September 22 (The Final Day of Summer)

Today at first seemed to start off just like any usual day right inside Dog's apartment.

Bright beams of sunshine gleaned through the window, shining at a robotic figure, who laid on the striped couch covered with a cozy blanket. From a hum to a whir, his plated eyelids clicked open, blinking a few times. Then, he could audibly hear a little sizzle emitting from across the room. He may not have ears, but he could detect another new sensation that he had never heard before.

Starting with his gradual bootup, his metallic feet planted on the hard, wooden floor, and with an audible whir, he slowly straightened his legs and stood upright. He turned his head and saw Dog standing in the kitchen, who held a coated pan over an open gas flame as he tossed it back and forth. Dog's ears perked up after hearing Robot stir, and he turned around with a quick smile and waved to greet him. Robot smiled back as well.

He stared down at his right arm and tried to imitate Dog's gesture but with slow and robotic movement. The short canine then grabbed his silver spatula and shoved it underneath the pair of flapjacks that he was cooking. He scraped the pan deeper underneath the pancakes to flip them over, but small puffs of black smoke started to rise, and he huffed a sad sigh. The top of his flapjacks were now burnt to a crisp.

Dog, beading with sweat, attempted to salvage whatever he could and left the pancakes on the other side for about half the time he spent on the flip side. While he let the pancakes sit for a moment, he opened his cupboard and reached up to grab two white, ceramic plates, albeit with tippy toes. After a short while of straining, he placed the two plates on a wooden round table that sat across from his stovetop. After that, he hopped back to shut off the flames.

He softly whistled to himself as he walked back to the dining table, carrying only two pancakes on his frying pan. He carefully slid one off for each plate and sat on one of the two chairs placed at his table. Dog cleared his throat for his robot's attention and gestured to the other chair with open arms.

Robot excitedly extended his long noodle arms and gripped his hands tightly on the table. He pulled himself over to the other chair, which sat across from his owner. Dog then gasped with a snap of his fingers. He stood up again and walked briskly back to the kitchen, nearly forgetting to grab some utensils beforehand, while Robot took a glance at the breakfast that was laid in front of him. The pancakes had one side overcooked with the other side undercooked.

He scratched his curved head with his index finger, closely observing this strange new concoction but not before Dog returned with two pairs of a fork and a knife, along with a half-empty bottle of Aunt Jemima Original Syrup. He placed each pair of utensils across each side of both plates. When Dog sat down and scooted his chair forward, he looked at his plate and cringed at the end result while Robot sat there a little puzzled, not sure what to make of this food.

Dog then grabbed the bottle of syrup and doused his single hotcake in it completely. Then, he did the same thing for Robot's plate. He grabbed a fork with his left hand and a knife with the other. Robot paid close attention to Dog's movements and held his utensils in the same manner. Dog nodded in approval and poked the burnt pancake with his fork while slicing it with his knife. Robot repeated the same slicing motion but wasn't aware of how much force was being exerted from his knife. Dog sliced with his knife back and forth a few times, and Robot did the same until…

CRACK!

The little doggo's eyes widened in shock, and his hands shakily dropped his utensils on the table. Robot lifted the two pieces of the sliced plate which were perfectly cut in half along with his food. He shrugged and happily tossed the broken pieces of the plate in his mouth, and then, Dog could hear the broken plate shatter into many pieces from inside him. The weary canine facepalmed and let out a long sigh, pulling down his eyelids. Now, it was his turn to try out his breakfast.

He nervously lifted one sticky, dripping piece with his fork and inserted it into his wide-open mouth. When Dog began chewing, he was met with instant regret. His teeth constantly crunched from the dry, yet very runny texture, and he nearly gagged after swallowing it. He nervously chuckled and tried to play it cool, wiping his syrupy mouth with a paper napkin.

Dog then pointed at his plate to offer it to Robot, and he gladly obliged. He quickly pushed away his barely-eaten plate for his companion and sighed in relief. Robot placed the other pancake along with its plate inside his open mouth. He heard the other plate also shatter inside Robot and whimpered a little. Shortly after coping with that loss, he held another napkin and dabbed it on Robot's face to wipe off the sticky syrup before his mouth could potentially get glued shut.

To keep his mind off a lost appetite, he signaled for Robot to come over, and he followed Dog to his tiny living room, which they arrived in only a few steps. He located his green travel backpack sitting in the corner and unzipped it, rummaging through its contents. Many thoughts raced through his mind as he emptied the bag to double-check that he packed everything, especially some spares for his robot pal.

Swimming trunks? Check.

Two goggles? Check.

Beach towels? Check.

Inflatable floaties? Check.

Snacks? Wait, where's the snacks?

Dog smacked his head upside from his near forgetfulness. It took only a second for him to open a cupboard below his dishrack which revealed inside a little stash of Cheetos Puffs with the old-school red, white, and blue packaging. He grabbed one bag and stuffed it into his backpack before he could start second-guessing what else he had forgotten. He even grabbed a book or two for the ride just in case it got boring at the beach, for some reason.

In the middle of repacking his stuff, he opened up a travel guide for Robot to read. Dog skimmed through many pages until he stopped flipping and pointed to the location that they were heading to today: Playland. Robot stared in wonder as he envisioned sandy beaches, amusement parks, fairs, and other fun-looking places as portrayed in the pictures. It was almost like he was daydreaming about what his experience would be like in the land of play. After all, Robot didn't care wherever Dog took him, as long as he was always by his side.

Dog eventually finished loading up his bag, but Robot then turned his attention to a peculiar large cardboard box with red stripes that sat across the room. With a faint whir, he extended his metal arms and pulled the box close to him. Dog raised an eyebrow and peered inside the mostly empty box, which only had an instruction manual and stacks of foam pieces remaining inside. His friend grabbed the manual and began flipping intently through the pages. His grin widened as he was continuously impressed by how the little pieces all assembled to his complete metal form, complete with the final step of twisting his neck for activation.

Robot, satisfied with taking a deeper look at his birthplace, extended his arm and held out the manual for Robot to read. The front cover faced Robot, and when Dog looked up to see the back cover, it pictured something that Robot didn't see on the final page after the last step. It listed some safety hazards including one that read, "DANGER - KEEP AWAY FROM WATER!" with a red X symbol overlaying a sketch of a robot lying in a bathtub.

Dog only took a quick glance since he was in a rush, and after Robot got the memo that his owner wasn't interested, his smile dropped and dropped the manual right back into the box. Dog, now carrying his backpack, twisted and turned each individual lock and made sure not to forget the door chain this time. His tail wagged with excitement, and it made Robot beam with joy, who was well aware that his tail indicated an upbeat mood.

Dog motioned with his head for Robot to accompany him outside the apartment, and he followed suit. He locked his front door and started to walk their way out of the building. And with that, they were now on their way to the transit. They wouldn't forget this, would they?