I heard that a policeman will be visiting our centre! I can't wait to receive all those police lectures AND firemen lectures! That's... what I expect them to do.
But it's something else...
"Kids, please behave yourselves," the teacher said. Pfft please, I'm 13 now. Why am I still called as a kid? I'm an adult, for fridge's sake. As the whole rescue team I look up to walk in the centre, we immediately gave them such a warm welcome.
I thought they will be giving us a lecture but instead, it's something else. Chief Burns, the policeman of the rescue team, suddenly stood up and announced that he will be taking one of us home! That is so exciting!
So are the others...
Everyone crowded around the rescue team and screeched out their names, wanting to be taken by them. I tried going there but the bullies, Vex and David, pushed me off and ran over to them. I sighed. This happens every time. When an adult enters, I always get left out, resulting in me always never getting adopted. I don't have friends to back me up since I always occupy myself with reading and studying the procedures of how the rescue team handle situations. I wanted to be a firefighter since I was 5, and had been holding on to that dream ever since. I want to help Griffin Rock, I want to help the Burns family. They seem so outnumbered, but their robots helped them so much. I want to help them too.
"Miku?"
Huh?
I looked up. Chief Burns was... calling me! How is this possible? I didn't even shout my name! Turns out, the teacher had given my name to Chief Burns and his family. Does this mean...
"Come here, Miku."
I timidly stepped towards Chief Burns. This is the first time I got so close to a police officer! I have never really interacted with any adults outside of the centre ever since I came in here when I was 5.
"Miku, we felt that you have some potential in you. What do you say if we welcome you to our family?"
No. Way.
My eyes burst out tears. Is this a dream? I can't be in a dream, this must be real! I can't wait to go to their firehouse and begin my rescue missions! The chief's shirt was wet with tears as he hugged me close. I have never felt such an embrace in the centre. "Let's go home," he whispered at my ear.
Ugh, the paperwork session is taking forever! How long is this going to take? 10 years? I have been walking front and back for over a hundred times! Let me go to some rescue missions! Let me in the action!
"Miku, come here," Chief Burns's soft voice called out.
Finally! I ran towards him. As we stepped out of the centre, I felt my weight at my back fall off. This is my ideal paradise.
We went into the police car to go to my new home! There is a monitor displaying a robot face. Wait a minute, I AM IN A ROBOT?! This is so awesome!
"Miku, welcome to the Burns family," Chief Burns started as he revved up the engine and drove away from my prison.
"Dad, you literally said the same thing just now. She knows," Kade groans.
I knew that Kade is the kind of guy that complains and whines, behaving in an immature way.
Ignoring Kade, I looked closely at the monitor. The robot seemed to have made eye contact with me earlier and turned away. Strange.
When we arrived, I wasn't sure how to react. The garage was filled three robots in their vehicular mode, ready for any instructions. The first robot that caught my eye was the red firetruck. I have always dreamt of riding in one! I circled around the three bots in their vehicular mode, gazing at them in awe. There was a green one, which is equipped with a claw to carry construction material (I suppose). Another one was a helicopter, which was awkwardly placed inside the garage. Don't helicopters fly? They should be placed at the top of the firehouse, not in some garage. I ignored the weird placement and went to unpack.
I framed up a picture of a 5-year-old me who just entered an 8-year sentence in prison. I hated the adoption centre when I first entered, so I figured I had to adapt to the situation. Kids were screaming and screeching. They would spill water everywhere and vomit out of the blue. Since most kids that grew up with me in the adoption centre behaved weirdly, I avoided them, which led to bullying at times. There was a small bed placed in a corner of the room with mattresses not fitted in yet. A wooden study table was placed in a distance from the bed at another side of the room. I found a new calendar wrapped in plastic placed on the table along with some stationery beside it. They were attached with a note saying "Welcome home!". I was touched.
This family would be the greatest I could have ever dreamt of having.
It was about 12 o'clock in the afternoon. I went to the kitchen to have my water bottle filled when I found my adoptive sister, Dani Burns, at the stove trying her best to control the fire. Kade was there, but he was taunting poor Dani. When I was back at my prison, I learned how to cook from talking with the chef in charge of cooking our food. They even trusted me when dealing with the food! I decided to share my cooking knowledge with Dani.
"Dani? Do you need help?" I asked.
"Oh, hey Miku! It's alright, I can deal with this," she replied, obviously still struggling.
"Maybe I can help you. Turn down the fire first," I told her. She nodded and turned the fire down. The kitchen was rather close to exploding. I found out that Dani has not cut the ingredients into size yet and she is already dealing with fire. I taught her how to cook a simple lunch: a dish of vegetables, some protein and the perfect soup a wise chef once taught me. I did not entirely take control since I know Dani would hate it. I gave her tips and only helped her cut the ingredients.
Half an hour later, we were done. We called the family to the dining table for lunch. Everyone gathered, but it was rather silent. Are they always like this? It's too quiet.
Finally, after a few moments, Chief Burns decided to start a conversation.
"Do you remember how did you end up in the adoption centre, Miku," he asked.
"For some reason, I can't remember a single speck of my early days with my biological parents," I replied, "what I remembered was walking into the centre alone."
Everyone gasped with worried expressions.
"What do you like to do in your spare time," asked Dani.
"Well, I study procedures for handling emergencies. I saw you guys on tv with the robots helping out the people of this island. I then set myself a goal. I wanted to be just like you guys."
I could see smiles in everyone's faces, including Kade who just put out a huge smile.
"Did you see me in action? I was awesome, aren't I," Kade asked.
I know that he is just asking me to feed his ego, but I blurted out the truth since this is now my family.
"Well, I remember wanting to become a firefighter when I was 5. I did see you on tv, Kade. Maybe you can show me how you do your rescue missions?"
Kade seemed pretty excited and replied "Yes, absolutely. In fact, I can teach you now!"
I smiled. This family is a family I needed in my life.
For some reason, the Burnses did not allow me to go to the bunker and the garage whenever I like. Maybe they don't fully trust me to handle such machinery. However, I realised that Cody Burns, who was quite younger than me, always went into the bunker and the garage and stay in there for most of the day. I never questioned his daily patterns.
A month later, an emergency sprung up which required the whole team. I had already received most of my training at the garage with Kade and his Fire-bot (and I found a motherload of bugs on the robot, same as the other bots). I tried telling Chief but he kept insisting me that the robots had no problems and that they usually have technicians over to check on them once a month. I never saw those technicians.
"Team, let's go," Chief Burns called out. Cody ran to the command centre. Dani went into the helicopter; Graham went to the construction vehicle; Chief Burns went in the squad car; Kade and I went to the fire truck.
"Fire at a local hotel, let's beat 'em to the mission! What do ya think He- I mean Miku?" Kade asked as he nervously laughed. I wasn't sure how to reply, but I nodded anyway.
When we arrived, everyone was scurrying away. I tried staying calm to help out. Oddly, the Fire-bot handed me the hose without me or Kade instructing it to do so. I tried to ignore but Kade shoved me off. "Go inside and get them out. I'll erase the fire out of existence," he instructed rudely. I nodded and ran inside.
Luckily, most of the people were evacuated. Suddenly, I heard a child screaming from the toilet. The ceiling is collapsing. Chief Burns kept shouting for me to get out. I could hear small scoldings from Dani to Kade. I'm sure I have to risk my life for the kid. This is part of being an emergency responder after all.
I ran inside the toilet and into a bathroom stall. The door was stuck in place. Without thinking, I yelled "Step aside!" and kicked open the door. Luckily, the kid was quick to respond to my instruction. "I'm here to help you. Do not be afraid," I told him before picking him up. I could not take the stairs down.
We're stuck.
"FIRE-BOT! I NEED YOUR LADDER NOW!"
I ran to the window, holding the child close. The Fire-bot gave me his ladder. I jumped on it as he lowered me down, just in time for the top floor to collapse, which would have been me inside there squashed.
I released the kid. An adult ran to me, hugged the child, and whispered "Thank you" multiple times. I smiled.
"Miku!" I heard Chief called out. I turned around just to be greeted by a hug. At that moment, I nearly shot out tears. No one has ever embraced me full of love.
The heat was intense. When I took off my firefighter uniform, I realised that under the tense situation, my uniform broke loose and my elbow was burned by a small spark. It seemed bad, so I was excused to not be in rescue missions until I recover.
A week later, I went down the bunker remembering that it was supposed to be training time. "Kade should be waiting for me there," I thought as I slid down the pole.
Boy was I dead wrong.
There they are, walking around talking like humans without commands. No wonder there are always punching noises whenever I tried to sleep! The robots... they are moving all by themselves! They must be malfunctioning. I need to tell Chief Burns.
"Alright, is Miku here?"
Kade. I need to tell him. The robots immediately stood still, not moving a gear. I ran to Kade and told him what I saw. Kade seemed to ignore me and looked at the robots, especially the Fire-bot, with guilty eyes. Suddenly, I heard sighing behind me.
"Kade, you idiot."
Huh?!
I turned around, looking at the Fire-bot who just crossed his arms glaring at Kade. "I don't understand..." I muttered. I wanted to get out. Why have my new family been hiding this from me for more than one month?
"Guys, meet me and Miku at the garage now," Kade spoke into the comm unit.