Test Run

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Josh and I walked off the bus, well, I carried him off the bus because he was still off. Some people walking by looked at us funny, but I just told them Josh was sleeping. Then I turned him over and clicked him back on. He looked up at me.

"Hi..." he grinned.

"Hi..." I said.

It was a nice Spring day out and perfect for a boy Josh's age. I knew that my mom would be by the swimming pool. Everyone on Long Island has a swimming pool. That's where I live, and I have lived there my whole life. My mom bought a single floor house after she got divorced from my dad. I haven't even thought of my parents yet and where they fit into this assignment. Where are they Josh's fake grandparents? Well, I couldn't even bring myself to be called mom, just yet, so I guess they weren't Grandpa and Grandma just yet. We walked past a couple houses in the suburb where I've lived in my entire life. I didn't mind Long Island, but I was already itching to leave. This being my senior year, I already wanted out of this boring place.

I needed to get used to being calling "mom" if I wanted an "A" on the paper. My mom was by the pool, as I expected. She was wearing her bathing suit and sandles, and looked pretty good for someone in her late forties. I was glad I looked like her, and not dad. 

"Hey Jennifer" said mom, who then looked at the kid next to me. "Who is this?"

"Oh..." I said, not really sure how to explain all this. A kid appeared out of nowhere? Can you say weird? I decided to try to make something up, as I wasn't even sure I believed what I was doing just yet. However, my mom smirked and knew.

"Is this cute kid your health project? I heard they were going to use some of the school's money but I didn't know..." she said, "that they get babies so realistic, that they look like eight years olds..." she grinned, and bent down to Josh's level.

"Hi..." she said, "Whats your name?"

"Josh" 

"Josh..." she said, "What a cute name...So, did you meet your mom today?"

"No..." said Josh, who put hands on each of his sides. "I met my dad, but Jennifer says she isn't my mom. She's my best friend..."

My mom frowned. "Not your mom?" then she looked up at me, and put down her sunglasses. "Jennifer..." she said, "You are supposed to be this kids mom..."

I folded my arms and I looked at mom, than Josh looked up at me. I tapped my foot. My mom folded her arms too. Josh looked at me, mom and than he folded his arms and tapped his foot as well. I guess he didn't know what to do.

"He's your health class assignment..." said mom, "Don't you want a "A" on your final health assignment?..plus, it's a disserve to this cute little boy..."

I rolled my eyes and I was starting to lose patience. I couldn't believe it. I wasn't still fully convinced this wasn't a prank. The off button? This had to be some really good coustume. It didn't make any sense. I don't see why we have to take health in our senior year anyway. Everyone would go off to college and try all this stuff at least once. Josh tugged at my sleve.

"Yes Josh?" I said.

"Jennifer" he said, looking at the house, "Am I going to live here with you?"

I haven't even thought of that yet. I guess he was. I didn't think about it too much, and I didn't know what this all entailed.

"You have to remember, Jennifer..." said my mom, "That Josh is only yours for a temporary time. After he is done, he'll have his memory erased and be used again..."

"He told he was going to be destroyed..." I said and looked out of the corner of my eye at Josh, and who looked up at me. 

"Why would the school do that?" said my mom. "It's amazing they could afford a robot like Josh in the first place..."

"So you lied to me, Josh..." I said, now focusing on Josh, who looked guilty.

"Well..." said Josh, "I just wanted to have fun on the bus..."

"Whatever..." I said, letting it go, as mom, Josh and I all walked into the house. Josh looked around and Mom smirked. He looked like he never had seen a house, before, and well, he probably had never seen a house before, to be fair. I could hear him go "WOW!" and he walked around, looking at everything. Mom  and I followed him, making sure he wouldn't touch anything.

He saw the front hallway, the piano, the bookshelf, he ran into the kitchen, and into the living room, and looked at the pictures on the mantel. He never seen pictures, before, I guess. He looked at a picture of me than looked back at me.

"How can you be there and be here?" he asked.

"It's a picture..." I said.

"Whats a picture?" he said.

"It's something...I don't know how to explain it really...It's a copy of you but not you, kind of..." I said.

"Does Josh eat?" my mom asked.

"No..." I said.

"Can I watch you eat?" Josh asked.

"Of course" mom said. "Dinner will be at seven o' clock, and Jennifer, when you are ready, let him call you mom..."

I wasn't ready for him to call me mom, when I got a text message from Will. I picked up my phone, and had to remain myself I gave Will my phone number. I kinda forgot I did. I looked at the text message, and it was something about how we could do our first thing as a family together. He said it was a pool party his little brother was holding. Did I mention everyone here has a pool? I guess this meant I would have to take Josh clothes shopping, and it was the clothes shopping that I kinda sorta started to feel something motherly for Josh...and forget he is a robot.

Josh followed me into my room, and I thought about what my mom said. I wasn't sure if she was joking, but we could use Josh as a servant for the two weeks, if you sometimes just say the right code to him. He would turn from fun loving kid to servant, but she laughed, so I think she was joking. Josh continued to talk a lot, as we went up the stairs, gossiping about other robots which I didn't know robots did about eachother.

"And then there was this other robot, who totally became a servant, because his parents had a real kid  and they reset him to servant and now all he does is serve them all day and stuff..." he said, "and like, then they totally threw him out. He was out with the trash. That's what I heard from Alex, the other robot who was in the truck with me, and than the driver came in and shut us off. He was totally annoyed with us..." then Josh stopped and looked at the room. 

He looked at the posters on the wall of my favorite band, Fall Out Boy, and he looked at the sterio and the window outside. He looked at me, and then said "I don't mind if you don't want me to call you mom. We can be fake best friends, or you can reset me to like being a servant. I can call you master if you want..."

I kinda liked the ring of "master", as I never been called that before. If this kid really was a robot, maybe I  should test him out. I was a bit ashamed to admit I liked the ring of that.

"Okay..." I said, "if you really are a robot, then lets see how much of a machine you really are..."

"Okay..." he said, and he got serious. "I'm a great machine. I'm proud to be a robot. I'll show you what a robot I can be..."

"Clean up my room..." I said, and he started to pick up the clothes and oganize the stuff on the shelves, and he started to clean the room. I just laid down in my desk chair and watched as he cleaned, and cleaned, and he did a really good job. It was then I started to like Josh more than just a robot. Ironically, by looking at him as one.

"If you aren't good thinking of me as your kid, yet, maybe you can think of me as your robot!" he said in his realistic child like voice.

"Oh so?" I said.

"I'll be your servant for two weeks...We don't even need to be fake best friends if you want...I can be your robot..." he said.

"I like that..." I said, and started to think of all the things I would boss him around with.

"Yes, master..." he said, "or boss! Anything you are comfortable with. Don't think of me as your kid or a best friend. Think of me as your robot!"

I knew I was being mean, but maybe I was just afriad to show I wasn't. I didn't know why me being his master, instead of his mom, made me more like his mom. It was weird like that.