Leah watched Chibi plant all the seeds, covering a pretty huge portion of land. Just what kind of robot was he, really? It was interesting to say the least. There was so much about him that she still didn't know. He seemed to be trying to make the most of missing so much of what was happening in the world, but she could tell that he was hurting.
She wished she could talk to him directly, instead of through his friend Telly. Maybe then she could understand.
Chibi finished his work and put the spoon away, watching the grey sky with renewed vigor, but then he slumped again, hugging himself.
Leah hurried over to him, "What's wrong?"
He shook his head, pulling out the big frog ring from before.
"Oh..." Telly looked up at Leah, hovering to his friend's side, "He's thinking about Jenny. He used to plant flowers in her window to cheer her up when she went through something traumatic. It made her day every time."
"Jenny?" Leah internally smiled at the name, "Please tell me about her."
"Really? You want to hear about Jenny?"
"Maybe it'll help you feel better."
Telly let a smile cross his mismatched eyes, "Well, we first met Jenny at her eighth birthday party. We were her present. Oh, and we were her favorite present."
Leah giggled at this.
"Anyway, we were at that house for a long time, and Chibi and Jenny became very close. Last we saw her, she was almost seventeen." Telly lay one little arm on Chibi's head, "She had licorice-red hair, and warm brown eyes. I remember this particular green sweater that looked great on her." Telly seemed to be nostalgic over the old memories, "Her voice went from cute and childish to mature. It flowed through your ears like chocolate syrup."
"Aren't you quite the poet." Leah remarked.
"Thanks. I've always been a singer."
"Really?" Rose seemed excited, "Me too!"
"Are you!?" Telly flushed, "Oh! Oh wow! You are!?"
Leah laughed, "Looks like you have a new friend!"
Telly seemed somewhat nervous, "Yeah...u-um...anyway...I admire Jenny because of how she always kept going. No matter what she did, she always did it with a smile."
"She sounds nice."
"She was, but..." Telly became emotional just then, "We're never going to see her again, are we?"
Chibi trembled.
Telly suddenly burst into tears, water pouring from his eyes so fast it made the girls flinch in surprise, "Jenny...I miss you, Jenny..."
"Aw..." Rose had an internal struggle for little while, finally finding the strength in her speakers. She sang.
Telly stopped crying immediately. Sure, all the EVEs had the same voice, but the way they used their voices was a bit different for each one. For Rose in particular, her singing voice was smooth as butter and as rich as a caramel left in the sun for too long. It was soft too, like marshmallow creme.
There were no lyrics. Lyrics were not needed.
"OooOoOooo..." Telly cooed, his eyes sparkling, "You have the most beautiful voice I've ever heard..."
Rose's LED screen lit up a little brighter, "Is that true?"
"You've never sung to us before!" Leah exclaimed, "That was beautiful!"
"If only it was a little louder!" EVE came from over the small hill, "I could barely hear it!"
"Sorry..." Rose clasped her hands together, "I'm just so shy..."
"That is adorable!" Telly spun around in circles, "I've never seen someone who's so shy of their own voice! How cuuute!"
Rose's blush deepened even more until her visor was nearly bright pink, "Ummm...thanks..."
"Aw..." Leah let one hand rest on Rose's shoulder, "You're so quiet all the time..."
Rose scratched the back of her head absently, "Well, wow...I-I just wanted to cheer him up...h-he's a singer an' all, so I thought that..."
"Let me sing for you now!" Telly cleared his non-existent throat, "Um, it's been awhile, so be nice! This song is called Teriyaki Blues!"
Chibi seemed to be in silent awe while Telly brought out his microphone and began to sing. To everyone's surprise, it was baritone, and it had a smooth jazz feel, like a saxophone player under a starry sky. Leah mused that with Rose's rich caramel voice and Telly's slow jazz voice, they could make quite the duet.
She hoped she could hear that soon.
"Encore!" Rose's visor had dimmed somewhat, but it was still pretty vivid, "You have such an amazing voice!"
Telly blushed, "Really?"
"It was lovely!" EVE agreed, "You know, not many humans around here are singers. I'm sure they'd appreciate a duet from the best singers on Earth, hm?"
All at once, Telly and Rose were a blubbering mess, "No, nonono, I'm not that good...I may be good but not thaaat good..."
EVE laughed, "Whatever. I was only partially joking." she playfully punched Rose's shoulder before heading back to her new husband.
"Hey, Chibi? Can I ask you something?" Leah smoothly changed the subject.
He looked up at her.
"Why did you only plant the honeysuckle?" she inquired, "Is it because I said it was my favorite?"
Chibi seemed to grow uncomfortable for just a moment before boldly replying, Yes!
"Aw! That's so sweet of you!"
Telly's eyes widened, Leah just gave you fifty Happy points! You got fifty Moolah! Spread the happiness!
Chibi missed hearing those words.
"Hey Chibi, it would be nice if you planted the other flowers too. I don't want to feel like I'm hogging all the land."
Chibi waved away her concern. She didn't need to feel guilty for nothing.
"Okay." Leah reached her hand out to him, "You wanna go for a walk?" she asked, "Just the two of us?"
Chibi looked at her hand, then her eyes. He nodded, hopping onto her fingers in one deft motion.
Looking back at Telly and Rose one last time, Leah placed another hand around the little metallic robot before heading off into the sky.
