During school hours, I was able to make sure the project ran on time. Everyone did their part because they were excited and eager to be there. And with many hands on the project came a light load on all of us. That kept the stress down. Working at home, that was stressful. I was flying blind most of the time. When it was all done, we were able to hold our heads up high. Everyone at the college praised us heavily for it. We each deserved every second of it. It was not the best thing out there. It was not going to win us any major awards out there either. It was just a simple project that was expertly executed. Something we could point back to when people wanted to ask how our time at the college was. Fizzy also seemed to like it. They were now in an anthropomorphic tiger body. It was masculine presenting, but it had a vagina instead of a penis. It was simply a better way to get rid of all the by products of the hydrogen batteries than their alternative. It was able to walk and interact with things. It was a cool sight. It walked the halls of the Engineering department. People flocked over on the quad.
Not to be defeated, the one I was making for the 9 Blade Gang was also nearly ready. I needed that Programmer. I asked if they knew anybody that could do it. They had no one in mind. That was what was hampering the big project. I was not going to risk doing it myself. If I fucked it up in any way, they would get angry with me. It was not worth it. It was much better to wait for someone else to do it. If it still fucked up, I could join the gang in beating the shit out of them. Owen, Mateo and Dana were still coming around and asking to hang out. This time, we were going to a block party. After all the work I did, it was time for a distraction. I easily said yes. They picked me up in a low rider. One of the gangsters that they knew was celebrating a birthday. I did not know him well enough to give him a thoughtful gift. $100 was $100 though. I put it in a generic Happy Birthday card I bought at the local gas station. That was my present. Owen and Mateo both wanted to cosign the card. I held it away from them. "Hell no! You know the guy! Get him a real gift or put your own money in the damn pot!" I snapped.
When we got there, people were already having a good time. I was quick to get swallowed up by the atmosphere. It was a big block party and massive cook out. I loved eating the food and relaxing with my gang friends. People that knew me asked about the android I was still building. I shrugged. "I am shit at Programming. We need a guy who can do the code. It needs to be able to fight and fuck like a champion! That's what the guys want to see." I told them. Coincidentally, one of the partygoers was a wannabe Programmer. They used their skills for some petty crime here and there. They were not in the gang but, like me, had friends who were and they protected him. I was very happy to meet him. He was a bit skittish meeting me. We exchanged stories and had a great time talking with our food and drinks. When I told him what we were working on, he was in immediately. "Making an android from scratch? Awesome!" he said. That was great. His name was Alejandro Batista. I had an assistant that could do the Programming. That was the missing piece. Fizzy 2 was soon up and running too.
