Fruit Gone Viral [Scene 11]

"Why are we sitting like this?" Yunaria asked me, crouching on the ground right below the windowsill. 

"Uh..."

 We were trapped inside my bedroom, well, our bedroom, due to unforeseen circumstances. 

After our one night of sleeping in the same bed, I thought she wanted company for the time. Full moons reminded her a lot of Yalina. Understandable. Honestly, after finding her in the middle of the park at night, I didn't know what to expect of her. Unpredictability is a sign of a functioning relationship they say. 

It was nice, admittedly, but I didn't think she would literally move all of her things into my room the very next day. Coming home from a long day of filming to find hundreds of books blocking the doorway with piles of women clothing on your bed was unexpected, yet totally something my girlfriend would do. 

Yunaria opened one of the curtains to peer through the window when I saw a camera lens pop out of nowhere. Immediately, I closed the blinds and jumped back down.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled, but in a soft whisper. 

She repeated the same tone, "I don't know. What are we doing?"

So, the thing I didn't want to happen to no surprise, actually happened. 

While we were unaware, someone from the set took a picture of Jada and I in our banana suits. It was already one thing that I looked utterly stupid, but to now see myself plastered all over the Internet and the papers was…different. This morning, I woke up and walked out of the front door only to be swarmed by paparazzi and cameramen lurking in the shadows of my beautiful garden and shrubbery. Poor flowers. 

So many things confused me about this situation. Not only had I thought we were away from the set when I put the banana suit on, why would anyone on set leak a film that was still in production? Unless it was for promotion. I shot down the notion of adding in the banana suits in SCRL, but Skyline didn't see it my way. It was a "good business decision", they said. If they only had some overwhelming proof and or reason to add it in, there would be no way I could deny it. They might as well force my hand. It's not like I'm a director or anything. The worst part was that rumors began to swirl that I was dating Jada. 

Even if the world couldn't quite know that I was dating a robot space alien, there was something that felt, wrong about letting people assume I was dating an actress in my film. What would Yunaria say? Better yet, did Jada have something to do with this?

Honestly, my actual girlfriend would be even better promotion.

Speaking of the devil, I was getting a call from Jada.

"Moshi-moshi," I answered.

"What?"

"Sorry, Japanese," 

"Are you seeing what's going on? It's crazy. 'Jada, Jada, look this way. Are you dating Ryujin Haruka? Was that a scene in the new Space Cowboy Robot 8? Ho-" I heard a slam, "Sorry, I was outside getting chased by paparazzi. I'm in my car now. How've you been taking this?"

"Good as I can, I suppose," I looked through the blinds and saw a few "We love you Ryujin" signs with bananas on the posters. Even a few of the reporters were dressed as bananas. I had to admit, it was genius marketing despite the stupidity. 

"These kinds of things blow over after a while, don't worry. It happens in a lot of film productions these days-"

"What, banana suit reporters outside my window or seeing on the Internet everywhere that I look like a fucking idiot?"

"Wait, are you mad?"

"No, not at all,"

"You sound mad,"

"Well, if I was mad, hypothetically speaking, I have good reason to be...mad,"

"Look, these kinds of things happen. Scenes, info about the movie, they're hard to keep secret these days-"

"That's not why," I sighed. I wasn't mad, no. "Jada, did you have something to do with this?"

There was a pause on the other line. Here I thought, maybe we were starting to become friends. All the other cast members and "friends" I made in the industry were so fake. All they did was get close and discard me when they didn't need me or approached me when they wanted something. I guess she was an idiot like the rest of them.  

"Ryujin...I'm, look, I'm sorry. I didn't think anything of it when I asked you to put on the suit. I was trying to lighten you up. It wasn't planned."

"Sure, I mean, it's great for the movie. Like you said. It's gotten millions of hits-"

"But I didn't do that for the movie. It was for you, Ryujin. The director. Not the stupid company,"

"Sure, sure. Look, I get it. Business is business," I looked over to my right and realized Yunaria wasn't in the room any longer. "I have to go, I'll see you on set,"

"Ryu-"

I hung up. 

There was no point in discussing it any further, her silence was enough. My phone kept ringing and ringing, messages from Ben, other crew members, random photos of me in banana suits. There was even one that showed me swinging from a vine, sort of like a monkey. I held a chuckle inside; I couldn't let them win. But something else wandered to mind. 

When I walked in the living room, I noticed Yunaria putting her work uniform on. It still baffled me how she became a store manager while here I am a walking Internet joke. Envy is bad for relationships, but I think in my case, it's anything but reasonable. I'm fighting for human jobs, workers' rights. No robots in our workplaces! 

"You're going to work?" I asked nervously. 

Having to deal with another unexplainable event wasn't exactly ideal. I could see it now. A robot with blue flames in the sky. If it were me, I would think it was an automated jetpack. But her mood seemed off. I wonder if it had to with all the people outside or my call to Jada. 

"Yes. There are some other people who now work at the store. I was running it by myself at one point. At least I don't have to work so long. Human life is exhausting," she said, putting on her tan apron. 

"Oh, okay. I thought you didn't have to work on the weekends?"

"I don't. But I think I would feel better if I went," she paused, "For some reason I don't understand, I feel strange. When I was on Yalina, I never felt like this. Something is bubbling in my stomach. Contact with others was never so prevalent."

"Those people outside, that person you spoke with on the phone. Ryujin," Yunaria faced me. I'd never seen this expression on her face before. I didn't really like it either. 

"Why did you want me to become your girlfriend? From all accounts I've studied, relationships between humans or even intraspecies ones seem to have definitive arcs. You've never mentioned anything about yourself. Is that really how things go? I can't see any logical reason to be in a human relationship. Yet, it is odd. My mind has started to change. I don't want to feel the way I have been."

A certain sincerity sat in her eyes as she looked up at me. She wasn't wrong. I didn't mention anything about myself. Those kinds of things didn't strike me as important. With the way things were going on set, coming home to give Yunaria gasoline seemed normal enough. Was she purely just a muse for my artistic vision? I mean, to let a robot that consumed gasoline, not only spend your money, live with you and share the same bed, but to even wonder about how they feel, it was quite the commitment to artistic inspiration. Yet, I didn't know what to say.

I was lost for words.

Before I could respond, a cold, metallic sensation pressed against my face. Yunaria kissed the top of my nose and began to walk out the back door. I was stunned, and it left my face so damn red. 

"A date," I blurted. Wait, no. What was I saying? "I-I'll, tell you on, a date,"

Yunaria turned around at the speed of light and hovered toward me with her blue flames shooting from her soles. She took her work apron off and smiled. "Really? I was wondering when you were going to ask me. All of the books and movies I read said the boyfriend is supposed to ask-"

"Woah, woah, woah. You're not going to work?"

"Nope. You said a date, right? Let's go. I'm going to change. Humans are fascinating. However, I did feel a strange sensation omitting from my spaceship. Does that mean someone is fixing it?"

"Uh, no. I didn't say the date would be today, but-" Yunaria stared at me with large puppy eyes.  I guess I was the one who brought it up. Must've been a Freudian slip. "...let's go check out the spaceship first,"

"Okay," Yunaria smiled.

One thing left, how was I going to leave my house today?

"I think we're trapped here," I looked out the window. 

"I have a great idea," Yunaria grabbed a hold of me and being that she was insanely strong, I couldn't move or protest. She lit her feet on fire with those blue flames and shot out of the roof into the sky.

All the view had to offer was a sea of bananas and a gaping hole at the top of my house. Ridiculous. 

I was going on a date with a robot.

***