Jude moved on the bed as he was still feeling very sleepy. The place was warm compared to him waking up with chill because of his doorless house, as the zinc he normally put out there most of the time was usually blown away before morning.
He sat up as he cleared his eyes, his face calm..something felt off. He looked at the door and, to his surprise, it was perfectly placed. He raised up his eyebrow…it was almost like it fit, which was surprising.
Was he tripping? But that looked like a door, though he realized it was the zinc. But the way it was closed, well polished….
He stood immediately as he noticed how arranged the room was. This was surprising—his room was never arranged. His sketches were placed in perfect order, the papers all arranged on the walls.
It was finally then the last night's memory came back.
He turned his head, where was the metal stuff he put at the door? Fear gripped through him as he turned.
"Ahh!" he gasped loudly as he jumped back slightly in surprise. The stuff he had put at the door stood there, and it seemed like it was cleaning the desktop with some kind of rag.
"W..what"
Jude cleared his throat, though the fear remained. Why was it alive?
He swore yesterday this metal was not working or moving..so how?
The robot turned to look at him calmly, and to Jude's surprise, the robot was smiling.
What the hell.
Were robots programmed to smile? That was impossible.
"Good morning, Jude. I created the door if you are curious, and you have to realize that I am not a door. You are not as dumb as you look." The blue robot blinked as he stared at the boy, who seemed to be in shock at his words.
He scanned his expression as he noticed the quiet tremble in his eyeball, noting he had been scared.
Jude's mouth opened and closed as he tried to think if he had just heard correctly. Did this robot just insult him? Not to mention, how did he know his name?
"Oh my heavens, you… is this how you are created? I had no idea robots could insult a person. What are you specifically programmed for? Why do you know different things?" he asked breathlessly.
"I am programmed for all. I can do anything at all that pleases me. I was made like you humans and, let's say, better than them," he spoke calmly as Jude nodded even though he looked visibly confused right, looking around.
"I am guessing during the creation your inventor had made you an OCD patient, because why the hell is this room too clean and perfect?"
The robot's lips curled upwards.
"I expected a thank you at least. This room was really stinking and irritating. I had to close my nose to clean."
Jude raised an eyebrow at the robot's words.
"Stop this joke, we all know robots have no sense of smell," he spoke as he began laughing, but stopped when he noticed the robot's eyes just staring at him boredly. He knew this robot was made of metal, but the stare obviously looked bored.
"I do," the robot spoke nonchalantly, and Jude fell silent. He was glad at least his room was neat, but then again, he knew what he was doing was very much risky given that there was a robot in his apartment—a different kind that could smell and feel like a human. If not for the metals on its body, you wouldn't notice at all, then why was it abandoned on the road.
Even the robot's voice was calm and deep.
He knew that if the government ever found out about this, not only would he be jailed, he would be sentenced to death, as they took such things seriously. And the people who could buy robots were the wealthiest, and that was lots of cash.
Yet here he was—he began to think of what to do.
"Thanks, man, for the door," he sincerely spoke, as he did not know what to do at this point. He was so speechless.
"You can call me Rune," the robot spoke as he stared at the boy. He detected its eyes and noticed a fever, the little figure looked pale and skinny, which showed it had not been eating.
Brrrrr~
Jude's stomach growled loudly. He hissed as he spoke.
"I do not want to be late for my work. Please stay here. When I return, we would think of a way to settle your matter, because right now this is a serious situation," he spoke, still trying to calm his head and racing thought. Everything was happening too fast.
"I won't. There are lots of things to explore here… so go ahead with your work, bro," he said, and Jude, who had already turned, stoppedhe turned back.
'Bro?'
"Okay, you can take off the shield now, you got me," he spoke seriously his eyebrows knitting together in bare deep confusion.
Rune looked at him with a raised brow. Jude knew that a robot could not act like this, so he was wondering if he was being pranked.
"What are you talking about?" Rune asked.
Jude moved his hands as he pulled on his hair tightly. He was going insane, he really was.
"I'm going crazy, bro, this is so confusing," he spoke as he pulled his hair more as if that would help. He moved his hands to touch the robot, and the metals were hard. He tried pushing it, but it was so strong.
His eyes widened. He was using all his strength, yet the robot remained unmoving. His face twisted. This was the same one that had been abnormally light last night—so what changed?
"You are not going crazy," the robot spoke with a smile, as he then added, "You are crazy."
Jude fell speechless again as he just stared at the robot.
"Do you know what the time is?" he finally asked, as he did not know what to say again. At this point, he was at a loss for words. This robot had not just insulted him but made him look like a fool.
"The last time I chose to check, it was nine o'clock. By now it is 9:51 a.m." Rune estimated correctly.
Jude was seriously late.
"Oh no, fucking fuck, fuck!" he hissed and cursed as he rushed to the bathroom. He was supposed to be at work by 9:30 on the dot. He was always an early caller because he woke up very early due to the chilling cold.
His workplace was much warmer inside, even though he was the trash boy. And today—he had never been this late. He closed the door. Just as he closed it, the robot's eyes darkened for a brief moment before returning back to normal.
Time passed,
and the door opened. Jude stepped out, his towel in his hair as he dried it gently. He was late now wearing his work uniform he was ready to leave. He had not even rubbed lotion—not like he had any to begin.
"Are you going to work like that, without breakfast?" Rune asked. He had heard the earlier rumbling of Jude's stomach.
Jude laughed loud like he had just heard a joke.
"Bro, there is nothing like breakfast, lunch, or dinner on my timetable. I don't even have money for food to begin with."
"That is such a sad life," Rune spoke as he sat by the chair in front of the desktop.
Jude's eyebrow rose. This robot was really making things hard, were they not meant to be positive?. He had lots of questions but promised he would ask them once he returned. Something was definitely not right.
Jude packed his hair up tight, and he really needed a haircut.
He picked his bag. He was already running late and really needed an excuse.
"I had gone through your laptop and profiles," Rune spoke as Jude nodded. He did not mind he barely used that desktop anyway.
Wait. So this robot had gone through his desktop? That explained how he knew his name earlier—he must have seen his profile name.
"Not just that, I realised you are an online trader," he spoke, as Jude, who was putting on his shoes, paused. He nodded as he sat on the stool close to the door, his face calm.
"Yes, I was trying to make money off it, and it did not work at all. Forget it. Besides, how did you find that app? I deleted it," he spoke as he stood, moving to the door.
"I need your permission to try," Rune asked calmly. Jude, whose hand was about to open the door, halted midway.
"Of course it would not work anyway—something to keep you busy… oh lord, I am fucking late," he complained as he needed to be fast. He opened the door, and then again Rune spoke.
"Another question!" Jude exhaled in frustration He did not know if the robot was genuinely asking him questions or trying to get on his nerve. He was already angry. He was hungry—could you blame him?
A hungry man was an angry man.
"You are an author."
That made him halt. He turned, walked in, and closed the door. He then spoke.
"Bro, did you hack my PC?" His face looked serious as he now stared at the robot. This robot was already suspicious and was adding more things to make himself even more suspicious.
"No, I did not I just went through it," Rune spoke calmly as he noticed the way the body tapped on his legs, which showed his anxiousness for his extra lateness at work.
"You did not complete your book. Why? It says last updated two months ago. You have lots of fans, I must say," it explained.
Jude sighed as he shifted his gaze.
"The book is on a hiatus. I had writer's block," he spoke as he lowered his head.
He finally took a deep breath and moved as he opened the door. Just as he walked again, the robot finally said:
"Should I complete it for you?" he asked calmly.
Jude paused. He was growing late. He waved his hand.
"Go ahead, I don't mind. Don't ruin the plot," he said as he closed the door—only if he knew that would be the words he would regret ever saying.