Gracious Professionalism

Part 2

The next week passes by quickly. The more our robot improves, the more difficult it would be to hold it in the trailer. I have become restless and nervous, knowing the likely possibility of our robot crashing against the carts and breaking into pieces. My teammates still believe that the things we're bringing will make the trip safely. They sound so convincing every time they explain their opinions and estimates that sometimes, I begin to doubt my own suspicions. There's a chance that I could be overthinking again. But still, if something does happen, our opportunities for success would be dwindling.

The day of the competition is an organized pandemonium. We all get up at five in the morning to drive to the build space and begin our journey. We loaded the trailer the day before, so all we need to do is take everything to Indiana. Yesterday, the team had no trouble loading the robot and carts. Some people ride in the van pulling the trailer, and others drive, carpool, or even take a plane to our hotel. We're decked out in our team t-shirts and badges, and some people are wearing green-and-yellow accessories to add more detail and attention to our team.

I carpool with four other people in a team parent's car. There isn't much to do when riding in a van down a dull, monotonous highway with three people that fell asleep an hour ago. I look out of my window. We've been driving for about two and a half hours, so we're in the mountainous region already. I can tell because of the elevated roads. Occasionally, the highway turns into a small, winding path. The sky is grey and foggy, however, and the mountain view is blocked by thick, stormy clouds. I think about what the competition will be like. Over a hundred teams from around the world will be there, cheering for their robots and talking to judges. The competition field covers a larger area than a basketball court, and is covered with a series of platforms and balancing devices, the items for our game. Beside the match areas, the pits are bustling with every team's pit crews, rushing from different places to make last-minute changes to their robots. Outside the stadium, restaurants, vendors, parks, and concerts surround the building. Indoor shops sell merchandise for this robotics program.

A phone ringing snaps me out of my daydream. Amanda, the person in the passenger seat, answers it. By the look on her face, I can tell immediately that it's not good news.

"Something happened to the robot! They hit a bump in the road, and the trailer crashed against the side of a hill by the road. The tools from the crash-carts have fallen out, and the robot is missing a few pieces. They're still doing inspections on it, but they seem to be certain that the robot won't work," she regretfully informed us.

The trailer's restraints had failed to keep the robot safe on the way to the competition, like I predicted. It's increasingly predictable that we won't last for two minutes on the field. If we don't participate in these matches and gain points, the other teams will be far ahead of us for the summer season.

We drive for around twenty minutes, and the team trailer is parked on the side of the road. The rest of the team already caught up with the van, and everyone is putting back the tools. A handful of people are inspecting the robot and testing the different functions. After we cleaned up the scene, we realize that we have no choice but to keep driving.