Flint is working with a family on renting a robot for the weekend.  He is engaged with the parents and does not notice Kate step out of the back room into the showroom.  She gets halfway across the room and stops at attention.  On both sides of her, real robots are in their tubes, recharging.  She, not a robot but evidently looks close enough to one, stands in her slex corset and skort in the middle of the Life-Like-U store.  I'm not sure, she thinks, this day could get any worse.

The family must have two children as they noticed the movement and walk over to her.  They look young, Kate reasons, maybe 8 or 9?  As they come closer, she is less sure of herself on their ages.  Ok, she thinks, they are too young to be commanding a robot, which looks like they are intending on doing.

The little girl, wearing a plaid dress, matches the young boys polo short.  Their hair and clothes give the impression that they are taken care of well.  They don't seem to be mischievous, she reasons, but then, I don't know anything about children.  They stop short of her and look up at her.  “She is shiny,” the girl states. “Yes, just like her clothes,” the boy answers.  Normally, Kate would be very self-conscious about kids staring at her, but in her current state, she remains calm and unashamed.  Being a robot is not all bad, she jokes to herself.

“Can you stand on one leg?” the little girl asks.  Kate has no choice but to answer, “Yes.”  The boy replies, “Then stand on one leg.”  Kate does as ordered and stands on her right leg only, lifting her left leg up in front of her.  They did not specify, so she bends her leg at the knee to help keep her balance.  Interesting, I was able to input some changes in obeying the commands.  Before she can revel in that, the girl says, “Put your arms out to the side,” demonstrating the movement.  Kate complies instantly, extending both arms out to the side, making it easier to balance herself.  The boy says, “Nod your head up and down and don't stop until we say so.”  Kate complies and begins nodding her head up and down.

Flint has completed the deal and needs to ring it up behind the counter.  As he turns around, he sees Kate standing on one leg, arms out, and nodding her head.  The two children are giggling at the sight.  He might have to, except he had plans for this robot that did not involve this store, so he did not want to lose this great opportunity.  Trying to keep his calm, he says, “I will get this set-up for you, but I am going to need to ask your kids to leave this old model alone.”

The parents mumble a small apology and call their children over to the female robot they are renting for the weekend.  Their rented robot looks Hispanic in color, with a french braided hair half way down her back.  Kate cannot tell anymore about her, as her world continues to bob up and down with the movement of her head.  As Flint walks by her, he quickly sneaks his hand under her chin and taps her collar.  All of her movements stop, and she slumps slightly again, her head down.  Whew, she thinks, I was -pause- getting -pause- tired -pause- -pause-.

The rest of the afternoon is a blur.  She remembers the family leaving and others coming in, but that is about it.  She feels a hand truck of sorts being pushed under her and then being rolled into the back room.  She is not sure why, because any original thought she has gets wiped by a -pause- statement from her earpiece.  She might panic, but then her heart rate stays normal, so she stays calm.