31 Curiosity Killed the RoboCat

Emily didn't know what to do about Brandon. The only time they even spent together anymore was on campus between classes and he spent the entire time grading papers and ignoring her.

Sometimes she worked on homework but when that was done she would play Sink or Swim to keep from going insane with boredom. She kept getting stuck on levels so it took several weeks to finish it. Such a simple premise…was actually really hard to execute.

RoboCat said that sunshine-daisy-butter-mellow had come up with everything and he did nothing but code it into existence. She couldn't help but wonder if that was true or if any of the level difficulties were actually his doing. He was an Ivy League student, after all. He had to be smart.

The game was intricate—he had put a lot of work into it, showing he was a hard worker. He had never seemed more real to Emily than he had since she had tangible proof of his existence through this app.

Honestly, she didn't know much about the guy despite their years of conversations. He mostly asked about her day to day life or talked about random little nothings.

What did she know? He was an only child so his cousins were kind of like his sisters. He had a cat. He claimed that he didn't do anything outside of computers and was even majoring in it at school. Aside from that, it was just tiny details like little stories he told her in response to things she had said.

Since downloading the game Emily had been a lot more curious about who was behind that screen. She stalked his blog a bit trying to piece together more information but didn't find much.

His blog banner was a picture of a sleeping black and white cat with its tongue sticking out. His profile icon was a cartoon computer without a face. He didn't post much and when he did it was pretty much just memes.

'RoboCat…who ARE you?' she thought desperately.

She was pleased to find him online as she was scrolling through Blogr and shot him a message. 'What're you up to right now?'

His response was immediate. 'Waiting in line to get lunch on campus. At this rate it's going to be at least another ten minutes' He added a gif of someone dramatically clutching their stomach as if they were starving.

Emily laughed. 'Fun. I'm killing time before my next class'

Brandon shot her an annoyed look from over his laptop. "Can you keep it down? I'm trying to concentrate here."

She had nearly forgotten he was there. "Sure thing, your highness," she said before giving him a sarcastic salute.

He huffed before turning back to his work. "No need to be snarky about it."

She bit her tongue, not wanting to argue with him, and turned back to her phone. RoboCat had messaged her back. 'Can I rant to you for a second?'

'By all means' Emily was curious what sort of things would bother him enough to feel like he needed to rant about it.

'My professor assigned this horrible group project where we all have to participate equally so I've actually had to spend time in the computer lab on campus instead of at home and my groupmates are idiots. One of them screwed up their part so badly that we've had to run a debugging program for the last three hours.

'Someone has to stay at the computer at all times until it's done so I barely managed to get away for a quick lunch before going back. It would've been so much faster if I could've done the whole thing on my own.

'What's the point of getting programmers to work together on a project? Everything I've ever done has been an individual effort! I can't work with these people!'

It was one of the longest messages she had ever gotten from him. When he said rant he meant it.

She tried to comfort him. 'Don't most work places value teamwork? Maybe that's what your professor was thinking'

'I'm a freelancer. I don't ever intend to work somewhere that requires teamwork'

Her eyes narrowed. He couldn't be a freelancer forever, could he? Didn't he want a stable job someday?

'I thought you wanted to go into cybersecurity. How would that work staying freelance?'

'I'd be a consultant. Consulting is still freelance work. Sitting in an office all day…talking to other people…being stuck to a set schedule…I can't think of anything more stifling. That's not me. Some of my best work happens at 3 AM. I like being able to take snack, drink, or chatting breaks whenever I want to. An office is basically a prison'

Emily was surprised he felt so strongly about it. 'Not to be that person but…is freelancing going to be enough to live off of? It has the reputation of working only as a side gig to a full-time job'

'Are you worried about me? I'm blushing' He sent a gif of an actor making an over exaggerated embarrassed expression.

'Well yeah, you are one of my best friends. I've had in drilled into my head since a very young age that I need to have a job that pays well, remember?'

She had told RoboCat about her dad's ridiculous expectations before. He wanted all of his children to become doctors, lawyers, or other stable, well-paid positions and didn't care what they were passionate about. One of his favorite mantras was 'passion won't pay rent.'

'You don't have to worry about me. Freelancing is more lucrative than you'd think if you know how to do it right, which I do'

That seemed like bragging. Was this because of his involvement in Sink or Swim?

'Are you saying you're loaded?'

RoboCat sent a gif of a stern looking man in sunglasses and a black suit. 'I will neither confirm nor deny such allegations'

She laughed out loud again and Brandon rolled his eyes before shushing her. Geez, could he lighten up a little? She wasn't being any louder than the ambient noise around them already was.

He could be so stuffy. He wasn't always like this—Brandon used to be fun to be around. What had happened that killed that part of him? Was it really just school stress?

'You're ridiculous, I hope you know that'

'Oh, I know. I got called eccentric the other day for the first time in my life. It was an interesting experience'

Emily's curiosity got the better of her. 'Who was it? Your cousin?'

'She thinks I'm boring not eccentric. I was at dinner with a colleague'

'I thought you just said you didn't have colleagues," she sent, suspicious. How would a freelancer have colleagues?

'I have them I just usually don't interact with them in person. Our correspondence is through email or over the phone. This was actually a first. It was kind of awkward. I had no idea what I was saying for more than half of it'

She smiled. That sounded like the antisocial RoboCat she was familiar with. 'I echo your cousin's sentiment: you're hopeless'

'Thanks, Grape Juice. That means a lot coming from you'

She tried really hard to stifle her giggles at his blatant sarcasm before Brandon could shush her again. 'Do you have any friends in your department at school? Not including the morons in your project group, I mean'

The answer was swift. 'Nope'

'Do you have any friends at all?'

Wow, that came out way harsher than she intended. She regretted it the moment it sent but she was curious! He claimed to be alone all the time but everyone had to have at least a few friends, right?

'My colleague I had dinner with…and that girl. That's literally it'

That was really all the social interaction he had? No roommates, neighbors? Just plain people he hung out with?

She tried to keep it light by teasing him. 'What about me?'

'You're online, it's different'

Emily pursed her lips. That was exactly the problem between them that she used to think was a good thing. She felt comfortable talking with him because he didn't know her for real so she could be free and candid without embarrassment.

She had been satisfied with their anonymous friendship for years. Why did she want to know who he was so badly now?

'It doesn't have to be'

He seemed confused. 'What do you mean?'

'We know a lot about each other. What would it hurt to know each other's names or have each other's numbers? I don't even know what you look like'

'You know what my cat looks like'

Emily was annoyed. He wasn't taking her seriously. 'It's not the same! Haven't you ever been curious about who I am behind the screen?'

His answer was a weight that settled in her chest. 'No'

Pushing back her own hurt feelings, she persisted. 'Okay but that doesn't change the fact that I'm curious about you'

'You can ask me anything but my name, where I live, or what I look like. Go. Satisfy your curiosity'

  She accepted his conditions with a sigh, firing off a rapid fire series of questions.

'How tall are you? What's your favorite color? What food do you usually eat? Do you have a car, and if so, what kind? Do you have roommates? What's something that makes you happy outside of computers? What's something that makes you mad? If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?'

It took him a few minutes to respond to all her questions. 'I'm tragically half an inch shy of being 6 feet tall. My favorite color is emerald green. I usually eat a lot of different types of Asian take out. Delivery is my best friend.

'My car is a basic silver four door sedan. I have one roommate but we literally never interact; he's usually with his girlfriend. Something that makes me happy outside of computers…the way the girl I like's eyes light up when she's excited about something and scrunches her nose when she's being teased.

'I'm mad at how much of a wimp I am when it comes to human interaction. Maybe if I'd taken action years ago I would have actually had a chance with her. And if I could go anywhere, it would be Washington D.C. to see the Smithsonian. Happy?'

Wow. That was more information than she had gotten out of him in a while. They weren't very important details but she felt a tiny bit closer to him. The problem was that his answers only made her want to know more and she wasn't sure if he would comply.

'Yes and no. I have more questions'

'Ask away. Though I have no idea why you want to know. I get called boring on a regular basis'

'I don't think you're boring. You're a mystery'

'That's exactly why I don't want you to actually know who I am. You'll realize that I'm not that great if the air of mystery is gone'

Was his self-esteem really that low? The thought made her sad.

'That wouldn't happen'

'Trust me, it's better this way. Are you going to ask more questions or not?'

More questions…what would tell her more about him without revealing personal details?

'Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather? Who is your biggest role model? Do you like any celebrities? What sort of music do you listen to? What were your favorite and least favorite subjects in school when you were younger? What toppings do you put on your pizza? What's your favorite soda? Favorite ice cream flavor? Favorite snack food?'

It took him a while to respond again, as if he was really thinking about his answers.

'It doesn't really matter to me because I'm inside most of the time anyway. I really look up to Alan Turing. His invention was the precursor to the modern computer and helped end World War II. Does Bill Gates count as a celebrity?

'I listen to a lot of video game soundtracks and movie scores as I code but I also like the classic/indie rock stuff my cousin makes me listen to when she's over. Favorite: math. Least favorite: English (too many group activities).

'I will put literally anything on my pizza but pineapple because that's an abomination and I will fight you on it. I don't really drink soda, the carbonation bugs me. I'd have to pick either just plain chocolate or neopolitan. Favorite snack food is either plain potato chips or pretzels'

Emily was surprised how much computers influenced other areas of his life, like the people he idolized and the music he liked. His other answers made him seem like any other guy she knew. Normal.

He was a real person out there somewhere. And she really wanted to know who he was but he was unwilling to tell her.

Honestly, that really stung. Was it really just a self-esteem issue? Or did he not want her contacting him for real? Was he actually a middle aged creep on the internet like her mom always warned her about? He didn't seem like one…

"Emily!"

Brandon's voice snapped her out of her reverie. "What's up?"

"The bell rang. Don't you have class?"

She glanced at the time on her phone and jumped up. "Crap, it's all the way across campus! I have to go."

She stuffed her phone in her pocket and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before wishing him goodbye. He only nodded in return.