The bright sun gleaming in through the front facing windows was enough to rouse me. Cocoa however was still asleep in my arms. The past two days have really been hard on her, and I needed to formally apologize to her. Tipsy had come by a few minutes after I awoke and I asked her if she could put something on for us. She nodded and headed toward the kitchen. It was several minutes later before Cocoa decided to finally stir.

 

“Morning sleepyhead,” I say greeting her with a small smile. “I know you just woke up, but can I get up?”

 

It takes her a few seconds to recount the events from last night. But after she does, she blushes and quickly gets off of me.

 

“I-I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” I tell her as I use my hands to brush off my clothes before I stand up. “You were tired.”

 

She smiles as I extend a hand out to help her up. After helping her up I apologize for what I put her through before the smell of omelettes reaches both of our noses.

 

“Random, how long have I known you? You should know by now that I stick by your side.”

 

After a long hug, we both head to the kitchen.

 

“Did you bring your things with you?”

 

“Yeah, they’re on the couch.” She points to her backpack lying on the arm of the couch.

 

“That’s good. Didn’t want to have to leave early and stop by your house, right?” I ask her. Her bright smile turns more to a frown at the mention of stopping by her home. “That’s right, your parents are…” I trail off without finishing; I didn’t want to upset her more.

 

“Look at the bright side; we get to see what new teachers are in today.”

 

Even after I try to change the subject she just plays with her food by knocking it back and forth, not really caring much about new teachers or probably going to school.

 

Once we clean up and get changed into something more comfortable for school, we grab our things and head out the door, thankful that it’s nice and warm today.

 

Our trip to school is rather quiet however. I’m focused on how any interactions with Mrs. Natsume will go and Cocoa seems to be lost in her own world. For as long as I’ve known her, I’ve never been able to truly get inside her mind. It’s like a bucking bronco keeping out a duck from the zoo. Whatever the reason though, it looked like she was concerned about something. I tried to approach her several times on the subject, but fell short each time and before I realized it we had arrived at school.

 

“See you after first period?” she asks me.

 

“Of course,” I nod back. We then wave goodbye and head to our respective classes. Hers being what was assigned and mine being my own choosing, specifically Mrs. Natsume’s.

 

After heading to my locker and dropping off some things, I start to head toward Mrs. Natsume’s class. She was going to be teaching us robotics and AI. I, however, was not going to be too pleased with teaching with her, seeing as how she ruined my results. But it was necessary in order to advance my own career.

Thankfully, people were still shuffling in and Mrs. Natsume didn’t quite catch me reach my seat. I noticed she had some drawings on the board of various AI programs with lines drawn outward toward what I understood to be their meaning; from interactions with people to interactions with other objects.

 

“Settle down class, settle down. Please take your seats.”

 

When she spoke her voice ran out across the room, overlapping all other voices. She was obviously able to control a crowd.

 

“With your first introduction to robotics and engineering, we will be going over the basics and reviewing what you already know from previous experience.”

 

She cast her gaze out through room, as if to spot something amiss. When she concluded nothing was wrong, she turned her attention to the board and began drawing a simple design.

 

“When creating an AI in a machine, what do you try to imagine it being able to do? Talk to you? Play a simple game with you? Solve a math problem or similar?” She continued as she turned around. “What do you expect from your own designs?” After she finished, she returned to her seat.

 

A few hands were raised at the chance to answer, but she turned each one down and called the name of one who had not raised their hand. Little did I know it would be me.

 

“Hmm, Random, perhaps you can tell me what you try to aim for when using any sort of AI?"

 

Hands went down as the whole class began to turn toward me. It was unexpected, but I could only assume she was testing me. After taking away my results, I could only guess she wanted to see what I was capable of without something guiding me.

 

“Understand personal feelings of humans.”

 

My response didn’t seem to affect her, as she remained as calm as before I had said anything. Much of the room gasped at my response, but it was the honest truth.

 

“I remember asking the same thing when I was your age, and I’ll tell you what they told me. It isn’t impossible, but requires a lot of patience and a gifted mind. Are you saying you’ve created something like this?”

 

“Close, but not completely,” was my answer.

 

“Well then, we may have to put you in charge of this class,” she chuckled turning back toward the board. “But as of now, I’m in charge. For your first assignment, I want you to construct a simple companion, species or object doesn’t matter. What I want this to be able to do is 3 things. 1: Greet someone. 2: Pick up a small object when told. And 3: Count to 10. They are simple task, but if you’ve been paying attention the past few years, this should be nothing more than an 8th grade science project.”

 

Before dismissing us, she picks up a book off of her desk and holds it up to the class.

 

“This is the book you are all meant to have for this whole year, and you each can get a copy of it at my desk before you leave. It’s called, “Advanced Robotics and Engineering: Programming a superior AI.” Do not leave class without it!”

 

I let most of the class go first so I wouldn’t be stuck in a crowd. After it was down to 3 people, I finally got up and went to grab my book. As I did, Mrs. Natsume whispered, “Good luck, Random”.

 

Tossing her saying aside, I left through the door, followed by the other two students, baffled by what she could honestly mean by that.