The Living condition

3

"Ugh, Doll, do you ever clean?"

The entire walk to Doll's home, you were stuck walking with a stiff and shifty Uzi, who claimed feverishly that you were being brought along only so that this all was on even grounds, and not a two versus one.

So..a human shield, really. Against two teenage drones getting ready from prom.

Uzi steps into Doll's home hesitantly, pushing you in front of her, but she stops short when she almost steps on something little and crawling. You look down at your feet,bemused. A cockroach. Who knew they'd really outlast all of humanity. And evolve? Maybe it wasn't a cockroach, if the little red-eyed optics meant anything. The little roach skitters off, and while Uzi turned her head, you continued to stare at the back of Doll and–who was introduced to you as– Lizzy's heads. A Drone prom can't possibly be as dreadful as Uzi was acting like it was, surely. Sure, maybe you didn't have much experience on that end, and the worker drones might have been gleaming information and traditions from stereotypes and movies, but it couldn't be that bad.

"Hey, so, Thanks for having me–having us." Uzi starts, taking a step backward towards the door with a weak smile "But now that my dad thinks we're here, I'm actually gonna–" She turns around, only for the door to slam shut in her face. "Er.."

"You're Hilarious. She's hilarious," Lizzy hums to Doll, who gives a small thumbs up "You should get ready. You're gonna look so cute." Lizzy gestures away from herself limply,before clasping her hands together sarcastically "-In a brave way."

You hadn't seen Doll move at all, but there she stood, physically blocking the door out with her hands behind her back and her head tilted.

Okay, so maybe they were classically assumed mean-girls, but it still couldn't possibly be as bad as it was being made out to be. You stare back at Lizzy as Uzi faces Doll.

The language doesn't translate for you, but you supposed it flowed seamlessly between audio receptors. There was no hesitation nor thinking involved or needed for the drones to understand each other. Good for them, bad for you, until you learned. But when Uzi tugs you along with her, unnerved, you followed after the short Drone.

Followed and leaned your head against bathroom tiles while Uzi changed into her prom dress. Worker drones may not technically be capable of true indecency, but the fact that they were who knows how long into the tradition of not being without cover makes it indecency. So you gave her her privacy to change.

Awkward, really.

"You can turn around now," And you only do when she says as much, watching Uzi fix her hair and adjust her beanie in the mirror as you rested your back against the cool tiles. That was perhaps the interesting thing about Doll's home. All of outpost 3, or at least the bits of it you've been within have been cold and cool and just a little stuffy,air-wise. Doll's home was warm, or at least warmer. Less insulation, more body heat,maybe? If there was a roach infestation of little mechanical things, you guess it could be possible.

Uzi stares at herself in the mirror for a moment, frowning back at her reflection. You were about to chastise that she looked fine, try to be friendly, before the optic of her right eye switches to something else entirely. To the symbol she'd been obsessed with. "Not Today, Robo-Satan. Not this mirror." Uzi huffs, looking over herself for a moment more before adjusting the gloves of her outfit. When the bathroom mirror cracks into pieces, you and her both startle, and she groans,stepping on top of the bathroom counter and pressing her digits into the broken glass to keep any of it from falling and shattering further.