A Drone Named Jeffrey

Chapter Twenty One

Loneliness

I sighed and poked at the handheld game system I had long claimed as my own. A growl from the corner of my dark garage prompted me to reach out and gently scratch between Furball's shoulders. Sounds of hysterical laughter and shouting voices came from outside, and Furball remained tense and hissed every time the side of the garage was hit. I kept scratching with one hand while the other restarted the game level.

Being stuck in my cozy garage while a party went on outside wasn't exactly the most joyful thing to endure. Apparently, Riley had a bigger family than just her dad. A lot bigger. And the celebration of the day one was created was an ordeal that brought them all together: from the old and wrinkling to the munchkins I had threatened to squish the next time they touched me with their slimy hands.

There was another bang against the wall, and someone shouted, "Goal!" Another round of laughter and applause began. I stared at the wall until Furball hissed, and I began to scratch him again.

I didn't have anything against Riley wanting to spend time with her family. She had told me earlier that her dad was going all out to celebrate her "sweet sixteen" in the "right way." She hadn't looked very impressed, but she had allowed herself to be swept away by the first group that showed up.

I don't think I ever realized how big a human family could be until I started seeing all the humans show up. During the first hour or so, Riley had managed to sneak away every once in a while to point out who was who: grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, something called a cousin-in-law, and then some being four or five times removed. Didn't really make a lot of sense to me, but what did I really know about humans other than they make very addictive games?

I looked up from my game when the noise from outside suddenly stopped. Furball curled up under my hand, probably happy that the commotion had finally stopped, when it started again. This time, they were somewhat synchronized as they sang together, and they cheered together after the song had ended. I listened to the strange festivities and went back to my game.

But I couldn't stop myself from looking up again when there was more laughter. Family wasn't something I knew anything about before waking up in that garage with Riley. There were hundreds of Vehicons in the Decepticon army, but compared to how I had seen humans interact with each, a hundred drones together may as well have been one drone surrounded by ninety-nine reflections of himself.

No distinguishing personality; no personal interaction. Receive an order and do it; you don't, you die—that was everything the life of a drone consisted of. Even the "close knit" groups hadn't been as tied together as human families seemed to be.

I jolted when the garage creaked open. Furball hissed and ran beneath the table at the back of the garage, growling at Riley when she ducked under the gap and quickly slid the door back down. I sat up and activated my headlights so it wasn't dark. Riley blinked and held up the plate of colorful substance she had brought with her. "I come with cake."

"Is it like ice cream?"

"But not better than chocolate."

"Nothing's better than chocolate."

Riley laughed and walked over to sit against my leg. I leaned back against the wall. "So, how's it been going?"

"Crazy." Riley took a bite of her cake, smearing blue on the corner of her mouth. "I like seeing the rest of my family every once in a while, but if you think me and my dad are crazy for talking to cars, you haven't seen nothing until you meet them. Especially when they're all together."

I tapped my fingers against the ground, and Furball hissed at me. I poked him and got a scratch for my effort. "Seems pretty festive."

"Yeah. You should've seen my cousin's sweet sixteen last year. Completely Cirque du Soleil themed."

"I'll pretend to know what that means." We listened to the party that continued outside. "Why aren't you out there?"

"I didn't want to leave you out." Riley held up what was left of her cake. "I know you've gotta stay in here for obvious reasons, but that doesn't mean you can't celebrate with me."

Riley put her plate down and reached into her pocket. She flung little pieces of colorful paper in the air and reached up to grab a thing that was tucked behind her ear. Furball growled at the strange sound it emitted when Riley blew into it. "Happy Birthday! Now we eat cake."

"But I can't eat cake."

"Then you get to watch me eat cake."

"Woo hoo."

Riley laughed, and she went on eating her cake without a comment about her family continuing outside. I couldn't bring myself to feel bad that she was missing it either.