Page 12 of Out for the Night

“Oh. Cool.”

Matty returned to his textbook.Page 183.Natural language processing. Here we go.

“Is computer science like holding iPads over Bunsen burners and stuff?”

Matty wanted to keep ignoring him, but he had a feeling that Coop wouldn’t stop unless he had an answer. His probing eyes remained fixed on Matty, and sent an unexpected string of goosebumps prickling down his spine.

“My focus is on robotics, developing machines that are independently intelligent and can interact with humans through language, movement, and touch.”

“Cool. Like inThe Terminator.”

“I guess.”

“Do you worry about your machines becoming self-aware and trying to destroy humanity?”

“No.”

“Because that happened inThe Terminator.” Coop tapped a pen against his teeth, which made Matty pay attention to his reed-thin lips for a split-second. Then his eyes traveled to his biceps. More goosebumps.

Now was the time to switch tables, but Matty refused to be bullied out of his space. And maybe the view wasn’t terrible either.

“Although inT-2: Judgment Day, the Terminator was on our side.”

“Can you please not talk? I really need to concentrate.”

Coop held up his hands in defense. “Fair enough.”

He took the discolored book at the top of his pile and turned it to what looked like a random page.

Matty breathed in the silence and the staleness of the stacks. Equilibrium returned to his surroundings. Coop kept up his promise. Matty found his place back on page 183. His pen was poised on his notebook, ready to write.

Tap tap

Matty blinked his eyes and refocused on the words in this most important of textbooks.

Tap tap

Matty peeked up. Coop tapped his pen against his notebook.

Tap tap

It was a harmless move, but in the emptiness of the library, small sounds were amplified. It was the opposite of space. Everyone could hear you scream, or whisper in this case. Matty tried to block out the noise, but it kept—

Tap tap

Seeping into his…

Tap tap

…ears.

“Could you please stop that?”

“Stop what?”

Matty nodded at his pen. “The tapping.”

Coop looked at his hand as if it were news to him. “I didn’t even realize I was doing that. Sorry!”