Idol Mini: "I Am My Own Robot Army"
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halfshellvenusI Am My Own Robot Army
Idol Mini | week 3 | 783 words
Without You
x-x-x-x-x
I don’t know how we got here.
Okay, I know, but I mean… c’mon. We both said some things. There’s enough regret to go around.
But you’ve always been my best friend. You’re supposed to overlook it when I start mouthing off– or at least forgive me. Not pack up and move out of state! Who does that? And what’s so great about Massachusetts, anyway?
I wish you were here now, Jenny. You’d be able to talk me out of thinking Bobby’s cheating on me, or if not, you’d help me figure out what to do about it.
Instead, I’m hiding behind a tree in Bobby’s front yard by myself, trying to run my dad’s drone close enough to the living room window to see and maybe hear what’s happening inside.
Dad doesn’t know I borrowed the drone. He’d be pissed. I mean, it’s not like I plan to break it or anything. Though it is kind of hard to steer in close quarters. I can’t see much.
If you were here, you’d understand what I’m going through. I just feel like Bobby’s not as invested in our relationship as he used to be. Like, tonight? He said he was busy when I wanted to come over, but there’s a car in the driveway. So I know he’s not just studying. I actually think he might be banging one of the cheerleaders– probably that Mindy Harrison who’s always hanging around his locker. She thinks she’s so subtle, but she’s not fooling anyone.
Oh, hey, I’ve got a decent view through the window now. The lights are on inside, and I can see–
Huh. That looks like Dylan Brenner on the sofa next to Bobby. Now they’re laughing at something, and Dylan’s punching Bobby in the arm.
Whatever. I’ll bet they’re talking about me…
I move the drone a little closer. This thing actually has a microphone on it, though it’s kind of hard to hear anything over the motor. I have no idea what Dad bought it for, and maybe it’s better that way?
“... killing me…,” Bobby says. “#^@*#...the worst.”
“...ight?” Dylan shouts, slamming Bobby with his shoulder.
“...done with this b#@#^^#!”
I knew it! They are talking about me!
I wish I could hear better. Why doesn’t this stupid drone have a “hover” function, so I can lock it in place and not have to keep worrying about banging it into the window?
I know I haven’t been the perfect girlfriend. I have to study sometime! And I can get a little jealous, sure, but I’m working on that, all right?
Wait, someone’s coming up the driveway. Crap!
I recognize the car. It’s Ava Reynolds, who is totally a cheerleader! I mean, she’s also Bobby’s lab partner in AP Bio, but I know that’s not why she’s here. Ugh, I can’t let her see me like this! I probably have leaves and twigs in my hair, plus creeping around Bobby’s front yard all by myself is totally sus.
I move around the tree until I’m on the side that blocks the view from the driveway. But then I hear it:
Thunk!
Oh, no! I forgot about the drone!
I jerk the lever on the remote, and the drone whizzes away from the window and smacks right into a cherry tree. Leaves and fruit bombs fly everywhere, until the drone crashes to the ground and one of the wings snaps off.
God, Dad is going to kill me! And that thing probably cost two years of my allowance. Great, now I’m going to be friendless and poor.
I glance back at the window, and now Dylan is standing there, gaping at me.
“Zoey?”
I look over, and there’s Ava, wrinkling her nose and taking in the dead drone, my dark green hoodie, and the selection of snacks near the base of the tree.
“Are you seriously spying on Bobby right now? God, Zoey, why not just ring the doorbell like a normal person!”
This is the point where I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole. What was I thinking? And how am I ever going to live this down?
Then, the front door opens. Dylan and Bobby come out, holding video game controllers. Bobby looks at me and then he looks at the drone, and I can tell from the expression on his face that the two of us are totally, one-hundred-percent over.
“You’ll never guess what Zoey was up to,” Ava chirps.
“Shut up, Ava!” I yell, even though it’s obvious I deserve it.
I’ve never felt so alone, or so stupid, and there’s nothing I can do to change it.
Oh, Jenny. I wish you were here…
–/–
If you enjoyed this story, you can vote for it along with many other fine entries here.
Idol Mini | week 3 | 783 words
Without You
x-x-x-x-x
I don’t know how we got here.
Okay, I know, but I mean… c’mon. We both said some things. There’s enough regret to go around.
But you’ve always been my best friend. You’re supposed to overlook it when I start mouthing off– or at least forgive me. Not pack up and move out of state! Who does that? And what’s so great about Massachusetts, anyway?
I wish you were here now, Jenny. You’d be able to talk me out of thinking Bobby’s cheating on me, or if not, you’d help me figure out what to do about it.
Instead, I’m hiding behind a tree in Bobby’s front yard by myself, trying to run my dad’s drone close enough to the living room window to see and maybe hear what’s happening inside.
Dad doesn’t know I borrowed the drone. He’d be pissed. I mean, it’s not like I plan to break it or anything. Though it is kind of hard to steer in close quarters. I can’t see much.
If you were here, you’d understand what I’m going through. I just feel like Bobby’s not as invested in our relationship as he used to be. Like, tonight? He said he was busy when I wanted to come over, but there’s a car in the driveway. So I know he’s not just studying. I actually think he might be banging one of the cheerleaders– probably that Mindy Harrison who’s always hanging around his locker. She thinks she’s so subtle, but she’s not fooling anyone.
Oh, hey, I’ve got a decent view through the window now. The lights are on inside, and I can see–
Huh. That looks like Dylan Brenner on the sofa next to Bobby. Now they’re laughing at something, and Dylan’s punching Bobby in the arm.
Whatever. I’ll bet they’re talking about me…
I move the drone a little closer. This thing actually has a microphone on it, though it’s kind of hard to hear anything over the motor. I have no idea what Dad bought it for, and maybe it’s better that way?
“... killing me…,” Bobby says. “#^@*#...the worst.”
“...ight?” Dylan shouts, slamming Bobby with his shoulder.
“...done with this b#@#^^#!”
I knew it! They are talking about me!
I wish I could hear better. Why doesn’t this stupid drone have a “hover” function, so I can lock it in place and not have to keep worrying about banging it into the window?
I know I haven’t been the perfect girlfriend. I have to study sometime! And I can get a little jealous, sure, but I’m working on that, all right?
Wait, someone’s coming up the driveway. Crap!
I recognize the car. It’s Ava Reynolds, who is totally a cheerleader! I mean, she’s also Bobby’s lab partner in AP Bio, but I know that’s not why she’s here. Ugh, I can’t let her see me like this! I probably have leaves and twigs in my hair, plus creeping around Bobby’s front yard all by myself is totally sus.
I move around the tree until I’m on the side that blocks the view from the driveway. But then I hear it:
Thunk!
Oh, no! I forgot about the drone!
I jerk the lever on the remote, and the drone whizzes away from the window and smacks right into a cherry tree. Leaves and fruit bombs fly everywhere, until the drone crashes to the ground and one of the wings snaps off.
God, Dad is going to kill me! And that thing probably cost two years of my allowance. Great, now I’m going to be friendless and poor.
I glance back at the window, and now Dylan is standing there, gaping at me.
“Zoey?”
I look over, and there’s Ava, wrinkling her nose and taking in the dead drone, my dark green hoodie, and the selection of snacks near the base of the tree.
“Are you seriously spying on Bobby right now? God, Zoey, why not just ring the doorbell like a normal person!”
This is the point where I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole. What was I thinking? And how am I ever going to live this down?
Then, the front door opens. Dylan and Bobby come out, holding video game controllers. Bobby looks at me and then he looks at the drone, and I can tell from the expression on his face that the two of us are totally, one-hundred-percent over.
“You’ll never guess what Zoey was up to,” Ava chirps.
“Shut up, Ava!” I yell, even though it’s obvious I deserve it.
I’ve never felt so alone, or so stupid, and there’s nothing I can do to change it.
Oh, Jenny. I wish you were here…
–/–
If you enjoyed this story, you can vote for it along with many other fine entries here.
no subject
Date: 2024-07-22 01:31 am (UTC)Poor Zoey, abandoned by her best friend, a wounded drone, and then she loses the boyfriend too? Just not her day.
Great entry.
Dan
no subject
Date: 2024-07-22 01:48 am (UTC)I had fun writing this, even as I felt for poor Zoey, who really needed someone with a little more perspective in her life. :D
Thanks for reading!
no subject
Date: 2024-07-22 02:26 am (UTC)Excellent as always.
no subject
Date: 2024-07-22 08:08 pm (UTC)There are certain personality types where jealous assumptions are almost always going to be unfounded, but they'll still see them around every corner. :D
no subject
Date: 2024-07-22 01:54 pm (UTC)- Erulisse (one L)
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Date: 2024-07-22 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-22 03:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-22 08:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-22 07:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-22 08:12 pm (UTC)Exactly the things Zoey noticed herself, but then rationalized past with lightning speed. ;)
no subject
Date: 2024-07-22 08:41 pm (UTC)(me reacting like this is a compliment to the story obvs)
no subject
Date: 2024-07-22 08:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-24 06:25 pm (UTC)So glad you enjoyed it!
no subject
Date: 2024-07-24 12:56 am (UTC)I hope Jenny helps poor Zoey somehow...
no subject
Date: 2024-07-24 06:26 pm (UTC)Truer words were never spoken. It's a formula for creating a Hole O' Doom and then falling right into it!
no subject
Date: 2024-07-24 07:50 pm (UTC)I couldn't but chuckle at this because it's exactly what our 20-year old closing kid would say without any irony.
I love this teenage angst and I'm SO glad drones weren't even a glimmer when we were that age. I keep thinking that Jenny would be torn between talking Zoey out of all this or grabbing the controller so the drone wouldn't crash into the cherry tree.
no subject
Date: 2024-07-24 08:17 pm (UTC)or grabbing the controller so the drone wouldn't crash into the cherry tree.
In those teen years, it really could go either way, couldn't it?
no subject
Date: 2024-07-24 08:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-24 08:19 pm (UTC)It came to me a couple of weeks ago, after I'd posted the entry for Week 1. I couldn't use it last week, but it totally inspired this week's story!
no subject
Date: 2024-07-24 08:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-24 09:03 pm (UTC)I am SO glad not to be a teen again. I enjoyed my college years, but the teen years were largely Not Of The Good.
no subject
Date: 2024-07-25 02:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-25 05:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-25 05:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-25 06:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-25 10:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-26 02:25 am (UTC)So glad you enjoyed it!
no subject
Date: 2024-07-26 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-26 07:30 pm (UTC)Especially if you need help saving you from yourself. Because a grown-up might give you the same feedback, but who listens to THEM? :O
no subject
Date: 2024-07-27 01:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-27 08:17 pm (UTC)Happy birthday, BTW!!
no subject
Date: 2024-07-27 03:03 am (UTC)You know, there is something wrong with me. I have never felt the need to spy on, or stalk, anyone. I just don't understand. I sympathise, but...even when my best friend did it years ago. I just don't get it.
Poor Zoey.
no subject
Date: 2024-07-27 08:19 pm (UTC)Given Zoey's personality, she was never going to interpret things in any other way than that her boyfriend was probably cheating on her. Add a little obsessive personality disorder in there, and her fate was sealed. Only Jenny could possibly have saved her from herself!
no subject
Date: 2024-07-27 01:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-27 08:19 pm (UTC)So glad you enjoyed it!
no subject
Date: 2024-07-27 08:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-27 11:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-28 09:52 pm (UTC)