Chapter Text
The weather was kind of crappy. Cloudy. Even a little dark.
Andi noticed this, but she was in no hurry to turn on the light. She had just woken up, which made her sluggish and slow-moving. So she had no time for light. All she wanted was to drink the divine drink called "coffee." She walked into the kitchen and saw the following scene: Guinevere and Boombox, so beloved by her friend Frankie (and she loved her very much, but for now kept quiet about it), sitting on the floor, surrounded by all sorts of bots that had been contrived a long time ago.
"Good evening, Andrea," the android said with a smile, noticing her. Boombox also looked her way and gave his signature "Ribbit!" greeting.
"Good morning," Andi nodded, then looked at the robot frog and chuckled. "Hello to you too, little one." She was just about to make herself her favorite drink, even picking up a mug, when she suddenly noticed another mug was already on the table, filled with coffee.
And it was still hot, too.
"?" She looked surprised and looked at her friend again.
"I made it." Gwen said calmly.
"But... What? When did you..."
"That doesn't matter anymore, Andrea. The most important thing is that you need some energy right now."
"Hm..." She looked at the mug on the table again. "Thanks, I guess? I usually do everything myself... Well, sometimes Frankie makes coffee for me."
"But she's not here right now," Gwen pointed out. "So why shouldn't I help you?"
"That's true," Andi took a hesitant sip. But, surprisingly, it was quite tasty. "Hm, not bad. You really tried hard."
"Thank you!" Her smile widened. "I tried especially for you..."
"Yeah, thanks again for that."
Having finished her coffee, Dee perked up a bit.
She wanted to do something at the computer, since she'd been fired and could now stay at home as much as she wanted. But she wasn't entirely happy with this.
On the one hand, her fingers and back would ache less from sitting all the time, writing, and other such shit. On the other, she felt like she was living off Frankie, who was constantly working hard to support not only herself, but her as well. She didn't even have any money left; she asked her friend for some, promising to pay her back as soon as she found a job, but Frankie just said, "It's nothing! Stay home, I can handle everything. And it wouldn't be hard for me to help—we're roommates, after all." Andi felt very ashamed, and a little angry.
She simply couldn't bear to think about doing nothing. Okay, she's exaggerating, but the shame is still there. Trying to be at least somewhat useful, Andi does house chores and waits for Frankie for dinner. Of course, they both do chores, but Andi does that the most because Frankie never does the dishes. And speaking of dinner, Guinevere took charge of that today, too. She was full of curiosity and wanted to explore everything and learn, which is exactly what she was doing.
Well, once she's cooked and both Andi and Frankie are home, they'll have to try...
So, where were we? Today, Dee decided not to bother herself with an endless job search, telling herself that no one would hire a "crownie" like her. Basically, she sat quietly, playing solitaire. Oh, if only she could get paid for this... After a while, she got bored and decided to go for a walk.
"They say the weather's crap," she thought. "Oh well, I'll take a little walk and then come home. Nothing bad will happen, right?"
Naturally, she changed her clothes and waved to her friends before leaving, saying she'd just step out for a bit and get some fresh air. As soon as she stepped outside, she noticed it was chilly and smelled damp. She walked a few meters and suddenly stopped, glancing at the modest house they lived in.
"What a shitty place," she muttered under her breath. Then she moved on and started thinking out loud. "But it's kinda better than, say, living in some box. And there's no room for such a horde of us anyway. Okay, maybe Boombox would fit, but where would we put Gwen? She's tall as hell! Besides, we need to hide her, not show her to everyone. Even worse—no box at all, just wandering the streets in a gang. Well, fuck."
Suddenly, her thoughts shifted.
"Frankie's been late. That old bastard's probably keeping her busy again," she snorted.
Apparently, she wasn't out for a walk, but just to wander around, to think, to dream... She'd decided to actually take a walk, to distract herself from her thoughts. She wandered aimlessly, looking here and there. Suddenly, she saw something lying on the ground. She came closer and saw that it was...
"Ooh, money!" With these thoughts in mind, she looked around and carefully picked up what was lying there. She didn't always do this, of course, but they never had much money to spare these days.
Sometimes Frankie steals things for her, so she doesn't have to spend much. She appreciates it, of course, but she's also worried, because Frankie is taking a big risk for her. Such a troublemaker. But at least she's her troublemaker, and no one else's.
Oh, Andi loved her so much...Sometimes she thought: "If only we were lying under the blanket right now, hugging each other, and she would tell me how much she loves me..." Well, there's no harm in dreaming... In fact, she couldn't know whether she was loved too or not. She was just too scared to confess her feelings. She thought Frankie would reject her, and then she'd feel guilty for the rest of her life.
Suddenly, she felt drops of rain falling from the sky.
"Oh shit," she thought, turning around instantly. "I need to get home before this tiny drizzle turns into a fucking downpour..." Andi noticed she'd walked quite a distance from home, and she didn't like it. She quickened her pace slightly, truly hoping she'd make it in time. But it only got worse. The drops kept coming thicker. Huge clouds hung overhead.
"Dang it..." She instantly regretted ever having gone outside.
Andi wasn't walking anymore, she was running. Running as fast as she could, dreading the downpour that would soak her from head to toe. Usually, when she gets caught in the rain and gets really wet, Frankie jokes about it, saying something like, "At least you won't have to shower!"
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck... You idiot," she began to blame herself. "Why the fuck did you even go outside knowing it was going to rain?! Dumbass!" She even thought it was karma that had caught up with her, because she'd literally stolen someone else's money from the ground, and now she was going to get wet. Well, she thought she deserved that.
It was also possible that it hadn't caught up with her yet, and things would only get worse. But then she realized that Frankie could get caught in the rain too. And if she got sick, that would be a real pain. Although her immune system wasn't that weak, what if she got over it? Or... What if not? After all, she was driving home, so she shouldn't get too wet. But she would get wet anyway...
Andi's anxiety grew even stronger. She was already racing like a horse, because a heavy downpour had started. While running, she got lost in her thoughts, but decided to stop thinking when she tripped and bumped into something.
"Fuck!" she gnarled, clutching her head as she ran on. She could already feel her clothes getting wet, but she couldn't run any faster; she was already running at full speed. She was starting to tire from all this running. After all, she doesn't always learn from her mistakes, because she was lost in thought again. "What if Frankie's already home? Damn, she's probably worried about me... Andi, you're such an idiot..." After a while, she saw a familiar building in the distance. She did it! She's finally here! The car was there, too. Which meant her friend had already returned.
Breaking into a walk, Andi gasped for air with all her might. "It felt like I had run a marathon instead of just getting home, honestly..." But the most important thing was that it was all over, and now she's able to find shelter from the rain under the roof of her house.