My Room Mate is a Machine!

Despite all the drama between his parents, Charles shifted his focus to the gaming world and television. At least his mind was now occupied with strategizing game systems rather than caring about the endless power struggle outside his little room. However, he also loved listening to crime stories. Some were so horrifying that they haunted him for weeks. Stories about powerful people escaping justice because they had money to manipulate the law made him particularly angry.

It seemed like humanity had advanced toward a better life with improved technology, but some people still suffered. The elderly were still abandoned, and newborns were being discarded in sewers. Charles dreamed of a better world—a world where no one suffered, where he could protect the weak and bring justice to those in need.

Enrolling in the police academy seemed like his way out of the constant battle between his parents since it provided a dormitory.

Charles was accepted not because of his physical abilities—his small, slender frame clearly didn't make him appear strong—but because of his brilliant mind. The academy believed he had the potential to become an excellent detective or a skilled fugitive hunter, so they decided to give him a chance.

When Charles received his dormitory key, he entered his new space, unsure of how he felt. For some reason, he couldn't feel anything—not happiness, not sadness. Nothing. He just wanted to focus on his goal: becoming a great cop and bringing peace to the world. He vowed that bad people would regret their actions once he was ready to spread his wings and fly.

The room was empty, containing only a bunk bed. Knowing that the bottom bunk was always the better choice, Charles claimed it since he was the first to arrive. While organizing his belongings in the cabinet, the dormitory door opened, revealing a 13-year-old boy with reddish-brown skin and short spiky brown hair. He had a striking bone structure, and Charles couldn't help but freeze for a moment, thinking the boy would grow into a handsome man in ten years.

The boy said nothing as he entered the dorm and made his way toward the bottom bunk.

"That item is designated for my exclusive use!" Charles snapped.

The boy looked dumbfounded upon hearing Charles's warning. "What?"

Charles upset, he hates imbecile who can't understand smart words! Since it's very important to him to occupy the lower bunk, he has to lower his level and say, "that's mine, you take the top!"

"Oh, I see! Well, you just got here a few minutes before me because my bus was late. How about we settle this with a bet?" The boy grinned, confident he could win.

"What type of wager are you proposing?" Charles asked, already annoyed.

"Proposing--- what? Oh geez... do you always talk like that? What planet are you from?"

Charles already lose patience, he really hate people who never read books, and showing lack of intelligence, "I mean; what kind of bet?"

"Now we're talking. Just talk normally, okay? Let's race on the track outside. Winner gets the bottom bunk," the boy said with a nod.

Running? Charles knew he would lose, so he immediately refused. "I lack proficiency in high-intensity cardiovascular activities. A more suitable alternative could be engaging in a strategic exercise, such as a game of chess."

That boy's eyes widens, he never meet someone who talk like a manual book. "What are you talking about?" 

Charles sighs, great! My room mate is a total idiot! He is just like my father! "I can't run, let's play chess instead."

"Eh? You're here to be a policeman, and you can't run? How are you supposed to chase the bad guys?" The boy, Jared, complained, frowning. He wasn't confident in chess, often mixing up how the pieces moved, and even confusing the queen and king at times.

"Then let's refrain from engaging in an ill-conceived wager and simply acknowledge that you were tardy. Now vacate my sleeping quarters immediately!" Charles glared at him.

"Can you just speak normally? Is that even Earthlish(Earth Language that called "English" in the past)?" Jared raising an eyebrow at the strange language his roommate was speaking. Deciding that his roommate wasn't cool and not worth talking to, Jared tossed his belongings onto the top bunk.

It was clear that the two of them were very different people. Charles was neat, organized, and structured. Jared could predict whatever Charles was doing at any given moment just by looking at the clock. On the other hand, Jared was unpredictable, active, and easily bored.

In just three weeks, they had already started complaining about each other to their respective circles.

"Guys, I'm living with a robot. I'm going nuts!" Jared exclaimed, shaking his head. "Every single minute of every single day, he does the exact same thing! If I ever lose my watch, I'll just look at what he's doing, and I'll know what time it is!"

The class clown, Bruno, was the first to jump in. "He's probably some prototype AI that escaped a lab!"

Harvey, the insecure guy in the group, laughed and added more fuel to the fire. "So that explains why yesterday he scolded me for running in the hallway. He was probably glitching!"

Jared groaned, pitching his voice high to mimic Charles in an exaggerated way. "Jared! The toothbrush must be positioned precisely 3.3 centimeters to the left!"

Everyone in the table laughs. 

Jared continued mimicking Charles, "Jared! It is imperative that you proceed with washing your clothes immediately!" 

"Did he really speak like that?!" As the group burst into laughter, someone smacked Jared on the back of the head with a folded piece of paper. Jared spun around, his glare sharp and ready for retaliation. "What's your prob—" he froze once he know who is standing behind him. "Oh!"

"I have conducted an extensive search in pursuit of your whereabouts, and here you are, engaged in conversation with your excessively loud companions!" Charles snapped, his glare even more hostile than Jared's.

"Dude, it's just a bit of fun. Come on, sit with us! I'm sure Harvey will be glad to see you finally mingling with everyone," Jared said, standing up and nudging Charles toward his chair.

"Hey, why'd you have to bring me into this, Jared?!" Harvey protested, blushing furiously. When Charles glanced at him, Harvey immediately looked away, falling silent in an instant.

Charles smacked Jared's hand off his elbow and tapped his folded paper against Jared's jaw. "We're already three minutes behind the optimal timeline. Enough with this nonsense—let's move. The mission parameters don't accommodate your distractions."

"Did you hear that?" Jared exclaimed, gesturing wildly with both hands toward Charles. "See?! I don't making it up! He really talk like that! Even when he mumbles in sleep!"

Without another word, Charles grabbed Jared's wrist and began dragging him away from the cafeteria. As he was pulled along, Jared shouted over his shoulder, "Goodbye, guys! I'm under arrest! Anything I say will be used against me later!"

Had their instructor not assigned them together, Charles would not have wanted to deal with the trouble of looking for Jared everywhere because the guy had forgotten they had an important simulator class. Charles had been hoping to be teamed up with a smart, dedicated person who took the lessons seriously—someone just like him. But the instructor chose Jared instead! He had to choose Jared?!

It was bad enough that the instructor picked Jared as his partner; his classmates only added to his annoyance by cheering them on.

"Instructor, they were roommates, now they're partners! They're really inseparable!" they laughed when the decision was announced. Of course, they would cheer for this pairing, it was really fun for them to see two people who irritated each other so much end up as a team and having to work together in order to make things work.

Charles and Jared always sat in opposite corners of the classroom. Jared always chose the furthest seat from Charles because they always fought in the dorm. They are so done with each other.

To Charles, it was because Jared was so messy with his belongings, especially clothes. He couldn't understand how someone could go for weeks without washing them! Because of Jared, mosquitoes had built a village in their room, forcing Charles to buy citrus aromatherapy just to chase them away.

To Jared, Charles was just such a pain in the head. He always nagged, and he magically stuck to a schedule all the time. Everything he did was precise—even when making rice in the rice cooker, the water had to be at a certain level, with no room for even a 0.1-centimeter excess! And Charles couldn't take a joke. Since the day they met, Jared had never heard Charles laugh. The guy really drove Jared mad!

Jared yanked his wrist from Charles's grip. "Chill, Astrobot!" (It's the name of a popular children's show where the main character is a robot hero who stands for justice.) "You don't need to drag me like a kid. I want the extra score too—I just forgot that it's today."

"Proceed immediately! We are operating under a time constraint!" Charles didn't wait for Jared and ran toward the simulator room.