CODES

S I X

When I awoke in the morning, I reminded myself Clara could've easily told me no—no rainbows, no sunshine, no gumdrops, and dewdrops. The entire day had been too heavy, and after the heated dinner with Erica and Xerses, we had literally walked into a storm of worry and despair.

But that's what made Clara Clara. The need to see happiness and light; the want to try. Cooking breakfast, I told myself just that—I needed to try, too.

Which was why we ate our food slowly without the news playing on TV. We also took our time getting dressed, admiring each other like love-struck teens. When we left our apartment for work, we didn't head in separate directions or call a Province cab. We held hands and walked, and didn't care about the eyes that followed our every step. Not even as we walked into the local coffee shop to grab morning drinks for not only us but Xerses and Erica, too.

"Is that..." someone spoke, but couldn't finish their sentence. Also, they couldn't keep their voice below a whisper because I heard it.

"He's a..." A woman near the registers covered her mouth as she shook her head.

With Clara's hand still in mine, I smiled at the woman, continuing forward. To my luck, a Code worked the shop this morning, not a human. And he was ecstatic as he looked at me because he saw one of his own.

His red hair was pushed back by his worker cap that read Mornin' Joes across the front in blue letters, the same hue as his electronic eyes. I could see his Code ID slide across them—8142—but I didn't focus on what classified him; I wanted to identify him.

I looked at his name tag next. "Morning, Phil," I said, overly cheery and just as happy to see him. "How's the day going?"

"Great!" he practically laughed as he spoke to me. His hands fiddled over the register keys, excited to take my order. "What brings you in, Roger?"

Me. Roger. I smiled.

Every Code knew who I was. Being that I was the first of our kind to be created, I was a godsend. I was their meaning, their hope; someone to look up to, to follow. And yet, I spent so much time in the offices creating them, I rarely came out and showed them my face.

I can change that.

Still holding Clara's hand, I looked down into her curious eyes. Her expression was mixed with excitement and fear. Humans and Codes didn't belong together; not like us, not like this.

I want to change that, too.

"Oh, grabbing some coffees and—" I looked at Clara once more. "—do you want anything else, Doll?"

Clara, with a finger to her chin, looked up at the ceiling and thought about it. "Hmm... egg sandwich?"

"And an egg sandwich," I added to my order, looking at Phil. "Four tall coffees, cream and sugar in each, and an egg sandwich."

Phil's hands went to work, enthusiastically keying in our order. When I lifted my Province band to accept the charges, the machines behind him went to work, creating each of the items I had requested. For a moment, I watched the smooth, mechanical hands grab our cups and pour coffee. The stove beside them powered on, preparing the sandwich.

Clara moved closer, pressing her chest to my arm, and whispered, "Some people are staring."

"Oh?" I kept my eyes on the machines. Once one coffee was made, the hands started on the other. An order in any restaurant machine-controlled took only three minutes—or your food was free. "We'll be out of here in no time."

"What if they report it?" Clara's voice trembled. "What if—"

"I'll take care of it." Pulling my gaze away from our second breakfast, I looked down at her and smiled. Inside, I cared. I always worried about the eyes of those who didn't agree with a Codes' existence and wondered if they'd report me for simply crossing their path. But Xerses and I had plans; we'd delivered them, too. Malfunctioners or not, I needed those ideas to become reality.

For our sake...

"Order's done!" Phil cheered as he turned around and grabbed each of the items, placing the cups in their fitted holders and Clara's sandwich in a bag. He handed them to us with the same smile on his face. "Hot and ready! Hopefully, it'll help you both enjoy your day."

"It should," Clara said, taking the bag from the Code. "Thank you very much."

"Oh, nothing but a few buttons with letters on them, that's all." Phil nodded his head politely. "I'm happy to help."

"I mean, a monkey can press buttons," someone spoke behind us.

I had to turn around to see who it was. And standing just a few spaces behind us, as though he were waiting to get in line, was a tall lanky man with bushy, brown hair. He eyed me when I looked at him. He pulled on his sweater to show "strength."

I could only cock a brow as I smirked. "Do you know monkeys well, sir?" I asked him.

Normally, I would've ignored the comment because I knew my place in this world. But last night I made a promise. Sure, it was to be better. Act better. Behave. But it was also to move around the fear and hate pushed outward from the "regular" citizens around us.

They will learn to accept me.

When I turned around fully, Clara still holding onto my arm, the man scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Can't ignore them." His gaze narrowed as he stared at me. "They're everywhere. Work everywhere. Can't you see them, too? Hm?"

The rest of the crowd eyed me as I walked back towards the shop's entrance. I could feel Clara tense beside me, but I shot her a quick reassuring look. A smile. She needed to know we would be safe. That... this behavior from the man was uncalled for, unjust, and shouldn't be ignored.

My shoulder was just next to his as I stopped. I lifted my hand towards the door, ready to push it open.

Next to me, the man laughed. "Just like them to run and hide. Can't fight their own battles."

"Who says there's a fight?" Turning my head slightly, I shot him a side-glance. "And it's horrible to talk poorly about monkeys. I see them, I think they're great. Do you see them often? Eat with them?"

"What?" The man's jaw clenched as he looked at me. "I was talking about—"

"Monkeys," I smirked again as I pushed the door open. "Or were you talking about people? Humans? That's a pretty shitty thing to say—call 'em monkeys. Because you can't call a Code a monkey—" I moved Clara out onto the sidewalk as I kept my gaze on the man taken aback by my unwillingness to stand down. "—We're machines. Think you can outsmart a robot, hm?"

The man bit the insides of his cheeks. He looked away from me, eyes forward, and focused on the menu ahead.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Don't get confused. It just buttons with letters, that's all." Before stepping outside, I gave him a quick pat on the shoulder. "You can do it."

Before the man could even turn to yell at me, Clara yanked me out of the shop. I stumbled before I stood next to her. I couldn't help but laugh.

She forced me to walk down the street. "Are you crazy?" she hissed, glancing back at the coffee shop once it was yards away. "They can report you. They can arrest you. They can—"

I took the cupholder from her hand so she wouldn't spill our coffee. "They can accept me for what I am. And after Prime approves of these Sector repairs, they'll have no choice."