For ten minutes, the android didn't move. He had previously activated the standard rejection protocol when Katie Hayes showed signs of discomfort towards his presence. Transfer of ownership hadn't exactly taken place, so his directive leaned more towards Susan and Leonard Hall for the time being. And they seemed to want the house to be cleaned.

He scanned the living room first, analyzing the design, storage habits, and excess clutter. Then he moved from room to room, identifying the bedrooms, bathroom, closets, and to whom each area belonged. The house was fairly small considering it had four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Only two of the bedrooms were occupied, the master bedroom in the front of the house and a smaller bedroom towards the back. He located the garbage bin and the washer and dryer as well as soap products. With everything scanned, he began to work.

Susan Hall had given her bank information which he used to order replacements or supplements. There was a lot that needed to be done to say the least. He started on Katie Hayes' room at the back of the house first, and used the opportunity as a means to understand his new human. At an initial glance, it appeared she was an extremely busy person. The pile of laundry indicated she was uncoordinated and suffered from self-hate. Scans showed that she had not cleaned her clothes in thirty-seven days at least. The stack of paper plates were up to five days old and revealed traces of starch and salt, most likely some kind of bread. And thrown haphazardly around the room were pages of a narrative which odds were 79% to be related to her curriculum. As he cleaned, he scanned the pages. Most were plot-driven excerpts which had adaptations of famous films and characters.

He spent twenty-three minutes cleaning Katie's room before moving to the master bedroom. He'd heard the name Jamie and it was safe to assume that this was her room. She seemed to be slightly more coordinated although based on a minor gathering of dust, it was likely that she simply spent less time in her room than Katie Hayes did in hers. It was mostly a matter of gathering the collection of liquor bottles from the shelves and dresser. Her room contained an ensuite bathroom, and he spent a great deal of time organizing an extensive collection of cosmetic products.

The house was nearly finished, and he prepared to work on the details. It had been forty-eight minutes since he started. Statistics indicated that most families dined out for about an hour and twenty minutes, so he would have just enough time to clean the floors and counters. He made his way into the kitchen, but stopped when he heard a low-decibel disturbance from the back door.

The calculations were already spinning in his head as he stepped toward the back door, its windows now dark in the cold night. The odds of a burglary were moderate. The odds that someone was visiting were low. But the odds of it being a resident were very high, and he avoided the temptation to call the authorities.

He stepped to the back door and opened it. There didn't appear to be anyone there. He scanned the yard for signs of activity. To his left, he picked up trace sounds of quick breathing.

Activating his greeting protocol, he moved toward the sound.

"Hello. I am a CyberLife model PL─"

There was a scream, and the sound of metal striking plastic.

Error code 00000396 THIR001 Deficiency. Rebooting in 3… 2… 1...

"600 home assist…" Stars blinked overhead. He sat up, his shirt clinging to his back after having soaked in the damp grass.

"Oh god, he's back on! He's back on Katie."

"What? What did you do?"

"Nothing. He just came back on by himself."

He turned and saw two figures in the dark. One he recognized as Katie Hayes, and the other he determined based on the shape of her outline was Jamie. Katie hastily fumbled with a phone, her face highlighted by the glow of the screen. Jamie sat half crouched about a foot away. Her voice indicated worry.

He automatically began a quick system diagnostic. No thirium lost, only a minor abrasion on the ridge of his right brow. Processing disrupted when his central stem suffered trauma, causing a two second lapse in thirium circulation to his core processor.

He pressed his hand to his forehead. "I have suffered only minor damage," he said. "I appear to have been struck with an aluminum baseball bat."

"Yeah, you can thank Jamie for that," said Katie. "I owned an android for two hours and you already broke it."

"How the hell was I supposed to know you got an android?" Jamie stood up. "I thought he was going to rape me!"

"Can you stand?" asked Katie.

He performed another quick diagnostic. All systems were functioning. He pushed himself up onto his feet.

"See? He's working fine," said Jamie.

"Come on." Katie moved towards the house, and he followed her inside. The lights had been turned on filling the house with a dull golden glow. As they stepped into the light, he was able to see them without having to adjust his visual exposure. Katie was still in her dirty jeans and shirt although she'd let her brown hair down which was even more tangled than before. Jamie, on the other hand, was meticulously clean with her sleek black hair pulled away from her round face. Her clothes were also much more revealing than Katie's, suggesting a wide gap between the two girls' social statuses.

"So my parents kick me out of the house, and your parents pay for your tuition and buy you an android." Jamie moved in front of him as he stood by the kitchen sink. He watched as she looked him over. "Is that why you hate them?"

"They didn't pay for my tuition, they just called it early inheritance," said Katie. She seemed to be watching Jamie as Jamie continued to look at the android with a suggestive smile playing at the corner of her mouth. "And I didn't ask for an android."

"You didn't?" Jamie turned to her, her black hair whipping. "Can I have him then?"

"No, you can't have the android." Katie's tone was somewhat monotonous. "You'll destroy him in less than a week."

"Well, can I like…" Jamie put a hand against his shoulder. "... borrow him?"

Katie blinked slowly. "No."

"I don't mean─ not like that!" He felt Jamie's hand disappear off his shoulder. "I mean he could probably write my term papers for me and stuff. And make up doctors' notes. Probably beat up guys for us down at the bar. What are you gonna do with him?"

"I don't know. I don't really care right now." Katie rubbed her eyes with one hand.

"Well, honestly if I were you…" Jamie looked at him again, her eyes flicking downward over his body. "... well, you know what if I were you."

"Yeah, I do." Katie sighed and moved slightly. "I'm going to bed."

"Okay." Jamie moved away and she giggled. "Have fun."

"Shut the fuck up, Jamie." Katie ran her hands through her hair as she took a few steps. The room was in silence for a moment. Then she looked at him. "What are you going to do?"

He straightened slightly, remembering not to smile as it seemed to initiate discomfort in her. "I can do anything you would like me to do. I was preparing to clean the floors and surfaces before you arrived, but you may assign me to any other task if you wish."

"No, it's… whatever." She stared at him as she moved forward again. "There's a dent in your face."

"I have sent a diagnostic report to CyberLife and assessed the damages," he replied. "There is no internal damage, however some aesthetic damage has occured. If you would like to have me repaired, the estimate is four-hundred ninety-nine dollars and fifty cents."

He could see that Katie was debating it in her head. He put a hand to his brow, feeling the slight crack and indentation. "Of course, CyberLife also has options for financing─"

"No, no it's not a matter of money." Katie sighed. "I guess it'll just give you character or something."

He tilted his head as he looked at her. CyberLife protocol was reminding him of something. "Would you like to give me a name?"

Katie looked up at him, her hazel eyes slightly wide. "A name?"

"Yes," he said.

"Don't you already have a name?"

"All CyberLife androids are given a default serial number after being manufactured as a means of identification," he said. "But I can also be named by my owner. Would you like to give me a name?"

"No." Katie brushed her hair out of her face and moved down the hall. "Christ, it makes more sense to name a houseplant─ what the hell?"

He automatically detected the displeasure in her voice as he moved toward her. She was silhouetted in the light of her bedroom, standing in the doorway and frozen still. Her mouth was slightly open, and she turned to look at him as he approached. "What…" She waved at her room. "Where is everything?"

"I have moved any miscellaneous items into what appeared to be a designated storage location for them. I also took the liberty of clearing out any trash or irreparable items and washing your clothes."

"You went into my room." A smile appeared on Katie's face and she pressed her hands to her mouth. Conflicting messages shot through his head as she turned slightly towards him without looking at him. "You went into my room. I said I didn't want you in my room."

"As a CyberLife house assistant android, and as your medical assistant, it would be ill-advised to deny me access─"

"Don't go into my room." He caught an iron glance from her as she stepped into her organized room and she slammed the door.

He stood motionless in the dark for a few moments as he listened to some scuffling. The door swung open again.

"Where are my clothes?"

"I have hung your top clothing in the closet, and your jeans I put─"

The door slammed shut again.