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The Honors Class Experiment
The Honors Class Experiment
Author: Wayne Wyeth

Chapter 1

Author: Wayne Wyeth
"That's 40 kids, Simon. Kids! Your own daughter, Holly, was one of them. Look at me and tell me why you did this! You're a teacher. How could you do something like this?"

Officer Dylan Campbell planted both hands on the table and leaned in, staring me down. He was barely holding himself back. His eyes were red, his jaw tight.

I leaned back in my chair and let my eyes close for a second.

It had taken more out of me than I expected, lifting 40 teenagers.

"If you want to know why I killed them," I said, my voice flat, "ask their homeroom teacher, Natalie Martin. She knows."

Dylan's fist hit the table hard enough to make it ring.

"Natalie. Always Natalie!

"We've already checked. Over the past year, you filed ten lawsuits against her. Every single one claimed she wasn't qualified to teach, and every single one got thrown out!

"She's this year's model teacher for the entire province. She's done everything for her students! Right now, she's in the hospital, nearly collapsed from grief over your daughter and the rest of those kids, and you're still trying to drag her into this?

"Talk! Why did you do it?"

The last question came out through clenched teeth. If the officer next to him hadn't held him back, he would've taken a swing at me.

I rubbed at my ear, annoyed by the noise, then spread my hands again. "If you want the answer, bring her here. Once she's here, I'll tell you."

The room went still.

After a few minutes, Dylan pushed back from the table and snapped at the younger officer. "Call the hospital and check Ms. Martin's condition. If the doctor clears it, bring her in."

Then he looked back at me, his expression cold. "You'd better not be wasting our time."

About an hour later, the door opened.

A female officer helped Natalie inside. She looked like she might collapse, her face drained of color. The moment she saw me, her face betrayed a mix of fear and confusion.

"Ms. Martin, you're safe," Dylan said, his voice noticeably softer. "Simon claims his motive has something to do with you. We need to understand what's going on. Is there anything between you and him we don't know about?"

Tears welled up immediately. She covered her mouth, shoulders shaking as she tried to steady herself.

"Officer Campbell, I-I don't know. I really don't know why Mr. Rivera would do something like this…to so many children…"

Her voice broke.

"I know I didn't have much experience when I took over the honors class. Some of the senior teachers weren't happy about it. Mr. Rivera filed complaints…and even sued me ten times.

"If there was something I wasn't doing right, he could've told me. Why do this? Those kids… They were just getting started…"

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  • The Honors Class Experiment   Chapter 9

    Wililiam pulled up a neural activity chart. "This was reconstructed from residual brainwave data. The victims' actual time of death came well before Mr. Rivera acted. To be precise, brain function had already stopped several hours before the banquet began.""What?""That's impossible!""Then what about the footage…""Order!"The judge struck the gavel, though his hand shook slightly.William continued, steady but grim. "As for what we're seeing when Mr. Rivera intervened, our working theory is that the bodies were already dead. Residual activity from the cortical parasite maintained a minimal level of physical function. Once external force was applied, that activity shut down completely."That's why the initial autopsy pointed to mechanical asphyxiation. That was the final physical cause of death. But in reality, they had died long before that."He turned to Natalie. Her face had drained of color. She looked like she might collapse."In Ms. Martin, we found a more advanc

  • The Honors Class Experiment   Chapter 8

    Kyle turned to the judge. "Your Honor, I'm not a psychologist or an education expert, but this isn't normal. Mr. Rivera's claims may sound extreme, but these two videos, from two different classes, point to the same disturbing pattern. I ask the court to take his retraction seriously and look into Ms. Martin and her students.""That's ridiculous! You're working together to frame me!" Natalie's voice broke as she shouted, her face pale."Whether it's a frame-up or not, an investigation will answer that." I kept my eyes on her. "Your Honor, I'm asking for immediate, comprehensive biomedical testing on Ms. Martin and both classes. I'm talking about blood work and neurological exams. The truth is in their bodies."The courtroom erupted again, voices colliding, some demanding an investigation, others insisting it was all a smear.The judge's expression turned grim. He brought the gavel down hard. "Order! This court is adjourned."The defendant, Simon Rivera, is remanded to custody.

  • The Honors Class Experiment   Chapter 7

    Natalie held herself together, but there was a tremor in her voice. "Doesn't this just show how disciplined our class is? The students know what they want. They stay focused.""Focused to the point they don't act human anymore?"I cut in, then turned toward the gallery, my eyes settling on Kyle. "A few days ago, at my request, my former attorney recorded Ms. Martin's routine with her new honors class. If it took a full year for the last class to reach that level of uniformity, you might call it effective teaching."I let the silence stretch, taking in the shifting expressions around the room."But Ms. Martin's only had this class for a few days. Why do they already look exactly the same? The same synchronized page turns. The same silent breaks. The same mechanical way of eating. How do you explain that? Is that discipline, too? Is that focus?"Every eye in the room turned to Kyle.He clearly hadn't expected this. A flicker of panic crossed his face, but it quickly gave way to p

  • The Honors Class Experiment   Chapter 6

    Natalie was crying so hard that she could barely get words out. She leaned against the female officer, looking as if she might give out at any moment.I took in the looks around the room, the anger, the disgust, and let out a quiet laugh. "So a video makes something true? What you see with your own eyes, that's reality?"I looked across the courtroom and settled on the judge. "Your Honor, I have a question for everyone here."Ms. Martin is a novice teacher. She graduated just a few years ago and only took over this senior class recently. And what kind of results did she produce?"Out of 40 students, 20 got into Arlington State and Bellmont University. The other 20 were all placed into top-tier schools. That's never happened before. Not once. And none of you thinks that's strange? None of you thinks something about that is off?"The room went quiet for a moment.Natalie lifted her head, tears still on her face. "Mr. Rivera… I have my own methods. The students respond because t

  • The Honors Class Experiment   Chapter 5

    Silence swept the room and held for a full five seconds.Then the place exploded."What did he just say? He's retracting his confession?""With evidence like that, he still thinks he can deny it?""Unbelievable. He's a monster!""He only regrets it now. He's afraid of the death penalty, so he's stalling!"The judge brought the gavel down hard, his face dark. "Do you understand what you're saying? This is a court of law, not a place for games."The prosecutor rose at once. "Your Honor, he's trying to stall. The court shouldn't allow it."The parents in the gallery lost control."Get out of here, you monster! You killed my daughter and now you're trying to walk away from it? Give her back!""He doesn't want to die? Then we'll kill him ourselves! We'll do it together!""They can't charge all of us!"The crowd surged forward, slamming into the barrier. Bailiffs rushed in, holding them back as the room tipped toward chaos."Order! Order!" The judge struck the gavel again and ag

  • The Honors Class Experiment   Chapter 4

    The courtroom went quiet immediately. Beside me, Kyle shook his head without saying anything.The judge began to read the verdict. "The court sentences the defendant, Simon Rivera, to death. The sentence will be carried out tomorrow.""Good!"The reaction hit all at once, loud and overwhelming, like a crowd celebrating a win.I sat there and listened. When the noise finally died down, I looked up at the bench. "I don't accept the verdict. I'm appealing."That set them off again."He still thinks he can appeal?""Just execute him already. Why waste more time?""Go to hell, you monster!"Natalie covered her face, her shoulders shaking harder as her crying broke through again.The judge's expression tightened. He was clearly furious, but he forced himself to stay within procedure. "Order! The defendant has the right to appeal. The case will be sent to the appellate court."They led me out. The crowd behind me was still shouting, their anger following me all the way to the door.

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