Healthy Breakfast

Clueless

I think that when it’s all over, it just comes back to you. You don’t know what happened until after it’s all over. It’s like a kaleidoscope of memories. You flashback to when it all started.  I think part of me knew the second I saw him smile that my life would change forever.

When I was first dropped off at Kiwi Corp on June 16, 2263, I was amazed. Everything was so clean and polished! A man with dark brown hair whizzed up to me. He wore an unwrinkled turquoise shirt with a brown jacket, no buttons. He also wore blue jeans and black shoes.

“Smart clothes, of course,” I thought in awe. “Hi.” he said, skidding to a stop on his hoverboard. “I’m Steve.”

He picked a board from a nearby rack and handed it to me. “Here.”

I looked at it, stunned. It was beautiful, silver with a glowing kiwi. I tilted it and green sparkles like disco lights flashed across the surface.

Shocked, I blurted, “You ride hoverboards at work? What does the boss say?” Steve threw back his head and laughed. “I am the boss!” With that, he got on his board and whooshed away, beckoning me to follow.

I wasn’t like most people nowadays. Today, people are born with their brains advanced to the optimal level. Smarter people make for a better workplace and economy, the advertisements say. My parents never chose to have me enhanced. They wanted me to learn by myself. I was angry at first, having to compete with the superiors. Applying for Government scholarships to study. Learning coding the old fashioned way.

“You can do anything if you put your mind to it,” my mom and dad would tell me. “Believe in yourself. Believe.”

Turns out, I am a pretty good programmer!  Only 2 of 10 naturals to ever get a chance to work at Kiwi Corp. But, was I good enough? I was always letting my emotions get in the way. “Too much feeling,” my BioScan read.

There were over 10,000 people in the one 12-floor office building. The entrance hall was all glass and open to the sky. A mini-city. The smells from the five main restaurants mixed together into an enticing aroma of BBQ chicken with Asian and Indian spices. The ice cream and candy shop was bursting at the seams, and Mooncents was full of employees looking for their morning caffeine boost. I heard the voice of the gym trainer, urging her students on, and the faint slap of the swimmers.  There was a library and dry cleaners. And, a schoolcare for worker’s younger children, complete with all the latest technology for cerebral advancement. The medical enhancement office in the corner connected to the neuro-pharmacy. In case someone needed a boost in neurofilines to optimize work output. And screens everywhere, flashing the latest news to keep everyone informed. The lot had a constant flow of people and you could see the vibrantly colored self-drive pods zooming around on the hoverwalks.

    As we moved through the lobby, robo-stations offered us refreshments, Earpods with the hipest musical downloads, or the latest gadget on which to check email, schedule, social media status or just check-in.

    As I looked up to the floors circling us above, I saw no cubicles at all! The upper floors were filled with big, clear glass work Pods, complete with assorted chairs, couches, C-chairs, and other comfortable places to lounge. Everybody was relaxed, but clearly hard at work. A large workgroup of about 5-13 people in each Pod were doing some sort of building project. The group nearest us looked like they were building a refillable chocolate bar.

    “Should we go to your workspace?” Steve asked.

“Absolutely!” I replied with anticipation. Steve pointed up. We each pressed a button on our hoverboards and we rose higher and higher until we were whizzing at breakneck speed through the wide “Hoverboard Passage Channel.”

    We reached a door with the sign, “Team Ted.” Steve pressed his hand into the thermo scanner, and when it beeped I did the same. “Name?” it inquired.

“Sofia Zerkurjat, No. 44682 Brand X4,” I replied.

“Retinal scanner ready,” it chimed. I pressed my face into the side of the door so it could scan my eyes. “Permission granted,” I heard, and finally, the doors opened.

“Well! This is it!” Grinning, Steve walked into a side room. His office. Now, go into the Pod and get to work!” Steve exclaimed. “If you need anything, you know where to find me. And, remember, we’re a team here,” he winked. “So welcoming, and kind,” I thought. I heard the door close. The personal profile scanner buzzed momentarily, scanning Steve’s vitals, and the window of his room turned a hazy purple.

I turned around, excited and confused, looking into the empty room in front of me. All to myself...and my team? Steve told me I would be working with a team of seven. But where were they? I went to get a drink of water, then entered my work Pod.  “Buzz,” went the scanner. “I am going to have to get used to this,” I thought, and the room got really cool and comfortable. Classical music played in the background.  My body relaxed into a comfy down blue chair and I inhaled, “Lavender.”

    Suddenly, a robot arm extended from the wall holding out a pair of funky glasses. After a moment of hesitation, I put them on. Seven holographic images of people appeared, obviously waiting. Nervously, I got up in front of them and introduced myself. That’s how I met the crew.

    Ben. Engineer, in Argentina. Pro-phone ball champion. Nyx. Teenage coding phenom from England. Dane. The moneyman. Korean, of course. Vega Two kids, worked from home. Ajax. Strong. Greek. Lugged all heavy supplies. Nova. Designer extraordinaire. Evalyn? OMG! The famous designer of Koshka’s World; it made $1.68 million in its 3D gaming debut!

          

***

    Working at Kiwi is exhilarating and tough.  My team is creating a robot named Ted, so sophisticated it is nearly human. Artificial intelligence is all the rage. Every day I arrive at the office at 5:00a.m., and work until midnight, sometimes staying the night. Holomeetings are the highlight for me, as we come together from all over the world.  And, work and work and work.

    “These superiors don’t need as much sleep as I do,” I yawn as I snuggle under a thermal blanket in the Virtual Slumber Chamber.

    “Wha..” I awake to the sound of Ajax pushing a hovercart filled with triquetrum, trapezium and other minerals from the Andromeda galaxy that scientists said performed miracles. He waved as he passed me. “The designers finally decided on the optimal body design,” he yelled.

“Great!” I smiled, “It only took 197 days.”

But, the coding for Ted has problems. I could use the time. I look at my notes: He can’t cook or eat. Throws food all over the room and screams. Not sympathetic. Not interested in conversation. No manners whatsoever.  It’s taking longer than expected.

    By 3pm, I’ve made some improvements, but Ted is too proper. He acts like a butler. “Code him so he can have fun, I plead with myself.

“Let’s improve functionality so he doesn’t need to go pee immediately after drinking or sound like a strangled rat when inhaling,” smirked Evalyn.

    But, by midnight, our tests still don’t seem to work. My coding is always the cause. I hope they don’t realize how clueless I am. Superiors always think that naturals are clueless.

***

It’s been 364 days. Our deadline is approaching, and we are not ready.  “You write code like a 21st century programmer,” Dane snaps at me. “Naturals have no place here. Get out. You’re clueless, you always mess everything up!”

I stood up. “ Well, your designs are disgusting. You’re just some “little boy” who thinks he knows how to draw. You want a reaction from me, I will give you one. I am a natural thank the gods because otherwise I would end up like you. I. Am. Done.” I left the team with shocked faces. Usually I just passed their comments with a shrug. But Hey, there's only so much abuse a girl can take!

I stomped to Steve’s office to tell him. On the verge of tears, I let loose my worries in a flood of sniffles and sorries.

    He listened. I stopped talking. “Great, he’s going to fire me,” I thought. Too much emotion.

    “Do you know why I picked you?” he said. “No,” I whimpered. “It’s because you are a natural, and not genetically programmed like a robot, you are human. All these years, emotion has been bred out of us. To be able to recognize your feelings and the feelings of others, to be able to use emotional information to guide behavior. That’s special.” “Oh?” I stammered. “Yes,” he replied. “You can do this because you have the gift of having emotions. And, I can help you. Because I am a natural too. I’ve just been waiting for you to ask.”

    What matters most is friendship, then courage, then, perseverance. I learned that today.

***

12 ½ weeks later…..

“Hand me tube 3, electric blue,” I shouted excitedly. “Solid, turns to liquid. Perfect for molding human-like muscle for body. Tube 6, osteoblasts make real bone. Tube 99 eyes, color brown. Tube 100, turpentine and mercury mix. Artificial Blood. Tube 54, foamy material that turns to slime. Great imitation for cartilage. Hixon wiring perfect for nerves, as it conducts electricity.”

    “OK, now let’s hear what Ted has to say,” Steve ordered, with a wink.  I flipped the switch. Nothing…

I manage a lopsided smile. The team pushed random buttons and switches, but nothing works. Frustrated, I give the malfunctioning robot a swift kick.

With a whoosh and a click. Ted opened his eyes and blinked. He held out his hand and smiled, “Hi, I’m Ted! ” Maybe being a Natural is useful after all!

The End!

Word count =1669

Emotional Intelligence

Clueless

I think that when it’s all over, it just comes back to you. You don’t know what happened until after it’s all over. It’s like a kaleidoscope of memories. You flashback to when it all started.  I think part of me knew the second I saw him smile that my life would change forever.

When I was first dropped off at Kiwi Corp on June 16, 2263, I was amazed. Everything was so clean and polished! A man with dark brown hair whizzed up to me. He wore an unwrinkled turquoise shirt with a brown jacket, no buttons. He also wore blue jeans and black shoes.

“Smart clothes, of course,” I thought in awe. “Hi.” he said, skidding to a stop on his hoverboard. “I’m Steve.”

He picked a board from a nearby rack and handed it to me. “Here.”

I looked at it, stunned. It was beautiful, silver with a glowing kiwi. I tilted it and green sparkles like disco lights flashed across the surface.

Shocked, I blurted, “You ride hoverboards at work? What does the boss say?” Steve threw back his head and laughed. “I am the boss!” With that, he got on his board and whooshed away, beckoning me to follow.

I wasn’t like most people nowadays. Today, people are born with their brains advanced to the optimal level. Smarter people make for a better workplace and economy, the advertisements say. My parents never chose to have me enhanced. They wanted me to learn by myself. I was angry at first, having to compete with the superiors. Applying for Government scholarships to study. Learning coding the old fashioned way.

“You can do anything if you put your mind to it,” my mom and dad would tell me. “Believe in yourself. Believe.”

Turns out, I am a pretty good programmer!  Only 2 of 10 naturals to ever get a chance to work at Kiwi Corp. But, was I good enough? I was always letting my emotions get in the way. “Too much feeling,” my BioScan read.

There were over 10,000 people in the one 12-floor office building. The entrance hall was all glass and open to the sky. A mini-city. The smells from the five main restaurants mixed together into an enticing aroma of BBQ chicken with Asian and Indian spices. The ice cream and candy shop was bursting at the seams, and Mooncents was full of employees looking for their morning caffeine boost. I heard the voice of the gym trainer, urging her students on, and the faint slap of the swimmers.  There was a library and dry cleaners. And, a schoolcare for worker’s younger children, complete with all the latest technology for cerebral advancement. The medical enhancement office in the corner connected to the neuro-pharmacy. In case someone needed a boost in neurofilines to optimize work output. And screens everywhere, flashing the latest news to keep everyone informed. The lot had a constant flow of people and you could see the vibrantly colored self-drive pods zooming around on the hoverwalks.

    As we moved through the lobby, robo-stations offered us refreshments, Earpods with the hipest musical downloads, or the latest gadget on which to check email, schedule, social media status or just check-in.

    As I looked up to the floors circling us above, I saw no cubicles at all! The upper floors were filled with big, clear glass work Pods, complete with assorted chairs, couches, C-chairs, and other comfortable places to lounge. Everybody was relaxed, but clearly hard at work. A large workgroup of about 5-13 people in each Pod were doing some sort of building project. The group nearest us looked like they were building a refillable chocolate bar.

    “Should we go to your workspace?” Steve asked.

“Absolutely!” I replied with anticipation. Steve pointed up. We each pressed a button on our hoverboards and we rose higher and higher until we were whizzing at breakneck speed through the wide “Hoverboard Passage Channel.”

    We reached a door with the sign, “Team Ted.” Steve pressed his hand into the thermo scanner, and when it beeped I did the same. “Name?” it inquired.

“Sofia Zerkurjat, No. 44682 Brand X4,” I replied.

“Retinal scanner ready,” it chimed. I pressed my face into the side of the door so it could scan my eyes. “Permission granted,” I heard, and finally, the doors opened.

“Well! This is it!” Grinning, Steve walked into a side room. His office. Now, go into the Pod and get to work!” Steve exclaimed. “If you need anything, you know where to find me. And, remember, we’re a team here,” he winked. “So welcoming, and kind,” I thought. I heard the door close. The personal profile scanner buzzed momentarily, scanning Steve’s vitals, and the window of his room turned a hazy purple.

I turned around, excited and confused, looking into the empty room in front of me. All to myself...and my team? Steve told me I would be working with a team of seven. But where were they? I went to get a drink of water, then entered my work Pod.  “Buzz,” went the scanner. “I am going to have to get used to this,” I thought, and the room got really cool and comfortable. Classical music played in the background.  My body relaxed into a comfy down blue chair and I inhaled, “Lavender.”

    Suddenly, a robot arm extended from the wall holding out a pair of funky glasses. After a moment of hesitation, I put them on. Seven holographic images of people appeared, obviously waiting. Nervously, I got up in front of them and introduced myself. That’s how I met the crew.

    Ben. Engineer, in Argentina. Pro-phone ball champion. Nyx. Teenage coding phenom from England. Dane. The moneyman. Korean, of course. Vega Two kids, worked from home. Ajax. Strong. Greek. Lugged all heavy supplies. Nova. Designer extraordinaire. Evalyn? OMG! The famous designer of Koshka’s World; it made $1.68 million in its 3D gaming debut!

          

***

    Working at Kiwi is exhilarating and tough.  My team is creating a robot named Ted, so sophisticated it is nearly human. Artificial intelligence is all the rage. Every day I arrive at the office at 5:00a.m., and work until midnight, sometimes staying the night. Holomeetings are the highlight for me, as we come together from all over the world.  And, work and work and work.

    “These superiors don’t need as much sleep as I do,” I yawn as I snuggle under a thermal blanket in the Virtual Slumber Chamber.

    “Wha..” I awake to the sound of Ajax pushing a hovercart filled with triquetrum, trapezium and other minerals from the Andromeda galaxy that scientists said performed miracles. He waved as he passed me. “The designers finally decided on the optimal body design,” he yelled.

“Great!” I smiled, “It only took 197 days.”

But, the coding for Ted has problems. I could use the time. I look at my notes: He can’t cook or eat. Throws food all over the room and screams. Not sympathetic. Not interested in conversation. No manners whatsoever.  It’s taking longer than expected.

    By 3pm, I’ve made some improvements, but Ted is too proper. He acts like a butler. “Code him so he can have fun, I plead with myself.

“Let’s improve functionality so he doesn’t need to go pee immediately after drinking or sound like a strangled rat when inhaling,” smirked Evalyn.

    But, by midnight, our tests still don’t seem to work. My coding is always the cause. I hope they don’t realize how clueless I am. Superiors always think that naturals are clueless.

***

It’s been 364 days. Our deadline is approaching, and we are not ready.  “You write code like a 21st century programmer,” Dane snaps at me. “Naturals have no place here. Get out. You’re clueless, you always mess everything up!”

I stood up. “ Well, your designs are disgusting. You’re just some “little boy” who thinks he knows how to draw. You want a reaction from me, I will give you one. I am a natural thank the gods because otherwise I would end up like you. I. Am. Done.” I left the team with shocked faces. Usually I just passed their comments with a shrug. But Hey, there's only so much abuse a girl can take!

I stomped to Steve’s office to tell him. On the verge of tears, I let loose my worries in a flood of sniffles and sorries.

    He listened. I stopped talking. “Great, he’s going to fire me,” I thought. Too much emotion.

    “Do you know why I picked you?” he said. “No,” I whimpered. “It’s because you are a natural, and not genetically programmed like a robot, you are human. All these years, emotion has been bred out of us. To be able to recognize your feelings and the feelings of others, to be able to use emotional information to guide behavior. That’s special.” “Oh?” I stammered. “Yes,” he replied. “You can do this because you have the gift of having emotions. And, I can help you. Because I am a natural too. I’ve just been waiting for you to ask.”

    What matters most is friendship, then courage, then, perseverance. I learned that today.

***

12 ½ weeks later…..

“Hand me tube 3, electric blue,” I shouted excitedly. “Solid, turns to liquid. Perfect for molding human-like muscle for body. Tube 6, osteoblasts make real bone. Tube 99 eyes, color brown. Tube 100, turpentine and mercury mix. Artificial Blood. Tube 54, foamy material that turns to slime. Great imitation for cartilage. Hixon wiring perfect for nerves, as it conducts electricity.”

    “OK, now let’s hear what Ted has to say,” Steve ordered, with a wink.  I flipped the switch. Nothing…

I manage a lopsided smile. The team pushed random buttons and switches, but nothing works. Frustrated, I give the malfunctioning robot a swift kick.

With a whoosh and a click. Ted opened his eyes and blinked. He held out his hand and smiled, “Hi, I’m Ted! ” Maybe being a Natural is useful after all!

The End!

Word count =1669

Survival

Survival-the tale of a boy and his dog

by Dasha Zerboni

Joe had lost his parents when a wildfire had happened. His dog Cuda, had saved him then so now they are inseparable. Even though Cuda comforts him, Joe still quivers with fear whenever there is fire.  A Burning sun blazed down on the icy water as strong as an ox, making the drink evaporate. Refreshing breezes ruffled my black lab, Cuda’s fur while he panted while he wagging his blurr of a tail. The tired boy, Joe was puffing down the plain while his backpack sagged with weight. Some loose rocks tumbled down the rolling hills that loomed over them causing a dark shadow to fall over the two travelers. Flying fish leaped gracefully out of the crystal clear water of the pond that sparkled, catching the light of the sun. Coarse dirt dug into the Joe’s skin during the swaying dance of the tall prairie grass that swayed like a horse's mane when he gallopes. The boy munched on his cheese and ham sandwich, tossing pieces to Cuda as the group continued to drag their feet through the dirt.

    3 Days Earlier- Joe and Cuda sat on the wooden porch. They looked out at the sun, that was starting to rise signaling the start of a new day at the farm house. Hands trembling, the boy picked up the two juicy red apples he had picked from the orchard a couple minutes ago. Crunch! Cuda caught the fruit as the generous child flipped it into the air. After that, the boy took his own out of his jacket pocket. Shining it on his jacket, he then took his pocketknife and cut the apple into clean slices. Between bites, he declared “ You know what? I’m tired of foster homes. I just want to live my life with you. How about we run away?” Nearly 5 minutes after, the schoolboy and his furry friend were packing up supplies into an old cloth backpack. Later, both of them had collected this list of things. 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, 5 bottles of clean water, the knapsack, the penknife, a small compass, 4 shirts, 1 leather jacket, 1 cloth cap, 4 pairs of pants, 1 pair of shoes, and 2 pairs of socks. With the heavy pack on his back, the two friends melted into the scenery behind them and ran away. Almost dropping down to the ground to the ground with exhaustion, the fellow and the canine continued their venture. During this, the troup thought “ We must find shelter soon, but were?”  Too tired to go on, the bunch stopped for some food and well needed rest. Hands trembling with fatigue, the youth reached for a sandwich and sank his teeth into the thick, floaty, bread. His stomach growled with hunger, crying out for more like a starving animal. The lad took another bite, this one even more delicious than the first. Suddenly, Cuda snatched up the second sandwich in his jaws, leaping back to enjoy his satisfying lunch. Finally, the young man poured half of his water supply into his cupped hands. He then poured the rest of the bottle into the dogs waiting mouth.

While Cuda swished the water around in his mouth like a whirlpool, he thought “At this rate we’ll run out of food and water before we get there.” Soon, the unsuspecting boy finished filling is empty stomach with all the sandwiches and approximately all the water storage. Finally, they continued to journey through the plain. As the hours passed by, there stomachs grew emptier and emptier as if someone was digging out all the food and nutrition within. Some time after, the boys thin legs collapsed with effort. His companion lay down beside him. “ Ohhh! My stomach. I dont have any food but I could eat a horse, I’m that hungry.” Ravenous, man and man’s best friend continued their travel on unsatisfied bellies.

As the hound and child marched on, they got a marvelous sight. Right there in front of them was a mammoth cave. Pleased with their discovery, the pair sauntered inside the grotto. It was a quite fascinating cavern. Stalagmites and stalactites were sparkling as if they were the made out of jewels instead of water. Exquisite rocks like amethyst or quartz were hidden inside of the craggy looking shell outside them. Miniature tide pools with all types of tropical fish swimming around in it finished up the cave with flourish. Now delighted, the lab and lad raced up to the pools and immediately made it more comfortable to their liking. Together, they soon splashed into the petite lake that had the most refined water. Delighted, the partners took a well needed bath. After that, the dripping mongrel and soaking child leaped out to dress themselves in clean clothes or in the dog’s case, shake the water off, right onto the almost dry boy.Fortunately, the youth thought this somewhat hilarious and fell down into the pool chortling with laughter. In all of the commotion, a garibaldi from the pools jumped from the water and landed on Joe’s head flopping around much to the pooches amusement. Exhausted from their play, the mutt and youngster slept pleasantly as the sun already starting to set. Brilliant shades of orange, peach, red, and pink were spread in wisps across the darkening sky. By the time they woke up, by then it was morning of the next day. “Let’s go fishing for breakfast!” exclaimed the fellow as he was ravenous. They went to the pond with the plumpest and healthiest fish to catch some. Fishing was quite a hysterical sight too. Just imagine a dog jumping into the water gnashing his teeth in hope of catching a fish. Meanwhile, the fish are hurling themselves like arrows at the boy who traps them in his skilled hands. After practicing for a while, the loyal friends had caught a total of 4 fish. They quickly killed them so they could be edible.“ Just enough to last us a day.” he remarked, his chest bursting with pride. They stoked a tiny flame which soon became a roaring fire. While eating the blackened fish, they stared into the fire thinking about there new way of life. Together, they thought of their life and what more will come in the future. They were together, they had a home, food, and were alive. Right now, that was all that mattered.

From that day on Cuda and Joe learned that they could do what people thought impossible. All they had to do was follow their dreams and stick together. Together, they would persevere through life and all the hardships within.

Even Robots Need Breakfast

This morning, a robot was in my kitchen!  “What are you doing here?” I asked.  “Making a cheeseburger,” he answered.  “A cheeseburger?” I asked. “That’s not a proper breakfast. Why don’t you make cereal?”  The robot beeped.  His metal head spun around, and then he looked at the clock.  “Time for dinner,” he said.  “Huh? It’s 6:30 a.m.!”  “No, it’s time for dinner,” he bleeped in reply.  Dad came downstairs and heard me saying it was morning. Dad laughed. “No honey, it’s dinnertime,” he said, “I think you forgot it is a weekend, and you slept in late!” “Oh,” I said.

The End. 

A Crazy Class

Today all the pictures we drew in art class came to life.  I drew an airplane and it flew around the room.  Then, I drew a spider and it went to work making webs all over the room.  I said, “stop,” but it didn’t. So, I drew a bird to eat the spider. But, the bird wouldn’t stop squawking.  So, I drew a cat to catch the bird. But, the cat jumped to the top of the bookshelf and stayed there. So, I drew a dog to chase the cat. He chewed the white board erasers.  Now, we have a wild dog chasing a cat, chasing a bird, chasing a spider in the classroom.  The teacher was not happy.

The End.

A Weird Wake-Up

Today was the strangest day of my whole life.  When I woke up, it was raining inside my room! I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and the toothpaste was black instead of white! Everything was the opposite. First, I put on my shoes.  Then, I pulled my socks on over them.  I walked outside, and it wasn’t sunny. It was snowing hail! I got to school and saw the teacher wearing a swimsuit, doing warm-ups for swimming a triathlon. Everyone was playing instead of studying. At home after school, my mom put bread on butter at dinner. “But mom, we put butter on bread.” I said.  “Not today,” she said, “It’s opposite day!” I laughed. “Not okay,” I said, and winked.

The End.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Today, on the way to school, I saw a pack of wild monkeys! I waved. They waved back. I stuck out my tongue. They stuck out their tongues. I started to run. They started to run too. Then, I bonked into them. “Ouch!” they said.  “Ouch!” I said. They rubbed their forehead, and I rubbed mine.  “I am you?” I said, “What?” “I am you?” they said, “What?” “NO, I am a monkey!” I said. “NO, I am a monkey!” they said. They followed me everywhere, and repeated everything I said and did. It was annoying.

The End.