Glass Eyes

G1RL

There was a humming tension in the classroom as Noran entered. They had begun the second phase of trials for Noran and his implementation into society; initially, he had been let loose to operate without a distinguishable goal or motive, merely being directed through hoops like a show dog to determine the blending capability in different environments. 

The CIA had known about Templar, they had known about Noran's pet projects, they knew about the quirks in his coding; irritatingly, they moved through the trials at a snail's pace, leaving Noran with simply nothing to do for long periods, so the introduction of Noran into a school environment was a welcome change of speed. He was scheduled to arrive ten minutes late, something that was very specifically pointed out in his assigned schedule, as his handlers wanted him to appear like a little bit of a slacker- an assigned persona to draw attention away from his role as a cybernetic operative. 

Noran felt naked; he didn't have Templar with him, and he was operating under orders to behave unlike himself- The layers of confidence and robotic fluidity was overwritten with a new protocol that asked him to fit in, to behave differently, to put on a guise. 

Imagine a computer running a complex routine and a complex subroutine beneath that, now, program an additional subroutine that is supposed to trigger a tertiary subroutine should the initial subroutine become jeopardized by any exterior circumstance- this was what anxiety felt like for a Noran. The preparing for the preparing for, the tension that weighed heavily on his circuits as the entire classroom turned to stare at the white-haired teenage boy who had blundered into a classroom with a messy school uniform and a half-slung backpack over his shoulder. To purposefully look undisciplined required more discipline than it would've taken to appear normal, for Noran, it was like juggling on a unicycle while blindfolded. 

"Mister Halfmeisher?" the teacher, Miss Beleas, called out. Noran smiled and nodded, making his way to an empty desk. 

"Uh yeah! Yeah, sorry I'm late Miss Beleas-" he fumbled into the empty seat, sliding his book bag beneath the chair. His new subroutines were like an installed mental illness, a new hardwired compulsion that worked its way into everything he did. 

"Could've asked me Y'know?" he thought to himself "instead of an overnight ADHD Update."

The teacher cleared her throat. 

"Do you have a tardy pass?" 

Shit. 

The new update to his systems was the only thing on his mind, he had completely forgotten the crumpled up pink slip of paper in his pocket. Standing up, scrambling for the front of the room, he handed off the piece of paper to the teacher with a sheepish smile, retreating back to his seat. A few stifled giggles were heard, mocking Noran's spotlighted struggle beneath the bureaucratic boot of the system. 

A kid stuck his foot out in front of Nolan as he walked; of course he saw it. His reaction times were hundreds of times faster than that of a normal human- however there were two added layers of complexity, one being the new ADHD subroutine, the second being that everyone was watching. He could leap, he could stop, he could kick the foot out of the way- though any reaction would've looked unnatural, uncannily fast, and kicking the child's foot most likely would've broken it. 

So he took the fall.

Plummeting to the floor with a violent crash, the crowd erupted into laughter at Noran's expense, a raucous sneering and chittering at his misfortune- it shouldn't have bothered him as much as it did. 

Lording over him was the kid who had tripped him- a Black Haired girl brown eyes so dark, they almost appeared red. She leered down at him with a sadistic smile and Noran slowly pushed himself up, refusing to dignify her smug satisfaction with a glance and simply sat down in his seat, ignoring her completely. 

The class's laughter died down with the Teacher's admonishment and class resumed as normal. Noran stared with a blank face forward, frustrated, annoyed. 

He'd get her back. 

Three hours later was when revenge would be delivered, during Gym class. He saw that same dark haired girl getting picked to be on the opposite team- he devised a plan to get back at her. He could practically hear Templar chiding him in the back of his head, telling him how reckless of an idea this was. He didn't care; He needed his get back. 

The second the balls were placed in the center of the court and each team was placed on separate sides of the gym, and the whistles were blown- Noran broke into a dead sprint towards the center line where he slid, grabbed a ball, then spun and threw it as hard as he could at the dark haired girl. 

"You're out!" the Gym Coach whistled. The girl sneered at Noran but Noran was too busy retaining a ball and retreating to the back of the court. A few minutes went by until eventually the Girl got back in via her teammates catching a ball- 

THWAP

The soft plastic ball bounced off the side of her head the second she stepped back onto the court. Noran could've lived off the shocked look on her face like nutrients when she look over to see his devious knock-toothed grin. 

The rest of the game would look like this- she would get in, and get pegged with a ball immediately, no recourse possible as her frustrating grew and grew and grew- until something snapped. 

Towards the end of the last match, Noran threw the ball, putting spin and force into its trajectory- a whirring sphere of plastic and foam that was dead set on slamming right into her chest when something seemed to click in her eyes. It was only perceptible to Noran's faster-than-human processing, as he witnessed her eyes flare into a vibrant magenta color, and her body twist and contort in such a way to dodge the ball. 

That wasn't entirely human...

...Wasn't entirely bot either.

There was something biological in the way she twisted and contorted, but something wholly unnatural at the same time. She picked up a ball and threw it at Noran, bouncing it off his thigh. He slowly walked over to the sidelines, watching with a newfound curiosity. 

He didnt' share any other classes with the dark haired girl, but he found her walking home after school. 

"Hey." 

She turned and crinkled her nose in disgust. 

"Oh. It's you." 

He threw a rock at her head. 

thunk. 

"OW! WHAT THE FUCK?!" She held her now bruised forehead and Noran looked at her, utterly perplexed. 

"You didn't..." 

"...I didn't dodge it?!" She screamed, clearly furious at him. Noran couldn't wrap his head around her. 

"You nearly gave up your act in there in front of all those people and yet for some reason now you want to act all demure?"  Now it was Noran's turn to shout. She squinted at him, bewildered. 

"You're fuckin' crazy. I have no fuckin' clue what you're talking about." she spat, turning with a harumph. Noran watched her walk away, choosing not to pursue her. Whatever she was, Noran would figure it out. 

Sooner or later. 

So is this how your first crush is going to play out? Physical Assault?  You really were built in Silicone Valley.

Templar's voice was exactly as Noran expected it to be; tinged with sarcasm and exasperation. Noran bounced a ball off the wall in rapid repetitions, training his reflexes.  

"No! You're missing the point, this isn't just some crush-" he caught the ball and started to toss it between his hands. 

"-She's not Human, there's just no way. The way I saw her move? Impossible, it was on par with my reflexes."

But it was entirely inconsistent. 

"YES That's my point exactly!" 

Type your thesis up in MLA format and maybe I'll start to theorize with you. 

"I should've never programmed you to be such an ass." 

"Like Father, Like son."