Ughhhh…
What's that loud music playing…
I squint my eyes open, realizing I forgot to turn my phone off…who the hell could it be at 5 in the morning…? I check the caller ID, Melissa, my best friend all through (most of)high school and college whom also worked in the same retail store I'd worked in…
"Heyyy is this a bad time?", the voice on the other end hesitantly asks.
I sigh. "No, no it's super early but who cares about that?…what is it Melissa?", I ask trying to sound as unbothered as possible.
"Have you had any luck finding a good job yet? I found one that's looking to employ a few of us as soon as possible and I think–"
"Actually…" I cut Melissa off, propping myself up a bit. "Sorry…didn't mean to cut you off but…I've already applied for a job that's pretty close to me, 5 Days Club is what it's called…. if you've heard of it."
"Oh that's great, well-wait, WHAT?! WHAT ARE YOU APPLYING THERE FOR!!!??", the panicked yell on the other end of the phone catches me very off guard, I nearly dropped the thing with how hard I flinched.
But what the hell's up with the sudden panic???
"Um…hello…? What? What's wrong with that?", I ask cluelessly.
"Well…Don't get me wrong, I love going there as a CUSTOMER. But working there as the security guard…..ehhhh….it seems kinda like bad news?? I'm actually surprised the last one even stayed as long as he did though…especially considering how odd he was….", Melissa responds hesitantly as if she's struggling to find the right words.
The other end goes silent as if Melissa is now thinking about something.
"...so uh….odd? Odd how?", I try asking.
A few more seconds pass.
"Uh…well…it wasn't his personality that was odd, he was quite friendly to everyone actually but whenever he was out of the security room…everyone knew…",the woman on the other end starts.
"What so he just….smelled bad? Never wore deodorant…?", I ask with a chuckle.
"I honestly don't know…now that I'm thinking about it…someone that was unhygienic still wouldn't smell that bad or look the way he did…"
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Ermm…okay…I should ask something else now…
"Is it really that big of a deal…?", I ask in a questioning tone.
"Yes! He smelled like a DEAD BODY!! And not only that, no….he…he looked the part too ….", Melissa said in a horrified tone as if she had just realised that was the case.
"But he was alive right? That couldn't have been possible?"
I'm beginning to hesitate with my choice of words, it totally makes sense for someone to block all that out but…
"Usually the lighting made it hard to see him, but a year ago there was a gas leak and everyone had to evacuate….that's when I saw him…really saw him for the first time…nobody seemed shocked but me and one other person…his skin seemed like it was starting to decay…everyone assured us he was just fine…"
This is genuinely a bit horrifying and hard to believe…
"Oh…my god…? Did he have some sorta rare illness…?", I ask curiously.
"I dunno I never go to ask him himself…locals say that its gotten worse and he stopped going to work some time ago due to that…"
Oh…..that's definitely not great to hear…!
"....that's crazy…", that's the only thing I can muster.
"Yeah but outside of that…security guards never stayed long…..for decades they seem to just hightail it outta there and never come back…", Melissa says, switching the conversation away from just that specific guard.
"...did…did any of them stop to say why…?", I stammer a bit when I question her.
"No but y'know this city is rather close to my childhood town, I heard the robots aren't fond of humans after hours even if it's because it's job-related. But who knows really, maybe all the other security guards tried something weird that pissed all of them off. They're sentient and organic from what I heard", I can hear the quotations in Melissa's words as she speaks…but I nod, gathering everything she said all the info she's given me this far. I have to admit, I was kinda about to fall back to sleep through this whole conversation though the last bit makes me become more attentive.
"A? I hope it's not like an actual murder or something."
"They might just be fucking with us but my friend that grew up her and her friends….they all say those robots went through the school system and had bodily changes throughout the years just like humans. They even actually looked like actual children though with the whole animal and robot thing added on apparently….don't know how true it is though, but I have wondered how some of them grow their hair out and such…."
"I mean heah…sounds wild but honestly anything is possible at this rate… Maybe I can just ask the owner about all that if I get accepted for an interview?"
"Yeah…well…good luck with all that, hope you have a Plan B! Byeee", Melissa hangs up quickly.
-call ended-
Well with that call outta the way it's now 6am, I stretch again before leaving my bed. Might as well check the status of my application before going back to sleep for a few more hours...
Logging in and checking my email and…
Woah! That was quick???
They want me in for an Interview Friday evening which is…tomorrow!? I reply to the message confirming that tomorrow is perfect and I'll be there at 4pm on the dot.
Oh gosh….
My heart is pounding heavily in my chest with anxiety as I hop back in bed. Just gonna try and get some more sleep then I have to prepare for tomorrow's interview…
Oh boy…I can already feel the bubble guts….