Page 107 of Obsession

“They all have green eyes,” the teacher laughed. “If it doesn’t look like any of you, then that’s life.”

Harris smiled. His eyes were anything but green; contact lenses wearing demon. Or maybe they were actually green…

I was already absorbed in looking at him and thinking about it when the teacher spoke again.

“Each doll has a device that recognizes your fingerprints. They are not ordinary toys and they cost a lot of money, so be careful with them. They need food, sleep, and affection. You will feed them water from a baby bottle. The type of food doesn’t matter, your care to offer it does. Of course, you’ll also have to change their diapers. After a while, they will excrete the water you gave them, but it will be mixed with a substance that gives off a special smell, so don’t think about leaving them wet,” she grinned at us, whereupon most of us slapped a palm on our heads. “Every time they need something, the babies will scream and will not stop crying until you give them what they want, which you will have to find out for yourself. If they are not quietafter you have changed them and fed them, that means they need one of the parents, so the teams need to spend a lot of time together during this project because if the baby needs the father, he will not be quiet until his finger presses the box you have pressed to start. The same goes for the mother.”

My mouth fell open in shock. What was next? Buying a house together? Protests broke out in the classroom.

“Don’t even think about uninstalling them, they all have a program that I religiously control on the computer. All your actions are recorded and the time it takes you to stop the baby from crying. Pay special attention to the project because it makes up three quarters of your final grade this semester.”

“What happens if it cries at night and needs one of us?” one girl asked, voicing our fears. We all agreed with her.

“They won’t cry at night if you look after them well during the day. You should take turns looking after them at night.”

“So, they might cry during our other classes? What are we supposed to do?” another boy asked bitterly.

The teacher stopped in front of us, far too calm, a smile on her face.

“It’s scary, isn’t it? It seems impossible, and you have only had them for a few minutes. That’s the idea of the project, so that young people can understand the real consequences of such carelessness. There are a worrying number of parents who haven’t even finished school yet. It’s only a week for you, but I know you will learn something from it. You are not the only class, and we are not the only school supporting this project.”

The bell rang and made us all jump to our feet.

“Take them everywhere, you never know when they will start crying, they don’t have a schedule so don’t try to time it. All your teachers have been told about the project, so they will understand. There is a box on my desk with the bottles and diaper packets, take one of each and I will see you next time.Good luck, moms, and dads,” she said before she left the class, and we were left with these crazy things in our arms.

“Dude, that’s the dumbest thing I have ever seen,” Jay was indignant and threw the doll on the table.

It immediately started crying, and the sound was so sharp and strong that we were all startled. It was louder than any of us had expected.

“Well done, you prickly idiot. Go and get the bottle.” Ordered Kristen like a true authoritarian wife, and the blond wrinkled his nose.

The whole class was terribly upset. Zac was with Violet, and they weren’t getting along either. Candice was with Chris, maybe their baby would survive.

Harris and I looked at the baby and then back at each other. Amber’s gaze burned us both.

“Good luck, freak. I feel sorry for your baby; if you’re anything like your mom, it’ll end up in the trash, poor thing.”

I could feel the rage growing dangerously fast, and I wanted to lunge at her, but Harris’s arms stopped me as he wrapped them around my waist.

She was moving into dangerous territory, and I wasn’t going to forgive her as easily as I used to.

I looked at him angrily, and he looked at Amber and frowned. How the fuck did she know anything about my mom?

“Let go of me,” I growled softly, glaring at Amber with all the hatred I was capable of.

“Shh,” he cooed, breathing warmth into my ear, “not in front of the baby, you can kill her later.”

Harris kissed me on the cheek, close to my jaw, and hugged me tighter. I couldn’t believe it, but it calmed me down a little, and Amber burst with anger when she saw her boyfriend holding me. This was an even bigger revenge than pulling out all her hair.

I had just said that she was right and had actually wanted to end things with Harris earlier. That was before she’d brought my mother into it. This animosity between us was now official and active.

I turned to Harris and cupped his cheek in my palm, then stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. My reaction surprised him, and he froze for a few seconds, but then he responded. I didn’t know if it was just the satisfaction of destroying Amber, but that kiss set off sparks of ecstasy under my skin.

I slowly pulled back from his lips and saw him frown, probably realizing why I was doing this and not wanting to be used as a weapon, but alas, he went for it.

I bit my lip and turned to Amber, but I was surprised to see that she was no longer in the class. How long had our kiss lasted?

Those who were still in the class looked at us aghast. Candice’s mouth was so open that her jaw probably hurt. My gaze flitted to Harris in a flash. His face had changed from annoyed to happy, in a cheeky sort of way.

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