𓈊 A Poppy By Any Other Name

Act XXXIX

"Woah, that's really cool," Grian gasped, beaming at Mumbo, who had a fond expression on his face. "Can you put it together?"

"Of course I can," Mumbo said confidently, then began to put everything together. "And, voila! The endoskeleton of our robot."

Grian carefully took the strange-looking array of wires and bolts and what-have-you into his hands. "Wow," he breathed, moving it around to look at it from different angles. "This is so cool!"

Mumbo smiled. "I'm glad you think so," he said, "because soon it'll have the beautiful exterior that you've made and it'll look even cooler."

"Oh, stop it." Grian waved a hand at Mumbo, blushing a bit. "It doesn't even look that good." He looked down at what he'd been working on, and his smile faded as a sudden wave of embarrassment washed over him. "It looks like a child painted it," he said, slumping a bit in his seat. "Scar could've done a better job... Maybe you should've invited him inste-"

"Stop that," Mumbo said sternly, swatting at Grian's shoulder. "Just because it doesn't look like something that someone else can do, doesn't mean it's bad. And if it worth anything, I love it and I think you did a great job."

Grian stared at Mumbo for a moment. "...Thanks," he murmured, smiling a little bit.

Mumbo snickered. "I see that smile, cutie," he teased, reaching to tickle Grian's sides.

Grian let out a small yelp, squirming as Mumbo tickled him. "Okay, okay, I get it," he whined between laughs, desperately trying to swat Mumbo's hands away. "Mumbo!"

"Alright, I'll stop." Mumbo smiled at Grian, then turned to their project. "Ready to see if it works?"

Grian nodded eagerly.

"Three... two... one!" Mumbo pressed a button labeled with writing that Grian couldn't quite make out. The lights for the eyes lit up, and it started to make little beeping noises as if it were talking. Then, a small slip of paper came from what looked like some sort of mouth.

"Is that it?" Grian asked.

Mumbo shook his head. "Take the paper."

Grian did exactly that, gasping when he saw what was written on it. "I-"

"Cool, right?"

Grian looked up at Mumbo. "Cool? Are you kidding me?" He looked down at the paper again. "'Hi, my name is Grumbot...'" He shook his head in pure disbelief. "Mumbo, this is amazing."

Mumbo laughed. "I'm glad you like it."

Grian turned back to the naked robot. "I can't wait until it's finished."

Not long after, Mr. Hermann announced the end of robotics club, and it was time for the students to leave.

"I can take Grumbot with me so I can finish painting him at Timmy's," Grian offered as he and Mumbo began gathering their things. "I don't doubt Lizzie has some at least semi-decent paint."

Mumbo nodded. "That sounds good," he agreed, helping Grian lower their project into a cardboard box. "By the way, did you finish writings those math formulas? I want to start on the chips tonight, and the math one will probably be the hardest, so I want to start with that one."