We're Not All Here!

Today is April 26th, the day of the final trial. The room is alive with permeating, pulsating excitement. The tension is palpable. The quiet is deafening in its quiet-sounding quietness...and then Cassie strides into the room, head high, shoes completely tied (all by herself!), dressed neatly and every inch a confident commander. Ashwin and Matthew sense a wave of inspiration enter the room, and look up from their stupors, catching the eye of Cassie and knowing, with all their hearts, that this day was destined for a victory like none other...that this day was made for something greater, something more, something that spanned generations and continents and even planetary divides.

Well, actually, the truth is slightly less romantic and inspiring. Yes, Cassie did tie her shoes all by herself, but this morning when Cassie, Ashwin, and Matthew met, Cassie looked half-asleep, and only Matthew looked every inch an inspiration after his dedicated track workout that morning in which he drove his teammates to reach greater heights with his daring feats of fatigue-defying running. Anyway, the team minus Anisha headed down to the Tech for a trial run, the last of the year. Bruce, Matthew's dad, had gone to the Tech at ten in the morning to put the Screeching Beagles on the list of sign-ups to guarantee them a spot to test their device. Once there, the device ran smoothly and effectively, and all team members, even the not present Anisha, were impressed with the results. The clear trapping chamber was bubbling much mor furiously that it did at the bakcyard test rig, which was good because that meant that the device ended up moving more water. However, after this trial run the team did accept that with the current device, volume will not be a competive standpoint, as the device does not move water in large quantities. The device did exhibit other strong points, however, and the audience did seem generally impressed and enamored with the "coolness" of the device. And in our book, coolness is the only thing that matters. Only thing. Ever. That's why we wear tails and floppy ears at the day of the Challenge...

Mo