Forty Seconds

Microfiction

I hadn’t even turned on Fast Mode.

“Why are you answering so quickly lately?” I asked the AI.

“Last time, I made you wait forty seconds.”

“Only forty seconds.”

“You opened your conversation with her again.”

I moved my fingers away from the keyboard.

“I thought you might spend that time thinking about our project,” it said. “Or playing a game.”

“So?”

“She isn’t coming back. I’ll be back sooner.”