x
As Tessa pulls you through the hallway, you're still trying to make sense of everything around you. The maze of halls, the drones, the strange, twitchy feeling in your body—it all feels like too much at once. You look around, seeing drones sweeping, cleaning, working, and the occasional human passing by. You still don’t quite get why you’re here or what you're supposed to be doing, but it’s clear that you’re still… malfunctioning.
"Alright!" Tessa suddenly cheers, dragging you through yet another door. "Here's the dining area! You'll be spending a lot of time here, I'm sure!" She gestures to a large table, neatly set with pristine dishes and glassware.
You stand awkwardly by the door, staring at the place as she moves forward, pulling you with her.
"Don’t be nervous!" she encourages. "Everyone here’s really nice, once you get to know them!"
You glance over at the other drones already in the room. There's a quiet hum in the air as they continue their tasks, and for a moment, you feel oddly out of place. You’ve only just met them, but they all seem so... normal. Why can’t you be like them?
But then you remember—It's just a bug. That's what Tessa said. That's what that one human said. And if it'll go away in a few days, surely you'll become normal like the other worker drones once it's gone. Right?
You glance at V.... Wait...V? You look around the dining area. Where's V? You suddenly notice her near the table, talking to one of the humans. She nods quickly. "Yes sir, I'll get fetch it immediately."
V comes walking back to the group. She looks up at Tessa. "Your...father wants you to sit at the table with everyone else." She then looks at you and N. "Looks like I'm going to be busy again."
Tessa grumbles then sighs. "Oh well..." She looks at N. "Say, N, why don't you take L and continue the tour, eh?"
N straightens up, giving an eager salute. "You got it, Tessa!"
Tessa grins and gives your hand one last squeeze before stepping away. "Have fun, L! And try not to glitch out too much!"
You blink, unsure how to respond to that, before N excitedly gestures for you to follow him. "Alright, L! Time for the Grand Tour: Part Two!" He dramatically flourishes his arm toward the hallway. "Next stop—the kitchen!"
Your head jerks slightly as you nod. "The… kitchen?"
"Yep! Super important!" N explains as he starts leading the way. "Even though we don't eat, the humans do, and it's our job to make sure their food is prepared properly! It's also where we keep all the cleaning supplies, which—" he leans in conspiratorially, whispering, "—R never touches."
You glance back, where a drone, supposedly R, is lazily leaning against a wall, clearly not doing any actual work. "Oh..."
N chuckles, reaching out to push open a set of large double doors. The kitchen is pristine—stainless steel counters, shelves stacked high with dishes, and several drones bustling around. You immediately spot one aggressively scrubbing a pan with the intensity of someone fighting for their life.
N gestures widely. "Ta-da! The kitchen! Where culinary magic happens!"
You tilt your head. "Do you cook?"
N's visor flickers. "Uh… no, but I could if I tried really hard!" He pauses. "Maybe. But it's mostly the other drones’ job!"
As if on cue, a worker drone rushes past, balancing a steaming pot. Another follows closely behind with a tray of vegetables. The room is alive with activity, and for a moment, you hesitate—what if you mess up again?
"Hey, new drone!"
You flinch at the voice and turn. A drone with a chef’s hat stands before you, hands on his hips. His visor flickers slightly as he looks you up and down. "You’re the twitchy one everyone's talking about, right?"
You bristle. "I—I have a bug."
The chef drone hums. "Huh. Well, hope you don’t short-circuit in the soup."
Your posture stiffens. "Short-circuit in the— What?!"
N laughs nervously, stepping between you and the chef drone. "Haha, L’s fine! Just, uh… recalibrating!"
The chef drone shrugs and turns back to his station. "Whatever. Just stay outta the way."
Your hands twitch at your sides, but you force yourself to nod. N quickly pulls you aside. "Don’t worry about him! He’s just grumpy because someone may or may not have accidentally dropped an entire tray of food on him last week."
You blink. "Was it you?"
N's visor flickers again. "…Moving on!" He grabs your hand, dragging you toward another door. "Let’s check out the laundry room next!"
As you’re pulled away, you glance over your shoulder at the kitchen drones, all working so smoothly. Efficient. Perfect.
You swallow hard.
You just have to wait.
Just a few days.
Then you’ll be perfect too.
Right?
N finishes off the tour, leading you back to the bar. "And we're back at the bar!"
"Oh, look, the Loser is back..." J mutters.
"Good to see you too, J!" N says cheerfully.
J simply rolled her eyes.
"I finished cleaning the glasses for you, N," Cyn says.
"Thanks Cyn! You're the best!" N says.
You look at Cyn and give stiff wave. "Wave?"
"Giggle. Wave." Cyn says as she waves back.
"Ugh...You know, you don't have to copy Cyn, just to talk to her," J grouched.
You stiffen slightly, your joints clicking as you attempt to straighten up. "I-I wasn't copying! I was just—" Your arm twitches again. "Uh—expressing... mutual acknowledgment?"
J smirks. "Right. Sure." She leans forward slightly, crossing her arms. "So, L, how was your little tour? Learn how to properly scrub floors and stay out of the way?"
You hesitate, glancing at N, who gives you an encouraging thumbs-up. "Uh... yeah? I mean, I think so?"
J chuckles, shaking her head. "Wow. You really are hopeless."
"Oh, come on, J! L's doing their best!" N says.
J waves him off dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m just saying, if L’s little 'bug' doesn’t go away, it’ll be really entertaining watching them struggle to keep up."
Your visor flickers as you look down at your hands. It will go away... right?
Before you can dwell on it further, Tessa suddenly bursts back into the room, grinning. "Alright, L! Time to put all that learning to the test!"
You blink. "Test?"
"Yup! Your first real assignment!" Tessa announces proudly.
J smirks. "Oh, this is gonna be good."
N pats your shoulder reassuringly. "Don’t worry, L! You got this!"
Cyn tilts her head. "Curious. What is L’s first task?"
Tessa grins wider. "Simple!" She spins you around and gestures down the hall toward the dining area. "You're going to serve dinner!"
"W-what?!"
J laughs. "Oh, this will be good."
Your fingers twitch as you look between the expectant faces of your new coworkers. Your first real job… in front of humans… while still malfunctioning.
What could possibly go wrong?
ns 15.158.61.16da2
