Misunderstood

1 - The Idea

"Oh, shut up."

Tadashi chuckled when he saw her face all red. His eyes twinkled with mischief. "Come on, Elia, you picked 'truth'. So answer me, tell me your most embarrassing moment."

Elia ruffled her dark brown hair and sighed. She responded with the first thing that came to mind. "When I was a kid, I accidentally hugged a person who I thought was my mom."

"I already knew that."

"Shoot."

Smirking, Tadashi teased her. "Would you like a dare?"

"Yes, please." Elia was already glaring at Tadashi, but he didn't mind it.

"Your dare is to not laugh when I tickle you."

"What?"

Before Elia knew it, Tadashi was already tickling her torso. Elia roared in uncontrollable laughter, nearly kicking Tadashi several times. They both ended up on the floor of his lab, surprisingly not damaging anything.

"You lost."

"I hate you."

Elia quickly got on her feet and helped Tadashi up. He smiled at her knowingly as approached Baymax, an inflatable white medical robot. Elia would often drop by his lab to get advice or parts for her own project. But as friends do, she ended up staying longer in his lab.

"How's the progress on Baymax?" Elia asked.

"I'll be testing him out later," Tadashi replied. "I have an idea how to fix that speech recognition problem of his."

She got his cue. "See you later then," Elia said walking out.

As she walked back to the general laboratory, she found herself lost in thought. Everyone had a project they were working on. Well, some of them. Most of the undergraduates were either focusing on their studies or considering different options for a side research. Most of her friends, like Tadashi, were already working on something. She was still thinking about what to do and it made her hard on herself.

"You okay, Elia?"

She jolted when she heard a familiar voice from behind. It was Professor Callaghan, who helped many promising undergraduate researchers. He always had a calm smile that hid whatever he was thinking.

"I'm just thinking about what I can research on," Elia said.

"You took up civil engineering, right?" he asked.

"Yes, I was thinking of making a prototype that will increase the productivity of construction or perhaps a robot that can test out the quality of the foundation on the spot."

Callaghan merely nodded his head. "Those are great ideas, but you'll have to be more specific if you're going for the first one."

"I know," she said. "I was thinking of making a flying robot that can carry heavy materials to high places, because that's usually where casualties lie."

"It sounds like you've got a project," Callaghan said triumphantly. "I'll be there to support you."

Elia grinned widely with excitement. "Thank you."

"You know," he butted in. "You can take a major in civil engineering and a minor in robotics."

"That will be too challenging."

"I know you can do it, Elia. You're 16 years old in college and doing better than average," Callaghan said with a smile. "Believe in yourself more."

Elia smiled back at him. She didn't have a head start in her research like the others, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. She'll finish it and probably consider taking that minor.

"Thank you for the encouragement, Uncle. I'll see you around."