Chapter BLUE

Blue The couple came right by them as they left the water. The woman looked at them, smiled and said, “Shouldn’t you children be in school?” It was Miss Ursbrook or at least it looked like her. Josh and Sheri looked at each other stunned. The couple kept going.

“We should let Mike know about this. It could be…”

“How could it be?” Sheri interrupted him.

“I don’t know, but did you notice the slight accent?”

“Yeah, I did.”

He brushed his pocket checking for his zapper. “We should use the wormhole Mike provided us to go see him,” Josh sounded resolute.

“OK, let’s go.” They left the beach and went into the room next to their classroom and startled Mike hard at work at his desk when they came out of the large oak tree just off the grass.

“Well I didn’t expect to see you again for a while. How long as been, a week?” Mike regrouped. He tipped the picture down face first on the desk.

Sheri, “Not quite a week yet.”

“We are sorry to drop in like this, We just had a weird experience at the beach room down the hall from our class,” said Josh. “We encountered a woman who looked just like our teacher.”

“She sounded like Miss Ursbrook to,” Sheri added.

“I see. Did she attack you?”

“No,” they both said simultaneously.

Josh spoke, “We didn’t think we would see her again. She was closely tied to the virus and we exterminated it.”

“I wouldn’t put the cart in front of the horse. Her identity was used as a signature by someone who wrote the virus code. The virus proliferated most of the network so there are bound to be remnants left here and there. They probably are no significant danger to us. Network security is sniffing it out everywhere now that we pointed it out to them. You are sure it was Miss Ursbrook?”

“Yes,” they both responded simultaneously.”

“OK, well let’s wait and see if anything goes haywire again. Are you locked out of your room?”

They looked at each other, the Sheri said, “Yancy is supposed to be watching the door for us.”

“I would suggest you two go back to class and stay out of the hallway. I will keep an eye from my vantage point and contact you if there is anything to worry about.”

“OK, we will,”Josh said in closing, “One last thing Josh. Network security wanted to send me a diagnostic tool to identify viruses when they are disguised. They wanted a real world shipping address. I found your home address on the network. Do you mind receiving it for me?”

“Sure.”

“It has your name on it. It is just in case we ever have to do this again.”

“You bet. See you later.” They left his room.

Mike lifted the picture back up, smiled and said, “Might have some explaining to do if they ever saw you.”

Sheri and Josh entered the classroom and Yancy was still there struggling with homework. He looked up when they closed the door. “How was the beach?”

Sheri, “It was good.”

“That’s it. I thought it was supposed to be so special?”

“It was, but we saw Miss Ursbrook there,” said Josh.

“What? Are you kidding?”

“No. We went and saw Mike and he doesn’t believe it means anything,” Josh continued.

“Really. Well if he doesn’t think its serious, that’s good.”

Sheri, “I guess. I gotta go. See you boys later,” she looked at Josh and exited.

“Me to. Are you going to stay much longer?”

“Just want to finish this last problem.”

“You might want to lock that door, later.”

At first he continued scratching his head frustrated by a problem he worked on. Suddenly it sunk in to him what Josh said so he jumped up and ran to the front of class and pressed the lock soft button on the display. A buzzing sound followed by a loud snap. He went to the door and tested it. Then he went back to work without worry.

A week went by without any repercussions from the sighting of the teacher at the beach. Nobody ventured into the hallway. Josh arrived home from school and checked for mail. He found a package at the front door addressed to him.

He took it inside and opened it on the kitchen table. Inside he found a pair of ordinary looking black frame reading glasses. A note inside the box stated ‘View potential virus disguises with theses glasses. If there is a blue hallow around the image it indicates that this a virus’. “Wow,” he said to himself. This would be really useful at the beach.”

He sat down in his living room and put them on. He picked up a book and read a page. Clear glass he thought. He would test the device on his new teacher tomorrow.

His mom came down from her pod and walked by the room, noticed Josh on the couch, but didn’t exchange looks with Josh. “I’m making dinner and it will be ready in about an hour,” she said.

He replied, “OK.” and went up to his room.

The next morning he climbed into his pod with his glasses in hand and entered class. The teacher wasn’t in yet. Yancy welcomed him, “Hey buddy,” and he fist bumped his friend.

When the teacher arrived the same way the students did, Josh sneaked putting on the glasses for just long enough to see her He was shocked and immediately removed them. She was a virus according to the glasses test. What should he do?

“What’s with glasses?” asked Yancy.

“Oh its nothing,” he said trying to change the subject.

Sheri turned and asked, “What glasses?”

“There just some reader glasses, that’s all.”

“Your young, why would you need readers?” Yancy continued.

Josh was getting warm and perspiring on his forehead. He didn’t want to have this discussion right now. “Its nothing I said.” he raised his voice so they would stop.

“Well,” said Sheri. She faced forward and prepared for class.

Yancy raised his hands palms facing upward, “OK, sorry man.”

All day Josh was depressed by the combination of the other teacher showing at the beach and now the new teacher failing the test for being a virus. He thought he must get to Mike to discuss his findings. With only minutes left in class he wanted to be sure by slipping the glasses on nonchalantly and looking at her again. He did, she still had the blue halo glow.

“Glasses again!” Yancy was wondering what his buddy was up to.

Josh turned to respond when he saw Yancy was also glowing with a blue hue. Sheri and Pete turned around, same blue. Josh freaked out and said, “Gotta go, bye.”while pressing his exit button.

His pod hatch swung up groaning from the torque. He stepped out of it glasses in hand. “What the heck is going on. Everybody in that virtual class had been infected. Did they know they were infected?” he said to himself coming down the stairs.

“What’s that?” his dad asked. He and his Mon were sitting in the living room.

“Oh, nothing.” They were seated facing the entertainment display but not really watching it. They both had books in their hands and the sound was muted. There was a local news person on. He decided to slip on his magical glasses again. The news person also had a blue glow. Off came the glasses. Was that a virtual news cast. How could he be glowing in the real world. He said, “Any mail?” with his voice cracking from his nervousness.

Mom, “Don’t know. Why don’t you go out and check.”

“OK,” he stepped out the door. The nice old lady next door, Gertrude, was pruning her roses near the divider fence. He said hello to her and walked down to the mail box at the street. There was a couple of letters. As he walked back he couldn’t help the urge to place on the glasses. She looked at him and smiled. Blue. He hurried inside. His world was compromised now. He turned and closed the door frantic.

Dad, “Whats the matter Josh? You look like you saw a ghost outside.”

Josh still wearing the glassed focused on his Mom and Dad. Fear struck deep. His heart pounded harder then it ever had before. They were both blue. He removed he glasses, “Uh, no. No ghosts today,” he said realizing he could no longer control his emotions. He pulled down the glasses to remove hideous site and went up to his room.

Mom said, “He has been acting strangely again.” Dad nodded back.

In his room Josh felt fear gripping his most inner thoughts. How could this be happening? Was it a dream. He smacked himself. Nope, the smack hurt. He went across the hall into the bathroom and looked into he mirror. He raised the glasses and set them on his nose. He looked at himself.

BLUE!

End...