busy doing their job?”
“They did amazing work bringing out this body intact,” agreed Carl looking down at it in wonder. He knelt down to get a better look at the scales running up and down the thing’s arms and his colleagues voices faded into the background. Was it his imagination or was the left hand the most life-like? And the thing in the specimen’s hand ... was it beginning to glow?
* * *
“Matthew, that was a wonderful performance.” Matthew’s unexpected participation in class brought a giddy tone of voice to Mrs. Webb that lasted throughout the whole class. “I've never heard a student read from Le Morte d'Arthur with that much passion.”
Matthew shrugged his shoulders as he smiled at her. He couldn’t tell her that at the moment he’d do anything to stop the video loop in his head from the Virtual Future device – even participate. She briefly touched his arm and as he struggled not to turn pink, he wondered for a second if he seemed like as big a dork as Mr. Hayhurst. Mrs. Webb was hot. She always reminded him of a California surfer chick with her short, sun-streaked hair and endless legs.
“Arthur has always been a favorite of mine.” His voice cracked as he looked down to study the laces on his sneakers so his face wouldn’t betray him.
Mrs. Webb nodded. “I'm sure it helped you out a lot with your comics. You're still keeping up with them, right?”
Matthew nodded, his color returning to normal by his excitement. “Oh yeah. In fact, my readership jumped almost overnight to more than 5,000.”
“Excellent! High five!” Matthew almost jumped back from the offered hand, then recovered with a resounding smack.
“I'm so glad you stuck with these characters all year.” Mrs. Webb unobtrusively rubbed her hand as she turned back to her desk. Matthew caught the motion and winced.
“You know, I'm ready to give you the final grade for the year,” she said sitting down.
Those words immediately filled Matthew with more tension than anticipating his meeting with Dr. Sierra.
“Oh?” Matthew asked.
“I'm sure you know that those who get an 85 or higher are exempt from the final exam. I was going to show everyone their grades tomorrow, but since you're here and did so well in class today, I thought I’d give you an early opportunity to see yours.”
Matthew's eyes widened. “Wow. Thanks.”
Mrs. Webb positioned two pieces of paper above and below Matthew's grade and showed him the magic number. Matthew took a deep breath to prepare and looked down at the grade book.
83.
Two points short. Matthew knew Mrs. Webb could see the light in his eyes start to dim. He looked up and stared off into space, taking stock in all of the different homework assignments he had half-assed during the year.
“Hmmm,” she said as he looked back down, hoping upon closer inspection those numbers would transform into something a little bit higher. “You know Matthew, the final exam is really to make sure that my students have a certain range of ability. I know that in spite of this grade, you already mastered the skills I’ve taught in this class.”
Matthew hung on her words. So?
“So let's say I'll give you a little bit of,” she paused and bit her lip, “let’s call it... Excelsior Extra Credit.”
“Excelsior Extra Credit?” Matthew repeated not sure he heard her correctly.
Mrs. Webb treated him to a brilliant smile. “And it just so happens that Excelsior Extra Credit counts for two points on your final grade.”
Matthew was saved from the final exam.
The light in Matthew's eyes returned brighter than ever. “Is this what it feels like to get paid for your work?”
Mrs. Webb let out a laugh that made Matthew’s stomach feel like jelly. “It is, yes.” She put her hand on Matthew's, and he could feel warmth racing from his cheeks to fill the rest of his body. “A student of your caliber comes along only once in a while, Matthew. It’s not often I have a pupil
“They did amazing work bringing out this body intact,” agreed Carl looking down at it in wonder. He knelt down to get a better look at the scales running up and down the thing’s arms and his colleagues voices faded into the background. Was it his imagination or was the left hand the most life-like? And the thing in the specimen’s hand ... was it beginning to glow?
* * *
“Matthew, that was a wonderful performance.” Matthew’s unexpected participation in class brought a giddy tone of voice to Mrs. Webb that lasted throughout the whole class. “I've never heard a student read from Le Morte d'Arthur with that much passion.”
Matthew shrugged his shoulders as he smiled at her. He couldn’t tell her that at the moment he’d do anything to stop the video loop in his head from the Virtual Future device – even participate. She briefly touched his arm and as he struggled not to turn pink, he wondered for a second if he seemed like as big a dork as Mr. Hayhurst. Mrs. Webb was hot. She always reminded him of a California surfer chick with her short, sun-streaked hair and endless legs.
“Arthur has always been a favorite of mine.” His voice cracked as he looked down to study the laces on his sneakers so his face wouldn’t betray him.
Mrs. Webb nodded. “I'm sure it helped you out a lot with your comics. You're still keeping up with them, right?”
Matthew nodded, his color returning to normal by his excitement. “Oh yeah. In fact, my readership jumped almost overnight to more than 5,000.”
“Excellent! High five!” Matthew almost jumped back from the offered hand, then recovered with a resounding smack.
“I'm so glad you stuck with these characters all year.” Mrs. Webb unobtrusively rubbed her hand as she turned back to her desk. Matthew caught the motion and winced.
“You know, I'm ready to give you the final grade for the year,” she said sitting down.
Those words immediately filled Matthew with more tension than anticipating his meeting with Dr. Sierra.
“Oh?” Matthew asked.
“I'm sure you know that those who get an 85 or higher are exempt from the final exam. I was going to show everyone their grades tomorrow, but since you're here and did so well in class today, I thought I’d give you an early opportunity to see yours.”
Matthew's eyes widened. “Wow. Thanks.”
Mrs. Webb positioned two pieces of paper above and below Matthew's grade and showed him the magic number. Matthew took a deep breath to prepare and looked down at the grade book.
83.
Two points short. Matthew knew Mrs. Webb could see the light in his eyes start to dim. He looked up and stared off into space, taking stock in all of the different homework assignments he had half-assed during the year.
“Hmmm,” she said as he looked back down, hoping upon closer inspection those numbers would transform into something a little bit higher. “You know Matthew, the final exam is really to make sure that my students have a certain range of ability. I know that in spite of this grade, you already mastered the skills I’ve taught in this class.”
Matthew hung on her words. So?
“So let's say I'll give you a little bit of,” she paused and bit her lip, “let’s call it... Excelsior Extra Credit.”
“Excelsior Extra Credit?” Matthew repeated not sure he heard her correctly.
Mrs. Webb treated him to a brilliant smile. “And it just so happens that Excelsior Extra Credit counts for two points on your final grade.”
Matthew was saved from the final exam.
The light in Matthew's eyes returned brighter than ever. “Is this what it feels like to get paid for your work?”
Mrs. Webb let out a laugh that made Matthew’s stomach feel like jelly. “It is, yes.” She put her hand on Matthew's, and he could feel warmth racing from his cheeks to fill the rest of his body. “A student of your caliber comes along only once in a while, Matthew. It’s not often I have a pupil
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