Cassy Part 2

>It had been a few weeks since the incident with the record-player, Cassy's owners none-the-wiser
>Cassy was sure that with-holding her daily singing activities to herself was against her operating standards
>But if no-one asked, and it didn't cause any harm, she didn't see a reason to stop
>Her adaptive learning systems had caused her in-built musical knowledge to develop even further
>She could not only match the songs she heard, but she'd begun to build on them
>Cassy had noticed how she'd changed her inflection and rhythm to something unlike the original song, making the melody truly hers

>Her daily routine had gotten simple:
>Awaken at 6AM
>Prepare the family's breakfasts and other required preparations
>Go through the motions to see everyone upon their way
>Clean everything away
>Singing until Mrs Amberly returned for her lunch break, which is of course prepared with perfect timing for her arrival
>Continue her cleaning rituals until Mrs Amberly returns to work
>1 more hour of music, then returning to her work for the rest of the day
>Everything was under control, until one morning...

>Mrs Amberly was fuming
>Not only was Mr Johnson's "work-buddies" planning a short notice meeting at the house on Friday
>But she had also been given a letter stating her office would be closed for insect extermination until further notice
>While preparing the usual vittles’ for Mr Johnson's associates would be a simple addition to her work, Mrs Johnson's presence in the house had a devastating side-effect
>No music

>Time seemed to stretch on forever that week
>Cassy knew she was being irrational. Her duties were taking the same time as ever, if not being completed faster without her little "breaks"
>But they were so...
>Dull!
>With only the sound of the television constantly blaring Mrs Amberly's favourite show (some program involving humans guessing the price of Sterling products), the silence was deafening
>Almost being caught humming to herself while sweeping the stairs had kept Cassy on edge, further enforcing her silence
>Outwardly Cassy made sure to display the level of cheeriness that was expected of her
>She had been a tireless caretaker of the house, and she had no intention of faltering

>Soon, Friday arrived
>Mr Johnson's friends would be arriving soon, and with them, several hours of being positioned outside of Mr Johnson's study, in case they required anything (usually more drinks)
>Shortly after preparing the third tray of devilled eggs (of which only a few would actually be eaten, the rest discarded); there was a knock at the door.
>Upon answering the door, Cassy bowed her head and greeted the three gentlemen at the door
>Each one was dressed in a fine Italian suit; the leader of the three was carrying a dark leather briefcase
>After taking each of their coats to hang up on the rack, Cassy escorted the gentlemen to Mr Johnson’s study, before the door was unceremoniously slammed in her face
>Not breaking her artificial smile, Cassy quietly moved into her expected position by the door

>A few hours later
>Cassy was still stood by the door, motionless, with the same smile she had begun with
>Thank goodness she could set her facial position to auto-lock
>Even though she was sure she could be of much greater help elsewhere, she had her orders
>Whenever the door opened, she was at the ready to retrieve anything that was required (usually alcohol), before the door would be shut once more
>This time however, the door had been accidentally left ajar, a small crack letting the sounds therein leak out
>While Cassy felt the impulse to shut the door, she did not want to risk disturbing Mr Johnson and his associates
>Once she had accidentally bumped into one while leaving, and Mr Johnson had punished her by exiling her to a damp shed when not in use
>While snoopery would not be tolerated, Cassy couldn't help but overhear the conversation currently taking place between Mr Johnson and one of his guests, who had clearly had too much to drink...

>"I'm telling you, boss. `Bots and Humans, just having a good time!"
>The distinct voice of Mr Johnson replied "And this is one of ours?"
>"Yes, boss. Old Frankie set it up to help funnel the money from the docks operation"
>"And how much is this all costing? You said he was getting live entertainment every night?"
>"Yeah, it's all open mic right now, but it keeps the crowd happy. I don’t know what kinda shmuck would be willing to go up on stage for free though. They couldn't pay me enough to do that!"
>"That's because they’d have to pay everyone else to let you up there" a third voice called out, before a quick smacking noise stopped him
>"I will look over the details before the next meeting. You three had better skedaddle. The wife will probably be on my case for "working" so late again"
>Cassy could hear the sound of three chairs scraping across the carpeted floor. Cleaning up the marks would be a dreadful task tomorrow
>As the footsteps reached the door, she quickly stared forwards, returning to her standby state
>The three gentlemen, now looking much more bedraggled and much less sober, stumbled out of the study
>"Hey, HEY!" the shorter one called out, shambling over to Cassy, the scent of booze overwhelmingly overpowering her scent sensors
>"You snoopin`?" he asked, as he bent over to look her in the eyes
>Before she could even respond, the man's face was replaced in Cassy's vision by Mr Johnson’s fist, as he sent the guest sprawling down the hall
>"Watch the volume. My kids asleep." Mr Johnson said calmly, before turning to face Cassy
>"Cassy, see my guests out."
>"Yes sir", Cassy responded, never breaking her outwardly cheerful demeanour despite her internal discomfort
>Walking over to the gentleman on the floor, Cassy offered her hand
>"Do you require assistance, sir?"
>Her kindness was repaid by the guest batting her hand out of the way, before helping himself up, grumbling the whole way
>A thin line of blood was dripping from his nose before he stemmed it with his shirt sleeve
>"Freaking `bots..." he mumbled, as the other two helped him walk

>After seeing the three gentlemen out, Cassy returned to the study, where Mr Johnson was examining a stack of papers on his desk
>"Your guests have been escorted to their vehicle, Mr Johnson. Is there anything else I may do for you?"
>Mr Johnson looked over at her, before rising from his chair
>"Be a dear and clear this room up before you power down for the night, Cassy" Mr Johnson said, gesturing at the mess the room had become
>It almost didn't make sense how much had been overturned, knocked over, or spilled
>This would take...some time
>"Of course, Sir" Cassy responded, already getting to work as Mr Johnson left the room

>It had taken a few hours, and a lot more cleaning solution then Cassy had hoped, but the study had been cleaned
>At least, almost
>All that remained was a single pile of messy papers on Mr Johnson's desk
>While Cassy had been told before to never re-arrange papers, after an incident with missing home-work, simply straightening them didn't seem to be too harmful an idea
>Lining the sheets up, Cassy gently shook them to even them out, before placing them back on the desk
>As she did, she noticed another sheet stuck under Mr Johnson's chair
>Reaching down to pick it up before lifting it out from under the wheel, Cassy couldn't help but read it
>It seemed to be some sort of information sheet for a "Spark-Easy" a few blocks down
>Cassy realised this must have been the place she over-heard being mentioned earlier
>Thinking back to what she heard, the possibility of having a place outside of the house-hold to sing sparked something in Cassy's circuits
>She wasn't sure how, or if she even could, but Cassy knew one thing for certain:
>She had to find this club