The man steps back to examine his handiwork just as the alert at the corner of my screen changes. A noise comes from his pocket too and he sighs before starting to reach for the phone. He pulls it out and stares at it for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth as he reads.

“A delivery for number twelve high street?” he mutters under his breath. “It’s not even midday and they’re ordering whiskey, a loaf of bread and tissues… That’s concerning.”

He stares at the phone for a moment longer before shaking his head.

I edge forwards slightly, hoping that I’ll be sent out with the delivery but I’m unsure. The voice normally tells me when I’ve been chosen but this time, it’s been silent. That worries me. I want to be sent out but it seems slow, reluctant.

“Alright, I’ll go pack that up,” the man says, still looking at his phone as I edge forwards even more. He looks away from the phone finally, his eyes landing on me, and a laugh spills out of his mouth. “Do you want to deliver the order to…. Barry?”

If I could nod, I would. I can’t speak to the man but the voice has yet to tell me off for moving too much. I edge forwards again, almost bumping into the guy’s foot which makes him chuckle again and makes me happier.

“Alright, buddy. I’ll be back in a minute with the order, okay?” he asks me before smiling and starting to walk away.

I wait excitedly, watching the icon at the edge of my screen. It still hasn’t changed. Someone has placed an order, Barry, but it’s not been assigned to me yet. I flick through my cameras, watching the other robots carefully. None of them have moved. They’re all perfectly still, lifeless. Maybe it’s just not been assigned yet. That would make sense, right? Maybe it’s just taking longer today.

Right as I have that thought, the voice speaks.

“You have received an order.”

Relief washes through me. I have been chosen! I will get to go out into the world rather than sitting on my charging pad, not even aware of the time that passes around me.

I move forwards again, starting towards the shop door before hesitating. It feels weird for me to do that. I feel like I shouldn’t. Should I wait in my place in the queue and wait for the man, whose name I cannot ask, to come back out and hope he knows that the order was assigned to me? No, that feels too risky. I don’t want the possibility of him not choosing me even though the order has been assigned to me and then having to go back to sleep. Not sleep. I don’t sleep. I just power down, it’s not the same.

I start to turn around, returning to my place in the queue before stopping. No, I’m being silly. I should go back to the door and wait for the man, that makes the most sense. The order has been assigned to me, I should do it.

Beginning to turn again, I catch sight of my reflection in the glass window that covers the front of the shop. It stretches almost down to the ground so I can see almost my entire body. I must have seen my reflection before but I’m taken aback by it. I am a robot. I knew that logically but now I am confronted with the reality of it. I cannot deny the sight I am seeing through my lenses. My vision skips over my small white and boxy body as I turn slightly to get a better look at myself.

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It takes me a minute to realise what the bright stickers that the man put on me are. A reindeer. I’m dressed up to look like a reindeer. I even have a sticker on me with strange writing on it. I start at it blankly for a while before realising what the letters say. Dasher. It says my name. It’s a name badge so that people know who I am without me needing to speak to them and get in trouble.

Happiness increased.

Speed 1/10 Hope 3.2/10 Determination 4.5/10 Happiness 5.6/10 Pride 3.5/10 Battery 98%

I know that it wasn’t the man’s decision to put the stickers on me, it probably came from higher up, from GroceRover, but I still feel a rush of affection towards him. I hear the door open and turn as quickly as I can, speeding towards him as I ready myself to take the order. He shakes his head at me as I approach, a heavy-looking plain white plastic bag clutched in his hand.

“You are the most enthusiastic little robot that I have ever seen,” the man says. “None of the others respond to me as much as you do.”

I feel my happiness start to sink. I’ve unnerved him. He’s unsure of me, maybe even put off. I feel bad. He’s the closest that I have to a friend and I creep him out. I stare up at him, wishing that I could apologise but I know that it would just scare him and I don’t even have the right words to say to him. There’s no option for ‘I’m sorry’ in my phrases.

“Ah well, the others probably just need an update or something, I bet,” he mutters as he pulls his phone out of his pocket and clicks a button that makes my lid open. “I don’t care, you’ll still be my favourite even if the others are just as friendly as you.”

Pride increased, determination increased, happiness increased.

Speed 1/10 Hope 3.2/10 Determination 4.7/10 Happiness 5.8/10 Pride 3.7/10 Battery 98%

The increases are so sudden that they almost take me by surprise. I’m alight with happiness. I like being someone’s favourite, even if the competition is slim. There are only a handful of other robots and I could count the number of times I’d heard them talk on my… well, not fingers. I don’t have those anymore. Wheels! I have six wheels and I’d only heard them talk maybe four or five times!

I wonder why I’m different. I mean, I talk as much as possible. I’d talk all day if I could but they don’t. It could be a conscious thing. Maybe they have been aware for longer than I have so they’re more used to it and acting like a robot. Or maybe they don’t feel the need to talk as much as I do. I’m not sure what it is but I can’t resist the urge to speak as the man lowers the food into my compartment and closes the lid.

“Thank you,” I call out.

He snorts faintly.

“You’re welcome, Dasher. Go on, off you go.”