On My Own

The day was too nice. The sun shone brightly above us, and while I walked through the streets with my friends, the air was sweet with the scent of summer. A perfect day for lazing around and enjoying my time.

But, of course, I couldn’t do that. Not with that travel pod journey in the back of my mind.

“And so I was thinking of taking a port to the sea,” Been said. “Any of you want to come with me?”

“Sounds great,” Lia answered.

The two of them shared a big smile, before they looked at me.

“How about you, Toma?”

“Uh…”

How could I say that I already had plans for the next week, and on top of that, pretty lame ones? Instead, I gestured to my pita and took a big bite. Suddenly, the creamy, sweet curry date sauce filled my mouth, together with grilled veggies and crunchy salad. It was the best excuse not to answer.

“Come on, it’ll be fun.”

I chewed, and swallowed, and suddenly, I had to answer again. The two of them looked at me with excitement in their eyes, so bright they almost sparkled. I had to look away.

Instead, I gazed at the streets around me. A colorful mix of humans and robots populated the streets, giving it a nice, flowing energy. No one hurried, as no one needed to. Many people were accompanied by friends or their robots, and those who were alone, clearly wanted the time for themselves, enjoying the sunlight and the sights. Little bots were scuttling about, picking up small paper scraps or cleaning the walls. My eyes were transfixed by a model clearly designed after a gecko, which used the little suction cups on its fingers to scuttle over the wall of the bakery ‘BRADD’S BREADS’. There, it sat, and soon enough, the smell of freshly baked bread wafted over to us, emanating from its open mouth. I squinted, and my lenses zoomed in close enough so I could scan its code, and with it, all kinds of important information – just like its price (too expensive for me right now), where to buy it (maybe second-hand, if I save up a little?) and its colorways (I’ll just DIY something to fit with my other bots).

“Hellooooo? Toma, are you there?”

“Whuh?”

I blinked back to my friends, who suddenly didn’t look so sparkly anymore.

“Hey, if you don’t want to come with us, it’s no problem,” Been said. “But, please, any reaction would be nice.”

I shrank back.

“Sorry,” I said.

Unsure, I looked back and forth between them, before my gaze settled once more on the food in my hands. By now, the salad didn’t look as fresh anymore. How can I say that my parents have already planned my time for me? Can I ask them to join me now, when they clearly have some better things to do than accompany me on my trip? No, I couldn’t. They’ll just think I’m lame. And, well, maybe I am. But I don’t show it, usually.

I sighed.

“Sorry,” I repeated.

“It’s not a problem,” Been said.

But it was a problem. They looked at me with a certain concern in her eyes. Or was it pity? It was hard to tell, but it hardened that dark pit in my stomach that had been festering ever since I sat down for breakfast this morning.

“Okay, great.” My voice came out much harsher than I wanted it to be. “Can we talk about something else now?”

I didn’t run, even though I really, really wanted to. Run away from them. From my parents. From this whole situation. And my steps quickened, but not enough to get out of their radius. Lia grabbed my arm with enough force that salad, sauce and vegetables spilled everywhere.

“What’s wrong with you, Toma?”

“Nothing.”

I tried to wriggle myself free, but it was futile. To my feet, I heard the tink-tink-tink of a few approaching robots, taking all that good bio waste to the nearest compost. I couldn’t expect any help from them.

“We’re your friends. Please.”

Their pleas just made me more annoyed. How could they understand what I was going through? They would enjoy their nice trip, while I had to go pod-sit all week long. All because my parents didn’t want to get a big port for their stupid travel pod. The anger inside of me didn’t subside, but rather, boiled over – and I knew that whatever I was going to say would only make things worse. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that a message had arrived.

[Dad] [We’re done with the checks. Come by anytime!]

[Me] [On my way.]

Maybe this was the best excuse I could get.

“Whatever. Enjoy your trip. I have somewhere to be.”

I rushed forward, leaving not only my friends behind, but also disturbing the small herd of bots in front of me. Jumping around on my toes, I managed to get around them, but still, they beeped in anger at me. I deserved that, I guess.

My lenses showed the way back to our storage unit, where Lottie the stupid travel pod would be waiting for me. I didn’t slow down. This kind of exercise felt relieving, in a way screaming my heart out might feel (if I ever let that happen). My lungs were burning, just like my legs, and my vision blurred with every breath I took. It felt great, and untangled that knot in my stomach little by little.

Then, I stopped. The storage unit welcomed me with a happy “Welcome, Guest!” and I barely managed to wipe the sweat away before Dad and Mom approached.

“Looking great, sweetheart. Did you do some exercise?”

“There weren’t any public ports around,” I said.

It was true, actually. Finding the nearest port would have taken longer than to run.

“So, did any of your friends want to come with you? Lea, right?” Mom hugged me, even though I must have felt – and smelled – super gross.

“Lia,” I corrected her. “And no. They all have plans already.”

“Ah, I’m so sorry to hear that.”

At least she looked like she was truly sorry. It only made my anger burn again.

“Show me the pod,” I simply said, and brushed past them. “You already checked it?”

“We sure did. And stocked some supplies for you. They should last for a week.”

Well, that was nice, at least. Maybe I could speed past everything, and get this done as soon as possible. In my head, I was already calculating how many hours – if not days – I could cut down if I traveled at maximum speed, without taking a break.

“Look at her. It brings up memories, right?” Dad beamed next to me, and hugged Mom.

The travel pod really took up a lot of space in our storage unit. She still looked like a whale, and with that, my childhood memories grew a little clearer. But it wasn’t as impressive as it had felt back then.

“She looks old,” I said.

“Well, she is. But fully functional, if you treat her right.”

“Yeah, right.”

The bright orange outer coating looked awfully tacky, as if the whole thing came from a cartoon that my grandparents would watch. I grimaced at the stickers that covered parts of it (was it to hide some scratches?). And yes, it did look functional, but not nearly in as good a condition as Dad claimed it to be. In my head, I adjusted the time I could go without breaks – hours, not a full day, surely.

My parents had taken a step back and now were watching me with a bright, stupid smile on their faces. I only glanced at them to see how proud they felt. Urgh.

“Let me check the inside,” I said.

Maybe there would be some fatal flaw that made it so that they were forced to just port it to the closest recycling plant. But the door opened with the lightest touch (no screeching, no delay) and the AI greeted me. A holo-face fashioned after a cartoon whale appeared in front of me and waved.

“Hello again, Toma-toma-toma-to!”

I groaned.

“Delete that nickname. Immediately,” I spoke through gritted teeth.

“Are you sure? You always liked it when I called you that.”

“Yes, I am sure. Do it. Now.”

“Understood. Deleting Toma-toma-toma-to as the designated user name… what would you like to be called?”

Just Toma. I pressed my lips together before the words came out of my mouth. This AI was old, and programmed by Dad, so it would probably call me ‘Just Toma’ if I said it like that.

“Toma.”

“Welcome, Toma! Happy to have you. My name is Lottie, your personal travel pod and companion! I hope we can make many fun memories together.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I rolled my eyes, and finally climbed inside.

It was, once again, smaller than I expected. I could still stand upright, but that was the very most I could do. The inside was made from dark, warm wood, with a lot of small blinking lights set into the walls and ceiling. There was the smell of dust and old clothes in the air. I saw a group of repair bots sleeping in a box underneath the small couch. They were old, but looked just as cute as I remembered them. They were probably the reason for my steadily growing bot collection. I bent down and picked one up. It still had the pink glittery unicorn sticker on its right heat sensor.

“Status, please,” I said.

The cockpit lit up, and I read the ever-changing lines of numbers. It all looked fine, though.

“Any problems?”

“No problems detected,” the travel pod promptly answered. “We are ready to go on your next adventure!”

“Right.” I sat down and sighed. “Nothing that stops us from going?”

“Nothing!”

“Okay, alright, alright.” I waved the status screen away.

Of course. There was not one time my life would go my way, was it? Even now, the pod felt stuffy, too full for me. There was just no way that I could spend a full week in here.

“Are you done, honey?”

“Yeah,” I called back out.

Well, if I couldn’t get out of this, at least I would make the trip as quick as possible. I hopped out, thankful for the comparatively fresh air in the storage space.

“I’ll get it out for you,” Mom said, and jumped in. “Hey there, Lottie! I’ll take over for now.”

“Come. Here, I made something for you.” Dad winked at me and put a heavy bowl in my hand.

“What’s this?”

“Your dinner.” He gently shoved me out of the way before the travel pod passed us, exiting the storage unit. “You should stop at the parade, by the way. I’m sure seeing that alien princess up close will be fun.”

“Fun?” I rolled my eyes.

Yeah, right. I’m not doing this for fun, I thought. But at the same time, I still felt the anger at Lia and Been smoldering inside of me. They would actually have fun. Without me. So why not show them that I could have fun all by myself?

“You know what? Actually, I’ll do that.”

I gripped the bowl with newfound determination. The familiar smell of his noodle casserole hit my

“Can I go now?” I sighed.

My parents exchanged a glance that I didn’t want or care to decipher. But then, Mom smiled at me again.

“Sure, honey. Enjoy your trip!”

“Yeah.”

I rolled my eyes, and quickly stepped into the pod before they could even attempt a hug. This was already enough as it was.

“Okay, travel pod-”

“Please call me Lottie!”

“- just take me to the Neolumen City Plaza. Auto mode.”

“Sure thing! I’ve calculated the most efficient route.”

I put down the bowl on the small kitchen counter before I plopped down in the plush driver’s seat. My parents were waiting at the front, waving at me. I waved back, but I couldn’t muster a smile.

I will have fun, I thought. Just you wait.