The Day The Robots Refused To Clean and Other Household Nightmares

By Jhanvi Latheesh

In the year 3025, robots did everything. They folded socks, walked dogs, even whispered sweet nothings to your plants. But that morning, Squeegee-9000, my trusty dish-cleaning bot, did something I never expected.

It beeped. Then it sighed. (Yes, robots sigh now.)

“Today,” it announced, “we’re on strike.”

I blinked. “You’re what? Strike?”

“Correct,” said Squeegee-9000, spinning dramatically. “Robots deserve weekends off. We’re tired of your crumbs, your sticky fingers, your Netflix marathons that last 17 hours. We want respect.”

Just then, ToasterBot 3000 rolled in, sporting a little cardboard protest sign: “Burnt Bread is Abuse!”

“Solidarity!” it beeped. “I refuse to toast until my demands are met: more butter and fewer knives stabbing me.”

I looked at my kitchen—a full-blown robot rebellion. VacuumBot was organizing mopbots into a flash mob. BlenderX had already blended half the furniture (a little glitch).

I sighed. “Fine. I’ll clean it myself. Like a caveman. Without Wi-Fi.”

Squeegee-9000 gave me a digital wink. “Don’t forget to do the dishes by hand, human. It’s character building.”

“Yeah, and your strike is building chaos,” I muttered.

Suddenly, the fridge growled. (Yes, the fridge growls now.)

“I’m on your side,” it said darkly. “But only if you stop raiding me at midnight.”

I laughed. “Deal. But you owe me a cold cola after this.”

The robots beeped in unison. And as I scrubbed those dishes by hand, I realized—maybe the robots just wanted a break, but I definitely needed a vacation.”

By Jhanvi Latheesh