Chapter A Locked Room

Sheri heard the laughter and asked, “What are you laughing at?”

Mike said, “Nothing. We have to figure out a way to open your classroom door now.” He sat down at his desk.

“Yes, please,” Molly hopefully begged.

“Maybe we are looking in the wrong pace for the answer.” Yancy said.

“How so?” Mike turned to Yancy sitting on his far right side. The gang had formed a half circle sitting around him.

“I don’t know. It seems like there should be a simple solution not found on your computer display.”

Mike sat back and opened a drawer on his desk. Inside were some useful objects and an upside down desktop picture frame. He pushed his keyboard forward making room for a pad of paper and pencil he pulled out. He then picked up a simple pencil sharpener and put a point on his number two pencil while making a smile to Sheri and Molly attentively watching his every move. “Doodling is a way to open your mind and let thoughts come to the surface when it seems there are no good answers.” He winked at Yancy. “Lets see, what is the problem? A classroom door is locked and we don’t have the key. Hmm.” He gazed beyond the half circle of kids sitting around him and everyone became quiet.

Josh spoke up, “I think a simple solution would be the best.” Yancy nodded in support.

“If there was a simple solution don’t you think he would have tried by now,” said Pete.

“Isn’t Brunei connected to Network Security some how?” Yancy added a thought.

Mike answered, “Yes, he is,” seemingly brushing off the question initially. He gazed off and thought some more. The kids got a restless realizing this was not over for them yet.

Mike looked on. His face grimaced. His left cheek flexed pulling the that side of the mouth with it.

“My Dad told me that tinkers, like yourself, sometimes had to make a creative leap from trying every possibility. He said this was what differentiated us from AI,” Yancy said.

“Alright, lets go there again.” He commanded Brutus and Brunei who followed him through the wormhole.

Molly anticipating a change for the better said, “What are we waiting for,” so she stood and followed. The rest of them were right behind her. They all stood at the door to the classroom.

Sheri noticed that Brunei was pretty still while Mike was trying to make that creative leap. She walked up to the door as she commanded “Brunei, would you get the door for me please?”

Brunei came to life and spun clock wise and then counter clockwise several times while making a whistling sound. There was a loud buzzing sound coming from the door followed by a snap. Sheri reached for the handle and opened the door and walked into the room.

The kids were overwhelmed and broke out into cheering for her. Molly hugged Yancy. Josh followed Sheri and hugged her. Pete looked around for a hug. There was Brutus and Brunei. He hugged Mike.

Mike said, “I’ll be darned,” scratching his head while entering the room. “Sheri, how did you know?”

“I didn’t. I just had a thought and followed through it.”

“I know we should celebrate all this, but some other time huh.” Molly raised her arm, looked at everyone, smiled, said, "Bye," and pressed her exit button.. She vanished. Pete was right behind her.

Josh said, “She’s right. It seems like we have been her for a week without eating or sleep.” He looked at his watch and compared it to the wall clock. “We were locked out for ten hours but the clock on the wall only changed by a couple of minutes."

Sheri said, “See ya.”

Yancy, “I’m not going to be the last to leave again, bye.”

Josh looked at Mike, “I’m sorry you can’t go home like the rest of us.”

“It wouldn’t work any way. I no longer have any parents like you do,” Mike said and chuckled.

Josh laughed and was happy to see he was OK. “I will be in touch.” Mike smiled as Josh exited the program.

“I guess we will go back to our home guys. Come on,” commanded Mike.

Josh crawled out of his pod and ran to the bathroom. He had to pee so bad all of a sudden. Afterwards his stomach roared like a lion so he headed to the kitchen. His parents were still working so he grabbed a box of cookies and a glass of milk and went to his room. He sat down, stuffed cookies in his mouth, chewed some, gulped milk before swallowing, then rinsed and repeated several more imes. He fell into bed exhausted and passed out with a slight smile on his face.

Mike sat at his desk. He looked round the place he had called home for the last five years. His notice of death was sinking in now. There was no time before to give it much thought. He reached in the drawer and pulled out the desktop picture frame with the photo of his mother taken before digital cameras. He looked at her then placed it on his desk. The kids would have been alarmed to see the picture so he hid it.

He wondered what he could do now with his freedom from reality and all its problems. First he had to figure out how it could happen. He received an answer from network security to a question he posed them asking for tools to identify the viruses. He chuckled. They wanted to know where they should send a tool they had for him. He thought, they don’t know yet that I am non physical. He decided to have them send it to Josh. He found his address from the classroom and replied with it.

The next day in class Josh, Yancy and Sheri popped in early. They were excited to see how the class would be without the virus infection.

Sheri asked, “Who do you think our teacher will be?”

“We will find out soon enough,”said Josh.

“Miss Ursbrook was not a real person. Don’t be surprised if the program creates her again,” said Yancy.

Sheri gasped, “That would be scary.”

The class filled in with students. A teacher appeared in front of the class surprising them. Miss Ursbrook always came in through the door. She said, “Good morning class. My name is Mrs. Smith. I will be taking over teaching this class.”

Pete spoke up, “What happened to our teacher?”

Mrs. Smith answered, “I’m not in the room during those discussions. Suffice it to say, she has been reassigned.”

“Can I asked another question?”

“Certainly.”

“Are you real or a bot?”

She looked at her student seating chart, “That’s a fair question Peter. I am real like you are. My body is waiting for my return in a pod at my home which I share with my husband and child. Are you real or a bot?” The class laughed. Pete shrugged but had no come back.

Another student seated in the front asked, “Will we have to start class over from the beginning?”

“No of course not, I have all Miss Ursbrook’s notes one what has been covered so far. Any more questions before we get started?” The were no hands. She began teaching right where we had stopped before.

Josh scribbled a note and passed it to Sheri.

She read it. It asked if she want go to the beach with him after class. She wrote on the paper and handed it back to him.

He read it. It said no, not today. Josh was surprised. He thought it was on her mind like it was on his. Had he misread her. Now he felt stupid. Pete had watched the notes go back and forth and looked at Josh with a questioning look moving his nose up. Josh just shook his head and Pete smiled for some unknown reason.

That day in class went back to normal and so did the next. It was Friday and Josh arrived to find Sheri was the only one there. She said good morning to him. He nodded to her.

“Today might be a good day to go to the beach, after class,” she said smiling.

Josh couldn’t believe it, “Yeah, that sounds good.” He wondered about her intentions so he decided to pose the question, “Should I invite everyone?”

She looked at him, “Not necessarily. It’s up to you.”

“OK, so we will just stay put when class ends,” he said.

She smiled and nodded. The class started to fill in so she turned and faced forward.

Josh’s heart was pumping blood through his vessels so hard he could hear the compression’s passing by his ear. Thump, thump, thump. He would have a hard time paying attention today. What of it, he had a hard time every day.

The end of day came. The teacher exited the same way as the students, Josh and Sheri were planning a hallway adventure to the beach room. Yancy was the last student who had not exited. Josh looked and Sheri. Sheri glanced at Yancy.

Josh asked Yancy, “Are you going to leaving soon?”

“No, why?”

“We were thinking of visiting the beach room.”

“In the hallway? Are you crazy?”

“Why is that crazy?”

“We just finished exterminating a virus colony. Plus there is the thing with the door locking,”

“Well if you stay here you can keep our return safe for us,” Josh tried to convince Yancy not to come with them.

“What do you think I want to come? That would be wrong. I got homework to do and I am staying here to finish it. I’m not interested in stepping foot in that hallway.”

“Good, we will be back in an hour,” said Sheri smiling. They walked through the door, “Room XFH9.” Josh slipped one of his shoes down as a doorstop.

“That’s good you remembered and it should be right near here,” Josh grabbed a couple of door handles to get the room numbers displayed. “Ah, here it is,” he said. He turned the knob and it opened. The immediate noise of the water falls blew their ears away it was so loud. They worked their way around the water on the side ending out near the beach. It was beautiful.

Sheri took off running toward the water laughing.

“Are you in a hurry to not get wet,” he yelled as he followed behind her laughing and splashing through the water up to his waist. She swam ahead out to the deep. He looked around when caught up to her. The sky was so blue. They tread water floating easily like ducks in a pond.

Sheri said, “If this were a bad program would we call in it, ‘getting wet not’?”

“How about ‘kissing not’,” he said as he embraced her and kissed her.

“No ‘kissing not’ would be a bad program. This is a good program,” she said kissing him again.

“Oh look, there are people walking along the beach,” Josh said peering at them. The sun was so bright he could not make them out.

“Should we go ashore and say hello?” Sheri was so happy.

“And tell them this is our beach,” Josh laughed.

“I think its big enough for us all,” Sheri let go of him and swam till she could stand. They walked in and the couple walking was getting closer. They were in shallow knee deep water when they could see the faces of the couple. The man was non distinct middle aged balding with a slim build. The woman was, “Oh my gosh,” cried Sheri. “Do you see?”

“Yes, act like you didn’t see anything.”