Nick pressed his nose against the window I miss you Mom Before they left Nick begged to go along If they had let him go he might have found some cool plants and animals And he would know exactly where his mom was He never got to go on any of the missions He barely got to go outside Nick's dad said it wasn't safe outside of the colony He said Nick was special But Nick didn't feel special As the only kid on Colony Alpha he was miserable lonely and bored There was a sharp knock on the door Nick spun around in his chair His dad stuck his head through the doorway He looked tired He had looked tired ever since Mom left on the mission Now he hardly ever came back to their quarters Dad's hair stuck up in spots from running his fingers through it Mom called it Dad's puff Nick could hear her saying You can always tell how hard your dad is working by the size of his puff
Dad tapped Nick on the head Happy Birthday I bet you thought I forgot Come with me to the lab I have a present for you Nick hopped up and followed his dad out of their quarters He really was surprised his dad remembered his birthday It was always his mom who planned birthdays She found fun things for Nick to do while Dad disappeared into the lab This year Nick hadn't thought anyone would celebrate his birthday With the shushing sound of an air lock seal the lab door opened Nick's dad pointed to a robot standing in the middle of the room This is the project I've been working on for the past month The first one is just for you He tapped the robot on a shiny shoulder Say hello to Nick Lights winked on in the robot's face It turned to look at Nick with bulging camera eyes Hello Nick
A robot Nick mumbled Thanks Dad The colony was full of robots already Some were small and scrambled around on multiple spikey legs Some were bigger than a person and rolled along on thick treads Some never moved staying rooted in one spot to do their job They had robots to collect samples and robots to build things They had robots to grow food They even had robot doctors Why would his dad think Nick needed another robot around What am I supposed to do with it Nick asked The robot spoke in a flat voice We can play games and have lots of fun together Nick I have a full encyclopedia of jokes and riddles Nick Why did the feathered farm creature cross the road Nick Feathered farm creature Nick said looking at his dad A chicken
