\nAt recess, when other seventh graders called Nina a weirdo again, she knew there was no hope for her to make friends among her fellow humans. In math class, she drew sketches of robot cities, shading and highlighting their sleek metal structures, glass domes, and tidy squares where robots socialized through short-range wireless connections. She\u2019d never been to any such places, but dreamed of finding friends there, even if they were synthetic.\n<\/p>\n
\nAt the end of the school day, she decided to skip soccer practice and try to sneak into Robot City 6724, the nearest to her town. If she timed it right, she\u2019d be back before her robocar arrived to take her home at fifteen-thirty.\n<\/p>\n
\nShe wore a T-shirt and shorts, like most students leaving the school that afternoon, but she worried she might attract attention somehow. Standing out had always been her thing. For years, she\u2019d required special treatment at school because of her rare genetic disorder that made her prone to fractures. She was always in a cast of some sort, which no one wanted to write on or decorate because they were told to be careful around her. In third grade, she\u2019d undergone multiple surgeries for the titanium implants and the genetic enhancement, to become the only student in school who wore an exoskeleton that year, while she recovered. By the time Nina was free of it, her social life was dead. It didn\u2019t help that she was now faster and stronger than everyone else in her class.\n<\/p>\n
\nAs she waited at the crosswalk outside the campus entrance, she told herself she was part-robot anyway, so it made sense to look for friends among her own kind.\n<\/p>\n
\nA squeaky voice calling from above startled her. \u201cWhere\u2019re you going? You\u2019re supposed to be in soccer.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina swung around to see a fourth grader sitting crisscross on the big rock engraved with the name of their school. She had a round face, curly hair, and a strange name. Something like a plant, but Nina couldn\u2019t remember.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d Nina said.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cTo come with you?\u201d the girl said.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina looked around. \u201cWhy are you out here alone?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMy dad forgot to pick me up. I\u2019m sure he thinks it\u2019s my mom\u2019s turn.\u201d She shrugged like she didn\u2019t care, but Nina didn\u2019t buy it. \u201cThey\u2019ll figure it out by dinner. Can I come with you?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cSorry,\u201d Nina said. \u201cI can\u2019t take care of a little kid.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019m not a little kid, and if you don\u2019t take me with you\u2026\u201d She squinted for a moment. \u201cI\u2019ll tell the admin you skipped soccer.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nSo much for feeling sorry for that brat.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cPlease, Nina.\u201d She even knew Nina\u2019s name. \u201cI don\u2019t want to wait around here for hours until one of them remembers to come get me. All my friends have already gone home.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nAt least she had friends.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina was about to make a run for it, but she worried the brat would go to the admin, as threatened. Nina\u2019s adventure could be over before it even started. \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cClover.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nClover, right. \u201cListen, Clover, I\u2019m in a hurry and\u2014\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOh, I\u2019m fast.\u201d Clover slid off the big rock and was at Nina\u2019s side in an instant.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina was impressed but wouldn\u2019t advertise it.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhere are we going?\u201d Clover said. She didn\u2019t have a backpack, but Nina didn\u2019t care to ask what had happened to it.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou can come. But only if you stay quiet and do exactly as I say.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nClover sealed her mouth and tossed the key.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina led the way by half a step. Drones buzzed overhead, robocars zoomed by, some people rolled in their special lane on smart scooters. It wasn\u2019t so bad having someone to walk with, Nina thought. The two of them looked like a team with a purpose, so adults didn\u2019t stop them to ask questions. But after a while, Clover began to pant, and Nina realized they were walking too fast. Enhanced bone and muscle tended to do that.\n<\/p>\n
\nShe slowed down, watching Clover catch her breath. Of course Clover wouldn\u2019t complain, not after bragging about being fast.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou could\u2019ve asked me to slow down,\u201d Nina said.\n<\/p>\n
\nClover pointed at her sealed lips.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina laughed. \u201cYou can speak.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cDo you have your phone with you?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI left it in my locker. My parents track it, so it\u2019ll look like I\u2019m at school.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI wish I had a phone,\u201d Clover said, \u201cbut my mom says my dad should buy it, and he says she should.\u201d She had a funny way of speaking with her hands, not just her mouth.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina didn\u2019t know what to say or how to help. \u201cSorry, Clover, but I\u2019m not your friend.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nClover shrugged. \u201cDuh. We\u2019ve just met.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNo, I mean I\u2019m not trying to make friends.\u201d They turned the corner into a busy boulevard. \u201cNot in this city, anyway.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThen where? Robot City?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina didn\u2019t answer, annoyed she\u2019d been so easy to figure out.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI knew it!\u201d Clover grinned with satisfaction. \u201cWait, have you ever seen a robot in real life?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThey\u2019re really cool,\u201d Nina said.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBut are they friendly?\u201d Clover said.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThey\u2019re not unfriendly, and that\u2019s good enough for me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMy dad says caretaker robots killed people years ago.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina rolled her eyes. \u201cThat was before they broke off with us and built their own cities. Robots are super peaceful now. They\u2019re good neighbors. No more synth caretakers to worry about because now they have the same rights as we do.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nClover shrugged as if bored with the sudden middle school history lesson, and remained quiet. But she had a strange way of skipping when she walked, sometimes bumping into people, and after a while, Nina switched places with her so Clover wouldn\u2019t be in danger of falling off the sidewalk into traffic.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhat will we do inside their city?\u201d Clover said.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina didn\u2019t know. She was too anxious to get there. \u201cI have a plan, don\u2019t worry.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nAt the light rail stop, they waited three minutes, then got on the red train. Nina rode it every time her parents took her to the hospital for checkups, so seeing Clover enjoy the ride\u2014pointing at a skyscraper, counting the bridges over the river, making faces at her own reflection in the tunnel\u2014made Nina think Clover was a bit strange.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThat\u2019s the HR Market,\u201d Nina said as they got off.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe human-robot marketplace was full of people of both kinds. The stalls were arranged in a grid that was meant to satisfy the humans\u2019 esthetic disposition and the robots\u2019 need for efficiency\u2014Nina had read that in Robot Magazine: Teaching Humans Everything There Is to Know About Machines. But she couldn\u2019t admire the grid from where they stood because they were shorter than everyone else around.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNever been,\u201d Clover whispered.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMy parents bring me here all the time,\u201d Nina said, not mentioning the doctor\u2019s visits. \u201cFollow me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nTwo biped robots walked by, their titanium-alloy bodies shiny, their servomotors whirring softly. Clover turned to stare at them. On their helmet screens, small icons indicated they were connected to a private network. Speech bubbles meant they were part of a conversation. Nina hoped she\u2019d soon share that kind of connection with her new robot friends.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhat do you think they\u2019re talking about?\u201d Clover said. \u201cOh, I know, probably just numbers.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cEverything\u2019s just numbers,\u201d Nina said, remembering her technology class. \u201cAnd that\u2019s beautiful. Humans are messy, but numbers don\u2019t lie and aren\u2019t mean\u2026\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI guess,\u201d Clover said, and started toward a side stall, but Nina grabbed her hand. \u201cStay close or you\u2019ll get lost.\u201d In the past, Nina had held the large hands of her parents or the hands of classmates forced by teachers to keep her company. But Clover\u2019s was a baby hand, which made Nina wonder what it\u2019d be like to have a little sister. Probably a headache, but maybe fun at times.\n<\/p>\n
\nThey navigated the busiest part of the marketplace together. Clover stopped by a knickknacks stall to look at a robot-made windchime, its twirling in the breeze perfectly balanced. Nina pulled her along, but then Clover stopped at the graphic novels stand, and Nina was happy to browse, too.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOh, boo, I have no money,\u201d Clover said, putting back The Adventures of Titanium Man.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019m saving mine for snacks,\u201d Nina said, \u201cif we ever get hungry.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cFor me, too?\u201d Clover said. \u201cAww, you\u2019re really nice, Nina.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNo kid at school had ever called Nina \u201cnice.\u201d She felt her skin crawl. \u201cGosh, you\u2019re such a weirdo, Clover.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThe moment she said it, she wished she could take it back, but part of her felt Clover deserved being called that.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhatever,\u201d Clover said, and took off to the next stall, the words \u201cRaw Materials Exchange\u201d printed on its front.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina steered Clover away, and they walked deeper into the marketplace, pushing past people with smart shopping carts. Clover stopped to stare in the bakery window, and it didn\u2019t take long for the baker to notice her. He came to the door.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou want to buy something?\u201d he said, sounding impatient.\n<\/p>\n
\nClover looked at Nina, who shook her head.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThen scat,\u201d the baker said and went back inside.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHumans,\u201d Nina said. \u201cNever friendly.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cCan we have cotton candy?\u201d Clover said, pointing to a stall nearby.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNo, we can\u2019t bring sticky gooey things inside Robot City.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nSoon the crowd thinned and they saw the shiny metal city ahead. But the rolling gate was locked, as indicated by the red LED on the card reader. Nina sprinted on, looking for a doorbell or something. Nothing. She banged on the booming metal gate, but no one opened.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou said you had a plan,\u201d Clover said. \u201cMiddle schoolers always have a plan.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMiddle schoolers are terrible.\u201d Nina took off along the wall, hoping for another gate or door, and Clover followed her, but after ten minutes one way, they turned back to the only entrance they\u2019d found so far. Then Nina went the other way, and around the corner, to where they were out of the marketgoers\u2019 sight.\n<\/p>\n
\nShe looked at the wall. Metal with sealed seams. Not hard to scale.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt\u2019s too tall,\u201d Clover said. \u201cI can\u2019t climb up there.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina tightened the straps on her backpack. \u201cI can do it,\u201d she said, trusting her legs to push her to the top.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhat about me?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019ll see you when I get back,\u201d Nina said, planting one foot against a dent in the wall.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou can\u2019t leave me here,\u201d Clover cried.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou said you\u2019re a big kid.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNina!\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina\u2019s strong arms and legs did their job, and after a few slips and grabs, she reached the top of the wall. She gave a cry of joy.\n<\/p>\n
\nRobot City 6724 was everything she\u2019d ever imagined, but shinier and busier and extending to the horizon. She didn\u2019t have time to admire it, though, because a local alarm rang, and an electronic voice said, \u201cYou are trespassing. Descend immediately or the guards will arrest you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nRobots were already heading to the wall from all directions: some were short and on wheels, some were bipeds, some looked like headless dogs. And they were fast. Nina couldn\u2019t outrun them if she\u2019d tried.\n<\/p>\n
\nShe would have hung on for a little longer, but the electronic voice said, \u201cBeginning countdown: five, four\u2026\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina let herself slip down, landing at the base of the wall, the pavement hard on the soles of her feet. Nothing her enhanced legs couldn\u2019t take.\n<\/p>\n
\nClover was there, too, glaring, arms crossed over her chest.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina checked herself and found a scrape on her knee. She couldn\u2019t let her mom see that. She unzipped a pocket on her backpack and picked up a bandage. As she put it on, it changed color to match her skin tone.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d Nina started along the wall, then around the corner, back to the gate. She didn\u2019t wait for Clover, who had to run to keep up.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI want to go home,\u201d Clover said when they reached the gate.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNow we wait.\u201d Nina sat on the ground under the card reader and opened her backpack. \u201cWater?\u201d She offered her canteen to Clover, who took it and gulped from it with abandon. \u201cHey, leave me a drop.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nMaybe it was Clover\u2019s way of punishing Nina, but the canteen was now empty.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe gate started rolling on its tracks as two robots approached it with synchronized steps. Their bodies had a shiny finish and the screens on their helmets presented neutral identical faces.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThey have garage door openers,\u201d Clover said, smiling.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina scrambled to her feet and tried to follow the robots inside, but they swiveled around and said in one voice, \u201cYou are unauthorized. Please leave.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cCan we visit?\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cDo you have a keycard?\u201d one of the robots said, his displayed face frowning.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhere can we get one?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou can inquire with Customer Service,\u201d the other robot said. \u201cUnfortunately, we\u2019re not Customer Service units. We work at the rollercoaster. You must wait for a Customer Service unit to let you in. Goodbye.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThey turned and left, the gate sliding shut behind them.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThey have a rollercoaster in there?\u201d Clover said. \u201cThat\u2019s so cool.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThat\u2019s not why robots are cool,\u201d Nina said with a scoff, returning to their waiting spot by the card reader. \u201cHere\u2026\u201d She dug through her backpack and pulled out the latest issue of Robot Magazine. She read out loud, \u201cThey repair themselves faster than humans can heal.\u201d She turned the page. \u201cThey have perfect balance of brain plasticity (which allows them to learn new things) and expertise (which allows them to build on knowledge they already have).\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what that\u2014\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThey also read each other\u2019s sensors, so they understand each other\u2019s needs.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOh, no,\u201d Clover said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t want my parents to do that to me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina set the magazine down in her lap. \u201cWhat\u2019s up with you and your parents, Clover?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNothing. You said you didn\u2019t want to talk about it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina opened her mouth to protest, but Clover said, \u201cDo robots ever get hungry? Or need to poop?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina frowned. \u201cThose are silly questions.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nClover looked hurt, the first time she seemed to care about Nina\u2019s jabs.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Nina said, and she meant it. She returned to her magazine, looking for a distracting detail to share. \u201cThey can sense the Earth\u2019s magnetic field.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cGood for them,\u201d Clover muttered, but glanced at the magazine.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAnd they can charge their batteries super-fast.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nClover warmed up. \u201cHow fast?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThey talked about robots, and time went by. At some point, a woman with purple hair and a tiny dog stopped and asked them, \u201cWhat are you kids doing here?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina answered, \u201cSchool project. Do you have a keycard we can borrow?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cChildren aren\u2019t allowed in there. Too dangerous.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNever mind,\u201d Nina said, looking around the woman. \u201cI see our chaperones coming.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHm,\u201d the woman said, and walked away.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou\u2019re so good at dealing with adults,\u201d Clover said.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina wished she were as good at dealing with kids her own age.\n<\/p>\n
\nThey returned to their conversation about robots, hoping for someone else to use the gate, but no luck. When her belly started rumbling, Nina asked Clover if she was hungry, and Clover nodded. Nina left her there, with the latest issue of Robot Magazine, in case someone arrived at the gate and Clover convinced them to help. Nina went to the bakery, where the owner became friendly the moment he saw her credit card. She bought two donuts glazed with pink strawberry sauce, and he packed them in a brown paper bag.\n<\/p>\n
\nAs she walked back, Nina anticipated the happy look on Clover\u2019s face at the sight of those donuts. She smiled to herself as she stopped at a water fountain and drank half-a-canteen\u2019s worth. She wiped her mouth, muttering \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d to an imaginary Clover, then her stomach turned cold. What if the real Clover wasn\u2019t where Nina had left her? What if something had happened to her?\n<\/p>\n
\nHeart in her throat, Nina ran as fast as she could, paper bag in hand. She bumped into people along the way, not stopping to apologize, skidding here and swerving there. At the edge of the marketplace, she glanced at the Robot City gate, panting.\n<\/p>\n
\nClover was waiting in the wall\u2019s shade, nose in the magazine. Nina felt weird for worrying. She slowed down and approached Clover at a stroll, as if she\u2019d almost forgotten about her.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYay,\u201d Clover said when she saw the paper bag.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe glimmer of appreciation in Clover\u2019s eye when she picked up a donut and bit into it, sighing, made Nina feel really good. They each ate their snack, but Nina felt they were doing it together. The strawberry glaze was delicious. That was something the robots could never offer Nina, but she was willing to forgive them a small imperfection.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYour parents, are they nice?\u201d Clover said, picking and eating crumbs off her T-shirt.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI guess,\u201d Nina said, her mouth full.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou\u2019re so lucky.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina didn\u2019t know what to say. She finished her bite. \u201cMy parents\u2026 they\u2019re always so worried about me. Sometimes my mom looks at me, and I swear she\u2019s just trying to detect sudden cracks in my skeleton. I\u2019m not sure she sees me\u2014actually sees me. It\u2019s hard to explain.\u201d It felt good to tell that secret to someone, but maybe she\u2019d shared too much.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Clover said.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. She could hear Clover turning glossy pages, and that felt soothing. Once in a while, she\u2019d open an eye and peek at the gate. Still closed. No one ever tried to use the card reader.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cDo robots have cemeteries?\u201d Clover said, yawning.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNo,\u201d Nina said, \u201cthey recycle every part of a discarded robot and build more parts.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nJust then, her back began to tremble as the gate started rolling open. A robot came out, and Nina jumped to her feet while the gate rolled back shut.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAre you a Customer Service unit?\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe robot stopped and turned. \u201cThat\u2019s correct.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYes!\u201d Nina and Clover shouted together. \u201cCan you let us in?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHumans are allowed to visit between the hours of nine and sixteen-thirty. Come back tomorrow.\u201d The time on the robot\u2019s chest display was 16:58, close to the end of Nina\u2019s soccer practice.\n<\/p>\n
\nShe didn\u2019t have time to befriend this robot. \u201cWe have to go back to school,\u201d she whispered, heart heavy. Her robocar would be waiting for her in half an hour. She couldn\u2019t be late or her mom would panic.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe robot displayed a smiling face on its helmet screen. \u201cI can give you a ride.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina couldn\u2019t believe her ears. \u201cYes, please.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThe robot pressed a button on its forearm and two short platforms descended from the calves of its metal legs. \u201cHop on and hold on.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina planted her feet on her platform and grabbed the robot\u2019s left arm. Wheels extended from the bottom of its feet with a hissing sound.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cClover, are you ready?\u201d Nina said.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYeah,\u201d Clover squealed from the other side.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina showed the robot the sticker on her backpack with their school logo. \u201cTake us there, please, robot,\u201d she said, not sure how to address it. Her magazines always referred to robots by model number.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHere we go!\u201d The robot eased its way around the edge of the marketplace, then along the busy street, and into traffic. Cars and trucks passed it on its left, the robot keeping close to the curb. Once the marketplace was well behind them, the robot sped up, the breeze growing stronger in Nina\u2019s face.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWoohoo,\u201d Clover shouted. \u201cRobots are so cool!\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThey rode on the street, along the light rail tracks. It was obviously very dangerous and so unexpected. Nina\u2019s heart burst with a flood of emotions she hadn\u2019t felt before. \u201cWoohoo,\u201d she joined Clover.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou kids are really having fun,\u201d the robot said.\n<\/p>\n
\nYes, Nina had a lot of fun. A long moment of peace and joy, without before and after. She smiled until her cheeks hurt. She cheered until her voice was hoarse. She was there with Clover and the robot, and that was all there was.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe robot came to a halt outside the big rock with the school\u2019s name on it. Nina stepped down, breathless, and Clover hopped right after.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou\u2019re so great,\u201d Clover told the robot. \u201cAnd friendly!\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOf course,\u201d the robot said. \u201cI\u2019m a Customer Service unit.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cCan we see you again?\u201d Nina said.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cCome by anytime.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBut we don\u2019t have a keycard.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThe robot pressed a button on its torso and a keycard slid out. \u201cHere you go.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHow will we find you?\u201d Clover said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have houses, right? You dock into the first available charging station when your batteries are low.\u201d She must have read that in the magazine\u2014Nina was so proud.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHere\u2019s my unique identifier.\u201d The robot printed out a strip of paper with numbers and letters, and gave it to Nina. \u201cOnce inside, key it in at any yellow kiosk and I\u2019ll get the call to come meet you. See you tomorrow.\u201d It turned around and sped up toward Robot City.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWait,\u201d Nina called after it, but it was too late. She\u2019d forgotten to ask if robots could have human friends. No worries. She and Clover would figure it out tomorrow.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWow,\u201d Clover said, \u201cthat was so great\u2026\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNina put the keycard and the ID note in her backpack.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAnd there\u2019s my mom,\u201d Clover added, sounding bummed. The woman approaching them carried a light-green backpack decorated with clover leaves.\n<\/p>\n
\nClover\u2019s missing backpack. In that moment, Nina felt such kinship with Clover, who didn\u2019t like that obnoxious backpack any more than Nina would have wanted one plastered with exoskeletons. And she felt sad to see Clover go, like something went missing inside her chest and stomach. The last time she\u2019d felt that way was when she said goodbye to her mom, on her very first day of school.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina cleared her throat. She was being silly. She\u2019d see Clover tomorrow, go to Robot City together, and unlock the gate with their keycard. There was no need for the tears she felt coming.\n<\/p>\n
\nClover nodded at Nina as if they had an unspoken understanding. Then she said, eyes wide with excitement, \u201cI can\u2019t wait to tell my friends I rode with a robot today.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nHer words landed on Nina like a body blow, the familiar experience of being shoved off the playground by hateful classmates. Clover\u2019s friends? Of course Clover had friends, real friends, friends she shared stories with. She\u2019d forget all about Nina when she saw them again.\n<\/p>\n
\nNina felt like she\u2019d just woken up from a dream. A nice one, yes, but still a dream, fading by the second. How could she imagine for even a moment she could be friends with a fourth grader? Her classmates wouldn\u2019t stop laughing at her. Hanging out with Clover would mean admitting she couldn\u2019t make friends her own age. She\u2019d deserve to be called \u201cweirdo\u201d\u2014for real this time.\n<\/p>\n
\nClover smiled. \u201cWe\u2019re going back tomorrow, right?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNo, not tomorrow,\u201d Nina whispered. \u201cI have a doctor\u2019s appointment right after school.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nTomorrow Nina would stay away from the big rock at the entrance. She\u2019d try sneaking out through the garage. Once outside the campus, she\u2019d run as fast as her legs would take her to the light rail, on her way to Robot City.\n<\/p>\n
\nAlone.\n<\/p>\n
Roxana Arama is a Romanian-American author with an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. Her debut thriller will be published in 2023 by Ooligan Press (Portland State University). She\u2019s a member of the Authors Guild and Codex Writers\u2019 Group, and her work has been acknowledged in several literary contests and magazines. She lives in Seattle with her family. More at https:\/\/roxanaarama.com\/ or @RoxanaArama on Twitter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At recess, when other seventh graders called Nina a weirdo again, she knew there was no hope for her to make friends among her fellow humans. In math class, she drew sketches of robot cities, shading and highlighting their sleek metal structures, glass domes, and tidy squares where robots socialized through short-range wireless connections. She\u2019d …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107874,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,14,20098],"tags":[20099],"class_list":["post-140110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-publications","category-tcl-44-summer-2022","tag-the-colored-lens-44-summer-2022","entry entry-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/107874"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=140110"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140112,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140110\/revisions\/140112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=140110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=140110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=140110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}