Digi-Friends

Regretful Heart

Leafy and I continued to wait for Loser to join us. She sat on a metal table with her legs dangling off of it while I pushed myself onto a counter. There was barely enough room for me as there were tons of stuff on it. I didn't know what half of the things were but they were mostly metal.

The longer we were in the room, the more Leafy seemed upset. Her tail drooped down and stayed close to her body. Metal clanged as she clasped her hands together.

She's never been this before. Is it because of yesterday or another reason?

The mood felt tense and I couldn't think of anything to say. I knew what I needed to do... but it was wrong. I couldn't do it- not in front of Leafy. There's no way she'd react kindly if she knew he was going to be sold and-

Loser yelled, "Join me in the front Firey! I need to ask you something."

I looked towards Leafy before pushing myself off of the counter. She seemed more worried now that I was leaving.

"Don't take too long, Firey..." she mumbled.

I paused before I could respond, "I won't, there's nothing to worry about.."

That's what I want to believe.

She nodded and I went to the front to see Loser quickly typing on an electronic tablet. He put it down on the front desk when he realized I was there.

"What did you want?" I angrily asked.

Loser didn't seem to mind that and replied, "We need to talk about why you're here. I mean, what do you want fixed on Leafy?"

I never told him her name.

"There's some rust on her metal and- I think there's something wrong with her charger. Will that still be... expensive with the sale?"

Loser didn't respond and thought to himself. He soon answered, "I could offer you a deal so you don't have to spend any money."

"Hah! Good joke." I laughed.

Loser didn't laugh. He seemed completely serious about this. I stopped as soon as I realized this.

"Tell me what you want," I demanded.

"Allow me to make a copy of her code and you won't have to pay a thing. I promise that."

What does he want with her code? What does he know that I don't?

Questions filled my mind but I still needed to tell Loser what I wanted done with Leafy. I came here to trash her.

My stomach felt like it suddenly twisted up. I didn't like it. Something about this was making me anxious but I didn't know what it was. I gulped before saying anything else.

"That works with me. Actually, I was thinking you could-"

Loser left before I could finish my sentence. I quickly followed to see him observing the metal on Leafy's body. Her pupils were narrower than usual and her legs occasionally bounced. I simply stood in a corner and waited.

I did anything to avoid focusing on whatever Loser was doing. I kept looking at the messy floor and counters to see if I noticed anything.  Beside a box of tools was a newspaper that was almost completely yellow. It must've been old. There was an image of two boxed shaped buildings connected together with a metal pipe. While large, the building suffered with many broken windows and cracking walls.

I took a few steps forward to look at the fading text on the paper. It read 'Bit Incorporation suffers a massive worker loss due to robotic research.' I didn't want to get any closer to the paper in case Loser noticed me, so I couldn't make out the text explaining what had happened.

Out of nowhere, Loser said, "Hey Leafy, could you try and stay still? I'm having a hard time seeing how bad the rust is when you move."

"...Sorry, I didn't mean to make your job harder, I'm not used to-" Leafy quickly stopped talking and immediately looked towards me. She knew she said too much.

Shit.

I looked towards Loser who seemed oddly calm. It was like he expected this. He simply smiled at Leafy before walking towards me and grabbing my hand. I tried to pull away from him but he dragged me into a different room. The door matched the colour of the wall and was much different from where I entered. A diploma was hung in the middle of a wall and trophies were nicely scattered all over the room. The only thing that seemed out of place was a bed in the corner.

Why didn't I tell him I wanted her trashed sooner?! This could've just been avoided!

"I don't want any trouble. Just be honest with me. Why did you really take her here?" Loser questioned.

I sighed, "I want her trashed and then I can be rewarded with some money. Leafy's been living with me for a few days and I... never wanted that."

"I don't suggest you go through with this plan. You're obviously lonely and are clearly in financial stress. Though, I take it you don't really like robots," he assumed.

He read me like a book.

"You're right. I hate them. Everything is so lifeless with them around. They show absolutely nothing and just take up space! Life feels so dull whenever I see one," I confessed.

"Surely Leafy is different than that. She has artificial intelligence. What do you think of her?"

What do I think of her?

I never took the time to think about that. She was different, and so was he. For once, I felt like I could actually have a conversation with someone. My anxiousness lessened.

Despite this, I grumbled, "She is different. But I don't have to automatically like her because of that. Liking someone takes time."

"Then take your time. Don't act on a rash decision."

I nodded after he finished speaking. Loser seemed to completely believe in what he said. I did too. He made a good point and was honest with me. Not many objects were like that.

Loser shook my hand before making his way to the door. He turned around and looked at me. "You can stay here for now. I should be able to finish work on Leafy today. No guarantees though."

Loser left the room and I heard some faint talking through the walls. I couldn't make out anything but that was okay. Looking down at my hands, I realized Loser put a piece of paper in them. I uncrumpled it to see a phone number and some messily written words.

I did enough reading for now. I'll figure out what it says later.

My body felt a bit sore so I carefully laid down on the bed. Today went better than I thought it would.