Chapter Text
05:47 AM.
It was an early Monday morning in Maquina Beach, just a few weeks after the new year. The sky stayed an inky blue as the first rays of sunlight were beginning to arrive through thick clouds. What one might think was the beginning of a busy day turned into a slump as the city rolled over and continued sleeping. Paradise Pointe, the large theme park of the city, was no exception.
05:48 AM.
With the last tourists from New Years having departed, the city and all her amenities had settled into a rare but well deserved rest until the next holiday rush. Paradise Pointe’s normally busy parking lot and employee entrances had a slow trickle of the few unlucky person’s tasked with coming in during the parks slowest time of year. No more bright and early hustle, and especially not on a day as dreary as this one promised to be. Except for the two Nandroids, Waverly and Celly, residing in Room 104 of Hotel Casablanca, the parks premiere resort.
05:49 AM.
Inside their mostly empty room, the two were still recharging. Having no need for beds or furniture, the room had been mostly bare when Waverly had arrived two years ago, save for a provided work computer and her charging station. After a year of being the on-call lifeguard for the nearby beach and water park, Oasis Gardens, another Nandroid was added to the parks roster to help work directly in the hotel. This was Celly, and after she arrived the room had taken on new life, now being decorated on one side with movie memorabilia and Polaroid pictures, part of her two favorite hobbies.
05:50 AM.
Both Waverly and Celly awoke with precision at exactly the same time every day, in unison. They each sat up from their charging chairs and turned to give their friend the usual greeting, blue optics illuminating each other in the still dark room.
“Good morning Waverly!” Bright and beaming, Celly was easily excited and friendly, and knew the best way to start the day was by being positive!
“Mornin’ Cell.” Cool and relaxed, Waverly would always respond in a slower, laid back tone. They had been roommates from day one of Celly’s arrival. Now Celly’s first year anniversary was fast approaching and while Waverly had continued to become more relaxed and tranquil, Celly had remained as proper and chipper as her first day’s activation.
With the day and each other properly greeted, Celly popped up from her seat, accompanied by Waverly’s slow slide onto the carpet. Celly led the way to their small closet where they each had a triplicate of their respective uniforms, a red valet looking uniform with gold trim, complete with red pillbox hat for Celly, and one-piece swimsuits for Waverly, as well as their off-duty clothing, which was just simple park branded apparal from one of the many gift shops.
Celly retrieved her next uniform from the rack with Waverly retrieving her off-duty wear, a simple pink polo with the golden words Hotel Casablanca embroidered on the front. With Oasis Gardens being closed for the winter, no one brave (or silly) enough to go swimming in the chill waters at the local beach, and the section of the hotel that contained the pool being under renovation, Waverly was now more of a glorified assistant to the hotel than anything.
They silently and methodically changed into their uniforms, Celly pulling her shoulder length brassy hair into a tight tiny ponytail, Waverly bunching up her black curly, poofy hair into a large puff. They each grabbed their freshly charged walkie talkies from a recently added decorative table, took their respective lanyards with all the necessary keycards from a small hook next to the cloest door, and punctual as ever, Celly raised her walkie as the clock struck 06:00 AM.
“Waverly and Celly, reporting for duty! Over!” Celly called into her walkie. There was a moment of silence before the muffled voice of the front desk clerk, Barney, responded.
“G’mornin’ Cel-” the walkie cut off, but not before a large yawn could be heard starting. His message resumed after the jaw cracking yawn. “We don’t have any VIPs coming in today, place is still gonna be pretty dead until we get those rooms back up and running. There’s a few things on the docket that need done though, you and Waverly do those. I’ll ring you if I need anything else.”
“Understood! We’ll get started on those tasks right away! Over!” Celly clipped her walkie to her belt and shuffled over to the workstation against the wall between the two charging chairs.
“Man, things sure have been slow the last week,” Waverly commented. The way she spoke was unique for a Nandroid. Having spent so much time around lots of different tourists, she’d picked up quite a range of slang that Celly had to try and remind her to not use too often in front of the guests.
“Yes, but won’t it be exciting once the remodel is done? Finally some unique decor for the upper floors!” Celly quipped as she sat down and started up her Lemon 128K workstation. The big square box chugged and clicked for nearly a minute before greeting her with bright green text, waiting for her input. She gave the command to view the to-do docket that had been entered the previous night and the program spit out a handful of lines: Mattresses in Room 116 need rotated across the hall. 5th floor supply closest needs reorganized after SOMEONE knocked a shelf over and failed to report it. Find missing luggage cart. The list continued, but it was all small busy work. The hotel really was in its winter lull.
“We should start with the tasks on the highest floor and work our way down, that will let us spend the most amount of time near the ground floor later in the day so we can assist with new arrivals!” Celly affirmed. She always did her best to maximize the amount of time she could be helpful to guests. Waverly was looking over Celly’s shoulder at the list as well, but came to a different conclusion.
“Let’s start with the easiest ones first, then we can meet up and work on the bigger things together, should go faster that way.” Celly admired Waverly a lot. Even though they were so similar and good friends, and Celly technically had the more prestigious job title, she still thought of Waverly as something of a role model or older sister. She was always thinking in new ways that Celly hadn’t and her unique demeanor made her quite the character to be around. She pondered the list for another moment before asking for clarification.
“Which ones did you want?”
“I can restock the towels in the top floor supply closet and see about fixin’ the garden gate, you can get the buildin’ stuff cleaned up outside the pool house and do kitchen inventory, then we can meet at Room 116 for the mattresses, go from there? Just keep an eye out for the luggage cart as we go.” So matter of fact with such a blasé plan. Celly would like to have everything planned out to a T before she began to tackle anything, but Waverly was able to go with the flow and handle things as they happened.
“...Are you sure that’s okay Waverly?”
“Yeah, it’ll be fine, we can tackle this stuff easy, no need to overthink it.” Celly looked over the list again, and Waverly was right, it was all run-of-the-mill stuff. She always did seem to handle things well, so…
“All right, if that’s what you think is best. I’ll meet you at Room 116?”
“Cool, let’s hit it.” Waverly always had interesting language, and Celly had only caught on to a few of the words, but she knew “hit it” meant to begin and try one’s hardest.
“Yes, I’m ready to hit it!” She exclaimed. They left the room together, Celly promptly taking the lead and stopping at the elevators, one going up for Waverly and the other down for her. They exchanged their goodbyes and Celly entered into full work mode.
She came bobbing out of the elevator with a big smile, ready to greet the employees and guests who were just starting their day...but the hallway was empty. No matter, there were always people in the lobby! She rounded the corner into the large ornate lobby, with its painted ceiling, large white drapes, and Arabian inspired light fixtures...only for it to also be completely devoid of residence as well, except for Barney, who was slumped over the front desk. Best not to disturb him, she thought to herself.
Celly made her away through the cavernous lobby, her soft padded foot tips still making a distinct clicking against the dark patterned floor. She went to another side hall and began following it to the edge of the building. She passed by a small front room reserved for guest parties and checked inside, it wasn’t uncommon for people to leave the luggage carts inside empty rooms once they were done. But no such luck here so she continued.
She arrived at the kitchen and entered the two swinging doors, seeing the two unsupervised chef bots hard at work beginning to make breakfast for the few remaining guests. Typically the kitchen was a bustle from morning to night, but with so few guests it seemed that none of the kitchen staff had even been called in. So that was why it was up to her to take inventory!
She made her way past the stoves and sinks to the pantry and snatched the clipboard that hung at the side of the door. Entering the pantry she saw her job was nearly complete, most of the food was already well stocked and not much had been used in the past few days. Still she went through the check list and marked down all the different food stuffs that they had and how much had been used. This was a quick process for the canned and fresh goods, and as she was taking stock of the last items from the fridge she heard her walkie squawk. She snatched it from her hip and caught Waverly finishing a sentence.
“Waverly here, finished gettin’ the towels stocked in the supply closet, headin’ down to work on the east gate.” Celly waited a moment after her walkie finished relaying the message before sending one of her own.
“Celly here! Waverly, please remember to end your messages with over so we know you’ve finished transmitting. Over!”
“Oh, oops. Sorry, I keep forgettin’.” Celly waited another moment but nothing else came through. She sighed and clipped the walkie back onto her belt, taking a mental note to remind Waverly about proper walkie etiquette.
After counting out six dozen eggs and four gallons of milk, she made the final tallies on the inventory sheet and returned the clipboard to it’s original spot. She picked her walkie up to broadcast the good news.
“Celly here! I’ve finished taking kitchen inventory and will now go clear up the pool garden! Over!” She slipped her walkie back onto her belt and left the kitchen, again passing the two chef bots deep in their culinary exercise, too busy to take notice of her.
She exited the kitchen and followed the hall to one of the hotels side doors and exited into the crisp morning air. The sun had now fully crested but the clouds remained, giving everything a dreary wash of dim gray. The weather wasn’t going to deter her any though! She puffed herself up and followed the small walking path around the side of the building and came to one of the hotel's open air gardens next to the pool house. This was where the building crews had been depositing their exterior work loads and had made quite a mess as the renovations had continued.
Building scraps littered the ground and random bits of torn paper hung from the trees and bushes, blown around as the construction materials were unpacked, not to mention the safety hazard of the loose nails and screws! She huffed to herself, thinking on how it might have been different if the crew had had more robotic help, but that couldn’t be helped now. She trotted over to a nearby trashcan and drug it into the middle of the garden. Time to get to work!
She cleaned up the largest things first, off-cuts of wood and crumpled plastic sheeting, filling the large trash can quickly. She tied the bag off and set it aside the door, grabbing another from the roll attached to the trashcan and a smaller plastic bag. She now moved on to the smaller items, the usable screw and nails going into the smaller plastic bag to be stashed and reused in the hotels maintenance closet, and things like the plastic strapping that had been used to bind the bulk materials together going into the trash bag.
She kept cleaning the garden until every scrap of trash and anything else that didn’t belong was gathered and put into it’s proper place. A left over screwdriver, hammer, and tape measure she placed inside the nail and screw bag, making another mental note to contact the construction company to find out how to return their items.
Now that the grounds were clear, she grabbed the nearby table and chairs that had been pushed away and replaced them to their original positions, returning the garden to the pristine condition it had been sorely lacking. As she was moving the sunbathing chairs into position, her walkie blared Waverly’s voice again.
“Waverly here, think I got the gate fixed. Gonna toss the tools back into maintenance and then headin’ to Room 116 over. You almost ready, Cell?”
“Celly here! Yes, I’ve almost finished cleaning the pool garden. I’ll see you soon. Please remember to finish your final sentence with over. Over!” Another gentle reminder. Waverly was so reliable usually...
“Ohhh, right. Sorry, I got it now. Over and out.” Well, that was technically correct...good enough! She quickened her pace and moved the last few chairs into place and retrieved all the bags, going the long way around the side of the hotel to deposit the trash bags in the large dumpsters in the back. As she went she checked in the usual spots where the luggage carts would be left, either through casual avoidance or nefarious misuse as a skateboard. But no luck, it wasn’t anywhere to be found.
She continued her jog around the side of the hotel to the grand entrance. What was typically a slow moving jostle of vehicles arriving or departing was a completely deserted stretch of asphalt, except for one car parked at the front, with a man throwing the last of his luggage into his car’s trunk. Celly’s jog slowed as she neared the man, ready to ask if he needed help with anything, but he was in a rush and the moment his door closed the vehicle sped of, returning it’s occupants back to the real world.
She turned and went towards the fancy gold plastered entrance doors. Things were so slow today she didn’t even see any door greeters. Coming into the front lobby she could see the odd few helpers ferrying breakfast into the dining room on the side of the lobby, but only a handful of guests were there to enjoy it. Everything seemed to be running smoothly on that end, so she continued her trek past the front desk, where Barney still lay, though in a different slumped position than before.
Down the immediate hall she went, stopping quickly to drop off the tools and fastener bag into the 1st floor supply room, then kept going down the hall, past 15 doors to Room 116, which was already open. Inside she found Waverly, looking over the mattresses that had been stored here. With so many rooms being renovated, and the usual storerooms full of the furniture and electronics that had ot be moved from those rooms, the mattresses had to go someplace, and this area had been chosen.
“Hello Waverly!” Celly beamed.
“Hey Cell. Ya see that luggage cart anywhere?” Waverly said as she slowly drug a few mattresses to the other side of the room, creating a small pocket to easily maneuver in the cramped room.
“No, it wasn’t in the front reception suite and I didn’t see it on the back grounds. How many floors did you check?”
“Two through eight. We can check the upper floors later. Here, grab that side.” Waverly wiggled the mattress she had lifted from the stack leaning against the wall. Celly grabbed the free edge and they both hoisted it up and walked it out of the room and across the hall to the room on the other side. Celly swiped her master keycard to open the room and shuffled in, leading the mattress to the far side of the room and gingerly leaning it against the wall.
“Cool, only 66 more to go,” Waverly mused, again with her charismatic speech. There weren’t any guests around and it had been fun to have Waverly helping for the past few weeks, so the more nuanced speech of Waverly’s was starting to rub off on Celly, who gave her a big smile and joined in the fun.
“Yes, very cool!” Back and forth the pair went, grabbing a mattress and taking it across the hall, making expedient work of the task given their perfect cooperation. What was a jumbled mess in Room 116 was quickly made into a set of perfect stacks in Room 117, with even some room for extras! Sometimes Celly wondered how these humans were able to run this place before their robotic help.
With that task done Waverly and Celly closed up both rooms and went to the elevator, ready to ride up to the 5th floor supply closet. Some small talk passed between them on the way, Celly loved to give Waverly the low down on the most recent movies she’d seen at the Paradise Pointe movie theater.
“...but the explosion didn’t stop him, since he was made of liquid metal, and he just reformed and started chasing after them again.”
“Woah, outmodes can be really scary.” Waverly said worryingly. The elevator stopped and the door slid open, and Celly continued as they walked to their next goal.
“Yeah, but the worst part is he took on the form of a Sterling robot so no one would suspect he was a bad guy!” Celly fearfully relayed. A small electric shiver ran down the Nandroids spines as they came up to the closet, both ready to forget the frightening scene Celly had just described.
Waverly used her keycard and they both entered the supply closet, what a mess! The large metal shelves that had been placed against each wall were stacked plum full of all kinds of cleaning supplies, spare items, and towels, with the disaster that had happened playing out clearly based upon the angle of the shelving closest to the door. Whoever had exited must have bumped or gotten snagged on the shelf and tipped it from against the wall. From there, all the items on it had toppled and rather than getting tasked to help with clean-up, they had elected to not report the accident.
Luckily, this shelf only had laundry detergents, paper towels, and a few buckets for lost and found items. Unluckily, some of the detergents had burst open on impact and lathered the other shelves and walls with a thin pink floral scented slime. The two Nandroids gave each other a quick glance, followed by a big smile and decisive nod. What easy work for a Nandroid!
Without needing a plan of action, both knowing exactly what should be done and in what order, they set to work for their original built purpose. With speed and elegance reserved for only the most capable of superior engineered androids, the two friends cleaned up the sopping mound in no time. Salvaging as much detergent as they could, throwing away ruined items, and using most of the towels to wipe the detergent from every face. Soon the room was back to it’s proper setting, albeit with one shelf less than fully stocked.
And it had taken barely any time at all. The pair cleaned their hands and placed the final dirty towels in a big laundry bag, ready to be taken later for cleaning. And that was that, their to-do list was now complete. Celly got on her walkie to page the front desk.
“Celly here! Waverly and I are now done with the assigned tasks! Over!” She waited for a moment for Barney to respond, but her walkie remained silent. She tried again.
“Celly here! Sir, is there anything you need us to do?” Nothing. This could only mean one thing...
“Guests!” Celly shouted, her robotic voice reverberating in the small room. Celly just loved meeting new guests and helping them check-in. She grabbed Waverly by the hand and led her from the supply closet back to the elevator, which hadn’t changed floors once while they had cleaned. She zipped inside and hastily pushed the ground floor button. As the elevator slowly descended she began bobbing, the anticipation was killing her! For several days now the hotel had been slow and only a small handful of new guests had arrived, and now she was getting the chance to get back into the rhythm of checking people in.
The door opened and she exited, completely forgetting Waverly, and jogged (not ran, which was against the hotels rules) down the hall towards the front lobby. She came around the bend, ready to grab some luggage.
“Hello, welcome to Ho-…” Celly’s enthusiasm was quickly squashed, her open arms meeting with an empty lobby. Well, that wasn’t true, there was someone there, Barney, at the front desk, thoroughly asleep. Waverly walked up from behind and the two exchanged a quick glance. This was a strange predicament. They had already finished everything they had been tasked with and while they could go around and find more work to do, that was typically not seen as an efficient use of time. But it would be rude to wake Barney...
Waverly didn’t have these qualms and began walking to the front desk. Celly was quick on her heels, reaching out to slow her.
“Wait Waverly, is it really okay to wake him up?” she asked in a hushed whisper. But Waverly was unphased and kept going, not caring to lower her voice.
“It is on company time.” She reached the front desk and tapped the small “Ring for service” bell. Barney awoke with a start and shot up from his chair, reaching up for his pillbox hat as it tried to slide off his head.
“Ah! Waverly. What?” he croaked, falling back into his chair and closing his eyes again.
“Tried raisin’ you on the walkie, didn’t see the luggage cart anywhere, but we’re done with all the other docket jobs.” she reported.
“Great.” Barney mumbled. The two Nandroids stood motionless, staring expectantly. He could feel their gaze upon him and was finding it difficult to get back to sleep with the two there.
“And?” he groaned with a big sigh.
“The supply closet is all cleaned and organized again, but we did have to throw away a lot of the laundry detergent. We’ll need to order more before things pick up again.” Celly chimed in. Barney stayed reclined and gave some non-committal mumble.
“I’ll make a note of it for our next delivery. Now just...go do something else.” Waverly and Celly exchanged another quick glance.
“What would you like us to do?” Certainly someone had rung the front desk, or requested room service, or a new guest had checked in, or-
“I don’t care, just...go wash the windows.” A strange request, the windows were usually only washed once a week, on Thursdays. But Celly was ready to make them crystal clear! Waverly seemed indifferent to the request and as they walked away she called back to Barney in her nonchalant way.
“Sure thing, we’ll ring ya when we’re done.” Ah jeez, Barney thought to himself, they were just gonna keep coming back or giving updates, it’s what Celly did. She was far too prim and proper for such an early morning. How was he ever going to get some extra sleep on this boring, dreary, long day? Nothing he gave them was gonna keep them occupied long enough...unless...a thought occurred to him in a flash and he shouted to the pair.
“WAIT! Come back!” They returned to the front desk, Celly happily trotting up and standing at attention, Waverly slowly sliding back into her original spot. Barney reached under the counter and grabbed a handful of cash from the register.
“Here, go into town, buy some detergent, don’t come back for three hours. Oh, and give me your walkies.” He slammed a few 20’s on the desk. Waverly and Celly stared at the money. Washing windows on a Monday was a strange request, sending the pair into town to buy something that normally got delivered was downright odd. But it wasn’t Celly’s place to question her orders, so…
“All right!” She cheerfully beamed. She grabbed and pocketed the money as both her and Waverly placed their walkies on the desk. Celly was already planning the route to take in her head and all the sights she was going to get to see today. She just had to make sure it was okay to take her camera...
“May I-”
“Yes, now go.” Barney retorted as he stowed the walkies under the desk and slumped back into his chair, ready to get his extended peace and quiet.
Celly was ready to give a final report and head out, but Waverly stopped her with a light tap and nodded in the direction of their room. Celly looked to Barney who was already attempting to return to dreamland, and looked back to Waverly with a big smile as the two left the front desk in peace.
Even Waverly, who was typically slow, was keeping up with Celly’s determined pace this time. Going into the city was so much fun, and it happened so rarely. And to be given such a long task, and to have her friend join her! As Waverly would say; Awesome!
The pair returned to their room and Celly went to grab her off-duty clothes while Waverly went to retrieve the little bit of money she had stashed away. Finding lost items, including money, wasn’t uncommon for the employees, and the park rules dictated that they must log the find and keep it in one of the supply closets. If the item was unclaimed after 60 days then it was up for grabs to any employee who wanted it. Strangely enough, the money Celly found always seemed to disappear far before the 60 day deadline...but luckily for them, Waverly was in a unique position. Her lost and found was in her “office”, the surf shack on the beach she used to store equipment, and anything she found was logged and placed in there. There were other lifeguards on duty, but she was the only one to use the log or properly store items, so after the 60 days were up she had free choice of the items within, including money or valuables she found along the beach or in the water.
She had amassed a not too shabby amount of money for a robot, took it from the back of her charging chair and pocketed it, ready to see what she could buy for herself. As Celly finished changing and returned her uniform to the closet, Waverly confirmed the plan.
“So we’re going to Rip’s, right?” Rip’s Off Brands, a “free form” store in the heart of Maquina Beach, Rip would buy or sell anything for the right price, and being a robot himself meant he gave the best deals to other robots. That’s what he said, at least.
“Yes, he’s sure to have the detergent brand we need! And I can get some more film for my camera.” Celly went over to the desk where the room’s work computer sat and opened one of the deep drawers, bringing out her polaroid camera. She had found it unused during a room inspection before new guests arrived, and 60 days later, being unclaimed meant it was hers. What started off as a few quick snapshots had led to a fervent interest, she loved taking pictures of all kinds of things, just like humans did. Though she may have had only a passing understanding of what made some of the pictures she took interesting.
“Cool. Wanna stop by the surf shack and we can grab some more unclaimed items? There’s a watch and some leather wallets we could sell.”
“Yes! I’ll take my extra posters, too.” Celly reached around the side of the desk to where she kept her unhung movie posters. The nearby theater would throw out all kinds of neat or useful items, and Celly would, from time to time, snag these before they were lost forever. After all, the movie posters looked great hanging up in her room, and she could sell the extras, so no need let them all go to waste!
Money stowed, clothes changed, and items grabbed, the pair set out for the beach. As they exited through the empty lobby they saw Barney, finally getting the rest he wanted. It was only about a 15 minute walk from the hotel to the beach, and it went by even faster with what little traffic there was this morning, no waiting at stoplights or crosswalks.
They arrived at the beach, the water the same sickly gray as the still brightening sky, and surging a bit from the stormy weather. They made their way to the shack, Waverly leading the way this time as Celly struggled to maneuver through the sand. Waverly had explained the proper technique to use, but it was still difficult to master. Waverly had long ago changed her walking style from the elegant low swish they had been taught in Nandroid School to the much more efficient stomping, ensuring a firm footing in the sand and none kicked up around her. Celly’s stomps were much more exaggerated and comical, but they still did the job.
They got to the front door of the shack and Waverly unlocked the door, entering into the darkened one room hut. She used the pull string light in the center of the room and bathed everything in a soft buzz of yellow light: the many surf and wake boards stacked along one wall, waiting patiently to be made available for rent this summer, a few stacked boxes of sunscreen and aloe vera, which Waverly came specially equipped to dispense instead of pepper spray, a few of Waverly’s specially made swimming rotors to help her navigate in the water, and a plethora of Paradise Pointe branded towels, hats, shades, and other beach paraphernalia.
Waverly reached under a table and slid a cardboard box out with a clipboard sitting on top. She inspected the sheet and found all the items older than 60 days and began digging through the box. She produced one (1) mens wristwatch (working), (2) two fine leather wallets (empty), one (1) handheld radio (working), and one (1) tarnished ring (no design/markings).
“Humans are always losing such important things.” Celly sighed, wondering why no one had come to check for these lost items. Waverly pocketed the smaller items and held the others in her hands as she pulled the cord to turn the light off.
“Yeah, the radio for sure, it was just on the beach, but mosta this stuff I found in the water. I’ll dive to grab somethin’ for someone and there’s always stuff like this on the bottom.” Before Waverly was sent out from Sterling she had undergone some additional modifications, particularly on her joints and seals, making the normally waterproof Nandroid now oceanproof as well, and able to dive to a much greater depth.
The pair locked up and now headed to the bus stop, which thanks to the cities expansive public transit system wasn’t too far. It was so nice being able to chat with Waverly now and not have to break the conversation after only a few minutes like would normally happen in the hotel. Their small talk kept both busy and a few blocks back in towards the city they were soon the only two waiting for the next bus at the empty stop.
As they came up to the bench, Celly was amazed to see, just off the sidewalk, a wonderful piece of driftwood, probably left by a child as they were leaving the city, creating the perfect snapshot! The smooth, dark wood was a drastic contrast against the bumpy, bright concrete, and the paper trash behind it framed the shot perfectly! Or something like that...Celly had only picked up bits and pieces from the fancy photographers and artists that sometimes stayed at the hotel. She stopped Waverly mid-sentence with a quick raise of her hand.
“Wait Waverly! Look at this!” She lifted her camera and went in for a clear shot...but too close and the desolate absence of greenery meant that the cold cityscape would be lost, but too far away and the point of interest would lose meaning, being surrounded by empty, unfocused void! Or something like that. She moved in and out, back and forth, trying to get everything framed juuuuuuust right. Waverly watched, confused again by her friend’s behavior over seemingly nothing.
“So what’s neat about this?” She asked sincerely. Just because she didn’t get it, didn’t mean she couldn’t indulge her friend and try to share the experience with her. Celly kept the camera plastered to her face, squinting through the lens, bobbing left and right, trying to get the perfect lighting.
“Well, you have to appreciate how different these two things are. The driftwood is dark and the concrete is lighter, opposites. One is a tree and the other is a rock, more parallels!” She gave her grandiose explanation with the same inflection and intonation that she had overheard before.
“Oh. I guess I get it about the stick. But what’s the trash a parallel of?” Waverly asked, pointing to the paper trash fluttering in the wind. Celly removed the camera from her face to think of a good excu-, er, reason.
“That? Uh...well that’s...the parallel is, uh...it’s trash, but the driftwood isn’t!” She exclaimed proudly.
“But if the driftwood isn’t trash why did it just get left out here?” Waverly sometimes had too many questions!
“Waverly please, I’m trying to do art!” Celly huffed, replacing the camera to her face and moving in closer to the abandoned tra-, art in waiting on the ground. As she resumed trying to get everything framed, she heard the bus come into earshot. She didn’t have much time, she swiveled the camera for a last minute correction and SNAP, took the shot. The bus pulled up and her polaroid photo extruded from the camera, she took it and gave it a wave through the air. The uneven, badly lit, out of focus scene appeared on the white photo, giving Celly a momentary pause as she judged her work.
“Perfect!” She happily concluded, stuffing the photo in her pocket and grabbing the posters she had laid down. The bus came to a full stop and both Nandroids climbed aboard as the doors opened, scanning their park provided bus passes. Here, too, the day had taken its toll, as the bus had one other occupant, a little old lady who sat quietly in the back. Waverly and Celly took the front most seats and continued their small talk.
The trip was fun, with Waverly and Celly having more non-stop conversation. Celly got to hear about Waverly’s plan to keep a surfboard that had been abandoned on the beach, only 47 more days to go and it was hers! She had tried it off and on for several months, but it was for very short periods as the people of the beach wanted to see how she could handle it. She enjoyed it and was excited about getting a chance to learn more on her own.
Celly shared more about the most recent movie she’d seen, again having to explain the finer artistic points to Waverly, who was still confused. The movie theater was within walkie range so she was able to sneak away to see what was playing and hopefully catch short snippets. She always took the opportunity to show guests to the theater and provide her opinion on which movie they should see.
And with nobody in earshot to bother, they were able to be open and loud (as loud as a Nandroid would ever permit herself to be). It was so relaxing and they had plenty of time to kill so no need to rush, as Celly normally would have to.
Three empty bus stops later they arrived at their own stop, which was as desolate as the others. The pair retrieved their items they had laid upon the floor and trotted off the bus. It was now just a short walk to Rip’s. The city’s early morning routine was just now beginning to kick into full swing, with more cars on the road and a few people milling through the streets, but still a far cry of the hustle and bustle that was typical in the warmer months. Before long, the pair reached Rip’s Off Brands.
As they entered, an older generation robot, dressed in his usual dark grey vest over a light blue button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and khaki pants, was stacking snowglobes onto a kiosk in the middle of the store. Rip Cordelio, the store’s namesake, perked up at the sound of new customers and spun around, ready to greet his newest catch. His script was halted as he saw the two Nandroids but it only took a moment for him to snap back into action.
“Celly, Waverly, my two favorite clients! Girls it has been too long!” Luckily the store was empty aside from the three robots or the volume Rip was broadcasting at would have shaken even the most stoic of humans. He tore through the store and went up to the pair, hands extended. Each Nandroid gave a free hand and all took part in the well rehearsed meet and greet. Rip shook both their hands vigourously at the same time, flashing a bright, shiny smile. While the distance between the two parties was now close, Rip’s volume did not diminish.
“I was just saying to myself yesterday I said Rip if those two nanny bots don’t show up soon you need to march right down to that park of their’s and make sure to take some film to sell because Celly is surely running low by now and if she can’t come to you then by golly you need to go to her!” A fast talker, like always, and excited to boot, Rip never once loosened his grip on the Nandroids hands as he shook them ferociously. Rip was a character, but a good one, and seeing him always put Waverly and Celly in a good mood.
“Good morning, Rip!” Celly belted back at him, matching his handshake with just as much force.
“Mornin’, Rip,” Waverly uttered cooly. Rip finally released the duo’s hands and shot a glance at the items they were carrying, already guessing the value of each, how much he could offer, and most importantly how much he could then actually sell it for.
“Buying AND selling today? You new bots truly spoil me now come on right over here to the register and show me what you got.” He led the group to the checkout counter and pushed some odd trinkets he’d placed there earlier away, giving the Nandroids a clear area to place their goods. The moment Waverly placed the watch, Rip snatched it up and brought it close to his face. He looked it all over, rubbing his finger over the glass front, held it close to his audio receptors and listened to the tick, giving it a shake...damn, she’d brought in a real find today. But did she know that?
“Weeeeeeeell this here is a good watch but I don’t know if I’d be able to find a buyer, you see most folks who come in here aren’t looking for jewelry or watches so I’d have to make it a bargain on the price which means I can offer you nearly what it’s worth but I think we can definitely make a deal.” As he spoke Rip ran the watch through his fingers, even going so far as to try it on, admiring the way it looked on his wrist, before ringing up a number on the cash register.
The game was on. Nandroids might be naive about some things, but both had taken courses in financial management, and try as he might, Rip was never going to pull a fast one on them.
“Nah, not at that price we aren’t,” Waverly said, holding her hand out for the watch. Rip remained undeterred, this was just the first volley after all.
“Well now hold on there I said I think we can make a deal and I meant it so let’s just change this five to an eight and add a little number here.” As he spoke, Rip punched in a new number. Much better! But not nearly good enough. Waverly shook her head and reached across the counter, typing in a new number on the register. Celly enjoyed seeing Waverly’s personality being so different, it was times like this that she really though of Waverly as someone to look up to. With the ball back in Rip’s court he took this time to brush up on his acting.
“Now that is certainly too much! Take a look around girls, no customers! It’s the slowest time of the year and you expect me to pay you that much for this and have it here to never sell?” But Waverly did think exactly that and without saying a word, held her hand out again to Rip to return the watch. He involuntarily grabbed his wrist, finding the watch a snug fit and not wanting to see it go. Rip could tell Waverly wasn’t going to have any of his shenanigans today, maybe he’d have better luck on Celly...
“All right fine, you have a deal on the watch. But I’m not gonna fold so easily on this other stuff!” The fun continued, a battle of wits and will to see how much of his act the Nandroids would buy before a price could be agreed on. But it always seemed to tip into the Nandroids favor, with Rip knowing full well they wouldn’t sell the items elsewhere, but just take them back to their hotel and keep them locked away.
After they’d gone through all the items and reached a price they all (some reluctantly) agreed on, it was now Rip’s turn for revenge.
“I think that’ll do you just fine, but you don’t expect me to believe that you came all this way just to wipe me out right? Now what can I get for you two?”
Celly sat her camera on the desk, wanting to get a few packs of film for it and relayed to Rip the kind of laundry detergent they needed for the hotel. Rip noted the camera type and popped into the back, sifting through a few boxes before finding the one with camera film, and finding the kind Celly needed.
He tossed it into an empty box and went even further into the jungle of items, finding soaps and cleaning supplies unneatly thrown together in a corner and put as many detergent containers as would fit into the box, plus a few extras stacked precariously on top. As he was heading back out, he nabbed a few random items from the shelves in the back, no way was he gonna let them leave with more money than when they came in.
He returned to see the two talking quietly, with Waverly looking at a freshly shaken snowglobe. Holdovers from before the holiday rush, the base read “Maquina Beach – Wish you were here!” with a sunbathing chair on a beach. Rip could metaphorically smell a sale from a mile away and smiled to himself, now to make just a few more. He set down the items he’d brought back and jumped right in.
“Celly, your film, and a big heaping helping of cleaning supply! This should be enough to last you for a while. And I have been saving the rest of this stuff since the last time you were here Celly because I knew for a fact that these items would interest you and dear Waverly and I could never forgive myself if I were to have sold them to someone else who wouldn’t fully appreciate each and every one.” His hand tapped out the rhythm of his words as he spoke, then he grabbed and raised the first item, a black T-shirt, extra small, with a tipping wine glass splashing it’s contents onto a beach scene, with large blue bubble lettering which read “Maquina Mama”. Waverly looked disapprovingly at the find, but Celly let out a gasp and reached out to take the shirt.
“Ohhhhh, a shirt just for me?” Rip could hear the cash being counted now as he relinquished the shirt to Celly, who brought it close to her body.
“Cell, we got lots of shirts back at the hotel.” Waverly warned, keenly aware of Rip’s tactic.
“No, you have lots of shirts. You get them all the time from the lost and found, I just have my uniforms. ...I’ve always wanted some clothes of my own.” She outlined the letters with her finger, with a soft smile on her face. Waverly wasn’t one to ruin anothers fun, so she bottled up her misgivings, happy that Celly was getting something she liked.
“Exactly what I was thinking when I saved that shirt for you all those weeks ago! Now lookie at what I have here!” Rip shoved his hand into the pile and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. Years of practice meant his facade never faltered, his smile never wavered, and his mind had to be quick on this one.
“Sunglasses for Waverly. Being in the sun all day long-”
“I don’t need those.” Waverly said flatly. That extra second was all Rip needed to figure out his next line of attack.
“You’ve never heard of optic burn-in why that’s how I lost my first eye had to get it replaced after staring directly at-”
“No thanks Rip, don’t need it.” Waverly’s answer was confident and final. He side eye’d Celly, but could gauge her answer already. Another of his curt smiles and he dropped the shades behind the counter and grabbed another item, some hair gel.
“Now I know you definitely need this Waverly with such wonderful hair as yours it must be such a hassle to get it into that-”
“Nah, my hair is just like this now, stays on it’s own.” Waverly said, with a swish of her head. When Waverly first started at Paradise Pointe she had straight black hair, but after being in the heat and harsh ocean conditions for so long, it had curled and kinked into it’s signature poof, now keeping shape on it’s own. She was still under warranty and entitled to a free replacement, but nobody at the park seemed to mind, and Waverly herself liked the look. Rip cursed his laziness at grabbing random items from the shelf and moved on to another item. He grabbed a nice bright green pair of...flip flops...
The smile faded from his face as both Waverly and Celly curled their lips in confusion at this purchase choice. Rip didn’t even attempt this one and gave a quick laugh as he threw the flip flops down on top of the shades on the ground.
“Ha ha! Just a joke!” He was going back in but Waverly, ready to have their purchase complete, sat the snow globe down instead.
“Here, I’ll take this.” The synthetic plastic snow swirled and sloshed as she set the globe on the counter. This was a pleasant surprise to Rip, being the first thing Waverly had ever actually chosen for herself.
“And what a lovely choice it is this is the exact reason I was putting these up front had them near the back for so long and I knew people would appreciate them more if only they could see the nice scene inside!” He slid the globe over to the small buy pile and reached back towards his own to sell pile, as he moved some items aside a small sail was revealed, catching Waverly’s attention.
“What’s that?” she pointed to the object, still obscured by strange and useless treasures. Rip jumped at the opportunity and freed the small model sailboat from the pile, holding it up like a long lost idol from some forgotten culture.
“This my dear Waverly is a model sailboat, known as a catboat. Surprised you don’t know about them based on your occupation.” Waverly gingerly took the single sailboat model from Rip and turned it all around, looking at it from every angle.
“I see ‘em all the time, never been on one. Too far out for me and they aren’t s’posed to come near the swimmin’ areas.” Rip was always a loud, fast talker, but he also knew the importance of silence as well. He could tell Waverly was doing all the work on her own for this sale, and he kept his mouth shut. After a few more moments of looking at it, she laid it down in the to buy pile.
“Okay, this too, but that’s it.” Rip clapped his hands together and begin punching in the total he had in his mind. Another round of haggling between them eventually led to a more conservative price, with all clients happy. Mostly. Rip thanked them again for their continued patronage and wished them a nice day and the two Nandroids gathered their new items and left with just as much stuff as when they arrived, but less money.
“Later dude” Waverly called back as she stepped out of the store, followed by Celly.
“Goodbye dude!” Celly called with an exuberant wave.
Now fully into late morning the sky was bright, but still gray as the clouds above broiled and tumbled over themselves. The ground sat slightly damp from a quick drizzle that had made its way through the city while they were at Rip’s, but this didn’t bother Celly or Waverly as they happily chatted on their way back to the bus stop.
They arrived just in time as another bus was pulling into view and boarded it quickly once it had stopped. This one had a few more passengers, but still plenty of seating, and Waverly and Celly went to the back, giving ample room to the other riders. As they sat down, each reached for their new favorite item: Celly and her shirt, Waverly and her boat. Celly wasted no time in pulling the shirt over her head, giving it a mighty tug to pop on over her head. She gave a big smile to Waverly and held her arms wide.
“Well!? How does it look?” Waverly fought back a puzzled expression, Nandroids don’t drink wine, and they couldn’t be mama’s, and Celly’s Hotel Casablanca shirt poke out in odd areas...but at least Celly looked happy.
“Looks great, Cell. The blue really compliments your eyes.” Celly’s cheeks lit up at receiving such a compliment, Waverly really was a great friend. She noticed Waverly toying with her model boat and took the chance to repay her kindness.
“So you like sailboats? I never knew that.”
“I don’t know if I like ‘em, I just see ‘em all the time out in the water. It always looked fun, just never got a chance to try it. I assume it’s a lot like surfin’, just a bigger board.” Celly had heard tales from hotel guests and been regaled with stories from Waverly herself, but had never actually seen her friend surfing. Though she did make it sound fun, it still seemed a tad dangerous for an unmodified Nandroid such as Celly.
“I think it would be a great experience to have one day!” Celly softly beamed, putting her hand on Waverly’s shoulder. She could tell by how intent Waverly was looking at the model that this was something deeply important to her.
“Maybe I’ll try it out this summer. You can rent ‘em further down the beach, just have to get the chance.” Waverly placed the boat carefully in the seat next to her, setting it against her snowglobe, which was in a constant blizzard thanks to the rumbling and bumping of the bus. Seeing Waverly long for something so intensely made Celly want to be a part of it, and so she offered a suggestion.
“Well if you do get some time, and I’m also free, could I go out on it, too?” The beach and harbor were slow and safe, Waverly rarely had to deal with any major issues so certainly a quick trip out with her friend wasn’t too dangerous, and indeed even seemed like a fun idea to Celly. Waverly’s eyes opened wide and it was her turn to wear a Celly sized smile.
“Really? Yeah, that would be great!” With the promise made the two friends giggled to themselves and talked ahead to what it must be like to be so far out in the water. Certainly much different than just a surfboard near the shore, though neither could be sure for now.
The ride back to the stop near the hotel took much longer, but with the stops still being mostly empty meant that there wasn’t much waiting around for passengers to board. Sooner than later, and even slightly disappointing to Celly, who was finding the chatty Waverly a fun surprise, they were pulling up to their stop. The pair grabbed their newly acquired treasures and left the bus, along with a few people, all spreading out in different directions.
The two began the trek to return to the hotel, but judging by how much time had passed they would be returning too early for Barney. As they walked, the tall rides in the Paradise Pointe theme park encroached into the sky on their side, the amenities now fully awake and active with the day’s limited guests. Waverly slowed as she watched the park’s premiere roller coaster, Hydra’s Plunge. A new train of cars had just reached the apex before the drop and even from this distance, with the quiet day and a few second delay, the screams of the riders could be heard against the clack of the track as they took the plunge. Celly turned back once she noticed Waverly was silent.
“What is it?” she asked from behind the box of detergents.
“We still got time to kill, right?”
“Yes, we haven’t reached the three hour mark Barney gave us.” They watched as the train shot up through a corkscrew and slipped back out of sight, amidst more screams.
“Why do you think they like ridin’ that kind of thing?” Waverly questioned.
“I don’t know, some like the adrenaline rush? I know a lot of people say their friends or family make them ride, so a lot seem to be forced to do so.”
“Huh. Seems like a weird thing to want to do, fallin’ down a straight drop in a small metal car, spinnin' around in loops goin’ really fast, and forcin’ others to do it, too? They never sound like they’re havin’ fun.” Waverly observed.
“I agree, it doesn’t seem like something enjoyable.” They stood in awe, watching as the coaster finally slowed and returned to it’s origin, releasing it’s victims. Waverly broke the silence.
“I wanna ride it.”
“What?”
“I wanna ride Hydra’s Plunge, Cell.”
“But...what, why? Didn’t we just…”
“I wanna ride Hydra’s Plunge right now and I want you to ride with me.” Waverly said, giving Celly a deadpan expression.
“WHAT!?” Celly shouted, nearly dropping the freshly bought detergent. What had gotten in to Waverly!? What was her major malfunction!? They had just gotten done talking about how much of a bad idea it always seemed to be!
“C’mon, Celly, please? Let’s ditch this stuff and go on it, just once, before Barney needs us again.” Waverly had turned to her friend and asked in such a pleading manner, Celly had never heard her make this kind of genuine request before. Waverly’s face wore such a sad expression, Celly couldn’t abandon her friend...
But she was a bit frightened at the thought of riding the coaster...certainly there had to be a way out of this that didn’t involve her hurting her friend’s feelings, or her own. She made another of her mental notes to be extra nice to Barney after what she was planning to throw on him.
“Uh...well…I...think we should clear it with Barney. We may not have enough time and the hotel might be getting busy. Let’s check with him first?” She gave a convincing enough grimace to Waverly, who instantly perked up.
“Sure, good idea! C’mon, let’s hit this quick!” Waverly took off, running straight for the hotel, leaving Celly in the Maquina Beach dust, more commonly known as sand. Celly hoisted the detergents up and began following Waverly, purposefully slowing a bit to run out the clock as much as possible. With the extra speed of hurrying they unfortunately returned to the hotel quickly, and the empty entrance made Celly all the more anxious.
As she made her way inside in Waverly’s wake, she peered around the detergents to the front desk, where Waverly happily stood...but Barney wasn’t in sight. The entire lobby was empty. Oh dear.
“C’mon Cell, hurry up! Give me your stuff!” Waverly nabbed her camera, film, grabbed the hat from her head, and reached into Celly’s pocket to grab the photo she had taken earlier as well, and shot off for their room.
“Go drop that detergent off, quick!” she called as she disappeared around the corner. Celly stood motionless, worry starting to grip her mechanical being. Why did Barney have to be gone right now!? She waited another minute and neither Waverly nor Barney returned. She waited one more minute just for good measure, before slowly walking to the nearest elevator. As she did, Waverly tore down the hall and skidded to a stop upon seeing her.
“Celly pick up the pace!” She grabbed the detergent from Celly and rushed into an open elevator, leaving Celly standing alone in the hallway. Celly hurried back to the front desk, still devoid of life, and looked behind the counter for her walkie. No, it wasn’t there! Barney what were you doing!? She barely had any time to think of another plan before Waverly appeared again.
“No Barney! Let’s go, we still got some time!” Waverly grabbed Celly’s hand and drug her through the lobby and out the front door. Their feet clacked loudly as they ran through the mostly empty streets towards Celly’s impending doom. But it was okay, the attendants at the front of the park would definitely keep them out! Celly relaxed at this thought and tried to focus on redirecting Waverly’s uncanny energy.
“M-maybe we should do this a different day? We haven’t been busy much the past week, surely we’ll get some more free time to ride soon.”
“No way Cell, it’s now or never! Why should the humans get all the fun?” Waverly was fired up, Celly had never seen her so passionate before.
“But I thought we figured it wasn’t fun…” Celly squeaked in reply.
“If it wasn’t why would they keep doing it?” Again with Waverly asking too many difficult questions!
“Humans do lots of things that are bad for them though, they smoke and drink and eat too much, maybe this is just like that.” Celly was bargaining as hard as she could as the entrance to the park came into view. Her spirits rose, there was a line to get in! Perhaps the thing she hated most, always running out of time, would be her greatest ally in this fight.
“Well good thing we’re robots then!” Waverly happily retorted. They were bee-lining straight for one of the entry lines, but Waverly ran right past and kept going to a side “Employees Only” entrance. She swiped her keycard and pulled Celly into the building.
“Waverly, what if...” But she wasn’t listening, completely absorbed in her current goal. Now Celly was really getting worried. The few employees they passed on their travels paid no mind to the pair as they made their way through the building, she could only guess they all knew the black haired Nandroid and didn’t find her dragging another reluctant robot to be strange enough to warrant effort.
Waverly tugged her through an exit into the park proper and set out towards the looming structure. As they got closer another full ride began, the screams and clatter of the train now much more clear and frightening. They were coming up to the bottom of the ride and the long snaking path that would take them into the heart of the Hydra’s Plunge. This was far enough for Celly.
“Waverly WAIT!” She tore her hand from Waverly’s grip just before they entered the ride’s empty queue. Waverly spun around, giving Celly a puzzled look. Celly swallowed her fear of hurting her friend’s feelings and gave it to her short and sweet.
“I don’t want to ride it.” Waverly kept the same look, seemingly unphased by this news. The only sound to tell them the world was still turning were the screams of the freshest batch of riders taking the plunge. Waverly blinked after a moment and looked off into nowhere in particular.
“Oh. I...yeah, sorry, I didn’t...realize that.” The stark contrast in her mood cut Celly to the core. Never did she expect that seeing cool, relaxed, reliable Waverly would cause her such grief, but this old Waverly was so different to the excited one she had spoken to just moments before...and it was her fault.
“I’m sorry Waverly...but I think you should ride it! I’ll be at the exit waiting for you!” She’d do almost anything to make her friend feel better. Almost anything.
“Ah...nah, that’s okay, we should probably head back anyway, Barney’ll be waiting for us by now.” Waverly hadn’t made eye contact with Celly once during this exchange and now was back to her old self, lazily walking the return route to the hotel, leaving Celly behind.
Celly felt so bad. Waverly was like her older sister, she always listened to her excited outbursts about movies, would cover for her so she could sneak off to the theater for just a bit, never once had she not been there for her, and now when Waverly was excited about something in a way Celly had never seen before, she was failing. Celly felt horrible like this, and hoped that what she was about to do to herself wasn’t as bad...
“Okay.” She softly called to Waverly, who either hadn’t heard, or worse, was ignoring her completely. Celly bit her bottom lip and built up what courage she could muster to call again.
“OKAY! I’LL RIDE IT!” Celly shouted to her crestfallen comrade. Waverly froze, another short, silent standoff between the two before Waverly turned just a bit to catch Celly out of the corner of her eye.
“Really?” Waverly asked quietly, but Celly had caught the question. She nodded in response, afraid that if she opened her mouth her mind may make her say the opposite. Waverly spun on a dime and ran back to Celly, wrapping her in a big hug and whispering to her friend.
“Thanks Cell.” Celly returned the gesture with a hollow hug, unable to feel the right emotion for such a touching moment, instead dreading what she had just set herself up for.
“Okay let’s hit it!” Waverly was back at her previous tone, and grabbed Celly’s hand again, now dragging her up the zig zag roped off queue. They reached the top and found a very short line of park goers waiting for the next ride, which judging from the direction the screams and banging were coming from, was soon to arrive. The anticipation was killing Celly, but Waverly kept a stranglehold on her hand and there was no way Celly could back out now, not after what had just occurred to get her here.
The train rolled into the station at nearly full occupancy, some people laughing, some sickly, and one younger girl crying. This did little to assuage Celly’s fears. She closed her eyes tightly rather than be accosted by such a sight any longer.
Time ticked slower in the darkness, she thought. It felt like ages before a soft tug on her hand meant it was time for her death sentence. She followed Waverly through the shortening queue and as the pair came up to their turn to be seated, the park attendant running the ride stopped Waverly.
“Hey, aren’t you the lifeguard?”
“Yeah,” Waverly nodded cheerfully.
“They have you working today?”
“Nah.”
“What are you doing up here?”
“Gonna ride the coaster.” she laughed. What a question! The attendant seemed confused, opening their mouth, but ultimately shook their head and pointed to some of the remaining open seats. Waverly leapt over and slid into the molded seat, sitting down and turning to Celly, who remained standing. Waverly patted the seat next to her after a moment.
“C’mon Cell,” she said softly. The park attendant was now walking the length of the train, adjusting the over the shoulder restraints for each pair of riders. Celly found it difficult to move, stiffly stepping onto the car and sat in the deep seat. The attendant reached them and pulled the restraints down over their heads, which barely fit. Each restraint had to be locked at it’s lowest position, but seemed satisfactory enough to the attendant who patted the top of each and gave a thumbs up to the riders as the attendant returned to their podium and clicked some switches to initiate the ride.
With a clang and a jerk, the ride began, pulling the train forward slowly at first, then picking up speed as they exited the canopy of the ride house giving them a wider view of the eye level building tops. The ride inclined and Celly watched as the low murky clouds got closer and closer. She looked off the side of the ride, and was taken aback. She’d seen the sights from every angle on every floor of the hotel and even been on the roof a few times, but something about this was different. Being strapped into a moving train was different than being in a room behind glass. This was almost...fun!
Higher and higher it went, giving her a clear view of the entire park, which she had never gotten a close-up look at before. So many different rides! This birds eye view helped to melt the stifling fear she had been dealing with. The train reached the peak of the track and leveled out, slowing for a moment as it rolled along the last bit of flat rail before the plunge of Hydra’s Plunge. Celly turned to her friend, feeling a tingle of excitement at this interesting and new experience.
“Waverly, this is k-” Celly had to do a double take, who was this new robot sitting next to her!? She looked like Waverly, but with another new emotion she’d never seen Waverly have before! If it was possible, she would have thought Waverly would have been deflated. She was sunk in her seat, eyes wide, hands gripping either side of her shoulder restraints, shaking hard. Celly only had a second to try and process her friends reaction before the coaster passed the point of no retrurn and began the plunge.
A rush Celly had never felt before overtook senses, she’d never gone this fast before in her life! As the train shot down at breakneck speed she was forced back into her seat before a sharp curve threw her to the side. The ride went through a long curve before another straight ramp up, then back into another sheer drop. As this one ended the track did a full 360 turn letting Celly see the ground above her and sky beneath, never once slowing down.
It was at this point she realized she was yelling, laughing loudly in unconscious exhilaration. And Waverly next to her was yelling too...or maybe screaming was a better term. She was most definitely not enjoying the ride she had wanted to go on and was doing her best to let the world know. The speed of the ride, the changing scenery, it was the most exciting thing she’d ever done! Better than getting a great picture! Better than seeing a movie! Maybe even better than helping people at the hotel!!
Another round of ups and downs, followed by more twists and turns, and Celly could finally relax as the ride was coming to a close. A long straight-a-way before the ride house acting as a braking section began to slow the train. Loud chatter from the riders up front shook her from her daze and she looked over to Waverly, ready to talk about this life altering experience. Waverly’s hair was even larger than usual and now combed back, the same frightened expression locked onto her mechanical face that Celly had seen before the ride began.
“Waverly, are you all right?” Celly couldn’t help but laugh, she was in too good a mood. Waverly said nothing and remained frozen in place with her 1,000 yard stare and wide frown. The ride came to a halt and the restrains loosened, Celly lifting hers up, but Waverly’s remaining in place as her hands had kept it held down. Celly stood up and began to assist Waverly with exiting, trying unsuccessfully to stifle her large smile.
Celly helped Waverly off the ride and led her slowly back to the hotel. No words were exchanged, with each Nandroid opting to reflect on the experience internally. By-the-book, proper Celly just a little more carefree, while calm and non-plussed Waverly now thoroughly afraid of heights.
As they reached and entered Hotel Casablanca, Barney, who was now back to his post, looked up from the magazine he was reading at the front desk and gave a jaw dropping glare at the two Nandroids, Waverly’s windswept hair and dazed stupor, and Celly’s interesting choice of T-shirt catching him completely off-guard. Celly gave a quick wave which he returned and then went back to his periodical. Robots were just weird sometimes he thought to himself.
Celly led the pair back to their room, helping Waverly to sit down on her charging chair. As Celly went and changed back into her work uniform and stored her other clothes she comforted the still silent Waverly.
“I’ll cover for you, just stay in here and relax for now, okay?” Celly paused for a moment but Waverly didn’t respond. Celly gave a soft goodbye and left the room, heading up front to Barney to report in on the success of their task and get the walkies back (and forgo an explanation as to what else they had been up to). And then it was back to her normal routine.
The remainder of the day was just as uneventful as the start, with only two new guests showing up and a handful of quick tasks needing completed. Celly didn’t even have to help with the dinner service, but that suited her just fine for now, her thoughts still trending towards her roller coaster adventure. After a few boring hours of scouring the hotel and still not finding the missing luggage cart and doing the few odd jobs, she checked in with Barney one last time before he left and then retired to her room earlier than usual.
Celly entered the room and found it dead silent. She hadn’t heard from Waverly the rest of the day and was starting to get worried. She peeked around the corner to get a full view of the room and saw Waverly was already plugged in and recharging. She wore an uncharacteristic frown and her fists were balled into her lap, still at odds with her usual easy going self.
Celly gave a sigh and went to the cloest to change out of her uniform and into her off-duty wear to recharge. She found the small pile of their newly purchased trinkets that Waverly had dropped off in the room earlier sitting on their small table and took the time to properly store everything: her camera back into the workstation, her new picture that she had taken getting hung on her wall with the others, and putting Waverly’s snow globe next to the now charging walkies back on the table.
Last was Waverly’s sailboat. Celly gave it a good once over, examining all the minute details. Being on a sailboat did sound interesting and if it was half as fun as the roller coaster then she knew she was in for a treat. She padded quietly over to the charging Waverly and unfolded her gripped hands, placing the boat into her palms. She held her friend’s hand, wishing for a good back-up.
“Good night, Waverly,” she whispered before going to turn out the light and climbing onto her own charging station. She was ready for a good nights charge and an early rise tomorrow. But for just a few minutes, she entertained some ideas on how to get Waverly to ride some of the more interesting things she’d seen from atop Hydra’s Plunge.