*Click*
The ocean blue loading screen cast itself in front of Sabine’s eyes, the sounds of calming waves and crooning seagulls playing in the background, until finally, a matronly voice came on:
“Welcome to Virtua; who’s classroom will you be joining today?”
Without a word or a flinch, Sabine’s thought “Mr. Togan’s class” made the room appear in an instant. Not just a room, mind you. There was Mr. Togan, and there was Beth, Isaiah, Lilac, and all the others. A room full of 30 bodies, tuning in. And, there was Sabine – she held her hands in front of her eyes. It all felt so real.. Except that it was quite possibly the most orderly classroom you could ever imagine. Not a single artifact lined the grey walls. No cluttered cabinets, disordered desks, shambolic shelves.. Everything was pristine, from ceiling to floor.
“Good morning, Sabine!” Beth called from across the room.
“Good morning, Beth.”
“I think we’re about to start, wanna come sit by me?” Beth’s buoyant smile seemed reach up to the corners of eyes.
“Ya, sure.”
Sabine dragged the feet of her chair across the grey laminate floor, and not a single croak sounded from the friction.
“Hey, Beth, do you ever think-“
“Shhhhh!” Beth stopped her. “Mr. Togan’s starting!”
“Okay, class,” Mr. Togan’s voice reverberated throughout the room. “Today we’re starting our day with science. Tune in to Virtua-246 and we’ll meet back in this room in precisely nine minutes and forty-six seconds.”
*Click*
A 9 minute and 46 second video started playing in Sabine’s head. Something involving a some eggs and a crocodile and..
*Click*
What just happened? Sabine thought, looking around herself in a panic. Did I do something? There she was, back in Mr. Togan’s room, only seconds after the video started. Was everyone else tuned out, too? She looked at Beth. Beth was sitting slumped in her seat with her eyes glazed and her mouth hanging open like a Plecostomus fish sucking algae off a fish tank.
But it wasn’t just Beth.
Everyone around the room was tuned in, slumped in their seats. Sabine’s stomach twisted itself into a pretzel. She felt like she was at a morgue. She waved her hand in front of Beth’s face. Nothing. Even Mr. Togan was tuned in.
Is this.. is this what I look like at home right now? When I’m tuned in to here?
That 9 minutes and 46 seconds felt like a lifetime. Suddenly, all at once, everyone around her tuned out of the science lesson, and tuned back in to class.
“Okay everyone, you’ve got five minutes to talk with your partner about it” Mr. Togan came back to life.
“That was simply fascinating, don’t you agree?!” Beth beamed.
“Definitely.” Sabine cleared her throat.
“What was your favorite part?”
Favorite part? Sabine panicked.. “Uhm, the part with the eggs?” She stammered.
“Oh! Yes, you mean the part about the albumin protein in eggs providing protection against microorganisms?” Beth offered.
Good ol’ Beth, Sabine thought. Beth was the brightest pupil in the class. Mr. Togan always says he’s so glad her potential wasn’t squandered with the “homeschool option” that her parents almost opted for.
“Ya, that part,” Sabine exhaled a weight off her shoulders.
The rest of the day went on as usual. Except it felt more usual than usual. Sabine felt like she was on autopilot wading through a sea of monotony, until it was time to tune out.
…
The next morning, when it was almost time for class, Sabine’s mom came down to wake her.
“Darling, it’s time to tune in,” she called.
But Sabine didn’t want to go. She didn’t want to be an apparition, a virtual experience of herself, surrounded by virtual friends.
“Mom, I don’t feel well,” Sabine moaned. She pulled the mauve blanket that Grandma Lynn had crocheted for her up to the bottoms of her eyes.
“Honey, that’s okay. You don’t have to worry about getting anyone else sick, you’re not really there when you tune in! Now come on, we don’t wanna be late!” Her mother began walking away.
Sabine sighed all her hope away. She had to tune in again. Unless..
“Mom?”
“Yes darling?” Her mom poked her head back in the doorway.
“What’s homeschool?“
“Oh.. well, its a different way of learning, that.. that.. it doesn’t.. let’s talk about it after class, come on now, let’s get on to Virtua, before we’re late!”
“Mom, I just don’t want to!” Sabine pleaded.
“Now, now. It’s normal to start losing interest in school around your age. But trust me, you’ll have fun with your friends and I’ll see you when you get back.” Her mom insisted.
“But I won’t be with my friends.”
“What do you mean? Aren’t Beth and Lilac and… what’s his name.. Isaac? Isaiah! Aren’t they there?”
“But mom, no ones really there. Not like you and me are here right now” Sabine argued.
Her mom paused.
“You’re right. Things were different when I was your age. I think everything started changing after the COVID pandemic,” mom started.
“Ya, I remember learning about that.” Sabine said.
Her mom took in a deep breath.
“Okay, let’s take the day off, kiddo. I’ll show you some of my books..”
“Real books?!” Sabine gasped.
“Yep, real-life learning with real-life books.. It’s nice to have a mix of learning tools.. this will be fun.” Her mom took her hand and they went up to the attic to dig up some old, dust covered books.
They spent the day snuggled up together, reading books and looking at all the different titles like The Giver, Math Makes Sense, and even Chicken Soup for the Soul – that was Sabine’s favorite. Actually, it was all her favorite.
