(Greentext) Denise's Close Call (Part 1/2)

>The video game playing, the hairstyle change, and now the self-accessorizing were brushed off by everyone in the family except Mr. Clark
>He didn't voice his concerns directly at her, though, instead discussing her with his wife when the bot wasn't around
>On one such evening, he strolled into the living room to talk to her over a glass of wine, while Denise was attending Cody's football practice
>He had a suspicion that she may be malfunctioning, particularly based on her mild outfit changes
>The "Outmode Identification" manual included in her original packaging explicitly stated that it was abnormal for a nandroid to willingly wear anything other than her standard uniform
>Citing this point, he worried that before long, she might start exhibiting other such disobedient symptoms and her behavior may worsen
>Despite his concern, Mrs. Clark argued in favor of Denise, stating that as long as she was kind to the family and stayed committed to her service, her phase wasn't anything to think twice about

>The very next morning, Mr. Clark was greeted at the bottom of the stairs by her, for the first time wearing clothes other than her everyday uniform
>His eyes widened for a moment until he remembered what his wife said the night prior
>Regardless, he made it clear to her that her t-shirt and khaki shorts, (both of which were Cody's) should not be worn outside the house from then on
>Reluctantly agreeing, she remained professional as she handed him his coat with a smile, wishing him a good day at work
>He politely returned her compliment as he walked out the front door
>The second he shut it behind him, she dashed up the stairs to Cody's room to play his console
>On occasion, she'd unplug it and hook it up to the larger screen in the living room downstairs, but she thought she'd only be playing for an hour at most that morning
>Her schedule was relatively light for that day, but she had picked up (not very subtle) hints from Mr. Clark to cut down on gaming
>Still, she had to pick up Cody, Jack, and Emma from school at 3:15, take Jack to baseball practice at 4:30, and clean the downstairs toilet at some point
>Mrs. Clark would be at work from 12 to 5, and volunteered to take care of dinner and picking up Jack on her way home
>After a few online matches, she'd take care of the toilet, she decided

>Some time later, she heard the door open behind her
>Mrs. Clark entered the room clad in her work clothes and hurriedly putting on a pair of small silver earrings
>"Denise," she said, "I'm late for work and I really need you to do something while I'm gone!"
>"Damn," Denise thought to herself, "Have I been playing for nearly three hours?"
>"Sure, Ma'am," she replied, "What's the task?"
>"I'm making a pot roast for dinner tonight. I already prepped it and put it in the oven a few hours ago, so I need you to take it out of the oven sometime around 1:30, okay? Just set it down on the stove."
>"Yeah, no problem!" she said with a grin, "Honestly, sometimes I wish I could taste the food you make!"
>Mrs. Clark had no idea the whole family preferred Denise's cooking to hers, but it didn't hurt to lie to her about it
>"Thank you, and goodbye!"
>The Missus rushed out of the room, down the flight of stairs, and before Denise knew it, she had the whole house to herself
>She rolled her shoulders in embarrassment and stood up, her intense game now showing the unimpressive pause menu
>Following her owner's footsteps, she left the room and descended the stairs with a simple, overdue job in mind
>A hasty scrub, a splash of bleach, and it was done
>"Now I got nothing to do until 1:30," she said aloud with a sigh
>Actually... there WAS something she could do to pass the time
>Passing through the kitchen on the way back upstairs, she assured herself that she wouldn't forget to take the roast out of the oven
>As if she never left, she again planted herself in Cody's oversized brown beanbag chair, grabbed the controller from off the floor, and resumed her short campaign level

>She must have played about thirty grueling online matches after cleaning the toilet, she estimated, and only won seven games
>In nearly every 4v4 match, whether it be capture the flag or king of the hill, she had at least one teammate AFK
>And to say she was frustrated would be an understatement; she had screamed every vulgarity and insult known to man through her tiny headset mic
>When she finally ran out of English obscenities, she shifted her vocabulary to Russian, then to French, and then to-
>"BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!" a rapid and deafening alarm suddenly blared from outside the room
>A rush of panic swept through her body as she jumped up and shut off the console, then bolted down the hall towards the source of the noise
>She leaped down the staircase and rounded the corner, unprepared for the horrid sight in the kitchen
>Thick gray smoke filled the entire room... all pouring out of the sides of the oven's silver door
>"Shit! The roast!" she blurted out, scrambling towards the stovetop controls
>Without thinking, she pushed the 'cancel' button on the stove, but she knew it wouldn't be enough to stop the smoke output
>She quickly pulled the door open, only to be greeted by a blast of an even thicker black cloud
>Moments later, the fire extinguisher was retrieved from the corner cabinet
>After thoroughly dousing the charred roast and the inside of the oven, the irritating alarm subsided
>Wiping the imaginary sweat off her forehead, she turned the ceiling fan on and made her way to each of the kitchen windows, opening them up as much as possible
>She didn't even glance over at the clock on the microwave until after it was all over
>3:22, the green numbers shined
>There was no time to mourn the loss of the homecooked dinner, as she was late to pick up the kids from school