Speaker 1: Welcome Back friends to short Stories for Kids.
Speaker 2: Tommy first met the robot on a Monday morning, which
Speaker 2: was unfortunate because Mondays were already difficult enough. They were
Speaker 2: Monday yuck. Tommy was already running late for school. His
Speaker 2: backpack felt heavier than usual, He'd forgotten where he'd put
Speaker 2: his math homework, and one of his shoelaces kept coming
Speaker 2: undone every ten steps. How annoying, the last thing he
Speaker 2: expected was to discover a strange kid following him down
Speaker 2: Maple Street. At first, he didn't think much of it.
Speaker 2: Lots of kids walked to school, but after three blocks,
Speaker 2: the stranger was still there. After four blocks, he was
Speaker 2: still there. After five blocks. Tommy finally stopped and turned around.
Speaker 2: The stranger stopped too. Tommy blinked and pouted. The stranger
Speaker 2: blinked a moment later, Then he pouted a moment after that,
Speaker 2: well sort of. His eyelids made a mechanical clicking sound,
Speaker 2: his lips made a metallic clang. Tommy stared in disbelief.
Speaker 2: The stranger stared back with a smile that seemed just
Speaker 2: a little too perfect. A faint whirring noise came from
Speaker 2: somewhere inside his chest. Um, were you following me? Tommy asked.
Speaker 2: The stranger shook his head immediately. No, he replied in
Speaker 2: a buzzy voice. At that exact moment, a small silver
Speaker 2: and popped out of his ear. It rose six inches
Speaker 2: into the air. Then it wobbled and slowly lowered again.
Speaker 2: Tommy pointed, you have an antenna. The stranger glanced upward. No,
Speaker 2: I don't. I mean, yes, you do, I mean the
Speaker 2: stranger thought for a moment that went on too long.
Speaker 2: Oh my words do not compute. Tommy gasped, you're a robot.
Speaker 2: The stranger gasped dramatically and placed both hands against his chest.
Speaker 2: I am absolutely not a robot. A printer noise came
Speaker 2: from his feet. Bee. Tommy folded his arms. The strange
Speaker 2: kid smiled proudly. My name is Bradley, he buzzed. You
Speaker 2: seem very robody, Bradley. Bradley looked horrified. I am a
Speaker 2: perfectly ordinary human boy. At that exact moment, one of
Speaker 2: his ears fell off. It bounced twice on the sidewalk
Speaker 2: by a little metal spring on its back. Bradley calmly
Speaker 2: picked it up. Darn, he snapped it back into place.
Speaker 2: There perfect he smiled, I'm totally normal. Tommy stared for
Speaker 2: several seconds, said weird, then he turned and continued walking.
Speaker 2: Bradley followed. The moment they arrived at school, everyone noticed
Speaker 2: it is very difficult not to notice a robot pretending
Speaker 2: not to be a robot. Kids pointed, whispered, and laughed.
Speaker 2: Bradley smiled proudly at all the attention. They can tell
Speaker 2: I am fitting in b he said happily. Tommy looked
Speaker 2: at him. No, they can tell you're a robot. Bradley
Speaker 2: shook his head. I am not. His eyes flashed bright blue.
Speaker 2: Tommy sighed it was going to be a very long day.
Speaker 2: Things became worse. During homeroom, Missus Parker stood at the
Speaker 2: front of the classroom and smiled, Good morning everyone. Good morning,
Speaker 2: d Bradley shouted. The class jumped. Missus Parker blinked, well,
Speaker 2: good morning, Bradley. Bradley nodded proudly. I am participating in
Speaker 2: normal human greetings. See I am a human. Boo. Tommy
Speaker 2: buried his face in his hands. A few minutes later,
Speaker 2: Missus Parker asked everyone to sit down. Bradley immediately obeyed. Unfortunately,
Speaker 2: he sat before reaching his chair, he dropped directly onto
Speaker 2: the floor. Clang. The sound echoed through the room. Several
Speaker 2: pencils rolled off nearby desks. Bradley stood up and dusted
Speaker 2: himself off. Typical human mistake. Bo The class burst out laughing.
Speaker 2: Missus Parker grimaced. Tommy could already tell she regretted asking questions.
Speaker 2: Things didn't improve during math. Bradley had apparently decided that
Speaker 2: being human meant copying Tommy exactly. If Tommy scratched his head,
Speaker 2: Bradley scratched his head. If Tommy raised his hand, Bradley
Speaker 2: raised his hand. If Tommy sharpened his pencil, Bradley sharpened
Speaker 2: every pencil in his desk at once. At one point,
Speaker 2: Tommy sneezed shit, Bradley immediately sneezed too, except instead of
Speaker 2: a sneeze, a long printer receipt shot out of his mouth.
Speaker 2: The receipt fluttered through the air and landed on missus
Speaker 2: Parker's desk. Missus Parker picked it up and read it.
Speaker 2: The receipt said error four four human response not found.
Speaker 2: The class exploded with laughter. Bradley looked delighted. See he said, proudly,
Speaker 2: I am blending In lunch was somehow even worse. Tommy
Speaker 2: sat down and opened his sandwich. Bradley sat beside him,
Speaker 2: then opened his lunch box. Inside were six batteries, a screwdriver,
Speaker 2: two bolts, and a banana. Tommy stared, Bradley stared back.
Speaker 2: The two sat in silence. Finally, Tommy pointed batteries for
Speaker 2: a lunch. Bradley quickly slid them behind the banana. It's
Speaker 2: human food, right, sure. Bradley picked up the banana, then
Speaker 2: attempted to peel it sideways. He squeezed it so hard
Speaker 2: the banana exploded. A chunk flew across the cafeteria and
Speaker 2: landed in the principal soup. The principal slowly removed the banana.
Speaker 2: The entire cafeteria erupted into laughter. Bradley looked, impressed. That
Speaker 2: was an advanced human maneuver. Listened to the happiness. I
Speaker 2: am a happiness creator by recess. The entire school knew
Speaker 2: who Bradley was. Kids crowded around him, not because they
Speaker 2: believed he was human, because they absolutely didn't who would,
Speaker 2: but because he was funny and surprisingly nice. Unfortunately, Bradley misunderstood.
Speaker 2: They admire my excellent human behavior. No Tommy said, they
Speaker 2: think you're hilarious. Bradley smiled, exactly because I am. Tommy
Speaker 2: decided not to argue. The following weeks were filled with chaos.
Speaker 2: During art class, Bradley became so enthusiastic about finger painting
Speaker 2: that he accidentally launched paint across three tables, a bookshelf,
Speaker 2: and a hamster age. The hampster emerged bright blue. For
Speaker 2: two weeks it looked like a tiny blueberry. During music class,
Speaker 2: Bradley blew into a recorder so loudly that birds flew
Speaker 2: off the school roof. A nearby dog started barking. Someone's
Speaker 2: car alarm went off. Bradley smiled proudly. Music b he declared.
Speaker 2: During gym class, he jumped rope with such force that
Speaker 2: he accidentally skipped over the rope, the gym teacher, and
Speaker 2: half a bench. Nobody knew how he had managed it,
Speaker 2: least of all Bradley. Every time something went wrong, he
Speaker 2: insisted it was perfectly normal. I am doing excellent human ing,
Speaker 2: He exclaimed, you mean being a human. Tommy corrected. Bradley
Speaker 2: nodded and grinned. Weeks passed, and something surprising happened. Tommy
Speaker 2: started looking forward to seeing him. The robot was ridiculous,
Speaker 2: absolutely ridiculous. But he was also kind. He helped carry books,
Speaker 2: he held doors open, he always offered to help when
Speaker 2: someone dropped something, even if his version of helping occasionally
Speaker 2: made things worse. One afternoon, Tommy noticed something unusual. Bradley
Speaker 2: wasn't launching basketballs into orbit, or accidentally printing receipts, or
Speaker 2: even explaining why batteries counted as a balanced lunch. Instead,
Speaker 2: he was sitting quietly behind the playground alone. Tommy frowned.
Speaker 2: That didn't seem like Bradley at all. He walked over,
Speaker 2: you okay. Bradley didn't answer immediately. He simply stared at
Speaker 2: the ground. A small puff of steam escaped one ear. Finally,
Speaker 2: he sighed, A bolt fell out of his shoulder. He
Speaker 2: screwed it back in. I have a confession, Tommy sat
Speaker 2: beside him. What is it? Bradley looked around dramatically, then
Speaker 2: lowered his voice. I am a robot. Tommy sighed and
Speaker 2: threw his hands up in the air. Yeah, Tommy said,
Speaker 2: no kidding. I know we all know. Bradley froze. You do,
Speaker 2: sure everybody does. Bradley's eyes widened, the teachers, the principal,
Speaker 2: the lunch lady. Tommy nodded and said, especially the lunch
Speaker 2: lady looked stunned. Oh, his shoulders drooped suddenly, he looked smaller. Somehow,
Speaker 2: I thought if I acted human, everyone would like me,
Speaker 2: Bradley said. Tommy smiled gently. Why Bradley looked down at
Speaker 2: his metal hands. Because robots aren't real humans, and I
Speaker 2: wanted human friends, so I pretended I was human. Tommy
Speaker 2: patted Bradley on the back. I know, but everyone loves
Speaker 2: you because you're different, Tommy said, and pointed toward the playground.
Speaker 2: Kids were laughing, playing basketball, telling stories. Several spotted Bradley
Speaker 2: and waved, Hey, Bradley robot basketball after school. One asked
Speaker 2: want to come play? Bradley stared, They still want me
Speaker 2: to hang out, even though they know I am not human.
Speaker 2: Tommy pointed toward the kids. If you want people to
Speaker 2: like you, all you have to be is yourself. You
Speaker 2: don't have to pretend to be something you're not. Bradley
Speaker 2: listened carefully as Tommy spoke. If you're always yourself, then
Speaker 2: all the right people who like the same things as
Speaker 2: you will know who you are. And if you both
Speaker 2: like the same things, you could be buddies, Bradley exclaimed excitedly.
Speaker 2: A genuine smile spread across his face, not the programmed smile,
Speaker 2: a real one. I think I understand good, Tommy said,
Speaker 2: it's good to be different. Think how boring it would
Speaker 2: be if everyone was the same. Bradley jumped to his feet,
Speaker 2: then turned toward the playground and shouted, I am a robot.
Speaker 2: The entire playground erupted and yelled back, we know. Everyone laughed,
Speaker 2: including Bradley. For the first time, he wasn't pretending or copying,
Speaker 2: and he wasn't trying to be something he wasn't. He
Speaker 2: was simply Bradley the Robot, a funny, slightly clumsy robot
Speaker 2: who launched basketballs into space and turned hamsters blue, And
Speaker 2: that turned out to be exactly the kind of friend
Speaker 2: everybody wanted. Tommy stood beside him, ready for basketball. Bradley
Speaker 2: grinned absolutely. The two headed toward the court together. This time,
Speaker 2: Bradley wasn't following Tommy or copying him. He was walking
Speaker 2: beside him like a real friend, and that felt far
Speaker 2: more human than anything Bradley had ever tried before the
Speaker 2: end