The robotics club met on Thursday after lessons, tucked into one corner of the science block. It was louder than he expected. Half built machines, scattered tools, and people talking over each other while trying to fix things that were not working.
Aarav had walked past it before without going in. This time, he stopped. Then stepped inside.
The room quietened for a second before returning to normal.
Someone passed him a screwdriver without much introduction and nodded towards a small rover sitting motionless on the bench.
"You're in Mrs Baker's class, right. See if you can get that moving."
The voice came from Skye Patel. She stood slightly apart from the others, watching rather than rushing in. Confident without needing to prove it.
Aarav crouched beside the rover. He did not rush. He checked the connections first, then adjusted a single wire and tightened one joint.
The motors kicked in almost immediately.
The reaction around the room was louder than the fix itself deserved. A mix of relief and surprise.
Skye folded her arms. "Was that luck, or did you actually know what you were doing?"
"Mismatch in feedback," he said. "The resistors were too similar. It needed a difference."
She studied him for a moment longer, then gave a short nod. "Fine. You can stay."
The rest of the session passed quickly. Aarav did not try to take over. He watched instead.
How people worked together. Who led without saying it. Where mistakes came from. It all followed patterns, just like everything else.
At one point, Skye glanced over at his notebook. "You always write things down like that?"
"It helps," he said.
She smirked slightly. "You look at people the same way, don't you."
"Sometimes," he replied. "Code is easier."
That earned a brief laugh.
As the session ended, she tossed him a spare access card.
"For the lab. Just don't break anything important."
"I'll try not to," he said.
On the way out, he was already thinking about what could be improved. Not just the rover. The system behind it.