Jurina jolted awake at the lively music playing in her bedroom. Despite her sleepy state, it took her only a few seconds to recognize the familiar tune: Oki Doki. Released in 2011, it was one of the biggest hits of a Japanese idol group very popular at the time. Jurina enjoyed listening to old songs, Nostalgia being one of her favorite radio stations. However, this morning, she was having a hard time matching her mood with the joyful lyrics of the song. Not only was she still feeling tired, she couldn’t understand why her humanoid robot had set up her alarm clock on a Sunday.

“Alfred,” Jurina mumbled, refusing to open her eyes. This was a terrible mistake. She needed to warn her robot so she could fall back asleep. “Can you stop the music? It’s the week-end. I don’t have to go to work.”

A small white head emerged from the right side of the bed, and two big blue eyes stared at her. “It’s Friday, Mistress. You have to be at work in 55 minutes.”

Jurina fluttered her eyes open. “W–What? No, it’s Sunday.”

“No, Mistress. It’s Friday morning. It’s now 7:06 a.m. You are six minutes late on your schedule.”

Jurina blinked, until realization progressively hit her. Even if her mind was still inclined on believing it was Sunday, her robot had to be right for one simple reason. Alfred, her 48 inches’ humanoid robot who had been serving her faithfully for 3 years, never made any mistake. Stupefied, Jurina threw the covers off and fumbled around in the direction of her nightstand, her heart beating faster inside her chest as she checked the date on her digital clock. Alfred was right. It was Friday.

How could this have happened?!

She had to be at the office in less than an hour, and she better had to hurry if she didn’t want to be late. Since she started working at Matsui Corporation a month ago, she had never been late a single time. Punctuality was a virtue she considered essential, and she was adamant on keeping things that way.

“Thank you, Alfred.” Jurina took a seat on the side of the bed, and patted the top of the robot’s head. “I don’t know why I believed it was Sunday.”

“You came back late yesterday. It probably explains why you were sleeping so soundly, Mistress.”

A smile unconsciously fell upon Jurina’s lips at the memory of her wonderful dinner with her boss. A part of her was a bit embarrassed by the impulsive way she had asked her out. It was not how she had imagined things in her head. For some frustrating reason, she never managed to take the next step at work, losing all her confidence in her boss’s presence. That’s why, after a month of keeping her feelings to herself, she hadn’t been able to hold it any longer, and seized the opportunity without thinking twice.

Her intentions had been well conveyed and understood. Admittedly, it had surprised her to receive a positive response. However, after this first successful date, she could tell that their feelings were shared. The first date of a long list? She definitely hoped so.

“May I bring a certain subject to your attention before you get prepared? It will only take fifteen seconds of your time.”

Jurina noted the hesitation in her robot’s metallic voice. She gazed back at him in concern. “Yes, of course. What is it?”

“Last night, you repeated something in your sleep. It was so unusual, that I took the liberty to record it. Do you want to listen to it?”

Jurina widened her eyes at the revelation. That was new. In twenty-four years, she didn’t have any recollection of sleep talking. Curiosity got the best of her. “I did? Alright, play the recording.”

The robot complied and Jurina listened, recognizing herself sleeping on the recording. A few seconds went by and, as Jurina didn’t hear anything suspect, she wondered what her robot was referring to. Just as she was about to question him, a name fell from her lips in the recording.

Rena-san… Rena-san...

Jurina flushed. Her robot was… right! She talked in her sleep! And, from what she could hear, she had been mumbling the name of her boss a few times last night.

“S-Stop the recording,” she stuttered, looking away in discomfort. The recording stopped at once, but it was too late. The memory of what she had uttered during her sleep was ingrained in her mind. 

“It continues during four more seconds. Don’t you wish to hear the rest?”

“No, that’s fine,” Jurina said, too embarrassed to face him. “I was… I was probably having a dream. Erase the recording.”

Jurina stood up from the bed and entered the bathroom, hoping a warm shower would help her forget about the incident. It was no news to her that she had feelings for her beautiful employer, feelings even more reinforced after their date. But the thought that she had said her name during her sleep was a bit disturbing.

Jurina caught the sound of the robot’s small feet following her on the floating floor. As she was about to press the button to close the bathroom door behind her, her gaze fell down on him. He was looking at her from the doorstep, his head slightly inclined to the right. A pattern Jurina observed happened when he didn’t understand.

“You dream about your employer, Mistress?”

Jurina froze. She believed the matter to be over when she asked her robot to erase the recording, but it was without taking into account his insatiable curiosity about the things surrounding him. She enjoyed this aspect of his program, and was always keen on sharing every bit of her knowledge with him. However, as she was faced with such an embarrassing question, she considered making a few adjustments to his program.

“I work a lot with her,” Jurina said, trying to sound as calm and nonchalant as possible. Her robot was an advanced model, and was very good at deciphering the fluctuations in people’s voices. She wanted to make sure he didn’t notice that she was hiding part of the truth. “It’s not unusual to dream about the people you spend time with.”

The robot didn’t say anything, and she guessed his program was analyzing what she had said. Not wishing to give him the possibility to question her further on the subject, she bent over and patted his head once more. “Why don’t you go and prepare breakfast? I really need to take a shower or I’m going to be late.”

Jurina smiled gently and took a step back, her robot’s large blue eyes fixated on her the whole time as the bathroom door closed on him. Jurina stayed still, listening attentively in case her robot would manifest himself. When she heard his feet drawing away and leaving the bedroom, she released a small sigh of relief.

After a quick shower and a light breakfast, Jurina got ready to leave her apartment. A brief look at the digital clock told her she wouldn’t be late. She knew she made the right decision by cutting her time under the shower by half. While she was putting her shoes on in the entrance, she stole a peek at the robot standing in front of her. Since he brought up to her attention her embarrassing dream, he hadn’t said a single word.

Jurina frowned; her robot was anything but quiet in the morning. Was something wrong with him? Should she check his program for any glitch? Since she bought him three years ago, she never encountered any major problem with him. Alfred was an intelligent and fast-learning humanoid robot that functioned well. Aside from some minor adjustments to his program now and then, never once did he need repairing.

“Alright Alfred, I’m leaving for work. Take care of the apartment while I’m gone.”

The robot produced a small noise of agreement and inclined his head a few times, but didn’t speak for all that. Jurina’s concern grew a notch. Something was definitely not right with him. Maybe she should quickly his program before leaving? She had a few minutes’ left. As she was about to take action, her robot spoke up.

“While you were in the shower, I analyzed the recording three times. You said your employer’s name in a dreamy voice, which means you were having a pleasant dream. I came to the conclusion that it means you like her. Am I correct?”

Jurina stared at him in shock, not believing he was bringing this up again. Was he only being genuinely curious? Because it awfully like stubbornness, a trait of character her robot should never had developed. Added to that, his words made her realize that he had not erased the recording as she had instructed. Her trusted robot had never disobeyed her before. Not once. What was going on with him?

Jurina considered ignoring his question, but felt slightly bad about it when he gave her such an expectant look. Taking a deep breath, she kneeled in front of him. “Yes, I like her. She’s the person I went out with yesterday evening.”

Jurina was caught off guard when he emitted a high-pitched joyful sound, and clapped his hands a few times. “Well done, Mistress! Does it mean she’ll be coming here soon? Do I need to prepare the apartment for her arrival tonight? Do I need to have flowers delivered? Do I need to order a special meal?”

“W–What?!” Jurina was overwhelmed by the multitude of questions. Why was her robot looking so excited? She had acknowledged her feelings for Rena in the hope that it would satisfy her robot’s curiosity enough for him to move on, not so he could jump the gun. “Alfred, calm down. It was only our first date. Rena-san is not coming here tonight, so please don’t prepare anything.”

“But there will be other dates. I’ll tidy the apartment just in case.”

“Alfred!” Jurina tried to catch his arm, much in vain as he had already turned around and moved in the direction of the living room. Jurina quickly stood up, incredulity surging within her, and pondering going after him. Her digital watch rang, reminding her of the imminence of her departure. No, she didn’t have time to deal with this situation right now, or she would be late for work.

“Alright, you can clean the place,” Jurina relented. “But don’t order anything.”

Jurina waited for his reaction, hoping he would be satisfied by her small concession. For some funny reason, her robot seemed utterly convinced Rena would be visiting her tonight. Much as technology had progressed, the functioning of human relationships was still a concept hard to grasp for robots, even for those as advanced as her little Alfred. That’s why she needed to limit the damage at all costs before leaving her apartment. She didn’t wish to see flowers everywhere or the table dressed up for two when she came back from work.

Her robot stopped and faced her back. “It will be done, Mistress. The apartment will be tidied up when you come back.”

Jurina let out a small sigh of relief, and she shot him a smile of gratitude. “Thank you, Alfred. Now, I really have to go.”

“Have a nice day at work, Mistress. Please alert me if you change your mind and I need to prepare anything for tonight.”

When he arrived in front of her, Jurina kneeled to his level and patted her robot’s head, amused by his thoughtful attention. And, to a certain length, his incredible tenacity. Getting up, her fingers were about to press the button to open the front door, when her robot’s voice sounded behind her back. “Wait, Mistress…”

Jurina glanced back at him, but was distracted by her watch’s second beeping. “Sorry, Alfred, but I’m going to be late. See you tonight.”

The door closed on the robot who didn’t have time to finish his sentence. Alfred listened to the sound of footsteps drawing away in the distance, then inclined his head to the forgotten umbrella in the basket. The weather forecast had announced rain this morning. His poor mistress was going to get wet. Again.

Version edited on August 13, 2019.