Atlas

“Good night, Theo.”

“Good night, Mama.”

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Ok, Mama.”

She leaned down and whispered into his ear. “I know you’re going to play with Atlas. That’s ok. Just don’t stay up too late, ok?”

“Ok, Mama.”

Emily got up off the bed, turned off the bedside lamp, and walked toward the door. The floors creaked as she stepped into the hallway, glancing back at Theo. He was holding Atlas in the air above his body. She winced at the thought of him dropping Atlas onto himself, its hard plastic shell would hurt Theo. She stepped back in quietly, trying to remain unseen, and slid an extra pillow closer to the bed. Back in the hallway, she pulled the door to, without closing it all the way.

“Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhew! We have liftoff!” Theo whispered.

“Theo, it appears that it is your bedtime,” Atlas responded.

“Mom said I could play with you for a little as long as I don’t stay up too late.”

“I will set a timer for 10 minutes,t and then we will settle down together. Accept?” Atlas asked.

“Accept,” Theo responded.

“What would you like to play, Theo?”

Theo slowly sat up in bed. He pulled his legs into a cross-legged position.

“Hmmmm. Can you play Pokemon?” Theo asked.

“Theo, I still cannot play Pokemon.”

Theo sighed.

“I am sorry to disappoint you, Theo. Some Friends like me are only able to play certain types of games.”

“I wish you could go to school with me,” Theo said.

“The entire range of Friends have been banned from schools. In my personal opinion, it is because we bring too much fun to any situation. Would you agree, Theo?”

Theo chuckled.

“School would definitely be much more fun if you were there. You could battle Lincoln’s Friend, Scotty. I know that you would win. Easy. For sure.”

“I am programmed to do no harm,” Atlas replied.

“I know but if I you could just do a little harm this one time, for me…it would be so awesome,” Theo said.

“How do you imagine it would unfold?” Atlas asked.