Jurina jolted awake at the lively music playing in her bedroom. Despite her sleepy state, it took her only a few seconds to recognize the familiar tune. Released in 2011, it was one of the biggest hits of a Japanese idol group very popular at the time. Jurina enjoyed listening to old songs, Nostalgia being one of her favorite radio stations. However, this morning, she was having a hard time matching her mood with the joyful lyrics of the song. Not only was she tired, she couldn't understand why her humanoid robot had set up her alarm clock on a Sunday.
"Alfred," Jurina mumbled, refusing to open her eyes. This was a terrible mistake. She needed to warn her robot so she could fall back asleep. "Can you stop the music? It's the week-end. I don't have to go to work."
A small white head emerged from the right side of the bed, and two big blue eyes stared at her. "It's Friday, Mistress. You have to be at work in 55 minutes."
Jurina fluttered her eyes open. "W–What? No, it's Sunday."
"No, Mistress. It's Friday morning. It's now 7:06 a.m. You are six minutes late on your schedule."
Jurina blinked, until realization hit her. Even if her mind was inclined on believing it was Sunday, her robot had to be right for one simple reason. Alfred, her 48 inches' humanoid robot who had been serving her faithfully for 3 years, never made any mistake. Stupefied, Jurina threw the covers off and fumbled around in the direction of her nightstand, her heart beating faster inside her chest as she checked the date on her digital clock.
Alfred was right. It was Friday.
How could this happened?!
She had to be at the office in less than an hour, and she better hurry if she didn't want to be late. Since she started work at Matui Corporation a month ago, she had never been late a single time. Punctuality was a virtue she considered essential, and she was adamant on keeping things that way.
"Thank you, Alfred." Jurina took a seat on the side of the bed. She patted the top of the robot's head. "I don't know why I believed it was Sunday."
"You came back late yesterday. It probably explains why you were sleeping so soundly, Mistress."
A smile unconsciously fell upon Jurina's lips at the memory of her wonderful dinner with her boss. A part of her was embarrassed by the impulsive way she had asked her out. It was not how she imagined things in her head. For some frustrating reason, she never managed to take the next step at work, losing all confidence in her boss's presence. That's why, after a month of keeping her feelings to herself, she hadn't been able to hold it any longer, and seized the opportunity without thinking twice.
Her intentions had been well conveyed and understood. Admittedly, it had surprised her to receive a positive response. However, after this first successful date, she could tell that their feelings were shared. The first date of a long list?
She definitely hoped.
"May I bring a certain subject to your attention before you get prepared? It will only take fifteen seconds of your time."
Jurina noted the hesitation in her robot's metallic voice. She gazed back at him, concerned. "Yes, of course. What is it?"
"Last night, you repeated something in your sleep. It was so unusual, that I took the liberty to record it. Do you want to listen to it?"
Jurina widened her eyes at the revelation. That was new. In twenty-four years, she didn't have any recollection of sleep talking. Curiosity got the best of her. "I did? Alright, play the recording."
The robot complied and Jurina listened, recognizing herself sleeping on the recording. A few seconds went by and, as Jurina didn't hear anything suspect, she wondered what her robot was referring to. As she was about to question him, a name fell from her lips in the recording.
Rena-san... Rena-san...
Jurina flushed. Her robot was... right! She talked in her sleep! And, from what she could hear, she had been mumbling the name of her boss a few times last night.
"S-Stop the recording," she stuttered, looking away in discomfort. The recording stopped at once, but it was too late. The memory of what she uttered during her sleep was ingrained in her mind.
"It continues during four more seconds. Don't you wish to hear the rest?"
"No, that's fine," Jurina said, too embarrassed to face him. "I was... I was probably having a dream. Erase the recording."
Jurina stood up from the bed and entered the bathroom, hoping a warm shower would help her forget about the incident. It was no news to her that she had feelings for her beautiful employer, feelings even more reinforced after their date. But the thought that she said her name during her sleep was disturbing.
Jurina caught the sound of the robot's small feet following her on the floating floor. As she was about to press the button to close the bathroom door behind her, her gaze fell down on him. He was looking at her from the doorstep, his head slightly inclined to the right. A pattern Jurina observed happened when he didn't understand.
"You dream about your employer, Mistress?"
Jurina froze.
She believed the matter to be over when she asked her robot to erase the recording, but it was without taking into account his insatiable curiosity about things surrounding him. She enjoyed this aspect of his program, and was always keen on sharing every bit of knowledge with him. However, as she was faced with such an embarrassing question, she considered making a few adjustments to his program.
"I work a lot with her," Jurina said, trying to sound as calm and nonchalant as possible. Her robot was an advanced model, and was excellent at deciphering the fluctuations in people's voices. She wanted to make sure he didn't notice that she was hiding part of the truth. "It's not unusual to dream about people you spend time with."
The robot didn't say anything, and she guessed his program was analyzing what she said. Not wishing to give him the possibility to question her further on the subject, she bent over and patted his head once more. "Why don't you go and prepare breakfast? I need to take a shower or I'll be late."
Jurina smiled gently and took a step back, her robot's large blue eyes fixated on her the whole time as the bathroom door closed on him. Jurina stayed still, listening attentively in case her robot would manifest himself. When she heard his feet drawing away and leaving the bedroom, she released a small sigh of relief.