As I approached my apartment complex, I saw Newman walking out the front doors. “Hey there, Gilbert. Happy birthday.” Newman was our apartment’s mailman robot. He delivered all the packages and mail to our building. “Got anything special planned for the big day?” he said, walking over to his truck.

“Nope, just having a relaxing night with my kitty,” I said. He took out a large package from his truck. I opened the door and followed him in.

“Really? Man, you need to try at least to do something special! Last I checked, you humans sure do love to celebrate things, especially when it comes to birthdays.”

“Yeah, I know, but I just like to keep it simple,” I said as we walked to the mailroom. “I just want to live a quiet, peaceful life.”

“Hmm, interesting. Hey, let me pick your brain for a second. Isn’t it weird that you humans have built these incredible robots and flying cars and hoverboards, but you still rely on physical paper mail?”

I opened the door to the mailroom, then answered, “Well, I mean, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it, right?”

“Well, you do bring up a compelling argument.” Newman laughed as he walked in. Following behind him, there was someone I hadn’t seen before in the mailroom. I stood there speechless as she opened her mailbox and started to look at her mail. Newman must have noticed, so he nudged me to talk to her.

“Hey, are you a new tenant?” I asked, walking past her to my mailbox. I shifted the food to one hand, giving me a free hand to open my mailbox.

The girl pulled the last bit of her mail out of the cubby and shut it firmly. As she turned to face me, I realized just how absolutely stunning she was. Her hair was as black as night, making her hazel eyes even more captivating. She wore a dress and gladiator boots that were laced all the way up to her knees. Extending out her right hand, I noticed each finger on her left hand by her side had a ring with a different color, and on her wrist, there was a gemstone in the middle. “Hi, I’m Diana Laskaris. I just moved in today. It’s nice to meet you!”

Taking my hand out of my mailbox and grabbing hers, I winced at her tight grip; it was almost as if I’d shaken hands with an undercover bodybuilder. “I’m Gilbert Gataki. It’s a pleasure to meet you. By the way, that’s a unique last name. Is it Greek?”

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Letting go of my hand, she said, “Ah, I see you’re a man of culture! You are absolutely correct. I was born in Terme, near the banks of Thermodon River.”

“Oh wow, yeah, I know exactly where that is! My family is originally from Athens, Greece. They decided to move to America, and after obtaining citizenship, they started a family here.”

“So you live with your family here in this complex?”

“No, actually, my parents moved back to Athens for a bit. They went back to take care of my sick grandparents, who stayed in Athens. Now it’s just me and my cat,” I said.

Looking past Diana, I saw Newman behind her, displaying a hologram from his eyes that said, “Ask her out on a date!” Diane noticed my gaze and looked back to Newman. Luckily he had stopped displaying the message and was staring at his clipboard.

He’s right. I should do something fun for my birthday and spend it with someone besides my cat. “Hey, uh, today’s my birthday, and I don’t have any plans. Do you want to hang out?” I asked Diana.

I instantly started to reconsider every decision I had ever made in my entire life. What was I thinking? Asking the new tenant out on a date on my birthday! Not to mention this was our first time meeting each other. The first moment I met her, nonetheless. Looking back at Newman, he turned off his voice box and was laughing hysterically. Great, I hope this doesn’t make things awkward between us.

“Wow, you move quick! How could any girl say no to someone so bold?” she said, bouncing in place. Both my and Newman’s jaws dropped. Oh no, was she a little off her rocker? If I go on this date, I might wake up in a tub with my kidneys missing.

“But more importantly, I love birthday dates! We have to do something extra special!”

“Awesome. Just let me get changed and feed my cat first. Uh, you can meet me at my apartment. It’s room number 420,” I said. There’s no going back now. If she’s crazy, I’ll have to move immediately.

“Perfect, I’ll make sure to pick out the perfect outfit for tonight’s events,” Diana said as she walked past me. Watching her go into the elevator and hit the button for her floor, she took one last look into the lobby and met my gaze, winking as the doors closed.

Newman walked over and put a hand on my shoulder. “Well, kid, looks like you got yourself a date. I mean, you were so unsmooth that I thought she was definitely going to say no.” Taking his arm off my shoulder, he started to leave the mailroom. “Good luck, champ. Don’t mess it up in the second half.”

Today was turning out to be one of the best birthdays I’d ever had. Taking out my mail, I shuffled through it quickly, but there was no letter from my mom.

That was fine because if I found out Diana was not crazy, and things went well, I could tell her about my new girlfriend. All at once, it hit me. I had a date tonight that I was not prepared for! I had to get ready. I still had to feed Theseus, get showered and get dressed. There was no time to delay! I closed the mailbox and made my way to the elevator to get ready for tonight.