by R. J. Ross
“Wasn’t me,” he says. “I was at lunch.”
“I see,” she says, frowning for a second. Had it just been the video, she wouldn’t be that worried, really… it was the laughing emoji that bothers her. Maybe it’s the principal teasing them? “Okay, everyone, let’s get to work!” she says, pretending like it hadn’t bothered her.
She still can’t help glancing over at the guinea pig with a curious expression. Could it possibly be…
***
“So,” Nico says, kicking his feet up on his desk and looking at his students. “Now that we’ve blown a few things up, figured out the most showy, yet effective way to safely dispose of a bomb for each of you, and discussed whether Jack could swallow a small one safely or not, I say we can call it a day.”
“We’ve done this class once a week since we started coming to this school,” Emily points out. “Not that I’m complaining, really.”
“It’s pretty high on the job requirement list, and I like blowing things up,” Nico says. The group nods, clearly agreeing.
“I think we need to discuss sonic sound attacks,” Adanna says. “Papa says they’re the worst thing to deal with, in several ways.” She gives Justin a dry look when he tries to appear innocent.
“I’ll be happy to add that in to next week’s curriculum,” Nico agrees. “Anything outside of class you want to talk about?”
“Can we go peek in on the kindergartners?” Aubrey asks. “They’re just SO cute. It’s not enough that we only get to see them at lunch!”
“I think the teacher is worried about that,” Adanna admits.
“What for?” Freddy asks.
“Well, with regular schools they try to keep the little kids away from the older ones,” Nico says. “I think they’re afraid they’ll get stepped on, or something.”
“Or bullied,” Emily says. The class goes quiet, not quite looking at each other as they think about bullying.
“We would NEVER bully them!” Carla bursts out. “Nico, we need to tell them that we won’t bully them! I mean, Jack’s sort of a bully, but—”
“Thank you, thank you,” Jack says. “I try.”
“But he’s not a very GOOD one,” Carla says.
“He used to be!” Sunny volunteers, as Jack pouts.
“We need to prove to her that it’s perfectly safe here! We will not stand for bullying!” Carla declares. Nico is tapping on the air with a slight frown, completely ignoring her dramatically righteous speech at this point. “I even posed and everything,” she says to the classroom. “I should at least get extra credit, right?”
“Oh, right, I could use a bit of that, too,” Kaden says, getting to his feet and posing, as well. Within seconds, more than half of the class has struck a pose, some even standing on their desks.
“How come that only works for the hero track kids?” Ace asks the ones still sitting.
“It’s a heroic moment, you can do it when things get villainous,” Zoe replies, tapping on the air, as well. “Dad?”
“Yeah, I saw.”
“Should we stop him?”
“Well…” Nico leans back, waving a hand and dismissing the holograms. “This might just be his way of joining in. Let’s see what happens, first. Five points on your next failed test to everyone that struck a GOOD pose. Sunny, picking your nose doesn’t count.”
“Darn it.”
“Hey, why’s she so scared, anyway?” Jack asks. “Are you sure you picked the right teacher for them?”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Nico admits. “But Mastermental sent some people out to check on her qualifications, and even visited her the other day. He said she’d be a great teacher for them, with a bit of time, and he’s a mind reader. My guess is that being in a school like this came as a shock to her.”
“What’s so shocking about our school?” Kaden asks. “It’s the only school I’ve ever been to that I actually feel comfortable in.”
Everyone looks at the large Polynesian teen, who is now eating a sub sandwich while he speaks.
“Kaden, are you going through another growth spurt?” Zoe asks him.
“I grew two inches last week,” Kaden says around a mouthful of meat and cheese. A small pile of snacks is tossed onto his table by the kids around him. “T’anks.”
“That’s because you’re not normal, kid,” Nico says. “Nobody in this school is normal, except for their teacher and a handful of black suits that come by once in a while.”
“And Tony,” Zoe says. “Maybe he could help her get used to things?”
“Yeah, Tony would be really good at that!” some of the other kids chime in.
“Then I’ll ask him to go have a talk with her when he gets the chance,” Nico says.
***
*Snack Time*
“Okay, everyone, we’ve washed our hands and now we’ll have our snack,” Ashlynn says, pulling out the different colored boxes of snacks that had been prepared. They’re bigger than she expects, she thinks as she hands them out, and she peeks over their shoulders as they open the boxes, revealing fruit, veggies, and little containers of dipping sauces. She nods her approval that they seem healthy, and heads for her desk to let them eat in peace. At a few touches, a hologram appears in front of her, showing her all the work that they’ve accomplished today, as well as an outline for tomorrow.
She jerks as the kids start giggling, looking up just as a tiny snapping sound comes from the ball above their table. “Cubby? Robo? You two aren’t playing with the guinea pig, are you?”
“Noooo,” the two boys say.
“Girls?”
“No, Miss Ashlynn,” Hana says, munching on a carrot. Ashlynn goes back to looking at her work, only to jerk as she hears Evie let out a yelp, which is quickly followed by raucous laughter. She gets up, walking over to them and looking around. When no one explains, she looks up a bit, blinking at the sight of the guinea pig dipping a piece of celery into a very familiar looking dip cup.
“Did he…?” she asks the kids. When they just look at her innocently, she gives up and heads to the little fridge again, pulling out what she had thought was a bit of extra in case the children were still hungry. “Who gave him the dipping sauce?” she asks.
Evie holds up her hand. The guinea pig starts squeaking, urgently, so she looks at him. “Next time we ask for treats for the guinea pig, got it? We do not give him our own.”
“I didn’t give,” Evie says, kicking her feet. “He took it!”
“Those’re Clinky’s snacks, that’s why it’s orange, Blue is for Cubby, green is for me, purple is for Evie, and pink is for Hana,” Robo says, pointing to the box Ashlynn is holding. Ashlynn looks at the box, and opens it, looking inside. Just as he had said, all of the fruits and vegetables have been cut in much smaller pieces, but there are dipping containers, as well. She thinks for a moment, and then hands Evie one of the dipping cups before taking the box to the bubble’s door. To her surprise, which she tries to hide, the door opens and the guinea pig reaches out for the box. She pushes it through the door and closes it as he starts digging in.
“I will… remember that, next time,” she says. “Sorry, Evie.”
“It’s okay,” Evie says, opening the new cup and starting to eat again.
“Clinky isn’t like a normal guinea pig, Miss Ashlynn,” Robo says around a mouthful of apple. “He’s smart.”
Usually she would smile and agree, because kids’ imaginations should be encouraged, but this time… she looks at the guinea pig in question as he munches his food happily, and wonders if she should give him a coloring project during art time, as well. If she doesn’t learn how to accept the unusual, she’s never going to make it as a teacher, here, right?
“Knock, knock?” a man says from the open door. She looks up, seeing a man dressed in a janitor uniform. “Hi, I’m here to clean up after the snack time.”
“Oh, thank you,” Ashlynn says, motioning him in. “We’re almost finished. Clinky, make sure to put all the trash in t
he box, please.” The guinea pig lets out a squeak and puts the empty dipping cup into the box. “Thank you,” she says as the door opens and he hands her the box.
“Smart guinea pig,” the janitor says. The kids get up, joining in enthusiastically as they explain just how smart he is.
“He’s a ROBOT GUINEA PIG!” Robo exclaims, jumping up and down. “Just like me!”
“You’re not a guinea pig!” Cubby says, giggling.
“But I’m a robot!” Robo says, proudly.
“I was told you were an artificial intelligence,” the janitor says, crouching down. He winces slightly as he does. “Going to have to talk to Aubrey about that,” he mutters before going on. “That’s not the same as the robots. We have lots of robots, out there. They don’t act like you do, Robo.”
“I wanna see robots!” Evie says, much to her mother’s surprise. Usually her daughter is the last one to say what she wants to do, and you have to pry it out of her.
“Let’s go see robots!” the other three cheer, jumping up and down excitedly. Ashlynn hesitates.
“Kids, we have art time next. After art time we’ll be doing science, and then we have our after class time. We could—”
“If you go then, you’ll run into the older kids doing their drills,” the janitor says. “We could swing over there; I was planning on knocking some dents out of them next. The kids should be fine. All of the robots are off-line at the moment.”
The guinea pig starts squeaking emphatically, and the door opens, letting him jump out and onto the table. He scampers over to Robo, tugging at the boy’s pants.
“Clinky wants to come, too,” Robo says, picking the guinea pig up.
Ashlynn sees all four of the kids (and one guinea pig) staring at her with hopeful expressions, and thinks back to what Nico had told her. These children are already separated from their peers, because they have a very small group of peers to begin with. This schooling is for the education, sure, but it’s more for the social interactions, something they would never get in a normal school. Her own daughter had been ostracized because of her eyes, and the boys make that difference seem tiny. And as for Hana… she hasn’t seen any signs of powers, yet, but she gets the feeling that Hana has a very important position in super society already lined up, at five.
“Okay, but only for a short time,” she says. “Should we ask one of the older children to act as an escort?” she asks the janitor. “You’re going to be busy, and we don’t want to interrupt you.”
“We could bring one,” he agrees, touching his clunky looking watch. “Sir, do you think we could borrow—”
To Ashlynn’s surprise, she hears an entire group of people volunteering from the watch’s speaker. “Is it for the kindergartners?” Nico asks. The other voices stop, abruptly.
“They want to see the Apocalypse Field robots,” the janitor explains. “I thought I’d start knocking out the dents the Liberty boys left yesterday.”
“Take Jack,” Nico says. “He can fix the dents and deal with the kids at the same time.”
“Jack is…” Ashlynn says, knowing exactly who Jack is, and not sure she wants a super villain like him to act as a helper.
“YES!” she hears the teen cheer. “I’m on my way.”
“Apocalypse Field… that term is a bit… much for a high school, isn’t it?” Ashlynn asks the janitor. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I haven’t even introduced myself. I’m Ashlynn Jones.”
“Tony Accardi,” he says, giving me a grin and offering his hand. “I’m Fire Hazard’s father, a norm.”
“I’m, um, Evie’s mother,” I say, taking the hand. “A norm, as well.”
“Then you and I should get along just fine,” he says. “Since we’re the only norms on campus, save for a black suit here and there.”
She gives him a grateful smile even as the door opens and a large metal covered teenager appears with a very shiny grin. “Cubby! Robo!” he says as the two boys race towards him, jumping him excitedly. Before Ashlynn can think of something to say, he’s got both of them several feet off the floor in a group hug. To her surprise, Evie tugs on her shirt.
“Can I hug Cold Steel?” her little girl asks.
“That’s not steel,” Hana says, running over to the teen. “It’s got a different… text… tex…”
“Texture?” Jack asks, letting the brothers down and crouching in front of Hana, his hand out. “Your mom said the same thing, but it’s close enough to steel that we don’t worry about it.”
She focuses on his arm, moving it this way and that, since he lets her. Evie, since Ashlynn hasn’t said anything, heads forward to join the others.
“And you’re Rocco’s little sister, right?” Jack asks, absently moving however Hana wants him to. “Your big brother’s a pal of mine.” He looks a bit surprised, though, when she holds up her arms, demandingly. Before long, he stands with all four kids and a guinea pig hanging off of him. “Not sure we can go through the door like this, guys,” he says with dry amusement as they giggle.
“If the world saw this, they would be shocked,” Tony says with amusement.
“These four are special,” Jack says, having heard him. “Cubby and Robo are my boys, right, guys? And Hana is my future uniform maker.”
“I’m gonna make the BEST uniforms EVER!” Hana says proudly.
“And Evie, here, is one of my pal’s little sister,” Jack finishes. “But we still gotta go through the door. How about this, if you get off, I’ll call in the surfboard.”
The kids drop to the ground, but the guinea pig climbs to his shoulder, squeaking triumphantly, as if it had been a game of king of the mountain, and he’d won. Jack plucks him off of his shoulder, looking at him curiously. The guinea pig squeaks, waving a tiny paw.
“That’s Clinky!” Robo tells him.
“Clinky,” Jack repeats.
“Clinky!” the kids all agree.
“Okay, sure,” Jack says, putting him on his shoulder again. “Come on, kids, let’s go see the robots.”
“YEAH!” they shout, starting towards the door, only to stop as he lets out a sharp whistle.
“In a line,” he says, waving a hand. “I want you all where I can see you, especially you, Robo.”
Robo gives him a mischievous smile, but gets in line behind his brother, and the group heads out. For a moment Ashlynn just watches them go, stunned, but Tony clears his throat. “Shall we?” he asks.
“Oh, right, um, yeah,” she says, chasing after the kids following the super villain. They look a lot like baby ducks following their mother, but she can’t say that. She really doesn’t want to see him get angry.
***
And Now Cape High Productions Brings You:
Robo Time!
I. Am. A. Robot! Akshully, (how you like that spelling, huh? It’s not easy to misspell things when your thoughts are being recorded, you know!) AKSHULLY I am an artificial intelligence that has a robotic body covered in specially synth… synthetic… fake skin and hair created by Hana’s grandpapa. I’m in kindergarten!
Well, anyway, now that I’ve introduced myself, I’ll tell you who YOU are. I am being monitored all the time in all the ways, including thoughts, by the system, YOU! And I know you’re watching me, because I can hear you communicate with Uncle Nico and Zoe at night, you know. So I’m going to make you useful and tell you everything that’s going on so I don’t have to work hard to remember it, later.
Right now we are brand new kindergarten kids in Cape High. There’s me, my brother, who’s the future Panther, Hana, who’s the future tailor for the Hall, and Evie, who’s the teacher’s daughter. We’re supposed to learn how to read, write, color, you know, the stuff they show on cartoons aimed at kids our age. Honestly, though, Cubby and I both know how to do that stuff, already. I’m at a high school level of reading comprehension—oh, I should have tried to spell that wrong, shouldn’t I have? Eh, I don’t have time to, right now. We’re going to see ROBOTS!
“All right, guys, no to
uching unless I tell you, okay?” Jack says, looking at me AGAIN. What does he expect me to do? My eyes catch on the first robot as we enter the underground base, and I forget all about what I’m NOT supposed to do. I want to see his programming!
The walls of the base light up, flashing blue. I totally expected that, though, since this entire campus is meant to react to motion. Unfortunately, it distracted me just long enough for Jack to grab the back of my shirt.
“No, you don’t,” he says.
“Was he doing something wrong?” Miss Ashlynn asks. “If he wasn’t doing anything wrong, I would appreciate you not grabbing him like that.”
I look at her, SO tempted. I could totally use this! But—but—
“He was gonna look at the robots,” Cubby says, sounding innocent.
“He was going to look INTO the robots, you mean,” Jack says, snorting. “Stay out of their programming, Robo, and I’ll ask Nico to make you a miniature one to play with later.”
“I’ll be gooooood,” I say, my mind full of tiny robot toys. Oh, sure, I could take these guys over… no… that’s definitely a firewall built just to keep me out, isn’t it? Pooh. I feel a tap on my head and look up, seeing Jack giving me a stern look.
“Not even two seconds?” he asks, only to snort.
“You can’t be sure of that,” Hana says. “He was just looking! We’re all looking!”
“You’re right, you’re right,” Jack says, patting her on the head with a smile. “Okay, kids. Right now we’re under the Apocalypse Field. This is where we keep all of the robots that we run our drills with. The ones that have superficial damage should be in that area over there. The rest are gathered by type. We have the kid sized ones over here.” He leads the way to a group of shorter robots, and grins at me. “The first body that Robo had was one of these. Remember that, kid?”
“I met Cubby!” I say, memories of that day coming back into mind. “And I went up against Maximum!”
“Did you win?” Evie asks, eagerly.
“Of COURSE I won!” I brag. “He had no chance of beating a hero as good as me!”