The snow had arrived. The first storm was always a welcome sight, turning the landscape into a white world of blurry ice. The temptation to wander out into the open and catch the falling snow was irresistible to everyone. Then it became miserable. It got cold. Wet. And doing anything short of walking from one place to another that wasn't under cover was an overwhelming chore.
Luckily Kate wasn't out in the open. She sat in one of the far corner lecture hall chairs, her laptop open in front of her and her legs crossed underneath her. The room was full of silent students, typing away or swiping absent-mindedly on their phones without even pretending to pay attention. The professor at the front of the room wasn't trying very hard either. She was one of the few remaining human teachers at the university─ older, slower, and looked just as boring as the subject she was attempting to teach. Along the walls was the line of androids, each belonging to a student somewhere in the crowd of desks.
Kate was struggling to fight off sleep when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. With a small amount of relief, she pulled it out and read a text from Jamie.
Why didn't you just make Simon take notes for us?
Kate looked sideways at her. "Why did you text me this?"
Jamie returned her look with a guilty glare. "Shh! Just text…"
"I'm not going to text you," Kate said quietly, putting her phone back in her coat pocket. "It's not like she can hear us."
"Well, why didn't you just send Simon? This is just a waste of time."
"Because I don't want to be one of those assholes."
"I want to be one of those assholes!"
"Good for you, asshole."
She could hear Jamie laughing silently next to her. "What's the point in bringing an android to class if you're not going to use him?"
"I wanted him to come. It's better than him being useless at home."
Jamie leaned back in her seat and drew her phone up in front of her. Kate sighed, also leaning back as she made another attempt to pay attention to the lecture. It was almost over. The professor paced back and forth in front of the large screen on the wall.
"... because there wasn't an easy way to deliver resources across the sea at that time. The only technology available was a limited radar and sonar. You can imagine what it's like to be underwater in a small metal tube travelling blindly into European waters. And because there were no satellites, no one had a clue what was happening inland and the destruction the Nazis were causing to the neighboring states…"
Kate couldn't help it as her attention wandered and she found herself gazing at the long line of androids. She'd never really noticed them before. Now that one of them was her own, it was a strange kind of privilege that she was a part of the category of students with a higher status. Simon was standing somewhere behind her, and she was oddly glad that she wasn't able to see him from where she was in the crowd.
Outside, the clock tower chimed. At long last, the professor made a dismissing speech and the students began to stand up. Jamie stood up next to her and stretched.
"Jesus balls," said Jamie, twisting one way and then the other. "Who the fuck is responsible for making this class two hours long?"
Kate snapped her laptop shut. "At least it's only twice a week."
"Whatever Miss I-only-take-three-classes-a-quarter," said Jamie. She slung her backpack over her shoulder, and Kate followed her along the row of desks to the middle pathway out of the lecture hall. As they approached the exit, Kate spotted the familiar blond hair among the procession of white and black uniforms. She made eye contact with Simon long enough to let him know that she was aware of him, then folded her coat closed against her body as she followed Jamie out into the freezing weather.
It had been snowing long enough for the charm to disappear. The sidewalks were slushy and dirty, the edges accumulating a liner of snow, mud, and occasional trash. People filed themselves into the center of the sidewalk to avoid the slippery edges. The only things that moved in the fields of white were worker androids which worked endlessly to filter the junk that made its way off the path.
Kate instinctively checked behind her to make sure Simon was following. He looked out of place being the only one not bundled in coats and scarves. Even the other androids had some layer of warmer clothing which Kate assumed was to give the illusion that they felt cold at all, or that people liked to decorate their androids with bling like they would a phone or a car. She couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of guilt that she hadn't bothered to give Simon a coat before they left the house and that he looked completely unspecial in his out-of-the-factory uniform.
As they walked, Jamie turned and glanced at them. "Hey Simon?"
Kate saw Simon move forward to catch up with her. "Yes Jamie?"
"Please tell me you were taking notes the whole time."
"I'm sorry I wasn't. But I can recap the lecture if you'd like."
"God no. Two hours was bad enough." Jamie slowed ahead of her so that Kate had to move to the side. Then Jamie turned to look at her. "Can we get a coffee?"
Kate automatically felt herself cringe at the thought of spending more time around people, but at the same time a warm drink in the freezing weather sounded enticing. Kate wrapped her arms around herself. "Are you paying?"
Jamie breathed a sigh and a small cloud of fog formed in front of her face. "Can you pay for yourself?"
Kate shrugged. "Sure."
Jamie led the way through the crowd towards the plaza and Kate followed the clear path she made, occasionally looking back to make sure Simon didn't get lost. She didn't really know if he could get lost but she had a hard time convincing herself that it couldn't happen considering this was the first time she'd brought Simon with her in public. They exited the sludge zone and passed underneath the roof where everything turned from ice to water. A trail of mud led to the entrance of the coffee shop, refreshed by the passing of students.
The shop was crowded, and Kate immediately stepped to the side as they entered. She skirted the walls of the shop and fell in line behind Jamie.
Jamie turned towards her but was busy thumbing away on her phone. "You want to try a chai tea this time?"
"Nope," said Kate, staring up at the menu.
"Come on, you'd like it."
"Nope."
"There's other coffee besides battery acid."
"Nope."
Jamie narrowed her eyes at Kate over the brim of her phone. "Are you ever going to try anything different?"
Kate tilted her head as she looked at her, her brown hair falling sideways. "Maybe."
Jamie shook her head as she faced back around again, thumbing furiously. As they reached the counter, she stepped aside and Kate moved next to her.
"I'll take a chai latte and she'll take a blond cappuccino with a billion shots of espresso," said Jamie.
"Three shots of espresso," said Kate. "And we're paying separate."
The android behind the counter nodded. "Very well, that will be six fifty for you, and four seventy-five for you, miss."
Jamie held out her phone as Kate reached into her coat pocket for hers. As she brought it out however, she noticed the android was staring past her. Kate turned and had enough time to see that Simon was looking back at the android, his LED spinning from yellow before returning to blue. He blinked, then looked at Kate as if he had just become aware of her.
"I'm sorry, I should have asked you first," he said.
Kate studied him as she put her phone back into her pocket and moved to the side. "Did you just pay him?"
"I did. I understand if you want to pay for your own items. Let me know if you want me to de-activate CyberTransfer."
Kate took the steaming cup of coffee from the counter and looked at Simon, feeling the side of her mouth tense into an unwitting smile. "Cool."
It was difficult to tell, but she could almost swear that something close to relief swept over his face. She breathed over her coffee to blow away the steam, a toasty warmth already spreading through her. As she turned to follow Jamie through the crowd, she stopped dead on the spot and nearly dropped her cup.
"Hey there," said Matt.
Kate didn't need a mirror to know that her eyes were about as wide as dinner plates. She clutched her coffee with both hands, her heart hammering in her chest. Matt was giving her his usual smirk as if not a day had gone by. His hair had gotten a bit longer and shaggier since she last saw him. She'd almost forgotten how tall he was.
For a while, she simply stared at him. Then she quickly lowered her coffee cup. "H─hey."
Matt glanced around the shop, then returned her gaze with his warm, blue-eyed smile. "You wanna…"
Kate swallowed, finding her voice as she nodded. "Um, sure."
She followed him out of the shop, unable to stop herself from analyzing every part of him as if she'd forgotten everything about him. He was wearing his red high school jersey and baggy jeans which were wet at the hems. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and his head bowed slightly as if he were afraid of hitting it on the doorframe. Kate had to remind herself to keep breathing as they moved out of the coffee shop and further down the path where the crowd had thinned.
Matt stopped and turned to her, his face still warm with his bearded smile. Kate made a quick attempt to calm her nerves.
"So," she said. "How've you been?"
Matt's smile was interrupted slightly by a slight frown. "I think you need to answer that more than I do."
She felt her heart nearly freeze in her chest. She shifted slightly to regain her composure and looked away from him. "Look, I…" She closed her eyes and shook her head as she struggled to find the right words. "I'm sorry I left you in the dark for so long. I've been having a really rough time."
Matt nodded. "I know. I remember."
Kate traced the rim of the coffee cup. "I just… I really don't like being vulnerable. I looked pretty bad for a while."
"You think I won't like you if you look bad?" said Matt. "Did you brush your hair this week?"
Kate opened her mouth to speak, but felt like her body had stopped working. Matt laughed and turned his shoulder to her as if to bump her.
"You look good today."
For a while, all she could do was stare at him. Then he looked past her. Kate followed his gaze and realized Jamie was standing about a foot away looking at them with her arms crossed. Jamie looked back and forth between them and shook her head.
"Honestly, you guys are harder to get together than Tinder," said Jamie.
Kate could almost feel the gears turning in her own head. She bit her lower lip as she struggled to think. Matt's smile had returned, and he seemed to be waiting on a response from her. The shock in her system was slowly changing to her usual defiance, and she welcomed it desperately. She let out a heavy sigh, blowing her hair out of the way.
"Thanks for arranging this, Jamie. The whole coffee shop thing."
Jamie laughed next to her. "God, you don't have to sound so pissed off."
"It's okay, that's how I know she's in a good mood," said Matt. "I mean, we did have to force her into a trap."
"Whatever," said Kate as she moved forward down the path. "Good job. You guys are a real team." Matt walked next to her and she could hear Jamie following behind her. The sounds of the crowd were getting fewer as people made their way back to class, and the paths were easier to walk on now that they didn't have to hug the snow linings.
"So, what'd I tell you?" said Matt. Kate looked sideways at him as he shot a glance behind them. "Didn't I say you'd be asking him to wipe your ass?"
Kate stared confused at him for a moment, then with a pang realized she'd forgotten to check on Simon. She spun while still walking forward and felt a wave of relief as she saw that he was still following them. Matt's android walked next to him, carrying Matt's backpack. Kate faced forward again, hoping her nervousness hadn't shown.
"I guess I've gotten used to him."
"I bet that was painful," said Matt. "Did you name him Data? Please tell me you named him Data…"
"His name is Simon," said Kate. She heard Matt tsk next to her.
"Simon? How and why did you choose that?"
"Because I can't do anything without him telling me I can first."
"Rough." Matt looked behind him again. "That's kind of the opposite of how it's supposed to work. Hey Seph, are you able to be friends with another android?"
"I can become associated with other androids," said Seph.
"Awesome. Meet Simon."
Kate glanced back and saw Simon give Seph his puzzled stare.
"Hello, Simon," said Seph.
"Hello… Seph was it?"
"My name is Sephronillious, but you can call me Seph."
Kate listened to the exchange with too much interest. Part of it was hilarious, the idea of two computers becoming friends. Yet she wondered if it was actually possible. She gave herself a silent reminder to look it up when she got home.
The carpool station was unusually full, a steady stream of automated taxis parking along the loading zone. The group stopped at the back of the crowd, and Kate took a sip of her coffee which she realized she hadn't tried yet. She heard Jamie groan next to her, and saw Jamie thumbing away on her phone again.
"I completely forgot to update my Amazon payment," said Jamie. "I'm not going to pay for shipping for all of my family's Christmas presents…"
"Why don't you just use mine?" said Matt. "Honestly, it doesn't make sense to pay for your own Prime account when we could all just use the same one."
"Because I don't want you to see the stuff I'm buying!"
"I swear I won't look at your dildos and vibrators."
"And I don't want to know what type of blow-up dolls you like."
"I've never bought one, but if I did, I'd probably get an Asian one."
"You're sick."
Kate tried to hide her smile and crossed her arms over her chest to bundle in the heat a bit more, balancing her coffee in one hand. It felt good to be back on campus and in general back to normal despite how long she wanted to hide in her room.
"Did you call your dad, Kate?"
Kate had to absorb the question for a moment, then looked at Matt. "Why would I call him?"
"Thought you said you would call him before Christmas," said Matt. "That you were going to try and visit him."
A deep dread grew in her chest. Kate took another sip of her coffee. "I… never got around to it."
"Still another three weeks left," said Matt, shrugging his shoulders. "My parents want me to come back to Vermont. I don't know if I want to go this time."
"Well, I'm just going to spend Christmas in my room," said Kate.
"Why not just go to your parents' house for Christmas?" said Jamie. "That was really fun last year. Your family doesn't have a bunch of screaming two-year-olds to deal with. It's all just adults doing whatever the hell they want."
"It's my mom making us do whatever the hell she wants," said Kate. "If you want to have Christmas with her, go right ahead."
They moved closer to the loading zone where a large gathering of students seemed to be formed a few feet away. Kate could see Matt fidgeting in his pockets.
"We could just have Christmas together," he said. Kate took another sip of coffee as she looked at him. She could feel the pressure in his tone.
"I hate Christmas," she said.
"You hate everything," said Jamie. "You wouldn't hate it so much with enough alcohol."
"If alcohol solved my problems, I'd be a raging alcoholic," said Kate. She watched perplexed as a student walked past her, dramatically mimicking the motions of a robot. She shook her head. "What the hell is going on over there anyway?"
"What, those guys?" said Matt. He motioned toward the gathering. "They said they were going to do the protest today because it wasn't snowing."
"Protesting what?" said Kate. She stood up taller to see through the crowd and noticed several of them were carrying signs. Each flashed between different slogans.
"They don't like androids," said Matt.
Jamie laughed next to her. "What the hell… what do they have against androids?"
"I don't know. They think they take up too much space or something and are making people dumber."
"They're right," said Kate. She watched as several students surrounded a young red-headed man and his short haired female companion who was holding one of the signs. The students made harsh gestures, and although she couldn't hear them, she could see they were shouting. The man and his group were expressionless and silent, standing rigid with their signs.
"Why? Just because we have walking talking computers that can do all the things we don't want to do?" said Matt.
Kate looked at him, her eyebrows narrowed. "Didn't you say something about wiping our asses?"
Matt shook his head but he was smiling. "Magnificent, all-powerful, all-knowing ass wipers."
Kate smiled as an empty taxi pulled up in front of them. She threw another glance at the angry mob which seemed to be settling down, and the short haired woman caught her gaze. Kate watched her for a moment, uncomfortably aware of the eye contact. The woman simply stared at her, completely expressionless, then turned away.
Kate continued to watch her, an uneasy tension tugging at her nerves. She shook it away as the group climbed into the car one at a time. The two androids sat together in the back seat, and Jamie scooted in with them. In the rearview mirror, Kate saw Jamie throw her legs sideways over Simon's lap and lean against the door, staring at her her phone.
"I just want to sink into a hot tub and never get out," said Jamie.
"Need me to hold your head under?" said Kate. Jamie glanced up from her phone and looked at her through the mirror. The expression on her face brought a nervous feeling to Kate's stomach, as if she'd been a little too cynical. Kate looked away quickly at the buildings flying by.
Matt laughed next to her. "Please don't murder eachother when you get home."
Kate forced a corner of her mouth to tense into a smile and nervously cast a look up at the mirror again. This time Simon was looking at her, that blank puzzlement contrasted with the hint of an expression that seemed too intelligent even for him, and for a split second Kate wondered if he was reading her mind. She shook off the thought immediately, gazing out to the snowswept landscape again. She breathed a deep sigh, settling into the moment. She was here with Matt again, returning from class, completely healthy again as if nothing had changed.
And yet something inside her warned that things would never remain this simple again.
