Dear Diary

Dear Diary,

Brett came to play today. He brought along Chris with him. I hate Chris. He speaks in such a harsh way, he's mean, and he always opposes what I say. I dunno how Brett made friends with him.

Brett didn't want to play with me. He played whatever Chris wanted to play. When I tried to be friendly and join in, Chris started playing with something else, and Brett followed him. He didn't even look at me. I dunno why he's behaving this way. He'd always be happy when he came here. We would play together for hours. I felt like hitting him and asking why he was avoiding me. But I didn't want to hurt him. He is the only true friend I have.

It was very hurtful. I wanted to cry, but I didn't do it in front of him. They played for some time and went away. Brett didn't even say bye when he left. I wanted to tell Mum. But even she does not want to talk to me these days. She cries a lot after Dad comes back and they fight. They don't let me hear and lock me in my room.

You have always been there for me, dear diary. Whenever I feel alone, I know I have you. I can shed the deepest of tears when I hug you. I know you will support me even when nobody else wants to listen to what I want to say. You always listen.

I know you want me to be happy. You hate it when I shed my burden on you. But you cannot imagine how helpless I feel. It's as if I am alive for no reason. Nobody cares for what I have to say, no one cares if I'm sad or happy. I feel very lonely, dear diary, and you are my only support.

I love my Mum. I know that she doesn't want to talk to me right now, but she will talk to me and make me feel happy. I know that she will always be there for me. I know I can face anything, anyone, just because my Mum loves me too."

Tears rolled down Mrs. Linderton's cheeks as she passed the tear-stained page to her husband. She wept bitterly, but didn't make any sound. She didn't want to wake her daughter up.

"Please, Jack, I don't want to do this."

"We have to, Mandy. You know what happened at the factory. The government does not want to take any more chances."

"But... she's just a child!"

"It doesn't matter. After the workers armed themselves and rebelled against the government at the factory, people feel that no kind of robot is to be trusted any more. We have to shut her down."