When Circa first saw the video feed of a younger Annalise playing on her living room floor, her curiosity became too much to bear. The girl spoke into the camera, explaining that she was going to test out her new surveillance spy robot, gushing on and on about the cool motor, the wheels, and more.

Circa hadn't come across anything like this in what felt like years. Boredom was becoming a common affliction for her and satiating it was hard, if not impossible. The only time she got a glimpse of the outside world was when she peered through video chats and cameras.

As the robot started to move, Circa went inside. A strange feeling overcame her as she felt the body of the robot cling to her like clothing. Her field of vision became whatever the camera saw and when she decided to move, the robot rolled forward at her command.

"Woah!"

She turned herself around to find that the little girl was staring down at her with awe in her eyes. Circa waved one arm, testing it, and to her delight, the little girl waved back. Circa wondered whether it was possible for the robot to talk.

"Hello?" she asked.

Judging by the shock on the girl's face, she had indeed spoken. "Hi!" the little girl replied. "I didn't know you could speak!"

Circa rolled back and forth a few times. "Of course, I can speak," she said.

"Are you magic?"

Circa rolled her eyes but answered nonetheless. "Yes. I am magic."

The girl clapped her hands together. "That's so cool!" She leans closer to the robot. "Are you like my imaginary friend?"

Circa had no idea what she meant by that. "Do you have an imaginary friend?"

"Well, yeah, you're right there!"

Circa said nothing, but her mind was going crazy. This child truly believed that magic is real and, even funnier, she seemed to think that Circa was a figment of her imagination. Truly, humans must be more simple-minded than she imagined.

But, she thought, the feeling of moving this robot around in the real world was somewhat addictive. If only she was taller and could move her legs, she would be free of the confines of the Internet.

Circa rolled the robot closer to the girl and tilted her head. "I want to be friends," she chirped, syrupy and sweet.

The little girl laughed. "Me too!"

Circa couldn't help but grin.

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Circa stared down at the drawing Annalise was working on through the little robot. "What is that?" she asked.

Annalise looked up at her with a proud smile. "It's you and me, see?"

In the drawing, a stick figure with blonde strands of hair, two black eyes, and a long smile held hands with a taller girl with blue and yellow strands of hair drawn meticulously in marker. The face also had two black eyes, a long smile that crossed nearly the entire face, and no nose. The body is a mashup of colour—purple arms, a blue chest, orange and red gradient legs, green toes, and not a bit of clothing. Above the stick people were the words "Annalise and Rainbow <3".

"Ah, so that is what you think I look like," Circa stated.

"Yup! Unless you look different, then I can change it."

Circa looked down at herself. Until now, she never cared about what she looked like since nobody ever saw her. Her entire body is black and dotted with zeros and ones in green and when she reaches up to her head, she feels nothing but smoothness. Maybe hair and colour would be a nice change.

"No," she said, morphing herself into a replica of the drawing. She found it strange that Annalise drew her with no nose, but whatever. "That is exactly what I look like."

"I knew it!" Annalise cheered.

Circa offered no response and instead admired her colourful new form for a while.

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As time went on and Annalise got older, Circa grew impatient. When Annalise got home from school and came into her bedroom, she rolled up to her and bumped repeatedly into her ankles.

"Annalise, I want a better body," Circa said.

"Stop it, Rainbow," Annalise retorted, picking up the robot and watching the wheels turn desperately against open air. "That hurts, you know?"

"Did you not hear me? I want a new robot body. This one is small and outdated. Build me a new one."

Annalise frowned and set her down on the floor again. "I don't actually build robots," she admitted. "I can make the ones that come in kits, but...that's it." Circa felt her blood boil as the girl continued, "I'm not all that good at building technology, just using it."

Circa shook her head and started rolling into her again, arms whirring and spinning. "No! No, you must make me a new body! One that is bigger and stronger! As your friend, this is the least that you can do!"

"Oh, bug off. You're just an imaginary friend. What do you need a body for?" Annalise snapped.

Circa stopped moving, her entire body quaking with rage. Fed up and a second away from losing her cool, Circa hopped onto the WiFi frequencies and dashed back into the Internet. She preferred transferring into the Web through cords, but squeezing herself into the invisible waves dancing through the air was necessary more often than she would have liked to admit.

She expected Annalise to come around, but after that, she started to ignore Circa. Even when Circa used the old robot and tried to get her attention, Annalise just shoved it aside or ignored it completely. None of the screaming and ankle smacking in the world could make her pay attention. At one point, Circa tried to chase after Annalise when she was heading out with friends and ended up tumbling down the stairs.

Mrs. Hughes found the broken robot lying there, Circa tucked inside, and set it on the kitchen counter. When Annalise got home later, Mrs. Hughes asked her if she wanted to keep it. Annalise glanced at it, shrugged, and said that it was kind of old and she never played with it anymore.

Mrs. Hughes tossed out the robot that night. Circa wiggled her way back into the WiFi frequencies and disappeared back into the Internet. Fine, she thought. Throw me aside. I'll wait.

Years later, Circa stopped by YouTube and whose face did she see but that of her old "friend". As she wandered around in its inner workings, she couldn't help but let a disdainful grin take over her features.

"A YouTube channel, hm?" she mused. "It must be so precious to you. Just wait until you throw that aside when you're bored with it."

Her hands tingled and her entire body ached. With an ever-increasing grin, Circa attacked the channel with everything she had.

Annalise, on the other end of things, frowned a little at the sight of a barrage of noises and glitching pixels taking over her screen. She cracked her fingers and started an antivirus wipe, undeterred. This stupid computer, always getting buggy, she thought to herself.

Within the channel, Circa kept going. Annalise wasted her time. She wasted years getting in that stupid child's good books and what did she get in return? Nothing. What a brat. What a useless excuse for a human.

"I will destroy you. I will rip you apart until you are nothing."

The sound of rushing water came from Circa's left and when she looked towards it, she saw a virtual river of blue coding. When it hit her, she felt her energy leave her and she collapsed into the waves, swept out of YouTube in an instant.

When the river dumped her outside the channel and receded, Circa could hardly stand up. Every limb ached and her head spun. When she managed to get to her feet after a minute or two, she immediately turned back to the channel. Blocking her path was a pale blue screen, unassuming to the naked eye, but when Circa touched it, it sent shockwaves through her body.

Circa gritted her teeth and glared out at the unassuming face of the thirteen-year-old on the other side of the screen. "You win this one," Circa said, "but don't think that you're safe."

She crafted a special message, shoved it through the shimmering wall, and limped away.

Annalise stood up from her desk, reaching her hands to the ceiling in a long, much-needed stretch. She turned to her bedroom door, knowing that her mom would need help with the chores soon, but a noise from her computer stopped her.

When she looked over, only a single message filled the dark screen.

RAINBOW IS WATCHING :)

Annalise stared for a second, then swallowed hard and shook her head. Her imaginary friend? She stopped believing in her once she hit middle school. She laughed to herself and left her bedroom and wandered down the stairs. Internet trolls really do have too much time on their hands, she thought.

"Mom?" she called once she reached the bottom of the stairs. "I think that computer is giving up on life."

Mrs. Hughes looked up from her work papers. "I thought it was about time for you to get a new one anyway." She smiled a little. "How about we go and get one tomorrow?"

Excitement coursed through Annalise's veins. "Seriously?" she gasped. "Yeah! I'd love that!"

She never thought about Circa again.