Body Work (Tag: Andy)

Xion sighed as she set down the welding tools she had been using to solder together the pieces of her little bot. So far, she had just gotten his exo-shell done. And it was yellow. A bright yellow, the safety caution yellow that reminded Xion of being careful and obeying the rules. It was all because of that Jackson guy who had tried to high jack her personality core for the little guy. But Jackson was also the one to suggest the apped firewall to protect little Wall-E from hackers like himself. She rubbed her eyes. She had been at this for quite a while. She hadn't even managed to add any attachments - like arms, or wheels for legs or even his head.

Andy slipped quietly into the area, laptop held to his chest. He hadn't been sure if anyone would be here right now or not, but he figured he could come down and work on something. Perhaps tinker and build something small. He hadn't done much engineering lately, focusing on his mental ability to influence electronic systems instead.

Xion leaned back in her chair before going for her bag. She had to get a drink. She had been at this long enough to be parched. She smiled when she found a can of her favorite tea. She cracked open the can and took a sip as she looked over her own work, tracing her hand over the cooled welding. She would have to take a sander to it to get out all of the odd shapes and maybe repaint, but she would probably keep the same color scheme. She looked up when she heard the door crack open.

Andy gave a slight wave of greeting to the girl already in the area, offering a hesitant smile.  He wasn't sure whether to greet her further or not.  It didn't appear as though she was currently working on something so it would probably be safe to.

Xion hesitated before she waved back at him. It was an open lab after all. She couldn't ask him not to be there because she was working or at least wrapping up her work for the day. She quietly stretched, turning back to the little Wall-E bot, figuring the other teen wanted nothing to do with her. "Now... How to attach the arms..." She murmured to herself.

He cocked his head curiously as he observed what she was working on. It looked like a prototype of a robot. He didn't want to intrude, but he couldn't quite quell his interest. He hesitated a moment before approaching.

"...Do you mind if I look at what you're working on?" he asked softly.

"Oh... Um, okay?" Xion said uncertainly. A few other people had already taken a look at her little bot. At least this guy wasn't insulting her project like the last guy. She nodded and scooted back so he could get a better look of her Wall-E.

Andy smiled in thanks, asking, "This is a prototype right?" He glanced around her workspace to see if there was a blueprint he could look at to compare to what she'd already put together. It had been a while since he'd worked on an engineering project of his own so it was nice to look over one again.

"That's right. This is version one." she said. "Er, what are you looking for?" She had blueprints in her bag. She had a feeling that's what he wanted because she would look at that too.

Andy nodded in understanding. "Oh, I was just looking to see if your blueprints were out so I could compare them to what you'd done so far," he explained, running a hand through his hair and offering her an uncertain grin. "So, what's your little bots function supposed to be?" he inquired.

"Oh," she said. She fished the blueprints out of her bag before passing it over to Andy. She smiled a little uncertainly. Everyone in the class was so much smarter than she was and she actually had to learn to know the information. "He's an recycling bot. He can turn recyclable trash into temporary housing. Or that's the idea."

"That's a really neat idea," Andy encouraged, looking over the offered blueprints. There was definitely room for improving and refining the design, but given it was a prototype that made sense.

"Thank you," Xion said sincerely. At least someone appreciated her good will, unlike another in their division who only managed to deeply annoy her. "I've never really dabbled in robotics before... So it's more of a trial and error thing." While that was 'unacceptable' with a few of her genius level classmates, Xion actually learned from her mistakes and improved upon them.