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it’s just a little sarcasm in expectation of an uncomfortable answer. The scholarship pays for the classes, and I’ve kept my grades up. Jack’s monthly ‘gift’ keeps the light on and the apartment owners happy, and between that and my new job, I’ve been doing okay.”
    “When will we see you?”
    “I’ll come up this summer.”
    As Brad lay on the bed talking to his mother, Tricia turned herself on and hopped gingerly off of the table. The world was still a strange place to her, but she liked how the tiles felt beneath her feet, and the way the air from the vents brushed against her skin. Since her first day into the world, the only face she had seen was Brad’s. Some searching and learning on the internet had shown her many others, and she concluded that the intelligent life forms on earth had eyes, noses and mouths. Machines were not seen as life, and some droids lacked humanoid features. She was not human—a harsh reality for her to accept—but the way she felt about Brad and the nagging hunger for knowledge that consumed her made her feel less like a machine, and more like an innocent, young girl.
    The plasticine that comprised her skin was white and translucent, but the human features like lips, ears, nose, and toes were all there in splendid detail. She crept to Brad’s bedroom door and watched him grow irritated on the phone. She had never seen him this upset before, so she listened in on his conversation and tried to make sense of it. After five minutes had passed, she was still unsure as to why Brad kept being angry with his mother. Maybe this was one of those human things that would take time to understand.  He was saying goodbye to his mother, so Tricia went back to the table, sat back on it, and shut herself off.
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    The pills seemed so small and insignificant. Brad rotated the cylindrical container that they had arrived in. The label was blank except for a tiny, red, kanji symbol in the center of it. Along with the pills, there was a small tin filled with synthetic skin and a tablet where he was supposed to document any changes that he felt after taking the pills. He looked at the tin and wondered if it was possible to replicate it so that Tricia would be presentable, and he wouldn’t have to be a guinea pig for the Japanese. He looked at her powered down frame, and imagined what she could be and it fired him up. The tiny kanji on the jar had some English words below it and when Brad looked closely he could see that it said, “Take two”.
    He put two of the pills into his mouth and drank some soda. He didn’t feel any different, so he grabbed his backpack and headed off towards campus. It was a new semester and most of his classes were still general studies; there was Chemistry (Atomic and Molecular structure), Calculus, and Introduction to Human Physiology, which was the one that he was most interested in. The last semester had flown by, and Tricia had impressed Mr. Anthony. The professor was so impressed, that he didn’t just give Brad an A; he gave him his personal contact code, told his colleagues about him, and told him to keep him updated on her progress.
    When his classes were over and he was done for the day, Brad found his way to the café for his shift. It was a typical night, and most of the tables were occupied by students on their personal computers, doing homework or downloading illegal media. The café stood next to a bookstore, so most of the older people—who still read paper books—would come over and buy coffee and the occasional pastry. These people were seldom nice, so whenever one would come hobbling over, book tucked in a little bag that they clutched, Brad would prep himself for disaster. They always wanted to start trouble, as if beefing with an innocent barista would rewind the years on their crappy, miserable lives.
    He was making an espresso for a pretty young girl when he felt something change within him. He couldn’t put words to it, or describe what it