I survived Chemistry class—barely. But not even a day later, another bombshell—literally.
I was just vibing with my iced coffee—shoutout to the vending machine gods— when suddenly, the hallway speakers blared:
"ATTENTION STAR SECTION. ROBOTICS SHOWCASE PRESENTATION IN TWO DAYS. ALL MEMBERS MUST PREPARE THEIR PROJECTS."
Wait—ALL MEMBERS? I wasn't a member... right?
...Right?
"Hey, Yeli," Class President Hyacint whispered beside me. "You're part of Robotics Team, Group 3. You already have a robot—YeliBot, right?"
I froze mid-sip. Nearly choked.
"WHAT? YeliBot?!"
"You named your robot after yourself yesterday. Remember?" she said, totally serious.
Oh. Right. THAT robot.
FLASHBACK
"Name? Hurry!"
"Huh? Why me?" I asked River, confused.
"Why not?" he grinned.
What the heck! This bad boy's messing with me again. With no idea what to say, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Uhh... YeliBot?"
And that was it. I became an accidental robotics club member, and I named a robot.
END OF FLASHBACK
"The star of the show is here!" River shouted as I walked into the Robotics Lab.
"Me or the YeliBot?" I asked, half-joking.
"Both," he winked.
Yeli, girl, don't fall for it.
I looked around. Everyone had tools, blueprints, microchips—stuff I'd never touched in my life. Meanwhile, I had a pen with no ink.
"What am I even doing here?" I mumbled, sitting in a corner.
Then came Kairo—walking like a Math God. Carrying a tablet, looking ready to teach aliens how to build artificial intelligence.
He didn't look at me, but said, "You're part of this now. Might as well be useful."
"Wow, thanks for the warm welcome," I muttered. "So kind. So inspiring."
"Don't worry," River chimed in. "You can be my assistant-slash-mascot."
"Careful, I might get electrocuted!"
Everyone got to work, while I just stared at YeliBot—my so-called robot. It was literally a box with wheels and bottle cap eyes.
And guess what? It moved. It vibrated.
"Oh my god! It moved!" I shrieked, jumping back.
River laughed. "Look! Your baby's awake."
Oh wait, no. They expect me to present this thing.
-
Two days later, it was Showcase Day—and I was hyperventilating. I was so nervous. YeliBot was still wobbling like it had too many drinks.
"Don't speak unless absolutely necessary," Kairo reminded me.
Geez! Is he worried or just annoying me?
"Or speak a lot—more fun!" River added, munching his chips.
The crowd watched. Teachers. Students. Media. THERE WAS MEDIA?!
The earlier presentations? Insane. Their robots were amazing. And here I am with my
drunk robot.
"Present your robot, Miss Donque."
Oh no. It was my turn.
I grabbed the mic.
"Hi, I'm Yeli. And this... is YeliBot. I made it... mentally."
People laughed. Thankfully. They thought it was a joke.
YeliBot moved. It spun around… then BOOM! One wheel exploded.
"AHHH!" the crowd screamed.
I was panicking too, but—
"That's a feature! SELF-DESTRUCT MODE!"
Everyone clapped. They thought it was part of the show.
I bowed. "Thank you! Did I pass?"
River whispered behind me, "You're really a disaster—but you're my favorite disaster."
Meanwhile, Kairo looked away and muttered, "Unbelievable."
But I swear—I saw a tiny smile.
Just a tiny one.
~•~•~