“I know, I’m as shocked as you are,” she says. “But desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“Can I know what those desperate measures are?”
Now it’s her turn to let out a sigh, but it’s not the dreamy kind. “Not yet. I don’t want to admit out loud what I might have to do until I do it.”
“Well that’s ominous.”
“Believe me, it’s worse than that.”
The one thing that has gone my way today is that there’s a parking spot right by the door, which is good considering I have at least three trips worth of cookies and cupcakes to bring in.
I open the hatch of my SUV to take out what I can grab on the first trip. I don't know how many people are here and ifthey're really going to eat ten dozen cupcakes and another ten dozen cookies, but that's what Maddox ordered and paid for. Actually, he paid more than he needed after I offered to give him a discount. We settled on my standard rate. Of course, that was after we gave each other our now standard “Maddox” and “Gabrielle” looks, wondering who was going to crack first. The normal rate was the best compromise either of us were going to get.
I smile as I think about the interaction as I walk my way through the door. The only reason I know I’m in the right spot is because of the big logo on the door that says “LaunchPoint Labs.” If you were to drive by and not know what this place was, you’d assume it was a semi-truck garage or something to that capacity. But as I walk in, I quickly realize this place is nothing of the sort.
The ceilings are high and the space is wide open and I don't know what a robotics team fantasy land looks like, but it has to rival what I'm seeing here. Everywhere you look there's some sort of project in the works. A car on a lift. At least four robots on tables and one standing in the corner, greeting me as I walk in. I look up, half expecting to see a drone flying over.
But there aren’t any students working on any of these projects. In fact, there’s barely a whisper to be heard. And that’s because every eye and ear in attendance is fully trained on Maddox.
"You guys have no idea how much you impress me every single day.” Maddox says. “Does anyone know why I started LaunchPoint?”
Only a few kids raise their hands, and I hope that means he’s going to tell the story. I’ve never heard it, but knowing the mysterious ways Maddox works, I can’t wait to hear the origin.
“Sports have been part of my life since I first put on a pair of cleats,” Maddox says with a smile. “But with that, my momalways made sure to tell me that my grades came first. Do any of your parents tell you that?”
Nearly every hand raises in enthusiasm, and I take a second to put down the box of cookies on a table so I can lean back against the wall and listen.
And sigh.
“See. Moms are smart. But I didn’t always think that. One year, I think I was in eighth grade, I tried to test that theory. I got my first D in math. The coaches were going to let it slide and let me play, but my mom? Guess where I was during basketball season?”
“Not ballin’.”
“At home.”
“Gettin’ a butt whoopin’”
Everyone laughs at the answers that are shouted out from various kids, and each answer only makes Maddox smile bigger.
God that smile… it’s literally lighting up the room. I don’t know if I’ve met a man who smiles as much as he does. He’s always finding joy in things. Trying to make people happy. Laugh. I know I for sure have smiled more than I have in years, and a lot of that has to do with Maddox.
Okay most. Nearly all.
Fuck I’m screwed…
“That one time of getting my butt whooped was all I needed to get me in gear,” Maddox continues. “From there on out, I used my brain. Got good grades, which meant I was put in the honors classes. And sure, there were a lot of my teammates in class with me, but I was also getting to meet with kids I had never really talked to. Classmates who liked robotics, and math?—”
“And science.”
Maddox smiles and nods at the interjection. “And science.”
I can’t take my eyes off him. Which is when I see the second he notices I’m here. Our eyes lock, and I swear for a second,every student and adult volunteer in the room disappears. And all from a little wink he gives me.
Yup… I’m definitely screwed.
“My high school was all about sports,” Maddox says. “We were always one of the best football teams in the state. Our wrestling program produced state champions regularly. I graduated with athletes going to college in nearly every sport, girls and boys. So of course, that’s where the money went. Turf field. Weight rooms that rivaled professional football facilities. But I knew as well as anyone that not every kid at our school was a star athlete. I became friends with those kids, and they were geniuses. So freaking smart. But they didn’t have anywhere besides the classroom to show it off. No robotics team. Or STEM programs. And I always hated that for them. Because if there had been a robotics team, my school would’ve been more dominant than we were in football, and that’s saying something.”
“Is that why you started LaunchPoint?”
