Robotic Love

Chapter Fourteen: Facing Reality

I stared into the bathroom mirror as I slowly brushed my hair with a hairbrush. A huge smile was plastered on my face as I did this. I was wearing my new uniform instead of the clothing that I had been wearing for work the past few days; a beige, button-down, long-sleeved shirt, and dark gray pants. Although I didn't have a hat, I now looked like a security guard instead of some random guy guarding the Mega Pizzaplex wearing a white T-shirt and black sweatpants.

After coming home from getting new clothes, my mom stayed for a bit before she had to go home. Before she left, she wished me luck on my date. I thanked her, eternally grateful that she was going to support me the best she could before she left for home.

As I brushed my hair slowly with the hairbrush, I couldn't help but feel excited about my date with Roxanne which was going to take place in the next 30 minutes. I couldn't believe that this was happening to me. I never saw myself as the kind of guy that would find someone that'll take an interest in me in a short period of time. It felt like a dream that felt all too real, but thankfully, it wasn't. I was awake, which I was very grateful for.

But what made this very exciting was that this was my first date. It was also the first time I was going out with a woman, an animatronic with sentience for that matter. Everyone says that leaving a very good impression on a first date really matters. If not done right, then any chances would all be thrown out the window. There was no way in hell I was going to screw this up. I could only hope that everything will go great, and end on a good note.

As I was finally putting the finishing touches on my hair, I thought about how much Roxanne has changed throughout the last few days. I've heard many people say that things can both evolve and change as time passes. Roxanne Wolf has shown that countless times. The wolf mascot possessed human-level intelligence capable of showing and expressing emotions, cry black oily tears like how a human would cry, has shown characteristics of human behavior whenever she was shy, angry, happy, sad, etc. The way she was changing reminded me of how Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe evolved and changed throughout the series.

I finally put the finishing touches on my hair. I rest the hairbrush on the edge of the sink and look into the mirror to examine my work. I smiled, content with how I looked.

'This looks perfect,' I thought to myself as I did a quick pose. 'She will certainly like this.'

As I stared into the mirror, I thought back to what Roxanne had said to me before I'd left her green room after telling her to be herself. Her words echoed loudly in my head.

"I know exactly what I'm going to do! I think you're going to like what I have in mind!"

What did she mean by that? I couldn't help but wonder if Roxanne had come up with a plan to change her appearance for our date. I could only hope that it wasn't going to be anything too crazy or over the top. At the same time, I wanted to see what she had in mind that I was going to like. I tried to think about what it could possibly be, but I came up with nothing.

'Guess I will find out what it is once I get to the Mega Pizzaplex,' I thought to myself. 'Better get going then. Don't want to keep the lady waiting.'

With that, I exited the bathroom, grabbed both my phone and keys from my bedroom, and walked out the door, closing it behind me.

I arrived at the Pizzaplex in 15 minutes, parking in a spot that was closest to the doors. I turned the engine off, taking deep breaths to calm my beating heart. For the entire drive to the Pizzaplex, my heart began beating faster and faster along with a wave of anxiety. I tried to reassure myself that everything was going to be okay over and over again, but it did nothing. It didn't help that I reminded myself that this was my first date. That made things worse.