Mistakes

Samantha was trying to place a wire correctly when a clap of thunder shook her hand and placed the wire in the wrong spot. Suddenly the robot turned on.

“Hello,” squeaked the robot. “I am your friend.”

“Oh, no,” thought Annie. “What have we done?”

“I made a huge mistake,” cried Samantha.

“Well, yeah, but maybe we can fix it,” said Annie.

For the next two days, Samantha and Annie were thinking on how to fix Samantha’s ‘mistake’.

“We really messed up,” cried Samantha.

“We??? You think I made a mistake? YOU are the one who messed this up!” declared Annie.

“Well, you don’t have to be rude about it,” Samantha said as she choked back tears.

Annie felt a burden come across her. Samantha was upset that Annie was not trying to help her with the robot, but was also kind of glad at the same time. Samantha knew she needed a partner, but was Annie the right partner?

“Look, Annie. We are homeless and trying to enter a robotics competition. Are you in?” Samantha questioned. The two 13-year-olds became homeless when their parents kicked them out after they stole a car.

“As much as I’d like to, I can’t,” answered Annie.

“Why not?” Samantha asked. She was puzzled why Annie couldn’t help.

“I don’t have time,” Annie said, annoyed.

Samantha was not sure what Annie was talking about, considering they tell each other everything. Plus, how could a homeless person not have time?

That night the girls went to sleep upset. The robot was still talking, even in the morning. Samantha didn’t see Annie asleep on her pile of old sacks (it was the closest thing they had to a bed).

“Oh, no did I make Annie really upset?” Samantha thought. She kept telling herself that it was her fault, and it all happened because of the mistake she made. Samantha decided that she should just get up because she needed to find some breakfast. As she wandered around the small, abandoned warehouse, she didn’t spot the robot or the flier for the contest … OR ANNIE! Where was she?

“Maybe they ran away with my best friend,” Samantha told herself. Then she saw a note written in charcoal. It read, “Dear Samantha, I left for the contest. Be back in a few days. Love, Annie.”

That day Samantha was regretting all the things that she said about Annie. All Samantha could think about was how much she wanted to go to the contest, but she was grateful that at least one of them could go.

The next few days flew by, and one afternoon Annie ran in the small warehouse door, her face full of delight.

“WE WON!” Annie screamed. “WE ACTUALLY WON! What we thought was a terrible mistake was actually what won us the contest! We were upset when our robot wouldn’t quit talking! But our robot was the only one that actually could talk! We won! We won $1000!” Annie said excitedly.