Andrew's alarm went off at 7:30AM, later than when school was in, but not too late. There was no reason for him to stay up late when he could do whatever he wanted at any time of day. He headed down to the kitchen, where Maidbot was putting the finishing touches on the breakfast he'd ordered the night before, having tried to time its creation precisely to be ready when he arrived. It wasn't quite right...it took nearly two minutes, but close enough.
"Breakfast is ready, please enjoy," Maidbot said in a neutral tone. "I am designated Maidbot Zero One, if you require any further assistance."
The voice was human-like, but lacked the emotion needed to make it sound fully non-robotic. Andrew had heard the Maidbot Zero One Message before...he'd wondered if it didn't know that right now, it was the only Maidbot functioning.
Andrew scrolled through items on his phone as he ate. Mom arrived, was exhausted...missed him. Text from a friend who would be back in town later in the week from a small vacation with his parents....some random stories about things he was interested in. He finished his meal, and waited...but the android maid was nowhere to be found. He frowned, picking up the plate and taking it over to the sink. It wasn't like he'd forgotten how to put things away since they'd gotten the new system. He noticed all the dishes from the cooking of breakfast were there, uncleaned. He wasn't going to do all of that...Where did that machine go?
He looked around, calling the wakeword, "Maidbot" but no response. He finally searched the hall to his Mom's lab. The lab was locked up tight, but the two charging stations were not. And there was the Maidbot, inside one of the two stations, inactive.
"Well, that's a better way than I ever came up with to get out of cleaning up," he said.
He waited a few moments to see if anything happened.
