Jeff tried to speak to Mr. Huff after class but was immediately turned away and advised to find his phone in the principal's office at end of school. During lunch Mr. Huff did take a moment to drop the phone off at the office after writing an email explaining that today was the day he had hired the local zoo to kick off the new section they were studying. Not only was Mr. Huff personally disappointed, but if a guest speaker couldn't hold his attention, Mr. Huff simply didn't know how to reach this student.
Throughout the day, countless distractions completely took Jeff's mind off his phone, after all, most of his school day is focused on learning despite the teachers' perceptions of kids. However, Jeff would feel a phantom vibration, go to check his phone, panic that he lost it, and then panic that he lost control of the Chronivac. By the time the final bell rang, Jeff had noticed that not having his phone was much more of a distraction than actually having the phone in class ever was, and he was going to make that point to Mr. Walters or the Secretary when he got his phone back.
Mr. Walters received the phone with the student's name, along with a post it note saying check email from 9:27. Mr. Walters read the email and the disappointment Mr. Huff expressed was palpable. This kick off event involving the zoo was organized by him, with help and donations from the other science teachers... He organized permission slips (some students might be scared of snakes), and asked the faculty for donations, and spent his off hours time to beg the zoo to discount the visit any way they could to make this possible. To him, it was a huge event, mostly funded from his own pocket. And apparently 25 minutes into first period, some hooligan was playing on their cell phone...
Jeff asked to be excused before the end of last class so he could see the principal, retrieve his property, and make the school bus. The teacher gave a disapproving glower but nodded approval. Jeff reached the secretary and explained why he was there, after a moment or two of being asked to have a seat Jeff was informed he would be seen and was pointed to an office with a placard listing Mr. Walters as the principal. Jeff knocked as he reached the door, not sure what the etiquette should be, he's expected, but the door is closed...
"Enter."
"Hey, I'm Jeff Davis, Mr. Huff confiscated my phone this morning and I'm here to retrieve it."
"Why don't you have a seat and shut the door Jeff."
Jeff took a seat and Mr. Walters began by explaining everything that went into making today's Zoological visit a reality, the conversation was going to be a heart to heart expressing how much time, effort, and planning the staff go through, and simply end with a guilt trip. However, after explaining everything Mr. Huff went through to set things up, plans went sideways.
"...and instead of focusing on the lesson that Mr. Huff and many of our impassioned faculty worked hard to make possible, you were staring at this." Mr. Walters held Jeff's phone at arms length to his face, the change in orientation caused the screen to light up, Jeffs face was recognized, and in an instant the Chronivac app appeared. The phone was pulled away in another instant, set face down on the table. Mr. Walters was working hard to express himself just right, unaware he had activated voice mode. "It's my job to take you teens and mold you into productive young adults, prepared to be functional members of society!"
The phone beeped, Mr. Walters noticed the glow as light was escaping between the screen's glass and the desk's finish. he calmly reached over pushing the power button to turn off the display, but it was too late. Jeff was hoping that was a text message but he didn't recognize the sound as a normal notification. "Mr. Davis! How can you benefit from our efforts if you can't even hold a conversation with me long enough to understand how special this opportunity is? Mr. Huff was right to refer you to me, glad he caught you early while there's time."
"Time?" Jeff asked, reality was reworking itself as they spoke. The office that once was for the principal of the school was now the receiving room for the school's Molder; it now had an adjoining room with an exam office chair and looked more like a doctor's office.
"Yes, time to give you a foundation to receive a full education not a trade school, I have reviewed your grades and made my recommendation to your parent's for a standard business package. After explaining the situation to them, they agreed. There are just a few questions you need to answer and you'll be walking out of here a college graduate with enough time to catch the bus home. You can start looking for an office job tomorrow, or tonight even."
"College graduate? Office job? I'm not looking for a job. Who'd even hire me? Most real jobs require you to be 18."
Mr. Walters ushered Jeff into the next room, dumbfounded that this kid seems to not even understand the concept of molding. Jeff was put on the exam table and Velcro restraints secured his arms before Jeff realized what was happening. "You have a bus to catch shortly so lets get on with it. When you grow up, do you imagine yourself as a coffee, tea, or soda drinker? Do you want relationship experiences, if so, what gender would you date, and what level of sexual activity do you want to include? Do you want experience with alcohol and tobacco? The machines warming up, you have about 35 seconds for me to enter your preferences."
The new reality clicked into Jeff's mind realizing he was about to be turned into a "standard" person. He'd seen friends and/or their siblings undergo the procedure. One day they came home and were never seen back at school, a few days later there was a 20 something year old living in their house. Their priorities shifted drastically, they no longer cared about D&D, or pokemon cards, they didn't want to hang in person or even play video games on weekends. A waste of time... would be the text response. They became fast friends with coworkers at their new jobs, went out to bars and rapidly settled down and started a family, ushering in a new generation of kids made to become perfect consumers.
"Everything defaults to yes Jeff, you'd better decide quickly."
"Wait! There's been a mistake! I'm not ready to grow up."
"Of course not Jeff, the procedure hasn't completed yet. Not for another 3-2-1..."