Page 77 of Atticus
He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder. “You know, I read the school handbook front to back. There’s nothing in there about dating coworkers. Carlisle literally has no ground to stand on. She’s simply being a tyrant.”
“We know all about those.” I caress his cheek. “Don’t we?”
“Agamemnon, Menelaus,” Atticus says wryly. “And Judith Carlisle.”
“We should probably stop comparing ourselves to Helen and Paris,” I muse. “Considering Troy was burned and sacked, Helen was taken back to Greece, and Paris died.”
“I like to think we’re changing the ending.” Atticus plants a kiss against my cheek. “From tragedy to something better.”
I’ve already sent him scores of messages over the course of the day, telling him all about the kids and their plans for the fundraiser tomorrow night. Atticus had a similar reaction to mine, overwhelmed with gratitude and affection for our students.
“Do you think they’ll be okay, Jack, Pearl, and the others? She couldn’t possibly hope to suspend all of them.”
“Depends on how they go about it. But they have more sense than adults give them credit for. They’re simply exercising their right to be heard.” Rubbing his hand gently over my back, he kisses me tenderly. “The better question is, will they succeed?”
“Whoever shows up to this thing will determine how nice Carlisle decides to be. Even so, she doesn’t seem the type to bend under pressure. You remember the Laines.” I rest my forehead against his. “I don’t want to get my hopes up. I’m still convinced it’ll take money to change her mind.”
“I’m not ready to forsake hope myself just yet.”
“Is it a new experience for you?” I ask. “Hope?”
“Yes and no,” Atticus replies. “I think hope is something I’ve felt since my activation. I hoped that I pleased you. I hoped that I taught well, molded minds. I hoped to change opinions, banish fears. In some ways, I think to be a bionic is to always hope.”
“That’s beautiful, Atticus.” I steal several sweet and tender kisses in a row. “Never change that. You can be the hopeful one in this relationship. I’m fine being the slightly cynical realist.”
“We’ll see what happens tomorrow night.Hopefully.” He draws out the last word with a wry smile. “The kids make a good impression. If not, well, one thing at a time.”
I hunker down, cuddling him tightly. “I’m not sure this little town can handle either of us.”
Atticus’s soft chuckle rumbles in my ear when I rest my head on his chest. “I know it can’t.”
NEW CARNEGIE METROPOLITAN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
NOVEMBER 16, 2067
ST. MORGAN TEACHER UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR ALLEGED MISUSE OF SCHOOL BIONIC ASSISTANT
Students are not the only ones benefiting from the current BioNex education initiative, according to a news source from St. Morgan, Illinois who contactedNew Carnegie Timesto report their suspicions.
“The android was assigned to her classroom, and they had chemistry right from the beginning,” says theSt. Morgan’s Daily Newssource, who wishes to remain anonymous. “It’s caused a lot of confusion and disillusionment with reality within the student body. Parents have been complaining that their children don’t know what’s organic and what isn’t anymore.”
The teacher is Lucy Warren, 30, employed at Vautrin Upper Middle School, and the android in question is Atticus.
According to the source, they were also spotted together several weeks earlier in New Carnegie.
“She took the android with her without getting clearance from the school first,” the source says. “And then they were spotted by a school staff member on vacation with family in a passionate embrace.”
The source reveals that school authorities separated them and kept them out of the same classroom but supplied proof that the affair continued.
Upon further investigation, the source’s report was confirmed when a private investigator obtained photographic evidence of the teacher’s indiscretion just last night.
In the photos, a woman appearing to be Warren can be seen on her sofa in the living room of her small St. Morgan apartment with the bionic assistant in question in a clear state of undress. The photos have gone viral, and people everywhere on social media are already forming opinions.
WOW. Teachers’ only jobs are to teach our kids, not f*** with the classroom robot.
It’s disgusting, really. Can androids even consent when they’re programmed to do the bidding of their human counterparts? Not only that, but it’s deviant. It’s wrong.
Just proof how human society has decayed.
