“Mom! Dad!” I cry out as I toss and turn in bed, gripping the sheets tighter in my hands..

“We’re sorry, Random,” a mysterious voice calls out in my head.

“Don’t leave me!” I shriek before coming too.

I look around to see where I am; my tossing and turning in bed has landed me on the floor again.

“Another nightmare...” I whisper, slowly removeing the sheets from over top of me and look at my hands.

“Yep, another nightmare. I think my hands are even redder than last week.”

I started getting nightmares when I entered high school 3 years ago. I don’t know what triggers them, but I’ve been trying to cope with them since then. From what I’ve been able to gather, the nightmares cause me to grip things, causing them to turn red. I’ve had to wear gloves all year long to prevent others from seeing.

Once I stretch, I rub the dust out of my eyes and stand up. My robot cat-Tipsy- then comes over to comfort me by rubbing her head against me.

“I’ll be fine, Tipsy,” I reassure her. “It was just another nightmare.” Tipsy was my small, robotic pet in the shape of a cat. I made her when I first moved here.

 

Although small, she was a very intelligent cat, and possibly my closest friend. She has a speech recognition function that I installed in her and update frequently to have conversations with. Her voice was that of a slightly robotic, female which I’ve been trying to adjust to sound more human like.

“Are you sure you are okay, Ms Random? You were tossing more violently than normal.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” I tell her once more.

After I chat with Tipsy, I stand up and run my hand through my hair.

“A mess again,” I sigh. “I really should just leave it in a ponytail when I sleep.”

I walk toward the door and turn around to look at my room.

“I really need to get it clean one day,” I say heading out the door.

My Name Is Random Daldalian. It wasn't always Random. When I was young, due to a tragic event in my life that I can’t remember, a part of my memory regarding my parents and my name was wiped from my mind. So as I grew up, everyone called me Random because I was always helping people and saying hi to everyone in the local stores as well as talking to everyone at my school. They always found it odd and random and thus adapted to calling me it. Although strange for a name, I quite like it.

“I start my senior year of high school today, so I need to make sure I’m clean,” I tell myself as I head to the shower.

Once inside, I push the wash and rinse buttons on the panel next to my shower and let it clean me.

My life since moving here has not always been this easy. When I first moved here I was young and didn't know anyone. But thanks to my outgoing personality, I was quickly able to make friends. First it was with some nice girls in my high school, then with the neighbors and before long I started talking to everyone around town.

Once the shower was done, I got dressed into my favorite shorts and tank top then headed back to my room to grab my backpack.

“I haven’t had to wear this thing in a few months.”

I soon swing it over my shoulder and head to the kitchen.

Once I get there, I find Tipsy by the control panel. “Anything you favor today, Ms Random?” she asks.

“Anything is fine.”

She then proceeds to press oatmeal and orange juice on the panel as I sit at the counter. 10 seconds later a bowl of warm oatmeal and a glass of orange juice appear where I’m sitting.

“Thanks Tipsy.” She meows happily and walks off.

As I dig in I think about the past 3 years and how this will be my last. I haven’t given my future much thought since I came here. So entering my last year means I need to start thinking about what I’m going to be doing after I graduate.

“I’m sure I’ll come up with something,” I tell myself as I push the “wash dishes” button. It automatically takes my dishes and washes them then puts them back where they were.
I then head back to the living room, grab my backpack, and head toward the door.

“Have a nice day, Ms Random.”

Before leaving, I look at my backpack and back toward Tipsy, wondering if I should bring it.

“It’s only the first day, do I really need this?” I ask her.

“To carry your books back home, Ms Random,” she replies.

“Oh, right! Thanks Tipsy. I’ll probably be going for a walk later, so I won’t be home till a little later.” I then wave her goodbye and close the door.

“Good morning, Random.”

“Morning Mrs. Webly,” I say waving toward my neighbor. Mrs. Webly has always helped me when I needed help. So she was a good friend.

I walk down the same, nostalgic sidewalk I always do and look at all the shops. Sometimes I would enter them to buy something or just say hi to one of the owners. I could always tell what each store was thanks to the icons above the shops. Like how the bakery had a cake and the shoe store had high heels.

 

Everyone here knew me. It was like having a family and not all at the same time.
Before long I reach our high school, Hitomi High. I take a deep breath then step through the doors.