Program Error

Chapter Two

"Then Calum tried to help me, but Darren punched him too."

"Is this right Calum?"she asks him. 

"I guess," he says, shrugging his shoulders. 

"Alright." Ms.Groden makes a few notes on the BioTab that she whipped out. Nothing is heard but the clicking of the virtual keyboard. She presses the send button, whisking the message to who knows where. "We won't know your punishment until your reports come back in. Until then, we will temporarily disconnect your BioTabs and you will attend Detainment on Friday afternoon. Is that clear?"

We all mumble a somewhat understandable yes.

"All of you are to go to the nurse's office so they can patch you up. You are dismissed,"she says with a wave of her hand. Darren is the first to leave as he briskly exits the room. Calum and I follow, grabbing our bags. We head towards the nurse's office, which is on the other side of the school.

Great. My BioTab is disconnected. That means I can't do anything other than homework. No texting, no watching tabcasts, and no games. It's basically a work machine now.

"I told you we wouldn't get a bad punishment,"Calum says, obviously trying to lighten the mood.

"We haven't gotten a bad punishment, yet,"I correct.

"Yet. So lighten up, Aza. You've gotten an offense before, Why is this one so bad?"

That's the problem. I've already gotten offenses before. Mom and Dad are not going to be happy about yet another one.

We turn down the next hall, our footsteps echoing on the tile. The nurses office sits at the end of the hallway, doors open to anyone who needs to enter. I assume Darren has already been here. That rules out any awkward hallway confrontations.

Calum enters the room first and the nurse swiftly closes behind him. The rush of air caused by the door sweeps my hair back behind my shoulders. The nurse closed the door for privacy, but I can still see both her and Calum through the little glass window of the door. 

The nurse whips out a small silver object which has the appearance of a gun. She says something to Calum and he lifts his head slightly. She holds the gun over his eye and clicks a button. A green light shines up and down Calum's face, virtually erasing the bruise from his eye.

As quickly as he went in, Calum exits the nurse's office. His eye is no longer black and blue, no longer swelled up. His face his completely bruise-free, no trace of our fight on it. 

"Beautiful once again,"he says, brushing his hand over the formerly bruised eye. I roll my eyes and scoff.

"Beautiful? That's funny,"I tease. 

"You're just jealous because I inherited the good looks,"he counters back.

"You got some looks, alright,"I say under my breath as I brush past him, into the nurse's office. I say a quick goodbye and he replies with a military salute. The door slides closed as he walks to his class.

Someone behind me clears their throat and I quickly whip around. The nurse is staring at me with a bored expression. 

"Oh, hi,"I say, giving her a small wave. 

"Hello,"she replies, voice flat. "Let's get this over with." Gun outstretched, she makes her way over to me. Lifting my chin slightly, she points the gun over my cheek. At the click of a button, a green light radiates from the gun. I close my eyes to avoid the glare. I feel a uncomfortable tingling sensation under my skin. It feels like tiny bubbles are trapped in my skin, trying to free themselves. It kind of hurts. The feeling claws it's way to the surface of my skin, then is gone all together. The nurse removes the gun from my face.