Transaction

The tension in the room disintegrated as the iconic footage rolled. I found myself smiling as I heard the iconic quote, "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." My gaze turned to the people around me. Small steps.

Sunday night, I sat down on my bed to look over the sleeping logs I'd been given. Compared to the data Coulson provided, it looked like Captain Rogers and James were doing better overall. Satisfied that improvements had been made, I closed the documents and walked over to place them on my desk. I opened up my laptop and looked over my lesson plan again. It was going to be a busy week.

Monday

"Good morning you two!

I have a few assignments for you this week. I'll be sending you an email every other day with something for you to learn about. We're going to focus mostly on current culture — something that I'm sure you need every day.

Steve, your assignment is to watch the movie The Imitation Game and email me back with your thoughts on how Alan Turing contributed to the creation of computers.

James, your assignment is to read Alan Turing: The Enigma. I requested that it be made available for you in the library. You will also email me back about your thoughts on Alan Turing.

I want to hear back by tomorrow night.

Have fun!

Eliza"

Tuesday

It was just after three in the afternoon when I got my first response.

"Dear Eliza,

After reading the book you suggested, I'm having too many thoughts to write down. Alan Turing was a genius, and it's hard to believe that someone from our time was the first person to invent a computer like you use and like the ones they used in the space race. My favorite quote of his was this one: 'we can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done'. I feel like that can apply to many things, whether it be the election, the Avengers, or myself. There are always improvements to be made.

Sincerely,

James"

A large grin came onto my face and wouldn't leave all day, not even when I got Captain Roger's hilariously long and analytical review of the movie.

Wednesday

"Hello again!

I'm glad to hear that you both enjoyed learning about the beginning of computers. Next on the list is one of the biggest technological companies of our time: Apple.

Steve, you get to watch the Steve Jobs movie.

James, you get to read Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different. (Again, it's in the library for you.)

After that, you need to go to the App Store (ask Sam for clarification) and make a list of five apps you think would be useful.

Get back to me by tomorrow night, and have fun!

Eliza"

Thursday

I was at home eating take out for dinner when two emails popped up on my computer at the same time. After a moment's hesitation, I clicked on the one from James first.

"Dear Eliza,

Again, why does everything seem so complicated? Why do people need a computer in their home, and then a smaller computer in their pocket and on their wrist at the same time? Don't they all do the same thing? Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand the point of it all.

I did find five apps that I thought were useful, though.

1. Messages

2. Notes

3. iBooks (why do a lot of things have an 'i' in front of them?)

4. iTunes

5. Camera

Sam said all of these apps were "normal" ones that "come with the phone", but I think they'd all be useful.

Sincerely,

James"

I skimmed over Captain Roger's email after, but my mind was filled with images of James figuring out that there was a camera. I giggled at the idea of him flipping through various filters and losing his mind over it.

Friday

"Last assignment for the week!

You guys have been great at getting back to me! I hope you feel like you've learned some valuable information. This last task is pretty simple: take one of the questions from your list and Google it. Send me the question and the answer you find. Because this should take five minutes, I'll be looking for a response tonight.

See you two tomorrow,

Eliza"

I sent the email at nine am like usual, expecting to hear back before noon at the very latest. As always on Fridays, however, we were typing as fast as we could in the office. I didn't register the fact that I never received a reply until I was driving home at seven.

Slight panic ran through my heart. Surely there was a reason James hadn't gotten back to me? Their base was far too isolated for an attack. A mission, perhaps? No, nothing had been on the news.

It was an hour later, and I was sitting at my desk drumming my fingers incessantly. I still hadn't heard from them, and I was getting more anxious with each passing minute. Finally, I caved and grabbed my phone and Mr. Coulson's card. A few seconds later, I was listening to endless ringing.

"Come on…come on…pick up," I mumbled shakily.

There was a click. "Hello?"

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Hi, Mr. Coulson. I'm so sorry to bother you, but I needed to contact Jam- I mean, Sargent Barnes and Captain Rogers. I emailed them earlier with their latest assignment, and they haven't gotten back to me like they usually do, and I-" I stopped my rambling. "I became concerned."

Mr. Coulson's smile was audible. "Would you like me to patch you through to Captain Rogers?"

"Sure," I said quickly. "Yes, yeah, yes, that'd be good. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Miss Reynolds." Instead of the typical on hold music I was used to, I was met with dead silence. For whatever reason, this made my heart rate increase again. It was unsettling, the silence.

Finally, the silence was cut. "Eliza?"

A wave of relief washed over me. "James, oh, I was, ah- I was expecting Steve," I stuttered.

"He just went to his room to get something, and left his phone here," James explained calmly. "He showed me how to answer a call before. Are…are you alright? You sound…different from usual."

"I was just worried," I laughed awkwardly. "I sent you guys that email this morning, and I never heard back. I mean, I guess you guys were just busy or something, which is fine, but I figured it wouldn't take very long. Maybe I sent it wrong-"

"No, I got it," James cut me off.

I paused in my rambling. "…oh?"

"Yes."

"…so…you were too busy to respond, then?"

"I, ah…" he trailed off. "Steve was. He's been out all day. I just, um…"

"Yes?" I prompted.

He sighed loudly. "I don't know how to Google."

"Huh?"

"I don't know how to Google," he repeated slowly. "And everyone was busy today, so I couldn't ask anyone."

I shut my eyes in frustration. Not with James, but with myself. Why didn't I think of that? "James, I'm so sorry, I didn't think that-"

"You didn't know," James chuckled. "Really, it's fine, Eliza. I'm sure you can show me tomorrow."

My heart rate sped up again. "Yeah, yeah, of course! I'd be happy to show you."

Silence reigned for a moment, and I found myself not really knowing what to say.

"Are you calm now?" James said after a beat.

I nodded. "Yes, I'm- I'm fine now, yeah."

"Good," he said, and I could almost imagine him grinning. "I will see you tomorrow, then."

"Yeah, I will see you then…James," I added on.

"Eliza," he echoed.

I took in another breath as I hung up. Everything was okay. I just overreacted. Things were fine. The poor man just didn't know what Google was and felt too embarrassed to say anything. I fell back on my bed with a sigh. I really needed to calm down sometimes.