2

I had a best friend already, and his name was Ali. But his mom had been transferred abroad for a new job a few months back, so Ali and his family had moved away. Ali wouldn’t be coming back here before the summer. In the meantime, we only got to see each other on video calls. I really missed Ali. Maybe that’s why my robot ended up being such a big part of my life so quickly.

I’d been playing with LenBot for a few minutes when JP came into my room. I was so proud of what I could do with my new toy already. “Look at this, JP, it’s amazing!”

I put LenBot down on the floor, and he paced all around the room before coming back to me.

“That gadget of yours is pretty neat,” JP admitted.

“And that’s not all. Look!” I bent down in front of the screen so LenBot could scan my face. Then I tapped my name into the app on my tablet.

Victor

LenBot seemed to get quite excited. Then he said triumphantly, “Hi, Victor!”

“Ta-da! And that’s just one of the things he can do. I can teach him all kinds of things. He can remember everything!”

It seems ridiculous now, looking back, but in that moment I was so excited. As if something important had just happened. Something that was going to change my life. Well, I wasn’t wrong about that.

Next I tapped in my grandpa’s name.

“Hello, Jean-Paul,” my robot said politely.

LenBot seemed to understand that I was his “friend” and JP was just a guest.

JP went downstairs to join my parents in the living room, and I kept on exploring LenBot’s different functions. Not even an hour later, LenBot could already do lots of the basic things described in the user manual. He could carry blocks and stack them up, move in a straight line, obey orders, play some little games and even play music.

I heard my parents calling my name. It was time for dessert.

“So how’s your new robot?” my dad asked me.

“Amazing! LenBot’s fantastic!”

“That’s what I’m worried about!” JP groaned.

I didn’t really understand what he meant by that, not then. As usual, JP could see where things were going long before I did.

“How about we play some chess, kiddo?” he suggested after dessert.

It was the kind of offer I wouldn’t normally refuse. I hesitated. “Maybe later,” I replied.

I didn’t want to say anything, but I had seen in the user manual that you could play chess with LenBot. I was looking forward to trying that function.

JP seemed disappointed. He left me alone with my robot and went back to the living room.

I spent the rest of the day playing with LenBot. When JP went home, my dad had to drag me out of my room to come and say goodbye.

I did as I was told, as quickly as I could. LenBot was right on my heels, going beep, beep! impatiently.

JP could tell I was keen to get away. For a split second, I felt sad for him. But I soon put that thought out of my mind.