. 02

Friday 23rd February 2064

Kalen's Apartment

Alright. Today is the second time teaching my new first year class. Heading out early today, though.

BANG

The door slams shut. I glance back to see it's automatically locked.

"Hey Kalen!"

I spin around, to find a man in his mid-40s smoking a cigarette, leaning against the railing. His name is Elijah Bennet, he's been my neighbour for the past 4 years or so.

"Have a minute for a chat? Feels like it's been ages since I've seen you."

He doesn't wait for my response before he continues. He's wearing a white cotton shirt and muted pink shorts. He's also wearing shades, despite the lack of glare. He looks like he's on vacation, I've never seen him like this before.

"I just wanted to check in about Alison, you know, joining your class. I'm sorry she never checked with you first."

"That's alright. I mean to be honest it did catch me off guard-"

"Yeah, well. You weren't the only one left in the dark. She never told me, either. I would've asked you first, but her and her mother thought I'd disapprove."

"Well-"

"Which I do, by the way. No offence to your course and job or whatever but I just don't see it as practical for Allison. I mean creative writing? That's not exactly a booming business. A complete waste of time and money."

Well shit, you did say no offence. He clearly notices my silence.

"Eh, sorry pal. It's just.. could you maybe dissuade her?"

"Well I can talk to her, see her side, explain yours but..."

He scoffs and starts walking towards his door.

"Just remember I could help you with those rent prices of ours if you succeed."

He closes the door behind him. Of course

his

door shuts gently. It's true he does have a lot more money than me, and could probably help... but he's no Everest brother like he acts.

There's no way I'm going to take that deal. I will talk to her though, see how she's feeling. Anyway, for now I'll just tune all that out-

"Hello my fellow ferocious friends and welcome to another episode of RoBob Reviews the News! On today's episode we'll be discussing MetaNation, gang wars, the incredible teen star Ella Lawson and so much more...

...now, our local hero factory MetaNation has teased a successful new batch of exciting powers, some old and some brand new. And boy, this news certainly hasn't harmed their stock. But the question is, who gets them? Will we be meeting some new stars, revamping old ones or is it going to a darling military, namely ours. I think-"

A few hours later.

Eureka University.

Allison arrives first this time. She's a small girl, both short, especially compared to me, and thin. She's got a body most girls would envy. Her thin frame suits her pretty face, her waist tapering in a lot giving an hourglass figure to her modest curves. Her hair is a light brown, going well past her shoulders and framing her youthful, slightly rounded face and muddy green eyes.

"Hey Allison, I'd like to have a chat. Could you hang back after the lesson."

Her face goes slightly gaunt and she immediately fidgets with her hair.

"Oh-uh sure! I actually tried to last time but someone else was talking to you, sorry."

I let out a chuckle. "Don't worry Allison, it's just me you're not in trouble or anything."

"Oh. Great!"

The other students start filing in.

"I'll leave you be then!"

She gives a genuine smile and a little wave before sitting down.

As the others walk in, I scan each of them as they walk in in an effort to remember all their names. The know-it-all's: Hunter, David and Harry. Three quieter kids: Lisha, Theo and Eleanor. Jude and Curt. Kaira...

I pause, my breath quickening ever so slightly as she walks in. I can't have a repeat of last time, I can't be getting distracted by a high school girl in class like some creep.

None of the wealthy girls appear, I guess they coordinate their absences as well as arrivals. Though only two lessons in? You think they could've lasted a bit longer. Apart from that (and Curt's existence), it's a smooth lesson. I successfully block the mental image of Kaira bending over her desk for the whole lesson. Though to be entirely honest, I do notice my eyes darting towards her, catching glimpses, and hoping to see her reactions to what I say. What I catch from that however, is her slip a note to one of the quiet girls, Eleanor, using some of my provided paper. Then, as everyone files out of the room, Kaira approaches her and they walk out of class talking together. Wow, she makes really quick friends I guess.

Allison stands in front of my desk. It's slightly surreal seeing her here, someone I've known for years but never once thought I'd see in this environment.

"Hey there. So... I had a conversation with your dad this morning."

"Oh."

"Yeah. He seemed annoyed you didn't ask me before joining the class."

"Oh... yeah I thought he would. I'm really sorry I should've done that, instead of just surprising you on the day! I thought it would be a nice sort of surprise with you teaching me about creative writing and all, but I didn't think about how it could be awkward for you..."

"Allison. It's alright. Honestly, I would've liked if you told me earlier. But it is a nice surprise, truly."

Her face brightens up a bit.

"I know I've talked to you about writing before, but when did you decide to join my class? I always thought you were more interested in art."

"Oh I still paint and draw! But I'm interested in the arts in all their forms, including writing!"

Now in turn, my face brightens up.

"But-uh... what else did my dad say?"

"Well, he's very vocal in his disapproval. He-uh... to be honest he even asked me to 'dissuade you' from continuing. Even offered to pay me."

"Jeez. I didn't think he'd go that far. Uhm-so will you? You know, dissuade me? It's alright if you do..."

"No, don't worry Allison I won't try kick you out of my class. I just wanted to let you know, and also see why you joined the class."

"He will he angry with you."

"Haha, yeah I figured."

"I'm sorry to get you in this drama, you don't deserve it Ka- Mr Anders."

"That's alright Allison. And uh- you can always talk to me if you need. Oh wait-before you go. How are you finding the lessons?"

"I'm really enjoying them, honestly! It seems you're really passionate about this stuff. And this one was better than last one, it seems you're getting more confident with this class a bit."

"Yeah it usually takes a few lessons before I get into the swing of things and fully comfortable. But thank you Allison, I really appreciate that."

Sunday 25th February 2064

SUUPER Soldier Arena

"Here again! And again, I will demolish you."

A man slaps me on the shoulder, walking past with a bright green assault rifle. His name is Pat Nelson, an old friend of mine and one of the few (three to be precise) I still have. He wears a blue pinstripe collared shirt and grey pants. It's a simple outfit, but I know just how much money it costs. Pat loves his clothes. The suit looks just a bit too small for comfort, it's tightness accentuating his musculature. Achieved with the latest and best cyberware, of course. His hair is short cropped brown and he has two cyberware lines going from his chest to his back, across his face, hair and neck.

"Yeah, yeah. Alright. Well, wait till Mercer gets here. At least I can get satisfaction from him beating you."

Pat scowls. "Nah, not this time," I hear him mutter under his breath.

"Hey isn't today our Combat Sunday anniversary?" Comes from a voice behind me. Another of my close friends, his name is Rex. Same age as the rest of us, but Rex looks older. He's got a similar build to me, though a bit bigger and shorter. The only hair on his head is a faint stubble. Honestly he probably looks the same age as me, it's just a perception thing. Rex feels the most adult out of us, despite everything. He's the only one with a wife and children. He works as an electrician... which somehow feels more real than my unstable job or Pat's slightly more immoral one. And definitely more real than Mercer's .

"Finally, someone other than me remembered" I say, smirking. "You know I can't believe I ever agreed to do this once. I certainly didn't expect to then do it almost every week for 2 fucking years."

"It sure took a lot of convincing. I promise you Kalen, they aren't real guns! I promise Kalen-"

"You. Shut up."

Pat laughs. "Alright, alright. We can't wait for him forever, let's just start shall we?"

Rex nods. "Yeah I've gotta go pick up James from soccer after this."

"And don't you have tuition to get to Kalen?" Pat asks.

"Actually one of my clients dropped it, so I'm free. But yeah, fair point let's start."

We finish gearing up, wearing 'bulletproof' jackets and equipping ourselves with model guns, grenades and knives.

Finally, we enter the arena. It's an area of soft blocks and floors, looking like a weird pre-rendered maze. However, then I flick through my opticals to 'SUUPER Soldier Arena 10' and the area is transformed into a desert town landscape inspired by Middle East nation stereotypes.

"Alrighty we'll still do teams, even though Mercer has abandoned you. Sorry Kalen! Me and Rex will stay here, you head to the northern end and we'll start." Pat smiles, too pleased with this turn of events.

"Sorry buddy." Rex taps me on the shoulder with a closed fist. "How about I swap teams if it's looking too uneven?"

Pat nods. 'Yeah, for sure man. Sounds good.'

I walk through the 'desert town'. I'm no language expert, but the writing here looks a lot more like scribbles than genuine Arabic.

As I turn a building, a figure leaps out at me. I jump back a bit, as my eyes quickly review the figure in front of me. A thin frame, tall body, though a bit shorter than me. As I look up a familiar sharp chin, long brown hair and singular old-fashioned obviously cybernetic silver eye come into my view. My body relaxes.

"Mercer. Fucking hell, man."

He's wearing his usual attire. A sleeveless denim jacket lined with an unnecessary amount of pockets, not all of them functional. The pockets are lined with graffiti-esque writing and symbols, including a horned devil with his hand around the globe on his right breast pocket. He leans against a house wall, gun in hand but no armour. He has a large smile, friendly and inviting, his position relaxed. Confident.

"Ya'll okay there?"

"Wait-did you just get here?"

"No sir-ee. I've been waitin for you."

I stare into his eyes and analyse his face, trying to find a laugh or 'just messin' break out. But none does.

Instead, I chuckle. "Why on Earth would you do that?"

"To surprise them of course." He winks and gives me a sly smile, as he starts walking towards the starting point. "Now come on."

"If you're so prepared, shouldn't you have at least put on your armour?" I whisper.

He turns and smiles. "Where's the fun in that?"

I turn my attention to the environment, hands firmly gripping my weapon. I follow Mercer as he deftly weaves his way between the buildings, barricades and other structures littering the war torn landscape. He knows the course well by now. He points two fingers down and we both drop to the ground in a crouch, hiding behind a barricade of sand bags nestled between short buildings. He raises his fist up into the air, pointing it north-east. I take a risk, popping my head slightly above the barricade in the indicated direction. Rex is crouching on top of a rooftop. Impressive he managed to climb in this environment, honestly. He doesn't seem to see us.

I tap Mercer's shoulder. "He doesn't see us. And they only know I'm here. I'll go open, you take a shot here."

"Yes sir."

We instantly fall back into our usual roles: I plan, and he shoots. I backtrack a bit, standing so Rex sees me, but move too quickly to be hit. I circle around the building onto the main street, peeking my head around the corner long enough to be seen. It's not enough I need him in a better spot. I look across the street. It's wide enough here to expose myself, but if I make it close enough to the other side, he'll have to expose himself to try and hit me. I ready myself, then go for it.

As predicted shots bounce off to the left and right of me. I run as hard as I can to close the gap, hearing one shot whizz right past my head. The actual run takes a few seconds, but time seems to slow making the distance loom larger. I slide as I reach the other side onto the ground, hiding behind a building. Shots land against the building, crumbling the walls right next to my head. The cover isn't safe, any lucky shot will hit me. Then I hear another shot, this one far from me. Then the other shots stop.

"The fuck?!?" Rex exclaims.

"Howdy, Rex."

I walk out onto the main street to find Rex standing up on his rooftop position, blood splatter on his chest.

"When did you arrive?"

"He was actually here the whole time-"

A small metallic object bounces onto the floor. I turn around and book it, as an explosion rocks the main street. I take cover behind the same building. Shit, he must've paid for the grenades. Of course he did. I circle around the building, and peer around the corner. Mercer is safely crouching behind the barricade still, the street in front of him a charred mess.

"Mercer. All right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Any clue where that came from?"

"Down the street, from the north, but he could-"

Another metallic clang. Right between us. I see Pat's silhouette on the adjacent building's roof. I manage to see Mercer start running, Pat unload his gun as I sprint back the way I came. The second explosion booms, this one ringing my ears. As I reach the building's corner, I ready my gun and face it down the small alleyway at the back of the building. I then hear a thud, from above me. I quickly spin my gun around, as Pat lands on the floor. He slams me into the building, trying to wrest the gun from my hands. I'm strong, but no match for Pat. He tears it from my hands, throwing it beside him. He reaches into his pocket pulling out a silver knife, as the other hand wraps around my throat. I manage to grab his knife arm, using all my strength to stop the blade from reaching my body, but it's a losing battle. I use my leg to kick at his shins, successfully causing his other arm to slip from my throat. However it quickly joins his other hand as they both try and push the knife towards me. Both my hands now desperately try to push the knife away, as my leg continues swinging at his shin, his armour and cyberware enabling him to completely resist the blows.

Pat smiles. "Sorry bud."

The knife reaches my vest, I feel the actual plastic knife then dropping to the ground but the image of a silver knife embeds in my chest, blood creeping across my clothes.

Then, as soon as Pat turns, a shot hits his head, blood effects spewing everywhere.

"Ow! Fuck!"

Mercer, who'd worked his way behind us stands there, gun in hand with a confident smirk.

"Come on man! The head really?"

"Sorry..."

"And couldn't you have done that before I got stabbed?" I chime in.

"Sorry again..."

He gives us a fake sad look before his characteristic grin bounces right back.

"So. Another round?"

We play a few more rounds, Mercer or his team usually winning. Then we call it a day.

Tuesday 27th February 2064

Eureka University.

The class is full, minus Maddie Ferguson.

"So everyone..."

And there she is, walking in right past me. Wearing her uniform, intentionally made to look more revealing. Her makeup and hair as impeccable as always, and a smoothie in her hand.

"Ms. Ferguson-"

"Maddie."

"Maddie. The lesson started 20 minutes ago. That's a quarter of the lesson gone."

"A fifth, actually." Chimes Curt, with a grin on his face.

"Yes, a fifth. Very good Curt." I sigh.

"Now this is an optional course, I won't nag you about attendance, that's your choice and to your detriment. However, what I would appreciate is at least some basic manners. A sorry would be a good start, and choosing to arrive on time, not spending however long buying a smoothie would be even better."

"Yeah, yeah whatever."

I quickly scan her. Just as I suspected, she's still in high school. Only 17 years old still, and her emotional maturity shows it.

She goes to sit down, and I see her flip the finger up at me, though I swear I also see a wry smile flicker across her face. I feel the anger boiling in my chest, but let it simmer.

I continue the lesson, trying to ignore Maddie and her friends whispering to each other in the back. There seems to be a lot of distraction today. Curt's whispering to Jude, and most disappointingly, Kaira is talking to Eleanor. The two seem friends now, both coming in to class together, chatting away. It's only natural, happens with most classes as they get gradually more comfortable with me, the room and most importantly each other. But I can't let it continue unabated.

"There seems to be a lot of distraction today. Curt. Maddie. Kaira. Please see me after class."

Curt and Maddie both heave an overly dramatic sigh, whilst Kaira immediately goes back to her work. The class mostly quiets down until the end.

The other students file out. Jude, Eleanor and Maddie's friends awkwardly wait by the door, until I shepherd them out into the hall.

Maddie, Curt and Kaira stand before my desk.

"Alright. You three. Now I understand you want to talk with your friends. And I understand not all of you actually want to work. However, if you're in this class you either pay attention or you leave. Do you understand?"

"You're such a control freak. Can we go?" Maddie says.

"Yeah, sure."

"Ooh, get nuked." Curt chimes.

He follows Maddie as she leaves.

"So... Maddie is it? I was thinking you and I could-"

"No. Ewww, I'm still 17... You're so much older."

Curt's face flushes bright red.

"I'm so s-sorry I didn't know. I mean I'm only a little bit older, but still-"

"Yeah, whatever. Creep."

She walks out the door, immediately flanked by her friends.

Curt glances back at me, then quickly breaks eye contact and sulks out the door before he's joined by Jude. Get nuked yourself, Curt. I lean back in my chair a bit, then look up, completely having forgotten Kaira's still here. I see her look away from Curt as well.

"Ah, sorry. Probably shouldn't have listened in." I say.

She laughs a little. "No, no. It was too interesting to ignore. Never thought I'd feel bad for Curt but that was harsh. Anyway, not here to talk about him. I just want to apologise for my behaviour in class."

"Oh, thank you Kaira!"

"Yeah I think I just got excited about making a new friend. I'm in this class because I want to learn."

She puts her arms on my desk as she leans forward to speak to me. My eyes betray me, glancing down noticing how good her large tits look, that one extra undone button showing off a tantalising glimpse of cleavage, made bigger and much more prominent at this angle. I unconsciously gulp, trying to redirect my eyes hoping she didn't notice.

"I promise I'll be a good girl for you Mr. Anders..."

She has such a soothing voice... My cock instantly flares up, hardening slightly. My eyes instantly click back onto her breasts, that silky brown cleavage. The way she's leaning, imagine being behind her right now seeing her big ass in her short little skirt... being my good girl...

She flashes a pretty smile, breaking my lustful train of thought.

"Th-thank you Kaira. I appreciate it.'

She turns and starts to walk out the class. I stare as she leaves, making no effort to resist my eyes as they wander to her short skirt, the way the fabric swishes slightly from side to side as her hips shift. I secretly wish the skirt was shorter still, so I could be lucky enough to see a glimpse of her ass again. She steps out the door, joined by Eleanor as the two leave together.