The Mechanics of Us

Chapter 16

A drip of chocolate rolls down the girl's hand; I toss her a napkin to wipe it up. She takes it but doesn't do anything with it. She sits on the hood of the car, her legs dangling over the edge swaying back and forth subtly with an expressionless gaze. I'm positioned next to her and lick my chocolate and vanilla cone periodically, the flavors melting together on my tongue, creating an overwhelming sweetness that lingers on my tongue. I continue eating it though since it preoccupies my mind from the nagging question that plagues my thoughts. What did the school teach? What did the other kids say to her? Was she bullied? Apart from I want to ask, but another part of me is scared to. I don't want to set her off or deal with all of the emotions or confrontations that could occur. Confrontation has never been my strong suit; even as a cyborg, it still hasn't been. I usually wait for others to talk to me, but this uncomfortable silence is eating away at me. I am an adult; I am the parental figure, I need to speak up, so with one last chomp, I finish up my cone and wipe my hands on my pants.

I don't look directly at the girl but keep my stare forward.

"What happened at school?" I ask blankly. I can already tell I am terrible at this. She is a child, I should be more considerate, but this is hard for me as I never had exposure to this before. Not even with a new brain could I figure out how to talk to a child who is upset.

To my surprise, however, the girl remains calm, and confusion sets in. She was crying just a little bit ago, and even though she had ice cream, children don't usually shut off like this. I made a mental note to address this later.

"I'm a cyborg, right?" Her voice is more profound and substantial. It hurt to hear her speak in such an emotionless tone. Her ice cream slips out of her grasp and plops itself down on the ground. A sense of confusion and discomfort envelopes me, and I am completely baffled at the child I was seeing, who replaced her? She was so bubbly this morning, but now she is flat.

Tension grows between us, and I start to envision how this conversation will play out in my mind. In actuality, there are numerous situations with very different possible outcomes, each more dramatic and chaotic as the last. However, I know this talk must happen, and I know I must make sure she knows the truth of how brilliant yet dangerous she is. If anyone was like the stars, it is her. Fibrant, fierce, and galaxies beyond anyone else.

I pat the hood of the car two times and then lift the girl with one arm.

"Let's go home."