AN: Sorry for the delay again! Some real life stuff had to get taken care of today.

A Drone Named Jeffrey

Chapter Eight

Numbers

"Jeffrey!"

I continued poking at the tiny object in my hand as the back door swung open with a bang. I delicately twisted the top of the object, and then twisted it in the middle. I paused and twisted the top back to the position it had been in.

"Jeffrey!" Another shout failed to divert my attention, and I didn't even flinch when something clattered to the garage's floor beside me. "Jeffrey, you better have a good…what is that?"

I pinched the multi-colored cube between two fingers and presented it to Riley. "I don't know, but I found it one of those boxes you put back in here. I've been trying to figure out how to match all the colors on the sides. It's actually kinda addictive."

Riley stepped closer and watched me twist the cube in every direction I could. "I can't believe I have a giant, transforming robot living in my garage and he's spending all of his time watching soap operas and playing with Rubik's Cubes."

Two layers of matching colors fell into place. "Ah ha! You will not beat me colorful cube!"

Riley stared long enough for me to scramble the colors again in my effort to win before she picked up the small sheet of metal she had thrown at me. "Jeffrey, why did I find this in the bushes out front?"

I stopped long enough to stare at the object she wielded and shrugged. "Maybe the neighbors did it. They're still upset at you."

"About the Kool-Aid?"

"No, the people on the other side. The ones I terrorized their dog for lubricating my back tire."

A small smile flickered across Riley's face, but then she forced it back into the stern expression she had been using. She waved the metal plate. "This is your license plate, and I know it! And before you tell me to prove it, I've seen this plate thrown around the yard enough to know it's yours."

I shifted around until I was no longer facing the insulting piece of scrap. "I'm not putting it back on."

"You have to, Jeffrey!"

I twisted the cube to match up another two layers of colors. Now, to figure out how to get the third… "No."

"But Jeffrey—"

"I said no!" I glared down at the little human and almost felt bad when she took a step back. "Do you know how terrible it is to have some random numbers plastered to your aft? Not only is it insulting, but it's totally unflattering in my root mode."

I hunched over my cube and cursed as the colors mixed again. Riley was quiet, and I made it a point not to look down at her. A few tense moments dragged by until Riley left my personal space, and I waited until I heard the backdoor gently click shut before tossing the cube aside.

A few days later, I heard the door slam open again. I didn't pay much attention to it as I laid out in the garage, cursing the current human entertainment device I had found. "Jeffrey!"

I waved my hand towards the half open garage door. "I'm not here!"

"Jeffrey!" I vented as Riley wiggled under the gap and walked around my legs. "I have something…where did you get that?"

I gestured the little device towards the wall the boxes were lined up against. "The same box with the Rubik's Cube. You humans sure do like making pointless things, don't you?"

"It's called a Game Boy, and it wasn't useless when I was five!" I rumbled my engine and used the tips of my fingers to gently press the button to make my little character jump onscreen. "I don't know what to be more amazed about though: the fact that thing works, or that you're actually pretty good at the game."

"How 'bout both?" I finally looked up when my character died and tilted my helm at the grin Riley possessed and the fact that her hands were hidden behind her back. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Riley poked her lips out in what I had discovered was her "innocent pout." I was not swayed. "Well, nothing bad."

I turned back to my game. "I'm disappointed in you."

One day, Riley will learn that smacking me hurts her hand a lot more than it does me. "Ow. Whatever. I got you a gift!"

I immediately turned back to Riley, letting my character die again. "What?"

"A gift." At my blank stare, Riley pulled one of her hands from behind her back to wave. "You know, something that one person gives to another because they like each other? A gift!"

I stared for a while longer before poking at the Game Boy again. "Never heard of it."

"You know, Jeff? Sometimes I just feel sorry for you."

"Me too."

Another smack bounced off my arm plating. "Quit that! Anyway, here's your gift."

Riley pulled her other hand from behind her back, and I glared at the metal sheet she presented to me. "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

I didn't realize I had punched the floor until Riley jumped, her eyes widening as she took a step back. "I told you I didn't want—"

"But look at this one!"

I paused my tirade when Riley waved the plate in my face. I took a good look at it once I realized the usual numbers were missing. I pinched the corner between two of my fingers and brought it closer for examination. Riley stood still as she waited for my verdict.

I gave it back to her. "Now this I wouldn't mind having on my aft."

A grin broke out across Riley's face. "It's better than a bunch of dumb ol' numbers."

I stared at the human letters that spelled out "BAD AFT01." "A little obvious, but better none the less."

"No more numbers for you, Jeff."

Riley held the license plate back with an intense stare, and I nodded. "No more numbers for me."