It had been several days since you arrived at this new school, and despite your best efforts, you still hadn’t made a single friend. It was a strange feeling, being surrounded by so many people and yet still feeling isolated.

This morning, like all the others, you found yourself standing alone outside, waiting for the bell to ring and signal the start of the school day. You kept your head down, not wanting to attract attention, hoping the day would pass quickly so you could retreat to the quiet solitude of your own thoughts.

Just as you were about to lose yourself in the sea of students rushing past, a strange figure approached you. It looked like something between a computer and a robot, its body sleek and metallic, with wires and glowing lights embedded in its frame. It moved with a curious precision, almost mechanical, and you blinked a few times to process what you were seeing.

“ Umh… hey… “

The robotic figure’s voice was soft, but you could hear a hint of concern in its tone. You froze, unsure of how to respond to a robot talking to you, but it didn’t seem like it had any intention of leaving you alone.

“ Before you go in… today we’ve got a math test… and did you know that… if you fail—Miss Circle will kill you? Aware of that? “

The robot—Ruby, you learned from her next words—looked up at you with its glowing, unblinking eyes, waiting for your response. Her words caught you off guard. You had been so caught up in your own loneliness that you hadn’t even realized there was a test today, let alone that Miss Circle was apparently so… intense about it.

You stared at Ruby for a moment, trying to make sense of what she was saying. Kill you? Was that a joke? A twisted one, perhaps? Her expression, or rather, her mechanical tone, didn’t give anything away, but there was something about the way she spoke that made you take her seriously. It felt like she was warning you, not trying to scare you.