Page 80 of Chaos Theory
I look at Maeve. Maeve looks at me. Neither of us provides an answer.
‘Maeve!’ I detect strong emotion from JP.
‘Y-yes,’ Maeve says. ‘Kobi had a…a malfunction. I thought you knew. Josh said it was all in the report he sent you at the start. Didn’t you read it?’
JP turns away and speaks at volume 3. ‘Well, does anyone actually read reports?’
‘No one was hurt at PHI,’ Maeve says. ‘Josh implied you and Ron were on the same page.’
‘This is all a bit of a mess, isn’t it?’ Sandra Smith says.
‘Well, you won’t need to worry about Kobi much longer,’ Maeve says. She turns to me. ‘I’m so sorry, Kobi, but today is your last day at Go Ireland.’
My systems go into overdrive to process the incoming data. Somewhere among the lines of logic, I realise that the party couldretrospectively be assigned to a third category. Aside from ‘Halloween’ and ‘birthday’, it could also be designated a ‘leaving do’, if I am using the human term correctly. As this new emotion begins to clarify, I resolve to ask Josh to disable my Emotion Detector the next time we meet.
FORTY-FOUR
MAEVE
Monday, 8:30am
I open the door of the Shannon Suite, let Kobi roll in ahead of me.
‘Well, looks like this will be your last team meeting with us, Kobi.’ I try to force some breeziness into my voice, but I can hear the hollow tone underneath.
‘Affirmative,’ he says. ‘I shall miss these petty gatherings.’
I laugh, but there’s a pit in my stomach. Of course I knew Kobi would only be here temporarily, but damn, I’ve grown accustomed to his face. This is exactly why Dad would never let me get a pet, I realise. You get attached and then goodbye is so much harder.
After the party on Friday, we decided as a group that Kobi would attend the team meeting today to say an official farewell to everyone before I bring him back to RoboTron. JP insisted he would go with us; he’s eager to speak to Ron and smooth things over. I was too tired to argue and besides, part of me is glad I’ll have backup walking into RoboTron. In case I have to face Ron or – worse – Josh.
Josh tried to call me all weekend, but I refused to answer. I don’t know what he wants to say to me. I only know I don’t want tohear it because it’ll just be more lies. Was anything he said real? All I know for sure is that he was using me.
Shane messaged me as well on Saturday, asking if I wanted to meet. I can’t really face him at the moment either. I’ve been such an idiot, raving on about The Kobi Project and how great Josh was the past few weeks.
The door opens. It’s Shane.
‘You’re so early,’ I say. Some of the tension in my shoulders releases in spite of myself.
He shrugs and gestures at Kobi. ‘Ah, you know…it’s his last day and all. You all set, Kobi?’
‘Affirmative.’
Shane takes me aside. ‘And how are you feeling about today?’
‘Ah, you know…’ I repeat Shane’s phrase back to him, then trail off.
‘I know. Listen, why don’t you call round to my house later, after work? I’ll want to know how you got on at RoboTron. All the details. I got in that exotic herbal tea you like.’
‘You mean peppermint? Such a wildly exotic flavour.’ I smile. I picture myself on Shane’s couch and am surprised at how much I’d like to be there right now. But I push away the image. I wonder if he went home with Sandra after the party. ‘Thanks. We’ll see. I feel like today is going to be exhausting, on many levels.’
‘Hey, I was thinking about that,’ he says. ‘I know this is Kobi’s last day here, but like, couldn’t you maybe still see him sometimes, at RoboTron?’
The innocence and optimism of his question kind of floor me. I can’t tell him that I don’t want to go to RoboTron because I can’t face Josh, because I’m equal parts angry and embarrassed.
‘I don’t know,’ I say. ‘Ron didn’t really seem the reasonable type, based on what I saw of him at the conference. And I’m not sure he’s a fan of all the stuff we did with Kobi…’
I did briefly consider reinstating Kobi’s legs for his return to RoboTron, but I just couldn’t take his new mobility away from him. If Ron wants to do it, that’s his prerogative. I take out a smallscrewdriver and tighten some of the fittings on Kobi’s lower panels. No need to make it easy for Ron.
