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Me.
She kept poking at her salad, turning leaves of lettuce over and
over again. She didn't even add any dressing to it. It must
taste like grass to her without it.
"You alright?" Ryo asked as he sipped his coffee. It tasted
bitter despite the packages of sugar he added to it.
She seemed startled, as if she just realized where she was. "Oh,
yes, I'm fine, I'm okay."
"You want to order something else instead?"
"Oh, no, I'm fine. I'm really okay."
"Hmm..." Ryo pondered as he sipped some more of his coffee. It
was strong, the taste of hazelnut invading every one of his
taste buds. "You sure? I haven't seen you eat anything since we
came into the restaurant."
She nodded with a slight smile, as if embarrassed or some
feeling close to it. Ryo wasn't sure. The sunlight kept
reflecting itself on the windshields of the cars passing by.
"It's just that I don't have any adipose-limiting DNA." She
bursted out suddenly.
"Excuse me?" Ryo almost spit out his coffee from surprise.
"I don't have any adipose-limiting DNA, so if I don't limit my
eating, I'll gain weight from fat cell productions."
"Okay..." Ryo felt awkward from this conversation. "But if you
don't eat, won't it be bad for your health and all?"
She kept quiet, hiding her hands under the table. "Yet if I eat,
I'll gain weight, and customers won't buy me."
"But that's better than passing out and dying, right?"
She shook her head. "I was made to be bought and used, if I
can't even accomplish that function, what else would I be good
for?"
"Well, I'm sure it won't be that-"
"They would probably just recycle me anyway, right? It's not
like I'm the most demanded product out there..."
"Well, don't say that..."
They were both quiet as the waiter passed by and helped the
table behind Ryo.
"Why are you looking for women?" She asked.
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, what made you decide to buy a female?"
"Don't know." Ryo sighed as he took another sip of his coffee.
"Loneliness, probably."
"But there are cheaper pets out there than us. I'm sure a dog
probably costs ten times cheaper than us."
"Yeah, but none of them cook or talk." Ryo chuckled at this.
"Well, maybe the new Aibo dog can talk, but they're more robots
than real pets."
"Right..."
"Plus, having a women feels different than having a dog as a
companion, you know? You guys are more... How do I put it...
Chaotic..."
"Chaotic?"
"Yeah."
"What do you mean?"
Ryo shrugged his shoulders. "Just what I mean."
"Oh."
She looked confused. This made Ryo laugh. He felt confused
inside too. "My name is Ryo Hamasaki, by the way." He extended
his hand out.
"I'm Eliza E-541." She shook his hand.
"Tell you what." Ryo pushed the thousand islands dressing
towards her. "If you finish your salad with as much dressing as
you want, I'll put down the money and trial lease you out for a
year. And, if everything goes well, I'll put down the mortgage
and buy you afterwards."
"Okay..." Eliza looked down at the salad with determination.
"But are you sure you want that? Like I said, I don't have
adipose-limiting DNA..."
"Eh," Ryo shrugged. "Better you gaining weight than dying a few
days after I lease ya. Plus, I'm not exactly that interested in
broomstick-shaped women either."
"In that case, could I ask you for something?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Could I have some cubed chickens to go with my salad? It's
kinda plain and tastes like grass."
Ryo laughed at this. He then raised his hand and got ready to
order some cubed chicken. |
