a short story by Noah
“Urgh.” I sighed. “This cog won't fit!” My name is Jason, and I'm a mechanic. Well, sort of. You see, whatever I try to fix, it just gets even more broken. What I really want to be is an inventor. So here I am, in the basement, trying to fix a robot I found to impress my parents enough to let me go to the Inventor's Academy when I turn fourteen. It's not going too well. “Kyle, please hand me that wrench.” I asked. “Sure.” he replied. Kyle is my best friend. He is thirteen, like me. He's an engineer. We live in a town called Corus, which is heavily dependent on robots and mechanical things. That's why the three most needed jobs are engineers, mechanics, and inventors.
“There we go.” I said, jamming the cog into place. A strange whirring sound fills the air. “What the-” The old, junky robot starts to move. “AAAHHH!” Me and Kyle both run out of the room. I lock the door. “I think-” I started. “I think we have some trouble on our hands.” A pounding resonates from the basement. We look at each other in fear. All is silent. Until-
CRASH!
A hole appears in the door, right next to the handle, and the robot's hand reaches out, groping for the doorknob. Kyle sprints up the stairs, and I hastily follow. “Go get mom!” I shout after him. “I'll distract it!” I shakily turn towards the door. The doorknob turns, and the robot steps out. It looks at me. I look back, shaking with fear. The robot's mouth opens, and out comes-
“What are you doing, trying to lock me in there?” the robot asked. “Well... um...” I stuttered. “We thought that... um..” “That I would attack you?” the robot asked. “That's what happens every time I get woken up. People think that I'm going to attack them. But nooooo. I'm a companion robot. I'm made to help people. Never to harm them! I always end up getting broken, and need to be fixed again. Hopefully this time will be different.”
Kyle ran into the room, with my mom in tow “You see,” he said. “We accidentally woke up this old robot... and...” My mom gasped. “So that's what it does!” she exclaimed. “I've always been wanting to know what that old robot's purpose was! Now I know, it's a companion robot! The only robots that talk are companion robots!”