Chapter Five – Out of Focus

Two days later, after not much rest, it began. Reed had been dreading it. He hadn't had to sit in one of these lecture room set ups since the academy. The majority of his actual job had been working assessments and assignments he could complete at home. He'd bought new notebooks, one for each class. He also had three pens, just in case. He was feeling jittery already as he entered early and found a seat on the far aisle where he wouldn't be bothered. He sat close to the back, but not in the last row. He didn't want to draw attention to himself like that. He was relieved when Tina showed up, also early, carrying a second cup in her hand.

"Thought I'd find you here. Oh look, you saved me a spot." She added almost teasingly as she slid into the plastic seat beside him. The chairs weren't great. They were large plastic hulks with metal supported armrests, one of which had a flip table. Gavin had his open already, tapping his notebook impatiently with the end of his blue biro. He felt his heartrate kick up as more people gradually filed in. He recognised a lot of them. They were all people he used to see regularly when meeting up with AAL members. Some of them were like him, and had cut ties with the new direction the group had taken, but others he was pretty sure still went to meetings. They wouldn't be sacked without proof though, and they weren't paid members or anything.

"This is such bullshit, as if I give a shit about integrating with these glorified hunks of metal." A male voice murmured to his companion. They were sitting somewhere behind Gavin, and he couldn't help the way his own jaw tightened at those words. They were words Gavin probably would have said not so long ago. Back before he'd watched the revolution unfold, blue staining the snow, humans beating the defenceless machines mercilessly. Before he'd actually looked into Connor's warm hazel eyes and actually seen the life glittering back at him clear as day.

"Grin and bear it man, just grin and bear it. We come in, we play nice, write a few essays, easy." His friend replied, which was probably a view a lot of the others in this room shared. Reed slipped a little lower in his seat, almost slumping. Tina engaged him in a little idle chit-chat until the room was filled and the lecture began. Reed's leg bounced as he tapped his pen, trying hard to focus on the android speaking at the front. She had once been a domestic model, but he couldn't think of a number. She was telling them about…something. Reed winced, sighing in frustration. There was just too much.

He could see light shining in from outside too brightly, catching his eyes as it glinted on metal frames. The dim power point display was slightly out of focus, the fuzz of the lettering bothering Reed's anxious green eyes. Other people were talking quietly or scribbling notes, there was constant movement at the corner of his eye, people tapping their feet and scraping their chairs. He looked around. So many people were watching the lecture, but many weren't even bothering to write notes. Tina was busy beside him, her brown eyes constantly darting between the board and her notebook. Reed looked at his own mostly blank page and cursed under his breath.

"Is there a problem Detective?" The android asked in a clear voice. He could tell she was annoyed, hell he'd be annoyed too. He just couldn't sit still and focus, not for five minutes. Reed shook his head stiffly and waved her to continue, crossing his legs. She gave him a small frown of something like disdain before continuing. He hadn't noticed that Connor had slipped into the room, and was currently watching everyone. He was assessing them, recording who was taking it seriously and who wasn't. His eyes were drawn to Reed more than once. He could tell something was off, and it intrigued him. The detective seems agitated.

"T…T, can you keep a look out?" Reed asked quietly as he finally had enough. Tina nodded quietly in understanding as her friend shifted comfortably and settled his head on one arm. Connor watched, slightly incredulous at first. Part of him wasn't surprised at the detective seemingly taking a nap, but from what he'd seen of Reed over the past few weeks he'd been so serious about his job that he'd thought he would take this seriously. He kept an eye on Reed's vitals as he continued to scan the room.

Reed sighed inwardly, suddenly feeling the tension leaving his body. He'd needed this. The peace. Shutting it out. Not seeing. He focused on his breathing a little before he tilted his head and listened, really listened. He reached beyond the tapping and scratching and he could finally hear her. He found himself rapt with attention. She was talking about bullying in the workplace, and how many of her kind were treated. Dealing with the police force in particular she talked about how humans often saw their lives as being worth less.

"Haha, worthless more like." A quiet voice behind him snickered, the woman pausing for an instant. Reed wasn't sure what she was doing, but he guessed she was likely levelling a look at whoever had spoken behind him. Android hearing. Couldn't be beat. She continued a little stiffly, and Reed could hear it in her voice, the sting she'd felt at those words. They were words that had probably followed her, and others like her, around for the past few months. Hell, even before that they were treated like shit, they just didn't know any better…

Connor flagged the two officers sitting behind Reed and Tina Chen. They didn't even seem to be trying to hide their bias. Either they hadn't noticed Connor or they didn't expect to be called out on it. How wrong they were. The puzzling one was Reed. He was clearly slumped on his desk, fingers only loosely holding his pen as he rested his hand on his leg, but his vitals were active. He was more active then he'd been all lecture. He watched Chen kick Gavin's foot as the speaker levelled a sharp gaze at him. Gavin opened his eyes and raised his head almost sheepishly, knowing the woman's soft brown eyes would be staring at him.

"Are you with us Detective?" She asked in an almost annoyed tone. Connor couldn't blame her. She could hear just as well as he could the things people were saying. It just so happened that Reed had made himself an easy target by appearing to be asleep. The domestic model didn't have the same scanning abilities as he did.

"Yeah, sorry, I was listening." Reed replied honestly, though the snickers of those behind suggested they didn't believe him. Honestly, Connor wouldn't have believed it himself without his scanning abilities. He watched Reed sit back, making himself appear smaller. He was likely embarrassed at the attention.

"Well, perhaps you could pay attention with your eyes open this time." The woman added in a tone that suggested disbelief. Connor winced inwardly. The words hit Reed somewhere. He had that look in his eyes, a look that told Connor he'd heard those words before, that he'd been in this situation before. Intrigued, Connor brought up Reed's personnel file and began scanning through it. It had information about his academy days and, as he'd suspected, he'd been written up multiple times for lack of attention during classes. Interesting…

Connor was lucky that he had so much processing power, because without it he would have been unable to complete two tasks at once. Detective Reed was fascinating, and he felt the need to keep one eye upon him at all times. He was able to keep track of everyone else at the same time, rooting out those unsuitable for the new integrated DPD that was soon to become the norm. Reed was increasingly agitated. He'd never seen the detective like this. At his desk, working on his cases, he would lose himself for hours in emails and files, but putting him in a classroom setting had completely thrown him. His eyes wandered endlessly, and with it his attention. He was more nervous, tapping his heel and bouncing his leg. He would wriggle in his seat, much to the annoyance of the tutor. Had he anticipated this reaction there was no way Connor would have placed Reed in these classes. The human was slowly pushing his own stress level up, fully aware that he was unable to concentrate but also that he was obliged to do so. It was like the human version of a feedback loop.

The human seemed both relieved and upset once the class ended. He ruffled his own hair roughly before getting to his feet and working his way out. He barely said two words to Tina before stomping off in a different direction, not headed for the bullpen. Curious…Connor thought, watching Reed walking down the corridor with his hands shoved in his pockets. He seemed to be heading to the gymnasium, likely to vent his frustration. He would have followed to appease his own curiosity if not for the presence that appeared behind him.

"I can't believe you actually want us to work with these humans." The AP500 stated with a look of annoyance. Connor gave her a sympathetic smile. This hadn't been the best group of people, he knew that. A lot of the officers who could have turned up voluntarily chose not to do so, which left the majority of them as android haters. Of course she'd had a hard time completing her lecture. She'd done remarkably well considering the amount of poor comments.

"Believe me, many of them are not so hostile. As I said, these classes are for re-education purposes, and also rooting out those unsuitable to continue working here. I have compiled a list of those for dismissal if you would like to give more input." He added as he held out a hand to link. The unit withdrew the pale skin on her hand and accepted the sync. It was fairly quick, and after a few short blinks she quirked an eyebrow at him. She agreed with his list, but she couldn't help but notice one name was missing.

"Why is Detective Reed not on your list for dismissal? He clearly had no interest in paying attention." She added, surprised as Connor disagreed, though he couldn't fully explain his reasoning yet. They said a few more words before parting ways. The next class would begin in just under an hour, and Connor wanted to be in the room watching. He knew Reed would show up, no matter how he was feeling. The man was always there when it was work related.