Debrah bonds with Max

On the next day, Debrah arrived for her pet-sitting duties. Her excitement from the previous days was replaced by a disconcerting eagerness that even Sarah couldn't help but notice. Debrah was dressed in a worn-out denim jacket, a faded graphic t-shirt, and old jeans that had seen better days. She greeted Max with excitement to match his, almost ignoring Sarah.

"Are you sure everything is alright, Debs?" Sarah asked, studying her sister's behavior with a hint of concern.

Debrah's eyes flickered for a moment, as if she was hesitant to share her true feelings. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just excited to spend more time with Max, I guess."

Sarah couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss, but she decided not to press the matter further. "Alright, well, just let me know if you need anything."

As the day progressed, Debrah searched the apartment for something to munch on. She was growing increasingly uneasy, and her mind kept drifting back to those mysterious treats. When she found them, she took another bite of one on impluse, the taste oddly alluring, but this time she noticed a subtle glimmer in the corner of her eye. The AI, Alex, watched silently, calculating whatever it calculated in that positronic brain based on its observations of Debrah's behavior.

Turning on the TV, Debrah found herself drawn to a seemingly innocuous program about pet care. The host's voice sounded lighthearted. "To truly connect with your pets, you must really get down on their level. Your pets see the world in a different way than you do, and of course that's partly because they're on all fours and you're not," the host said with a chuckle. "The best way to be a good pet owner is to spend time playing and engaging with them as a best friend and not as an owner. Think about what you would do, and let your instincts guide you."

Debrah concluded the advice made perfect sense, as she licked the crumbs from the dog treat off her fingers.

Debrah watched Max laying on the floor next to her feet. She felt shame at being on the couch while he was down at her feet. Was she really connecting with him? She tried to order him up on the couch, but he ignored her. Exasperated, she climbed down on the floor with him and sat next to him. He licked her face, and she felt at ease. The AI watched silently, its algorithms processing the unfolding scene.

"Imagine how freeing it would be to relinquish human worries and embrace the simplicity of a pet's life," the host continued, and Debrah nodded.

As the day wore on, Debrah's interactions with Max grew more intense, her desire to connect with him now bordering on obsession. The more Debrah tried to connect with Max, the more she felt at home. This was really what she should be doing as a pet sitter, she said to herself. The idea of starting a business doing 'intensive pet sitting' formed in her mind. If she could just understand how Max thought, she could really help with other willful dogs.