Mechanical (4 page)

But as I walked out into the lobby, something
caught my eye. I turned, watching as people were being dragged
through the front doors and although it seemed like something so
odd, the creators acted nonchalant, like this was an everyday
occurrence. The people were unconscious, and I noticed right away
that they were human, not mechanical, like us. I watched as the
staff carried them into a back room and the metal door clanged
behind them. The hallway was empty and almost hollow as I stared at
the swinging doors.

I sensed someone come up behind me and turned
to see Yvonne. Her gaze followed mine to the doors that
methodically swung back and forth, their hissing sounds slowly
coming to a halt as their motion ceased.

“Who are they?” I stared at the closed
doorway where they had disappeared.

“Just humans.” She spat out the last word
like it was a bad taste she couldn’t wait to get rid of.

I wondered at her sudden animosity. “Why are
they here?”

She shrugged, tucking a strand of black hair
behind her ear. “Who cares? They’re probably used as templates.”
She laughed. It was a beautiful noise, but I sensed indifference,
as if she knew how twisted her comment had sounded and didn’t care.
“A way to make sure we come out looking like a normal person.”

All of a sudden somebody bumped into me from
behind. I stumbled but didn’t fall, turning to see who had been so
clumsy.

“I’m sorry ...” a voice said, sounding vacant
and afraid. “I don’t ... my legs ...”

I twisted around and saw a blonde girl, one
of us, standing there looking uncertain.

“I’ve only now been turned on ... that’s what
they said ...” She paused, looking around.

“Oh, it’s fine, I understand,” I told her.
When I had been turned on, I could barely walk as well. It would
only be a matter of time before she was able to operate
perfectly.

The girl seemed a little more relaxed but
then tensed again as she shifted her gaze to Yvonne. She turned and
stumbled slightly, then unsteadily made her way out of the room.
Puzzled, I watched Yvonne’s eyes, dark and cold, staring after the
girl.

The room seemed to get darker upon Yvonne’s
sudden change in expression. She had a way of making a once livable
room ice cold.

“What was that for?” I asked, curious as to
why she would act that way.

“They’re annoying,” she hissed, still glaring
at the door.

“What do you mean? We were once like that.” I
felt like a child, talking to Yvonne, but I was truly wondering
what had gotten into her.

“It was different for us,” she said, rolling
her eyes as if she was irritated by me as well. “They’re completely
new. They act like they’re so stupid. They’re a disgrace to us,
don’t you see that?” Her eyes bored into me accusingly, her hands
clenched at her sides.

“I don’t know ...”

“Ugh. Drew, don’t you see?” she asked. “We’re
better than the others. The humans. We’re above them physically and
intellectually. And androids like
those
,” she said pointing
to the door through which the blonde girl had vanished only moments
before, “are an embarrassment to our kind. There’s no room for them
here. There’s no room for the humans, either.” And with that she
stomped off, leaving me open-mouthed, staring after the perfect
android who had just claimed the world to be ours.

Chapter Five

Throughout the next week at school, I found
myself getting better and better at being able to imitate humans
and noticed that Jessica and her friends seemed a little more
comfortable around me, too. I was able to talk fluently, dismissing
things I didn’t understand, but keeping them in my thoughts to
ponder or ask questions about later.

“You’re so
pretty
,
Drew,”
Hailey said one day, out of nowhere, a hint of jealousy tinging her
voice. We were eating at the lunch table. The chatter and noise of
the cafeteria made it difficult to hold a conversation, but
Hailey’s voice was loud, causing me to pause.

I looked up, contemplating why she would say
this, when looks had never seemed to matter to me, the other
androids, or the creators. I dismissed the thought, remembering
that most of what humans talked about was pointless.

“You don’t even wear makeup and you’re still
gorgeous,” Caroline added. “You are seriously flawless.” She shook
her head, pouting in a teasing way. “I envy you.” The tone was
playful, but I could detect true jealousy hidden beneath it.

I laughed, having noticed before that this
was most humans’ normal response to compliments. “Thank you,” I
replied. There was a pause, and I wasn’t sure of what else to
say.

Just then I saw Michael walking towards our
table. “Hey Jess,” he said quickly, barely glancing her way. “Hi
Drew.” He smiled and I noticed he had dimples, just like
Jessica.

“Hello,” I replied.

Michael smiled again, an expression that
spread across his face, lighting up his eyes.

“So, Michael, what’d you want?” Jessica
asked, but stopped once she saw him set down his tray and sit next
to me. She gave him a funny look mingled with surprise then knowing
amusement. She glanced at Caroline, who smirked.

“So, what are you guys talking about?”
Michael asked, taking a drink of his soda and seeming oddly
comfortable considering he was the only boy sitting at a table
filled with girls.

Jessica shrugged, clearly annoyed by her
brother’s presence.

“We were just talking about how pretty Drew
is,” Caroline jumped in. Hailey snorted with laughter beside
her.

Michael nodded in mock contemplation. “I
would have to agree,” he replied, looking over at me with
amusement.

Hailey nudged Caroline, discreetly gesturing
at the two of us. I wondered why everyone was making such a big
deal out of what seemed to be nothing so I just went back to
eating.

“So ... Michael?” Jessica said, giving him a
meaningful glance. “Don’t you have a class starting soon?”

He shook his head and smiled. “Nope.”

Jessica glared at him with irritation.

“So, Drew,” Michael said, turning to me.
“How’s school been so far?”

I thought for a moment, remembering him
asking me a similar question only a few days ago in class. “It’s
fine,” I replied truthfully.

“So, what’s your favorite class?” he asked. I
noticed that he hadn’t touched his food at all.

I paused. Why were humans so enthralled with
personal attachments to objects, places and people? I didn’t
understand. I did have things I enjoyed doing, but I never strove
to figure out favorites of mine, or to learn others. “English,” I
said, repeating the first thing that came to my mind.

“Sweet,” he said. “I like that class,
too.”

“Probably only because Drew’s in it,” I heard
Jessica whisper to Hailey and Caroline, giggling, but I knew
Michael couldn’t have picked it up.

“Miss Clark’s a little mean, though,” Michael
commented.

I shrugged. “I don’t think she’s mean.” I
thought Miss Clark was nice compared to a lot of teachers. She was
always good-natured and had nice things to say. I wondered why
Michael thought what he did, but then remembered Miss Clark calling
on him countless times to be quiet and realized that was probably
the reason. It was his own fault, though.

Michael shrugged. “Easy for you to say that.
She likes you,”

“Well, I don’t interrupt her during class,” I
pointed out. I had meant it to be practical, not funny, but Michael
seemed to find it so because he laughed. I frowned in
self-disappointment. Why couldn’t I get the hang of how humans
behaved? No, why couldn’t they just behave rationally? That would
make this whole thing so much easier. I didn’t understand them at
all. Well, maybe a little, but for the most part, I didn’t.

“Geez, Drew, smile a bit, will ya?” Michael
said with a laugh.

I quickly formed my expression into a grin
that seemed to satisfy everyone. Soon they started talking again
and I let myself be left out of the conversation to just observe. I
noticed Michael shooting frequent glances in my direction and I
wondered what was so interesting. I finally ignored him and focused
on the conversation—how they reacted, how their expressions formed
and what they were.

Soon lunch period ended and we were on our
way to our next class.

Chapter Six

“Hello, Glen,” I called, striding into his
study. The room was brightly lit with bookshelves lining the walls.
Everything was in its place, from the alphabetized books to the
papers neatly arranged on his desk.

Glen was one of the creators who headed the
Institution. He was responsible for taking care of the androids and
answering questions when they needed help.

He looked up from what he was reading. “Hi
Drew.” His expression was friendly, but he looked slightly
preoccupied. His face was closed off and I couldn’t tell if his
smile was real or forced. Glen was hard to read.

I stopped in front of his desk, moving to sit
down. “I have an interesting proposition,” I told him while he
looked at me expectantly. “Jessica, a girl from the school, asked
me to spend the night at her house. At first I didn’t really
understand, but then I learned that it’s normal for friends to
sleep over at each others’ homes.” As I explained, I was hoping to
enlighten him and see some sign of approval.

Glen nodded, watching me.

“She brought it up because we have an
assignment due in a few days that we have to work on together. I
told her I would get back to her. Don’t you think this is an
interesting opportunity?” I watched his expression closely as I
gripped the sides of my chair and leaned slightly forward. “It’s a
better way to observe how they act in their own homes where they’re
most comfortable,” I explained. I unclenched and clenched my hands
slightly against the armrest, hoping he would agree and like my
idea.

Glen looked thoughtful for a moment. “You
know, Drew, that’s a very good idea,” he said, flashing me a
smile.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about it,” I
answered, feeling a little proud of myself for earning Glen’s
approval.

He sat there, thinking, a forgotten smile on
his lips. “All right.” He looked at me. “Why don’t you call her
right now and tell her your parents agreed?”

“Yes.” I got up and turned to go, but Glen
called me back.

“Don’t forget to act like a human,” he
pressed. “You need to eat dinner, talk, smile, and actually sleep
during the night. Okay?”

I nodded, a little offended he would think I
could actually forget. After all, I was his creation, perfect in
every way. How could he doubt me? “Of course.”

After calling Jessica, I headed for my room
to get my bag, pleased for my chance to observe as well as imitate
human behavior. Anticipation and a surge of gratitude washed over
me as I remembered Glen’s smile of approval.

As I walked into my room, I saw Yvonne
lounging on her bed, reading. Her legs were propped up precariously
on the window ledge about a foot above her bed. I reached for my
bag on the dresser, noticing Yvonne’s gaze darting toward me.

“Where you going?” she asked, sitting up. The
androids rarely left the Institution. I could see the curiosity in
her eyes and possibly...jealousy?

“Jessica’s,” I replied, as her look in her
eyes instantly vanished and I pushed it from my mind.

“Huh.” She raised her book again and
continued reading. Her reply was nonchalant, but I could tell she
was still interested.

“See you later,” I called, leaving the
room.

“Bye,” came Yvonne’s reply.

I hurried out, got into the van and soon I
was at Jessica’s, finding the outside of her home quite normal and
not as intimidating as I had previously imagined. I hesitated
before leaving the vehicle, going over what I was expected to do
and how I was expected to act. What if I messed up? What if they
found out? Confusion flickered through me like a bolt of
electricity as I realized what I was doing—worrying. I paused. I
couldn’t be worrying. I was an android. It was impossible. I shook
my head, telling myself that it had to be some short circuit or
something. I pushed aside those thoughts and left the van. Jessica
greeted me at the door and ushered me inside.

“Mom, this is Drew,” Jessica said, pulling me
with her into the living room.

Jessica’s mom looked up and smiled. “Hi Drew,
nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” I replied, glad for
the many hours that the creators had drilled us on correct and
polite behavior among adults.

I was then tugged away and we headed upstairs
where I dumped my stuff in Jessica’s room. I couldn’t help but
notice, as I gazed around, how perfectly it matched her. A light
peach color covered her walls and although this and yellow were the
main themes, it wasn’t obnoxious or too bright.

“So, I started a little bit on our
assignment,” Jessica said, gesturing to the floor where diorama
parts lay strewn about.

We had been assigned the medieval jousting
portion of our history studies so Jessica had bought little plastic
horses and people. “They didn’t have medieval horses or knights ...
so we’ll have to figure something out to make them seem ...
authentic,” She told me, biting her lip in thought.

I nodded, still staring at the strange little
figurines and wondering what we could do with them.

“Maybe we can color them?” Jessica suggested.
She pulled out some markers and paper from her desk and we sat down
on the floor. She started scribbling out a small little square and
soon we were inventing coats of arms and armor. Jessica grabbed
some tape and held it up to one of the tiny horses. She threw her
head back and laughed. “This is ridiculous,” she cried, holding up
the horse and paper for me to see.