up in fifteen.”
I grab a sip of water and turn to find my stool already resting on the dolly beside Zeta. I leave my cane at my station, and we walk silently down the tunnel to the arena.
“I’ll be in the stands,” he says, dropping his hands from the dolly. He stuffs them in his pockets, seemingly unsure of where to put them.
“Cheering for Glitterbomb?”
His head dips with a small laugh. Eyes sparkling, dimple visible.
It’s as pretty as a trophy. “I’ve been cheering for you from the start.
I’m not going to stop now, even if you don’t need it.
” His words add to my nerves as much as they soothe me.
The sloshing waves of emotion make me nauseous.
He looks at his watch. Only a few minutes to go.
“I need to take care of something,” he says. “I have to go.”
“Okay, yeah,” I say. I don’t know why disappointment seeps into me like I stepped into a puddle of cold water.
“You’ve got this,” he says, walking backward a few steps. He raises his fists, shaking them back and forth as he quietly cheers. “Mari! Mari! Mari!” I can’t help but laugh.
In no time at all, I’m walking through the tunnel into the blinding lights. The crowd screams and cheers as the announcers tell them Zeta is under my sole care now, revamped in record time.
Ramona gives a polite but nervous acknowledgment as we remove the weapons lock on our robots and step out of the arena to take our places. I carry my stool with me and place it in the optimal spot. To my surprise, there isn’t a murmur from the spectators or a comment from the announcers.
No one cares what I do as long as I fight. It’s a thought almost more freeing than anything else. Without the worry of judgment, other things seem smaller, too. Maybe I can do this my way, completely.
We drive our robots to our corners, and I take a moment to let my eyes wander the crowd. It could be the last chance I ever get.
I spot Jacob ushering two people to the accessible seats. My father and my sister. My father and my sister! How did they get here? Did Jacob invite them?
Ava notices me looking and waves frantically, tapping my dad on the shoulder as he locks his wheels. He waves the second his hands are free. I don’t know if I can drive with tears in my eyes, but I’ll find out in a second.
I blink them away as the countdown starts.
“FIGHT!”
The new ZetaMax shoots out of its corner to the gasps and cheers of announcers, judges, and spectators alike.
I’m able to get around the shimmering body of Glitterbomb and send it flying into a sidewall within seconds.
Before Ramona can recover, I hit it again from an angle, tearing off a wheel.
My weapon isn’t even at full speed after the last hit, but it’s still powerful enough.
I finally have a bot that I understand and can drive the way I’m used to.
Aggressively, without hesitation, and to win.
With a final hit, I take off another wheel. Glitterbomb isn’t designed with redundant wheels, leaving the bot a sparkling brick in the center of the arena.
“TAP OUT!”
I won. I won. I WON!
“Mari Williams showing us who’s the boss in the arena with an upgraded ZetaMax!” one of the announcers says.
I slide off my stool and am immediately tackled by a mass of white-blonde hair and black leather. “Mari!” Ava shouts. “You won!”
“I won!”
My dad comes up a moment later, hugging me as I cry into his shoulder. “I’m so proud of you, Peanut.”
I look for Jacob, whose loud cheering I can pick out from the stands.
The host, Celia, appears, shoving her microphone into my face. “Mari! How does your first win feel at Circuit Smack?”
“Amazing,” I laugh and wipe a tear from my eye.
“You’ve been putting in long hours, technically as a team of one now,” she notes.
“I’ve had some help from my friends,” I say, glancing at Jacob.
“And now we’re here to help!” Ava says, leaning over to speak into the mic.
“Really?” I ask.
“Sure are!” my dad confirms.
“Well, there you have it,” Celia beams. “Team ZetaMax is a family affair at the Last Shot Bot Trot as they advance to the quarterfinals!”
When we’re back through the tunnel, I pull Ava in for another hug. “How did you guys get here?!”
“It was Ava’s idea. We decided to come help with the Trot,” Dad says.
“We only got here a couple hours ago,” she says. “You were out running an errand, and we ran into Jacob at your workstation. We wanted to surprise you. Jacob got us seats and talked to the producers about getting us a hotel room.”
Jacob appears and shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Can’t waste time driving across town.”
I shake my head in disbelief, a huff of confused laughter leaving me.
While both my dad and Ava knew about the incident between me and Jacob, I never told them anything else.
My dad, both a fan and aware of our childhood friendship, didn’t realize the extent to which it changed my career. Not that I wanted him to.
Ava knew more. She was there for plenty of it.
He was also still a big donor to the kids’ leagues, and she saw him more often than I did over the past few years.
She said he was always really nice to her.
I was always relieved he left Ava out of whatever went wrong between us.
I never talked negatively about him in front of her as a silent thanks.
While I never could have predicted that any of this would happen, the mild annoyance I felt at everyone not hating my enemy with the same intensity is replaced by relief that I never told them everything. I want to enjoy this oddity without strain.
“Come on, kids,” my dad says, waving us on. “We can work tomorrow. Tonight, we celebrate! Where are you going?”
Jacob stops, pointing at his own chest. “Me?”
“You’re on Mari’s team, right?”
“Temporarily,” I clarify.
“Still counts. Besides, he got us a room and seats!”
Jacob looks at me for approval. “Come on,” I tell him.