Cleo took her phone from her pocket, dialing False's number. It didn't even ring once before she picked up. 

"CLEO! What happened? Why are you calling now?"

The ginger went quiet for a second. "Sorry, honey. I was busy with some new people I met-"

"At the boating dock!!? Honey, you're going to be late for your boat! Isn't it boarding now!?"

"What? No! I've been here for an hour or so now, sweetie. I arrived a long time ago."

"What!? Honey, I-"

"Don't worry, I think your clock might be mixed up. Anyways, do you want to know what's happened so far?"

"Of course!"

And so Cleo spent the next 10 or so minutes talking about Robot Grian(of whom she only called 'RG'), some of the group of people she had met, and her newest friend.

"...Oh, and I made a new friend! His name is-" She glanced over at him. "What's your name, again?"

He smiled, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Joe."

"His name is Joe. He's really nice, I think I'm staying over with him for now."

"Okay, sweetie! The kitties are doing well, I hope you do well."

"Bye, honey!" Cleo hung up, turning to her friend.

"So that was your girlfriend?" Joe smiled, bringing a pair of small plates over to the zombie.

"Yeah," she grinned. "Her name is False. She's nice."

"Here, have this," the brunette smiled, handing Cleo a small plate. "It's just a baked potato, but I'm going to barter with some other people later for good food." Cleo took the small plate, and the two began to eat in silence.

After a few minutes, a loud band came from outside the door. Joe sighed, standing up. "One moment, he's here," he opened the door to a very small man with messy dirty blonde hair.

"Hi." The boy beamed.

"What do you need, NPG?"

"A snack, you know," his smile grew as he rocked back and forth on his heels, humming lightly.

"Okay, let me get it," Joe smiled lightly, grabbing a small box from a shelf. "Here, do you have your cup?"

"Yeah, one mo- who's that?" he pointed at Cleo. "Why is she here?"

"NPG, this is my friend, Cleo. I met her today and she is quite nice."

"Pff, okay," he muttered. "Here, just give me my snack! I'm hungryyyyy."

"Okay, okay, have it," Joe laughed, pouring some nuts and bolts into the boy's plastic cup. "You can go, now! Stay safe!"

"Okay, fricker!" he laughed, running off down the hallway.

Cleo went silent as Joe placed the box of nuts and bolts back onto its shelf and sat down next to her. "Wha-"

"Oh, that's NPG. He's an old robot, but he acts like he was made yesterday." Joe frowned.

"Are robots like babies when they're made here or something? Why are there so many robots here, anyways!?"

"Firstly, in a way. They're like children when they're first made; not understanding anything in the world other than how to talk and maybe control themselves. Usually, the creator is like a parent to them for a year or two; maybe three." Joe explained. "Not too many robots live around-" he counted on his fingers quickly. "No, lots of robots live here. Like at least 5 or something."

"What!? Who-"

"You know Robot Grian, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Okay. Do you know who his creator is?"

"Grian?" Cleo muttered, trying to see out the window. "I think I saw him earlier, he was yelling at RG."

"Yeah, he's like that sometimes," sighed the brunette. "Robot Grian is like the other robots' dad now. Grian tries, I'm pretty sure... He just doesn't always think about the future very much,"

"What do you mean 'doesn't think about the future'?" Cleo asked.

"Well, I'm pretty sure he, like many people, makes robots to help him. With making lots of robots at different times, and robots learning in different ways, it can be hard to teach even two robots at the same time. Grian's busy on making his home, a club, a resistance against a small useless thing of the government, along with..." the brunette stopped, taking his glasses off and wiping them with his shirt.

"Along with what?" Cleo asked, shuffling her feet.

"Oh, nothing," Joe muttered, sliding his glasses back on. "What I'm saying here is that NPG just didn't get a good teaching, really."

"How old is he by now? NPG?"

"Oh, uh..." Joe counted on his fingers for a moment. "14? 15? I don't Truly know. Time goes fast," with that he stood up, taking the pair's plates and throwing them into the small sink. "Let's go take a walk? I'll fill you in on things?"

"Sure!" Cleo got up, adjusting her small flower crown. She was not ready for what was about to happen.

—————

(796 words)

Aaaaaa here it is! In-person school is here, so I'm just working lightly after school. Have a good day, enjoy the cliffhanger~