As I sat in the middle of my room, I rubbed my temples in a round motion, trying to get rid of the throbbing headache I possessed. I needed to sleep, it was already late. Tomorrow was an important day, I needed to have enough rest to properly act tomorrow.

“Amelia,” My Artificial Assistant, Ekko chimed, making me lookup. “If you do not get rest now, your body will not function properly tomorrow, and you will be tired. Would you like some Melatonin?”

I stood up, raising my arms and stretching. Maybe I should try laying down, and not sitting on the floor.

“No, I think I’ll manage. Dim lights.” I uttered aloud, my room darkening. I strode to the window, and opened it, cool air hitting my face. The moon was full, and high in the sky, stars twinkling around it. I sighed and smiled. Tomorrow was going to be just fine, as long as I slept. I turned on my heel, and crawled into bed, a screen coming down from over my bed, an electric green line running across it.

“Please attach your cables to your forehead and chest, so I can monitor your heart,” Ekko said monotonously. Like every night, I placed two cables on my left and right temples, and one under each section of my collar bone. As I laid back, eyes staring up at the ceiling, I couldn’t help but get a sense of unease from the cables. Yes, it was an everyday routine that I partook in, but for some reason, it struck me as odd tonight.

“Your heartbeat has picked up by, two beats. Are you under any pressure or anxiety?” Ekko inquired, the screen lifting into the ceiling again, cables attached.

“I’m… just nervous for tomorrow, is all. I’ll be fine.” I replied, turning over in bed and closing my eyes. Ekko was my project, if anything was uncomfortable to me, I’d change it immediately.

“Good Night, Amelia.”

“Goodnight Ekko.”

I closed my eyes, but as much as I wanted to, I just couldn’t seem to fall asleep. My mind was filled with thoughts. Why was I feeling uneasy about Ekko? Nothing was wrong with my unit, mostly because this unit was the first manufactured. I sat up, plucking the cables from my chest and temples, and swung my legs over the bed, wandering to the bathroom.

I flicked on the lights and slowly undressed. The familiar automatic hiss of water hitting porcelain filled my ears, and as I stepped into the tub, a thin green line came across the tile wall in front of me.

“Amelia, why are you still up?” Ekko asked, a hint of annoyance in her tone. I sighed, swiping away the line, and pouring a little of shampoo into my hand.

“I couldn’t seem to settle myself, so maybe this will help. Leave me alone, Ekko.” I snapped, scrubbing my scalp roughly with my nails. Silence pursued. I sighed once again, heavily this time, as I tilted my head under the water. “Am I okay?” I wondered, running my hands through my hair. No, I was fine, I was just having a nervous reaction to tomorrow’s stress. Perfectly normal. I looked up, scrubbing my body with the leftover suds from my hair. Tomorrow was going to be perfect, I don’t know what I was so stressed about; I worked for Sumitomo Artificial Life for four years now, I was in line for the CEO of the company, why would tomorrow be bad in any way?

As I headed out of the shower, I took a quick look in the bathroom mirror. My hair looked like ebony snakes running down my shoulders and back. I shook my head. I didn’t particularly like how I was.

A fresh, clean pair of pyjamas was set out on my bed, a pale beige colour. I quickly dressed in them, crawling under my white covers, pulling them over my head.

“I advise you to put the cables back, Amelia,” Ekko informed me, making me groan.

“No, thank you, I think I will do without them tonight. They’re uncomfortable.” I said, turning over. A soft static buzzing could be heard, but after a few moments, it disappeared. “I guess Ekko gave up.” I thought, smiling a little to myself.

Tomorrow was going to be perfect, nothing to worry about. I had all my note cards set out and prepared on my desk. I had my slides up and ready on my USB Drive. I even had a prototype of my latest project up and running with hardly any bugs. Tomorrow’s meeting was going to be fine. I just needed to stop worrying.