Elisa parked her bicycle in front of the hospital and locked it to the bicycle parking rack. She looked at the fancy modern building and gave herself a creek on the neck, trying to look at the top of the green glass tower that served as the entrance.

She whined and massaged the back of her neck as she entered the hospital and walked up to a familiar figure sitting in one of the waiting room’s sofas.

“You know, you should have just told me you were coming here; I could have itched a ride with you instead of pedaling up a hill.” She scoffed, sitting next to Daniel with her legs crossed.

“I thought you would be too busy practicing for the concert,” he said, adjusting his opaque neon green shades.

“I couldn’t just go to practice like it was nothing…” She explained “And I thought it would be nice to bring him some real food.” she whispered, pointing at her backpack “And I also brought him some more books since he finished the one I gave him the other day.”

“He read almost five-hundred pages in two days?” Daniel asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. We even talked about it for a while after he called me to ask for the next book,” she said enthusiastically with a smile on her face.

“So he liked it, huh? I knew you guys would click,” he said, crossing his arms with a satisfied smile and leaning back on the sofa.

“Yeah, I guess he’s cool…” Her cheeks turned a little pink “To be honest, I was kinda scared of him at first…” she admitted, a bit ashamed.

“I know, the scar, the shity hair cut…”

“I wouldn’t say shity, but it definitely made him look like a gangsta wannabe.” she agreed “Thank god he’s letting that thing fade away… Maybe we should tell him to get some cornrows or something.”

“Yeah, or maybe he could grow out his air, get some braids and highlights, and tie them in a ponytail?” Daniel suggested.

Elisa tried to imagine it, but that hairstyle on Max just didn’t sit well with her for some reason… Maybe it was because he looked too mean for a hairdo that screamed: “coffee shop owner who loves jazz”.

“Well, anything would look better on him than that stupid ‘I’m one of the cool kids’ haircut.” she summarised.

“Yeah. Even one of those buzz cuts they give you in the military would look better on him.”

They stayed quiet for a few seconds, and Elisa got up.

“Let’s go see him then?” she proposed.

“We can’t yet; he’s being interviewed by some PBF agents.” He informed, the aura around him turning grim all of a sudden.

“Huh? Did something happen to him?” Elisa sat back down.

“I don’t know, they didn’t let me get close enough to read his mind. But his aunt said she’ll come to get me once they wrap things up…” He looked at his phone “Any minute now…”

“Well, didn’t you read the mind of the agents?” Why were they interrogating him? And why were they called in the first place? Did someone attack him? Was he all right?

“Yes, he’s alive and well, his lung just collapsed again. And it tried to read the mind of the guys interrogating him but…” he got up “Beep bop, I'm a robot connected to a hive mind,” he said in a robotic voice while doing the robot dance “Bzzzzz. We’ll kill God.” Elisa put her head between her hands, and her face turned red as everyone in the waiting room turned their heads towards him “Glory to mankind!” he yelled, standing straight like a soldier and placing a hand on chest “And death to everything else!”

He sat back down and, slowly, everyone in the room went on about their lives.

“Are you done acting like a clown, or are you going to continue to insult them?” she scolded.

“I’m not insulting them, I’m just stating the facts, those guys are robots.”

“Oh! But of course, they’re robots! I mean, a group of people that wants to make the world a better place? That’s just unrealistic, right?! They have to be fucking robots!”

“Elisa--”

“Shut the fuck up! I know you like shock humor and drama, but those people saved me, Daniel! They helped Tânia take my other two sisters and me out of the system when my mom had to leave the country to find a job, and they helped us make sure our father will never get close to us once he gets out of prison! They helped hundreds of other people and me more than you could ever imagine! So stop insulting them, will you?!” Her face was completely red.

He didn’t say a word and just stared her in the eye.

“Look, Elisa, they’re not--”

Their attention was caught by a tall figure walking out of the nearby elevator like she owned the whole hospital.

She was a middle-aged black woman with a boyish but fancy haircut, black shades over her eyes, and golden hearings. She was using a sharp white suit, over a black shirt, with golden cufflinks that matched the bird-shaped tie pin she was using on her white necktie.

“Come on, let’s see your boyfriend,” Daniel said, walking away to meet with Max’s aunt.

“Whatever- Wait, what?!” she said, getting up after him “He’s not my boyfriend!”