A Drone Named Jeffrey

Chapter Fifteen

Tree

I stared at the mini-television with an intensity that was somewhat over-exaggerated. That didn't matter though because Riley stared in the same way, her hand methodically reaching into the bowl of popcorn she insisted on having. The girl on the screen slowly walked through the darkened house, the music in the background picking up and amplifying the anticipation.

"Why did she go back into the house with the chainsaw man?"

I snickered when Riley groaned and relaxed against the side of my leg. The chainsaw killer popped out of a room, making the female shriek and run for her life, but the mood had been effectively broken by my question.

"Jeffrey, do you not get the point of scary movie night?" Riley glared up at me and shoved another handful of popcorn in her mouth. "We're supposed to get the crap scared out of us—not question the movie's flaws in logic!"

"But this is boring!" Riley huffed and turned back to the movie. "It's not even scary. It's just…gore."

"Are you telling me that you wouldn't be even a little freaked out to have a guy chasing you around with a chainsaw?"

"No." I watched the unfolding of the inevitable death scene as the female finally tripped. "Is the person with the chainsaw a medic?"

"Would that make a difference?"

"…no."

I have never been happier for a quick distraction as I was when I saw Riley smirk up at me. The loud bang against the tin roof of the garage caused her to jump with a tiny shriek. I tilted my head and watched the popcorn go flying across the room. "You're picking that up."

"What was that?"

"Don't try to divert the subject."

Riley ignored me and jumped up from the floor. She pushed the door of the garage up with a grunt and slid under the small gap. I vented and followed her out. I glanced down the driveway to see that Riley's dad was still out doing "Man Night" with his friends before I crouched in front of the garage and watched while Riley attempted to find an angle to see the top of the roof. "You're short."

"Oh, shut up! We can't all be towering robots." My armor fluffed up a little in pride while Riley rushed towards me and patted a hand. "Give me a boost."

"Why?"

"There's something on the roof!"

"So?"

"Just get me up there!"

"What if I don't want you looking at my roof?"

Riley finally focused on me instead of the garage. "Seriously? You're getting possessive over a roof now?"

"It's my roof!"

Riley put her hands on her hips to glare at me. "Jeffrey, what are you hiding?"

"What? Hiding? What makes you think I'm hiding anything?"

"Jeffrey."

"You're not my parent Riley!" I crossed my arms over my chassis. "That tone won't work on me."

"Fine."

I watched Riley move towards the side of the garage. I peeked around the corner to see what she was doing and jerked forward when I saw her climbing on top of the unstable trash receptacle kept there. "What are you doing?"

The container began to wobble the moment Riley was on top of it, and my hand automatically moved to catch her fall. Riley found her balance though and slowly began to stand up. "If you won't help me, then I'll just do it my way."

"Are you crazy?"

"Yes." I vented when Riley smiled at me. "It's a dominant gene passed through my family."

"I hate it when you try to talk Biology."

"I know—that's why I do it."

I vented again, and Riley squealed when I snatched her from the trashcan. "Fine! The last thing I need is for you to crack your little head on the ground."

"Aww! I didn't know you care so much."

"Of course I do. Where else would I get the free labor to wax me?"

Riley smacked the palm of my hand with a grin before she peered over my fingers to see the roof. A small limb had fallen from the tree beside the garage, and a dark mass of furry creature crouched beside it, licking its jaw while its paw rested on a pile of feathers.

I hunched my shoulders as Riley stared at the animal. "Is that a cat?"

"That's what it's called?" The animal turned its head towards us and released a low growl as greeting. It didn't flinch when I reached out to poke it, lazily swatting at my finger. "I've just been calling it fur ball."

"You've been calling it fur ball?"

I hesitated and used the moment to poke at the cat again. This time it hissed and left a new set of scratches on my finger. "Yeah."

"How long has it been here?"

"Since before school ended."

"That was a whole month ago! Why didn't you tell me about it?"

I looked away at the sound in Riley's voice. I'd never seen her frown that way before either. "Because I thought you'd run it away."

"Why would I do that?"

I poked at the cat again, and it began to pick up its dinner and stalk towards the tree. Clearly, it was done with me for the night. "Because I ran your boy away."

It took Riley a moment to respond, and when she did, it was in a way I hadn't expected. She began laughing. "You were worried because of that? Jeffrey, he was a total loser. All he wanted was to be seen in a nice car. You actually did me a favor."

My tense frame suddenly relaxed, and I felt more enjoyment by poking at the cat as it attempted to find a limb to jump onto. "I knew from the very start the guy was a jerk."

Riley hummed. "Uh huh. I'm actually surprised you'd get upset over the thought of me chasing a cat away."

"Who else would eat the psychotic squirrels and deranged birds that try to dump their waste on me?"