Robotic Lover

"Please, don't do it." Ameila cried. She couldn't fathom how quickly everything in her life erupted into chaos. Would everything have ended differently if she hadn't made that choice a year ago?

"I hate the breeze of October! It's cold and makes my nose stuffy." A faint laugh echoed in the wind. "What's so funny about that, Ameila? Tell me, I'm listening," Rachel asked with a scowl.

"Oh, nothing. Just that you say that every year," Ameila joked. She nudged Jackson playfully as they both smiled. "Hey, he's laughing too! Scold him instead."

"He's laughing at your idiocy, not me," she huffed at Ameila. After a moment they all broke into a laugh as they walked up the steps of Clarkwood University.

"So, how'd the party go?" They both inquired as Ameila sipped on her coffee. A wave of tension clouded them as she stared into the white abyss of her latte.

"C'mon girl! You could be sitting here with a hot hunk in this cozy coffee shop instead of us if you'd just talk to people." Jackson snorted his coffee.

"You basically called us losers."

"Oh shut up, Jackson." She turned towards Ameila. "I literally sent you the info of every guy at that party. You didn't even start one conversation?!"

"Rachel, you know I feel like a creep seeing their profiles." She rolled her eyes.

"You literally program robots with codes and stuff, but can't look at a human profile? Your major is even called information science!" She quieted at her logic. "Fine, be lonely then," she stormed away from the table. Ameila sighed. Echos of Rachel's harsh words overthrew her thoughts.

"Ameila?" Jackson's voice brought her back to reality.

"Sorry, what?"

"I'm sure you'll find the one. Don't stress over Rachel's impatience," a reassuring smile eased Ameila's consious.

"Easy for you both to say. You have each other."

"And you have us." They both couldn't help but laugh.

"You're so corny," she groaned as she stood from their table. "My class is going to start. Catch you guys later?" Jackson nodded. Without looking back, she headed towards her classroom. Checking the time on her phone, Ameila realized she had an extra half hour to kill. After considering going to class early, her legs shifted away from her usual path and towards the garden nearby. A fresh breeze lifted her scarf and fluttered her dark brown bangs. A cold shiver waggled her hand as she reached for the entrance door. A sweet, airy aroma escaped the garden in the wind. It was light, but familiar. Huge pumpkins filled the entire garden, all perfectly orange. "So this is where my latte came from," she muttered aloud. After what felt like a brief moment eyeing the pumpkins for the biggest in the patch, she glanced at the time. "What?! Two minutes till my class starts? Today's an guest speaker, I can't be late!" she took off in a sprint before even finishing her rambling. The wind burned her skin as blurs of the campus walls passed by. Her mental map guided her through the halls. Suddenly, a red shadow appeared behind a corner; her entire body slammed onto it. A bundle of posters rained from the ceiling.

"My God, you're insane!" a frustrated voice rang in Ameila's ears.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry! Let me clean this up for you," her hands rapidly stacked the fallen papers.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, why?" They motioned to her sweat poured lap. Her hands brushed her face covered in sweat, almost melting them. Embarrassed, she assured them she was fine and hurried to finish collecting the posters. "Here. Sorry again about that," she nervously laughed. As they turned the corner, Ameila noticed one of the posters on the ground. "Wait!" she hollered, grabbing the paper and running around the corner. By then, they had already disappeared. Not wanting to miss more of lecture, she began to fast walk to the classroom.

Finally collapsing into her seat, Ameila took a huge sigh of relief. Going to grab her notebook from her bag, she saw the bright, red poster she had tucked away crumbled up inside. Instinctively, her eyes pleaded for a peek at the poster. They widened and her jaw dropped as she read the front. "Robotic Lover. Trial edition, customizable looks and personality. No longer single, no need to mingle!" Her eyes gleamed. "Did Rachel magically bless me?" Her mind ran wild over the millions of questions and scenarios this poster formed in her head. By the time she came to, the entire classroom was empty with the only light source being the vacuumed sunlight. The time was an hour after her class had ended. Excited to share the news, she rushed to meet her friends in their usual location.

"A robot what?" Jackson's jaw practically fell off. Rachel and Ameila excitedly smacked each other's hand, almost hitting their face by accident. "Do you seriously think that's a good idea?"

"No, it's a wonderful idea! A boyfriend who'll listen to you and not complain. Why, I might get me one too!" Rachel fantasized.

"And I'll get me one that doesn't abandon me for a robot." Rachel shot him a glare.

"I was only joking, geez," she sneered.

"You don't like the idea?" Ameila asked Jackson. He shook his head.

"Haven't you heard what they say about robots? They're bad news. They'll suck your brains out to collect all your memories and become you!" he dramatized. An annoyed look covered both Rachel's and Ameila's face. "Ok, maybe I was overreacting a little, but still! They can't feel emotions and are too smart. Living with one is dangerous!"

"You're overthinking, Jackson. This is exactly what she needs!" Rachel exclaimed.

"If it's even real," he mumbled. Dread filled Ameila's stomach. She never thought of that possibility.

"There's only one way to check then," Rachel grabbed a phone from the table. "What's the link?" After a few moments, Rachel proudly sat Ameila's phone screen up in front of her. "Thank me later." A slight sob came to Ameila as she stared at her screen. A robot with dusty brown hair, fair skin, and diamond eyes was plastered on it.

"You ordered him for me?" Ameila jumped up to embrace her. "Thank you so much, Rachel." Jackson's uneasiness from before lingered till the day the robot arrived, but Ameila couldn't be more excited.

"Hello. My name is Kyle," an familiar looking man said on Ameila's porch.

"Hello? Can I help you?"

"I'm here to help you." It finally clicked.

"Oh, you're my robot! Please, come in." Ameila's smile reached her ears. "These are my friends, Rachel and Jackson," she pointed to them.

"Pleasure to meet you both."

"He's even more handsome in person than in the book!" Rachel fainted.

"He doesn't have a thick robotic accent. You sure he's a robot?" Jackson chimed.

"My circuit is in my neck." Jackson still appeared skeptical.

"Just give him a chance," Rachel begged him. A loud sigh escaped his mouth before agreeing. For the next few months, everything felt surreal to Ameila. Everybody fawned over Kyle, but no one knew he wasn't human.

"You've really changed my life," she told him one night as they laid together. "I've always wanted someone who cared for me."

"I'm a robot. I cannot feel any emotions for you. Please, do not get attached to me." Tears gathered in Ameila's eyes. She had truly fell in love with Kyle.

"What do you mean by that?" She could feel her pillow soaken. After a few minutes in silence, Ameila hauled herself off the bed and to her couch for the night.

"He's being distant?" Rachel asked a few months later. "We'll, he's incapable of feeling love."

"I know! This feels different though," Ameila tried to explain. Kyle had quit sleeping in the same room as her. He no longer cooked for her, nor did he ask how her classes went any longer. "He's basically ignoring me and staying up all night. I can hear him mumbling sometimes, like he's talking to someone else." A loud laugh pierced Ameila's ears.

"You think he's cheating on you? He's programmed to be loyal."

"But-"

"Just check his coding if you're so worried about it," she brushed Ameila's cries away. Rachel's advice seeped into Ameila's mind. The minute she returned home, she ushered Kyle to sit on her bed.

"It'll only take a second," she promised. He gave her a skeptical look.

"Why must you look at my data and coding?" A deep pit formed in her stomach.

"You know my major is coding. I just want to study you," she tried to let out a small laugh, but her throat swelled up. After pulling back the latch to access all his wires and chips, she placed her thumb on a sensor activated chip to download all his data to her hard drive. "Ok, you can go now." Without a goodbye, he exited the room. Dread crept up inside of her. "I'll check them tomorrow with Rachel," she told herself, not wanting to recieve any bad news alone. Her warm blanket cradled around her soothed her mind from all her worries of Kyle. Vibrant colors began to flash in front of her, till a sudden crashing sound roared from downstairs. Her body jolted up and trembled. "Kyle?" she whispered. Her hands frantically reached around the bed, looking for Kyle in the pitch dark. Her heart sank as she reached the edge. "Kyle?" her voice a tone higher. A horrifying boom echoed throughout the house. "Kyle?!" her shrilling voice covering the second boom. She flung her head under her pillow, anticipating a third boom. After a feeling of hours passing with not even the chatting of crickets, Ameila slowly crept down the stairs. "Kyle?" a hushed sound escaped her mouth.

"Did I wake you?" Relief settled in at the sound of his voice. She ran in the dark, lunging herself onto him.

"I was so scared! What were you doing?" After a few moments of silently hugging him, she forced herself to leave his one-sided embrace and flip on a light. For a moment, her eyes stung from being adjusted to the dark. When she could open her eyes, her body felt numb. Her legs were shaking, till they gave out underneath her. The cold ground numbed her more. She looked up at Kyle, her eyes practically out of their socket.

"They found out we were recalled, so they tried to warn you."

"You. How could you?" A tear slipped down her face, one after another. Her eyes moved to the bodies in front of her. "She's the one who ordered you." No expression formed on his face. "I should've listened to Jackson. He didn't deserve this! Why did I decide to go to the garden that day?" Her tears flooded the floor below her. She lifted her bloodied hands as they trembled in front of her. She had more to say, but her teeth were gritted. Instead, she clenched her fist and punched at the floor.

"You were foolish," he mocked her. "I warned you not to get attached."

"Please," her voice gasped. Her eyes landed on his silver hand extension. "Please, don't do it."