* * *
For today’s lecture, Professor Chertok took the class to his lab to meet Imelda. The robot had a slender frame and long arms. Even female robots had to abide by male standards of beauty, apparently.
“Imelda is our haptic robot. So far, she’s been programmed to identify thirty-five different surfaces.” Professor Chertok directed the class to a bulletin board hung on the wall. Square samples of different textures, no bigger than a carpet sample each, were tacked in neat rows with their name listed underneath.
“Linh, pick a number between one and thirty-five,” Professor Chertok asked while fiddling with the controls. Linh brushed long strands of dark hair out of her eyes. As engineering majors, she and Matty had had several classes together over this past year, but they’d never spoken. She was always in the background for him, like his other classmates. He did catch her rolling her eyes anytime Kelvin gave a smart-ass answer in class, so she had to be somewhat cool. While she deliberated on a number, Matty kept thinking about Catan and the details he never knew about the other guys. We all had these special details, including Linh.
“Eighteen,” she said.
“Why do all of my students always pick their age first?”
Linh turned red as the students laughed at the joke.
Matty’s head pivoted back to Imelda. He stared in wide-eyed wonder as Imelda’s hand extended and pressed itself against sample number eighteen.
“Tree bark,” Imelda said.
Matty and his classmates nodded in delight. This was something that to most people would seem so simple, but was actually the work of years of research and hard labor.
I felt tree bark last night.He pictured himself leaning against the tree, talking to Coop, and the rough bark pressing into his back. Then he forgot the tree and thought about Coop’s thin lips and emerging stubble.
Focus.
“Imelda is part of a new wave in haptic robotics,” Professor Chertok said. “What type of haptic feedback is she experiencing?”
Matty’s hand shot up.
“It’s kinesthetic.”
Members of the class craned their necks to gawk at Matty.
“No, it’s tactile,” Kelvin said in disbelief.
Matty gave him an amused smile. It was obvious that someone wasn’t doing the reading. “It’s actually kinesthetic.”
“It’s tactile.”
“She’s feeling the texture with her fingers. Imelda’s getting a sense of the object. It’s kinesthetic,” Matty said in a politely hostile tone.
A tone that Kelvin was happy to match. “Texture is tactile.”
Matty glanced at Linh, but not even she was rolling her eyes at Kelvin.
“It’s tactile,” Professor Chertok said. “Kelvin’s right.”
Tactile?The word slapped Matty in the face. And “Kelvin’s right” was a sucker punch to the groin. The class stared at him, and even worse, Professor Chertok had a disappointed look in his eyes.
“Please make sure you’re all reading the required material closely, not skimming. Kelvin, why don’t you choose the next number?”
Imelda placed her hand on sample number five, sandpaper. Not even she wanted anything to do with him right now.
Chapter 9
Coop
Afew days later, Coop and Rafe got ready to go out on a Saturday night. It was a process that involved finding the right outfit that didn’t make it seem like you searched for the right outfit. Then there was getting the hair just perfect, a process in and of itself for Rafe and his crazy head of curls.
Coop’s phone rang with a call from his dad. He knew this call was coming. “Rafe, would you mind hanging out in the suite or the bathroom for a few minutes?”
