roborogue #1

to build or not to build

so thus far we've got a basic idea of what we're going to do. we're gonna use....

THE KOP!!!

it's not as cool as it sounds unfortunately. it's a kit of parts. get it? kop, kit of parts? well anyway, we are gonna use it to build a square chassis. it's a bit boring, if i'm being honest. i would've thought we would want to go for something more dramatic. but like our mentor, mr. talbot, said: "Consistency is key."

you should've heard the old fool. i mean, well, maybe he does have a few smart ideas. but on the whole, he's just the team's self-pronounced curmudgeon. for those of you unfamiliar with the word, here's the definition:

curmudgeon |kərˈməjən| noun. a bad-tempered or surly person.

i guess i need not further explain his personality to you, huh? anyway, DK has graced us with the game for this year, like i said before. now we need to build something. a robot, preferably. however, all we seem to be doing so far is talking. nothing but talking. someone needs to stuff a sock in their mouth. by someone, i mean siobhan. she's our team lead. a 16 year old senior. well, she might've turned 17, but i honestly wouldn't know. if that doesn't tell you something about her, well maybe this will.

she's short, maybe 5'4", with short cropped chocolate brown hair. she's not fat, but she sure as heck ain't stick thin. she's cute, with a round baby face that makes you think she's innocent and adorable. but lemme tell you, she's evil as hell. i tend to exaggerate things a bit. she's my friend, but sometimes it's so hard to be friends with her. if you're wondering why, i can answer in two words.

loud.

mouth.

she just can't and won't shut up. plus she thinks she's right about everything, even when she's not. it's hard for her to accept it when she makes a mistake. siobhan's alright sometimes, but the overwhelming majority of the time, i can barely stand her. honestly, i'm usually torn between hating her guts like she's a pack of old expired cheese and loving her like the little squishy teddy bear i keep in my bed. i guess her flaws and talkativeness runs in the family because her mom isn't much better. she tells siobhan to shush every now and then, but she also heavily favors her kid. once she gets started on something, she also won't shut up. mrs. baler, but as i like to call her, boiler, writes grants for a living and isn't an engineer. which makes me wonder, how is she qualified to give us advice of a mechanical nature especially since on their previous team, neither of them had much experience building a robot. they both did stuff like award essays and grant writing.

anyway, so i'm the only one who really has any mechanical knowledge besides mr. talbot. but, and get this, whenever siobhan asks me for help, she doesn't actually listen to what i say. she just talks over me. she says she wants my advice, but when i give it, she either ignores it or she listens and then comes up with her own separate solution.

it's so frustrating. it's also part of the reason why we haven't been getting anything done. we're already in week 2 out of 6 weeks total, and we haven't even started prototyping a design for the robot we're gonna use to take over the world. the complacency of everyone on this team frustrates me so much. we're a team, and we've got a mission and 6 weeks in which to complete it. why are there people at all the meetings sitting around doing nothing? this shows that not only do we have no idea where we're going with this, but we don't have enough time either. we only meet 3 times a week for heavens' sake. there's no way we'll have a bot done in time. not to mention all the other things that go along with a building a bot to take over the world. we need everyone to be able to know exactly who crushed them, so branding is important.

you ever heard of a little thing called coca-cola? if you have, i'm not surprised.

guess what that is?

it's a brand. a brand so well-known that it's almost a symbol for american capitalization and the idea of globalization. almost everyone who hears the name envisions a cool brown sweet drink, bubbling with carbon dioxide. some may be even able to go a bit farther and envision red and white, the official coca-cola colors, or their signature curly script for their name/logo. the older people may remember the special shape of the coca-cola glass bottle. coca-cola ads are everywhere, and over the years, coca-colar, which was previously a patent medicine, is sold to everyone, despite know the bad effect it could have on your health. you can know coca-cola nuts because they're the person who purchases 18 bottles and finishes the next day. coca_cola because they spread their brand like crazy. we need to do the same.

everyone has gotta know who team 6842 is, more than oh they're just the rookie with a motley crew and no hope of even making it to states.

at least by this point, we have somewhat discussed strategy. we're gonna mainly be a portal and exchange bot, bringing cubes to exchange for storage in the vault, and we're gonna be doing the switch, placing cubes on our side in order to gain points. it's a simple strategy, and if we can perfect consistency, like mr. talbot said, it'll help us get picked. even though mr. talbot is a curmudgeon, he actually knows what he's doing and talking about.

though, old as he is, somethings go in one ear and out the other. i know we're way behind, but i have a good feeling about this. under such excellent guidance as that of mr. talbot, it's likely we may come out further ahead than i had originally thought. of course, we're going to have to work our butts off, but what else do you expect?

you can't take over the world in one night.

A/N: I finished writing this late at night, so don't be too surprised if things seem a little off or don't really make sense. I promise when I'm no longer a zombie that I will come back and edit chapters after I'm finish the book. So please bear with me right now!