Chapter 26
Fatimah and I hold the vast array of snacks while Sonny does the knocking.
“Not that I’m happy Chris had a water leak in his room,” I say as we wait for the door to open, “but it is very convenient that he’s got double beds now.”
Chris opens the door. “Oh my god,” he says, looking at the pile of treats before stepping aside to let us in. “Great picks. Where’s Travis?”
Sonny arranges the snacks on the top of Chris’s desk. “He said he ‘doesn’t need to study,’ and he ‘already knows our opponent inside and out.’” Sonny sounds skeptical at best. I am as well.
“Well, that’s fine. We don’t have to make extra space,” Fatimah says.
While we all study the other competing robots, the team thought it would be best to analyze some fights between robots similar to ours and our final opponent in the qualifiers, Hamburger Hurter.
We only have one chance to convince Joel to enter the Last Shot Bot Trot.
Even if we can’t convince him, none of us wants to go home with a zero-win season, and we’re committed to doing our best in the last fight of the qualifiers.
Hamburger Hurter is painted like a hamburger.
Its circular body spins around on a drivable base, hitting with lethal force.
A blessing and a curse, as it can easily get knocked off balance, but it hits brutally.
They’ll be coming hard for us in the final round to secure their place in the championship.
I feel drained after the heart-to-heart I had with Jacob earlier, but I’m looking forward to this.
Chris and I sit on one bed, notebooks and snacks scattered before us.
Sonny and Fatimah sit closely on the other one, their piles more neatly grouped.
With each passing moment, each little quip passed between us, I feel more restored.
“I found recordings of all the fights Hamburger has competed in at Circuit Smack, and a few from the European Robot Championship,” Chris says, syncing his laptop screen to the TV. “They’ve only been competing for three years, so there isn’t a ton, but there’s enough.”
“Wow, impressive,” Fatimah says.
Chris smiles bashfully. “It’s nothing.”
“Chris, don’t you run the most comprehensive combat robotics Wiki?” I ask, remembering all the threads on the US Bot Building message boards with his name attached.
“Yeah, but it’s not a big deal. I like good documentation,” he shrugs. “Making sure all the fights with videos are available and properly documented is my job.”
“You do it for free.”
“Well,” he laughs. “I guess it’s more like my hobby.”
“A useful one,” Sonny says. “Oh, can you pass me the Twizzlers?”
I throw him the bag as the first fight starts.
We pause and replay the fights, taking notes and talking out the damage and strategy of each fight.
Sonny gets up to point out damage directly on the screen, using one of his licorice twists as a pointer.
Fatimah takes diligent notes. We brainstorm solutions to known issues with ZetaMax’s driving capabilities against Hamburger’s techniques.
It’s a group project with zero frustration and a diverse snack pairing.
At some point, Chris’s best friend Nick shows up to analyze with us. A member on team Hot to Bot, he brought us seven layer bars last week, a gesture that endeared me to him immediately; He tells us his own experience against Hamburger, and we take even more notes.
When we finish our analysis, we look at videos for Nick’s next match.
He invites some of his team members, who invite some of their friends.
Someone brings a couple of bottles of booze and mixers.
Suddenly, this small team-building evening is an impromptu party.
The party spills into adjacent rooms and into the hall.
Doors are propped open; music plays in some rooms; fights still play on request in Chris’s room, people are mingling and moving between them.
With this entire section of the hotel being booked for Circuit Smack, there’s little worry about us getting shut down.
Soledad shows up and drags me to a room with music and more drinks.
“This has to be my favorite year so far,” she says, handing me a cup of some hastily assembled, high-proof punch.
“Come on, let’s dance!” Soon, we are shimming and shaking and laughing to the beat of the music. Fatimah drags Sonny over to dance.
The thick layer of dread that clung to me since the first day I got here seems to slough off in the heat of the room.
I twirl and laugh until I’m dizzy, and then I keep going.
I know between the exhaustion from my earlier conversation with Jacob and dancing like this, I will hurt tomorrow, but I don’t care.
I’m having more fun than I’ve had in a long time.
I’m trying extra hard not to push myself too far, but tonight I’m willing to take the risk.
Sometimes a night of joy is the best thing you can do for yourself.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a tall figure passing by the doorway.
After a moment, they step backward. Jacob’s eyes connect with mine across the merriment.
Instead of looking away quickly, like he caught me peeking at a Christmas present, I smile at him.
His smile in return looks like he opened a Christmas present.
It makes me feel ... good. I want to wave him over, even if hours ago we were still totally at odds.
Tonight felt like a rebirth. A realignment of who I am, who I was, and who I want to be.
Jacob is a big part of that. It remains to be seen if that will be for better or for worse, but right now, I just want to dance.
If he were to come over, I think I would even dance with him.
Though that might be the drinks talking.
Neil appears, spots me, and waves cheerfully. I wave back with equal cheer. He says something to Jacob before ushering him along, out of the doorway, presumably to Chris’s room.
I close my eyes and sway to the music, letting all the good feelings wash over me. By the time the party winds down and I make it back to my room, I feel light, refreshed, and more focused than I’ve been in years.
I could do this. I could win our final fight. Maybe even the championship.