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She gestures to herself. “The tech geek and the popular boy.”
I furrow my brows. “Did you forget I’m a tech geek, too?” I keep my voice down in case someoneisnearby and might overhear.
“No. We’re supposed to forget that night, remember?”
“If I recall correctly, I asked you not to tell anyone what you saw in my room, not that you should forget about it entirely.”
She sighs like I’m wasting her time. “What do you want from me? To do your homework? We both know you don’t need help with that.”
I watch her for a little bit. “You do know there’s more to you than homework, right? Not everyone sees a nerd or geek when they look at you.”
She just stares at me.
I turn away. “Going to class.” I make it a few feet before facing her again. “By the way, I downloaded your app. It’s very well done.”
“Oh, thanks.”
I nod and head down the hallway to the coding classroom. Taking a seat in the back, my usual spot, I slip out my phone to check what my friends are up to. Looks like they made it to the mall and are snapping pictures with their girlfriends.
Is it weird that I’d rather be here than with them right now?
Willow enters the classroom and her eyes connect with mine. A few seconds pass before she pulls them away and plops down at a desk in the front of the room. She takes out her laptop and works on some code.
“Good afternoon, students,” Mr. Bryant greets as he walks into the room. “Today, we’re presenting our apps to the class. Willow, because you already presented yours yesterday, you don’t have to do it again. I hope we all downloaded her app?”
The kids nod.
“Good. Willow, I’m looking forward to the results.”
“Me, too,” she says. I notice her trying to fight a frown. I wonder what that’s about. Is her app having problems? I haven’t encountered any issues.
Owen and the rest of my buddies told me that they didn’t download the app. They claimed it was too nerdy.
I’m very curious if it’ll match me with Vanessa, which is the main reason I downloaded it. And to support my fellow classmate, of course.
“Are we ready to present? Colton, why don’t you go first?”
“Sure.”
I grab my laptop and make my way to the front of the room. After setting up my stuff and connecting it to the smart board, my eyes scan the students. The great thing about this class? Everyone wants to be here. No one is bored and we all support each other. I’ve never shown my apps to anyone, but having my classmates interested makes me a little excited. I spent years working on it.
“My app is called Personal Tutor,” I begin as I demonstrate on the screen. “It’s for students who can’t afford a tutor or are too embarrassed. Basically, it’s an AI that helps you with school. When the user uses her, it will feel as though you’re sitting with a human tutor, but really you’re with a virtual tutor. She can teach you lessons, help you with homework—though there’s an anti-cheat feature so you can’t cheat. If you’re confused or lost or frustrated, she can help you work through your problems. She’s there for you to talk to if you’re having a bad day.”
I take a break to catch my breath. “If you need help, she has the resources and phone numbers you can call. If you’re struggling with talking to your parents or teachers, she gives you advice. Pretty much, she’s a tutor who’s kind of like a friend. She also tells you when to take a break or drink water or go for a walk. Like, if you’re studying for too long, she’ll tell you to stretch your legs. She also doesn’t let you leave until your homework is done.”
I laugh. “A very obnoxiously loud bell rings if you try to cut corners. I made it as cheat-proof and foolproof as I could. The main point is to give those students who can’t afford it, or are too scared or embarrassed, to have a tutor, a kind of best-friend tutor.”
I show them a step-by-step process of how it works. Most of the kids are sitting forward in their seats, their eyes glued to the screen. Willow seems impressed.
“Very nice,” Mr. Bryant says as he claps. The rest of the kids clap, too. “One question, though. Can this replace a teacher?”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t have the capacity to hold that much data. Basically, the student would have to pick a few subjects they need help with and the virtual tutor will download the information from a server that has all the information programmed in it. But, no, it can’t replace a teacher.”
“That’s a fabulous idea, Colton. I love apps that help students achieve their goals and dreams. Is it complete? Has it been tested?”
“Yes, I’ve tested it on a few students.” The ones I’ve tutored over the past few months. “And it was a success.”
“Great. I’ll take a closer look to make sure there are no bugs or glitches and that all the rules for the competition have been followed. Same as I’ll do to everyone’s apps before you can submit them.”
