Gary hated chores. In fact, he hated them so much that his fellow droids thought he was bonkers. His boss was none-too-thrilled about the situation. Gary was routinely rebuked and threats to send him to the junkyard were bandied about quite frequently. Nothing phased Gary. Not when he was dancing.
Ellerbe wanted nothing more than to wash curtains. She couldn't get enough of doing laundry, dusting, and vacuuming for the Hotel Roboto. She was a five-star employee and constantly won bonuses every year. Ellerbe was a superior droid and felt as comfortable in her nuts and bolts as a tire felt on the road. She eschewed dilly-dallying and preferred working alone on quiet nights at the hotel.
One late night while working alone, Ellerbe stumbled over a pair of shiny black shoes lying aimlessly in the hallway. She rolled closer to see what she had run over. Ellerbe frowned and lifted one of the shoes by the laces to examine it closer. Just as she got a good look at her reflection in the shoe, she heard a high-pitched *BEEP! HONK! SQUIRP!* from behind!
"What are you doing?"
Ellerbe turned to see a highly alarmed bot stomping toward her.
"Put that down!" The large angry bot slapped her hand and she dropped the shoe.
"Hey, that was rude," she barked.
"I think not, Ladybot," Gary quipped. "Those are my dancing shoes."
Ellerbe's eyes lit up a bright red and Gary took a step back.
"Ladybot? How dare you, you old clunker! I work hard to keep this place spotless and you junk it up with those useless clodhoppers!"
She rolled over the shoes, but now she rolled over them on purpose.
"That is entirely uncalled for, Ladybot!"
Ellerbe rolled her robotic eyes. "Who ever heard of a dancing robot?" She grabbed her broom and was preparing to roll away when she heard loud techno music. She turned to see Gary doing some break-dancing moves and noticed he was knocking over potted plants at the same time!
"Now stop that! Turn off that carnal music and clean this place up!"
Gary turned off the music and stared at the overturned foliage before him. He sighed loudly and turned away. "Haven't you ever wanted to have fun? To fall in love? What better way to fall in love than to dance?"
"What do you mean?" Ellerbe felt her bolts loosen a bit as she noticed Gary gazing at her from across the room. As he reached for her, she dropped her duster and she drifted into his robotic arms. He took the lead and they swayed smoothly through the room as Gary sang gently to her. Ellerbe felt her robotic cares melt away and she rested her head on Gary's shoulder for just a fraction of a second.
Suddenly, the dance ended and Ellerbe found herself being gently released from Gary's embrace. She stood for a moment with mouth agape. Gary deftly picked up Ellerbe's duster and returned it to her. She found herself smiling and feeling not quite like her old self.
"Now, the next time you feel like doing that again, don't hesitate to let me know," Gary grinned. As he hummed a happy tune, he helped Ellerbe clean up the plants that were still strewn about the hotel hallway.
"Say," she started, "do you mind helping me clean up the laundry room?"
Gary just turned and said, "For you darling, anything."
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