The man steps back to examine his handiwork just as the alert at the corner of my screen changes. A noise comes from his pocket too and he sighs before starting to reach for the phone. He pulls it out and stares at it for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth as he reads.

　　"A delivery for number twelve high street?" he mutters under his breath. "It`s not even midday and they`re ordering whiskey, a loaf of bread and tissues& That`s concerning."

　　He stares at the phone for a moment longer before shaking his head.

　　I edge forwards slightly, hoping that I`ll be sent out with the delivery but I`m unsure. The voice normally tells me when I`ve been chosen but this time, it`s been silent. That worries me. I want to be sent out but it seems slow, reluctant.

　　"Alright, I`ll go pack that up," the man says, still looking at his phone as I edge forwards even more. He looks away from the phone finally, his eyes landing on me, and a laugh spills out of his mouth. "Do you want to deliver the order to&. Barry?"

　　If I could nod, I would. I can`t speak to the man but the voice has yet to tell me off for moving too much. I edge forwards again, almost bumping into the guy`s foot which makes him chuckle again and makes me happier.

　　"Alright, buddy. I`ll be back in a minute with the order, okay?" he asks me before smiling and starting to walk away.

　　I wait excitedly, watching the icon at the edge of my screen. It still hasn`t changed. Someone has placed an order, Barry, but it`s not been assigned to me yet. I flick through my cameras, watching the other robots carefully. None of them have moved. They`re all perfectly still, lifeless. Maybe it`s just not been assigned yet. That would make sense, right? Maybe it`s just taking longer today.

　　Right as I have that thought, the voice speaks.

　　"You have received an order."

　　Relief washes through me. I have been chosen! I will get to go out into the world rather than sitting on my charging pad, not even aware of the time that passes around me.

　　I move forwards again, starting towards the shop door before hesitating. It feels weird for me to do that. I feel like I shouldn`t. Should I wait in my place in the queue and wait for the man, whose name I cannot ask, to come back out and hope he knows that the order was assigned to me? No, that feels too risky. I don`t want the possibility of him not choosing me even though the order has been assigned to me and then having to go back to sleep. Not sleep. I don`t sleep. I just power down, it`s not the same.

　　I start to turn around, returning to my place in the queue before stopping. No, I`m being silly. I should go back to the door and wait for the man, that makes the most sense. The order has been assigned to me, I should do it.

　　Beginning to turn again, I catch sight of my reflection in the glass window that covers the front of the shop. It stretches almost down to the ground so I can see almost my entire body. I must have seen my reflection before but I`m taken aback by it. I am a robot. I knew that logically but now I am confronted with the reality of it. I cannot deny the sight I am seeing through my lenses. My vision skips over my small white and boxy body as I turn slightly to get a better look at myself.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

　　It takes me a minute to realise what the bright stickers that the man put on me are. A reindeer. I`m dressed up to look like a reindeer. I even have a sticker on me with strange writing on it. I start at it blankly for a while before realising what the letters say. Dasher. It says my name. It`s a name badge so that people know who I am without me needing to speak to them and get in trouble.

　　Happiness increased.

　　Speed

　　1/10

　　Hope

　　3.2/10

　　Determination

　　4.5/10

　　Happiness

　　5.6/10

　　Pride

　　3.5/10

　　Battery

　　98%

　　I know that it wasn`t the man`s decision to put the stickers on me, it probably came from higher up, from GroceRover, but I still feel a rush of affection towards him. I hear the door open and turn as quickly as I can, speeding towards him as I ready myself to take the order. He shakes his head at me as I approach, a heavy-looking plain white plastic bag clutched in his hand.

　　"You are the most enthusiastic little robot that I have ever seen," the man says. "None of the others respond to me as much as you do."

　　I feel my happiness start to sink. I`ve unnerved him. He`s unsure of me, maybe even put off. I feel bad. He`s the closest that I have to a friend and I creep him out. I stare up at him, wishing that I could apologise but I know that it would just scare him and I don`t even have the right words to say to him. There`s no option for I`m sorry` in my phrases.

　　"Ah well, the others probably just need an update or something, I bet," he mutters as he pulls his phone out of his pocket and clicks a button that makes my lid open. "I don`t care, you`ll still be my favourite even if the others are just as friendly as you."

　　Pride increased, determination increased, happiness increased.

　　Speed

　　1/10

　　Hope

　　3.2/10

　　Determination

　　4.7/10

　　Happiness

　　5.8/10

　　Pride

　　3.7/10

　　Battery

　　98%

　　The increases are so sudden that they almost take me by surprise. I`m alight with happiness. I like being someone`s favourite, even if the competition is slim. There are only a handful of other robots and I could count the number of times I`d heard them talk on my& well, not fingers. I don`t have those anymore. Wheels! I have six wheels and I`d only heard them talk maybe four or five times!

　　I wonder why I`m different. I mean, I talk as much as possible. I`d talk all day if I could but they don`t. It could be a conscious thing. Maybe they have been aware for longer than I have so they`re more used to it and acting like a robot. Or maybe they don`t feel the need to talk as much as I do. I`m not sure what it is but I can`t resist the urge to speak as the man lowers the food into my compartment and closes the lid.

　　"Thank you," I call out.

　　He snorts faintly.

　　"You`re welcome, Dasher. Go on, off you go."