First And Last

Chapter 6

Back to Jessica

The next couple of weeks I tried my best to cautiously creep out of my shell. I spoke to a few people, raised my hand in class more and worked on maintaining eye contact when spoken to. Overall, I was quite proud of myself and looked forward to the next day and upcoming weekend.

Lately, I've been feeling different, a little more confident for some reason. I even went off of my routine once and had cereal for breakfast.

The week flew by at school and I met a few people in my Computer Science class that seemed to have the same interests as me. We planned to meet up at the local coffee shop later and work on our group project together. I was actually excited to break my normal routine.

I watched the clock in my last class with Ms. Garrett and the time seemed to slow way down. I enjoyed watching her pace back and forth as she explained the current project we needed to partner up for.

It was a weird one. We were supposed to learn everything about our partner, then work together to write a story about what our lives will be like in ten years. To say this assignment made me nervous, was an understatement. I would have to talk about my life to a complete stranger, yet somehow keep the truth hidden from not only my partner, but my teacher as well. The thought made me shift uncomfortably in my desk.

"Hey, Jessica, right?," a voice said next to me. I was startled at first, but managed to pull myself together.

"Yeah, and you're Stephanie," I whispered.

She smiled, "Would you like to be my partner? I'm new here and it seems like everyone already knows each other."

I smiled back and said, "Sure, I would love to. Thank you for asking."

She seemed nice enough. "I have plans this evening, but I'm free tomorrow if you would like to get together," I said.

"Ok, my place at 5:00 tomorrow?" she asked.

"Sounds great, thank you." I replied.

Well, good, that's settled. My nerves seemed to calm a little and I was glad Stephanie took the initiative, because otherwise, I may have ended up with Derrick. I've caught him looking at me with creeper eyes the last 2 weeks and I was sure he was going to try to be my partner for this. I fucking hate that guy.

The bell rang and I jumped out of my seat, I don't want to be late for my group project.

"Jessica, would you mind staying behind for just a moment?" Ms. Garrett asked.

I dropped my bag and stood in front of her desk. "Is there something wrong, Ms. Garrett?" I asked when everyone left the room.

She scrunched her eyebrows into a concerned look. Aw, Cute. "Oh, no Jessica. I've been trying to think of a way to ask you about your poem, which was great; but I was wondering, are you ok? It seemed a little sad, so I was worried, that's all." she said.

I sighed internally, "I'm fine, I promise. No need to worry."

She looked at me cautiously, then said, "Ok, but promise you'll come to me if you need anything, I'm here for you."

I held my pinky up for her, to which, she chuckled and hooked hers into mine. I ignored the spark that flickered in my chest the moment her pinky hooked mine and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Alright, you can go Jessica." She said, so, I waved and told her I'd see her later.

When I got to the coffee shop, my group was already there. There was Ed, the computer geek, Kim, the tech nerd and Sandy, the chess champion. Our project was to create a new app and present it in front of the class at the end of the semester.

"Hey guys! I'm sorry I'm late. I got held back after class," I told them.

Kim spoke up, "It's ok, we were just brainstorming ideas, do you have anything in mind?"

I had a few, but honestly, I wasn't sure if we could pull any of them off. We stayed there for 3 hours and narrowed it down to 5, but I still feel like we weren't any closer than when we started.

"How about we call it a night and pick back up in a couple of days? We can go to my house instead, we'll have the place to ourselves then." I said.

I went straight to the lab when I got home to work on my personal project for a bit before bed. Aime was being unusually quiet tonight and when I asked her if there was a problem, she pretty much ignored me and went back to her internet browsing. Ugh, I cannot handle AI attitude today.

"Seriously, Aime, what's your deal?" I asked.

She didn't say anything for a while, then after a few minutes, she finally spoke up, "I will never get to pet a dog."

I stood there stunned. I never thought about making her anything more than a computer that ran my home. Well, now I feel like an ass.

I couldn't bear this. "I don't have the knowledge to do such a thing, but I know a few people that may be able to help me out. If they agree, would you like a body, Aime?" I asked.

She screamed. Oh my God, my computer screamed like a little girl.

She calmed down and asked, "Please? I promise to not go all Vicki on you."

She knows I have a fear of technology taking over mankind and I feel like it's justified. Aime hasn't been self aware that long and her abilities are growing every day.

"Ok Aime, but I will still need you to help run our home and keep us safe." She agreed and made many more promises before bidding me goodnight.

Today felt like the beginning of a normal life, I made a few possible friends and may make another tomorrow. There was also something with Ms. Garrett, not just the spark, but also her concern that seemed genuine. I felt bad for making her worry and decided right then, to make an effort to open up a little; at least to the pretty teacher, despite every cell inside of me, screaming to keep her and everyone else at arms length.