the perfect friend

名称：the perfect friend
内容简介：
By Genevieve Petrillo
Art by Debbie Palen

Read AlongPlayPause
Stop.INTRO

A RoboPal!
“Happy birthday, honey.”

“Wow!” Becky shouted. “A RoboPal! Thanks, Mom.”

“She’s the Perfect Friend, like the one you saw on airvision.”

“I love her! I really need a perfect friend!”

Becky’s friends, Kim and Gloria, rode hover boards with her, but taking turns got old. They played virtual games, but being a good sport was tough. They watched airvision, but they could never agree on a show. Kim and Gloria were good friends, but they were not the Perfect Friend.

The next morning, Mom charged the photocell and programmed the name Dakota into Becky’s RoboPal.

Dakota blinked and hummed. “Dakota means ‘friend,’” she said. “It is the perfect name for me. What is your name?”

“I’m Becky. Let’s go outside, Dakota.”

“Perfect.”

Awesome, Becky thought.Finally, a perfect friend.

Becky zoomed around on her hover board. Dakota clapped. “You are wonderful, Becky!” she called. She never asked for a turn.

“Let’s go inside,” Becky said.

“Perfect,” said Dakota.

They watched cartoons on airvision.

“What do you want to watch?” Becky asked Dakota.

“What doyouwant to watch?” Dakota echoed.

Becky opened her mouth to answer, then closed it. She switched channels until she got bored.

“Let’s play virtual auto racing,” Becky said.

“Perfect.”

Becky’s car was making a sharp turn and speeding ahead on the track. “Come on!” Becky cried.

“Would you like to win?” Dakota asked.

Becky stared at her RoboPal. “Of course I want to win!”

“Perfect. You win.”

Becky looked into her stereoscope viewer and saw that she had won.

Dakota clapped. “You are amazing, Becky.”

Becky sighed and went to her room.

Dakota sat in the chair while Becky lay on her bed reading a mystery book.

“Dakota, if you heard a scary sound in the basement, would you go down to see what it was?” Becky asked.

“If you want me to, I will.”

“But would youwantto?”

“Do you want me to?”

Becky sighed again. “Never mind.”

“Perfect.”

Later, Becky met Kim and Gloria outside. “Guys, if you heard a scary sound in the basement, would you go down to see what it was?”

“I’d use a radar flashlight and check through the door. If the RF detected something strange, I wouldnotgo down,” Gloria said.

“I’drundown,” Kim said. “Strange noises usually mean my cat, Firecracker, is stuck someplace.”

Becky looked at her friends and smiled. “I got a RoboPal for my birthday,” she said.

“The Perfect Friend?” asked Kim.

“She tries to be, but she’s not,” Becky said. “Let’s ride hover boards.”

“Me first!” Gloria called.

“You were first last time,” Kim said. “Why can’t I be first?”

“I love you guys,” said Becky. “You are the perfect friends.”