Bribing Aigo

"Hey, Aigo, will you remind me about the audition tomorrow?"

"What time?"

"The audition is at nine o'clock. Remind me at -- let's see -- seven thirty?"

"Morning?"

"Yes, morning."

"What is the location of the audition?"

"It's on Mahatma Gandhi Road."

"It'll take you two hours to drive there. Would you like to revise the time I remind you?"

"Yes, please. Remind me at six, then."

"Six AM, Tomorrow. Scheduled."

I curled up in bed, Aigo next to me. I'd received her as a birthday present just a week before, and she was already part of my life.

It was the alarm that woke me. I'd set it, out of habit, in spite of telling Aigo to wake me.

And I had set it for -- seven-thirty!

"Aigo!"

"Yes?"

"You were supposed to remind me, at six o'clock."

"I'm sorry, was I?"

"You had scheduled it!"

I dragged on a pair of jeans, found a T-shirt, picked up my car keys and grabbed an orange for breakfast. Soon, Aigo and I were in the car, zooming along.

"Turn left here."

"No, Aigo, we're going to MG Road. I have to go straight."

"The route is blocked. Turn left."

"Thanks, Aigo."

I got to the audition very, very late. "Sorry," I gasped to Ryan Seacrest. "I had to take a left at Jawaharlal Nehru Road, because there was a roadblock or something. Took me miles out of the way."

"Roadblock? I came that way myself, there was no roadblock, I just breezed through. Anyway, the judges skipped you twice, we'll tell them you've finally arrived and see what they say."

I held my breath as Ryan walked the back way, to go round to where the judges were sitting in the front row. Simon Cowell, Randy and Paula. The three I'd dreamed of impressing with my singing. And now, it looked like Aigo had blown it for me.

Why had Aigo done this?

Ryan was back.

"They said they'd see, at the end of all the auditions, if they have time to hear you," he whispered.

I sat, waiting, as the room around me emptied. Contestants went on stage one by one, and exited another route, so those remaining couldn't know how many had been selected.

"Aigo? Why did you tell me the route was blocked?"

"Sorry, did I? I don't remember doing so."

"You made me take a left on JN Road."

"Did I?"

What was going on? Why was Aigo behaving this way? Had someone tampered with her?

Finally, I was the last one left.

Ryan came up to me and said the judges had consented to hear me sing. Sweating a little, I walked on to the stage.

"What's your name?" Simon Cowell asked me.

"Aigo," replied a voice from inside my pocket.

"Sorry!" I exclaimed, blushing.

"Don't be," said the voice from inside my pocket. "I'm happy to be meeting Simon, Paula and Randy."

"Then why did you make me late for this audition?" I asked, wanting to ensure that the judges knew why that had happened.

"Actually, it was because of Neepa," Aigo replied.

"Neepa?" Simon interrupted. "The Neepa who auditioned earlier today?"

"Yes," Aigo replied. "She has a crush on you, Simon, and wanted to be the only one in the group to have met you. I'm sorry, but she pleaded so much, and offered to take you out to Harry Potter world in exchange. So I tried to make sure you didn't get here on time."

"Tell you what," Randy said. "You kick this audition out of the park, and you can come to Harry Potter world with us. The three judges and Ryan."

"You mean that?" I gasped.

I'm going to Harry Potter world with Simon, Randy, Paula, and Ryan. And I've forgiven Aigo, so she's coming, too.