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Chapter 2

Author: Wayne Wyeth
Natalie cried until she was bent over the table, struggling to catch her breath.

Dylan watched her, his expression hardening.

"You hear that, Simon? Ms. Martin's still asking if she did something wrong. What do you have to say now? Start talking. Why did you do it? Did you have some kind of issue with her or those students?"

I kept my eyes on Natalie. I waited until her sobbing eased before I answered.

"An issue? No. There wasn't one. I was jealous of her."

I said it like it didn't matter.

"I spent more than ten years stuck teaching the regular track, and she walks in and gets handed the honors class. She's young, attractive, and knows how to win students over. Even my own daughter…"

I gave a quiet, humorless laugh.

"I raised Holly for 18 years, and suddenly everything was 'Ms. Martin said this,' and 'Ms. Martin taught that.' Ms. Martin became her role model. So what does that make me? I'm her father. I'm supposed to be the one shaping her life.

"I filed those ten lawsuits because I couldn't stand her act. I hated seeing her students succeed. I hated that she took my daughter away from me. That enough of a reason?"

Dylan stared at me. "So you killed them?"

"Yeah. I didn't like them, so I killed them. That way, her results disappear."

"Jesus! You're insane!" He lost it then, pointing at me as he cursed.

I looked at him and laughed. "Yeah. I'm a lunatic. I'll take responsibility for every one of them. But even a lunatic gets a lawyer. I want one."

For a second, it looked like he might actually swing at me. Instead, he jerked his hand toward the officer beside him.

"Process it. Call legal aid."

The paperwork moved fast.

By the time they escorted me out, the station entrance was packed with parents and reporters. The barricades were barely holding.

"Simon! Give me back my daughter! She got into Arlington State!"

"Give him the death penalty! Execute him!"

"You animal! How could you do this? My daughter stayed at your house. She and Holly were best friends!"

Right. Eliza Patel's mother.

They pushed me toward the car, and I paused just long enough to speak.

"I remember the day Eliza came over. The first thing she did was greet me, sweet as anything. After dinner, she insisted on helping with the dishes. So when I strangled her, I used as much force as I could. Made it faster for her."

"You piece of…" She pointed at me, choking on her words, then dropped where she stood.

"That's not true! Mr. Rivera wouldn't do something like that!"

The crowd parted as a few of my students pushed their way through.

"Mr. Rivera, why are you saying this? You're not like this! You've always been good to us. The school asked you to take the honors class, and you turned it down. You said we needed you more. How could you kill anyone?"

"Yeah! When we didn't understand something, you answered, no matter how late it was. You'd explain everything. You were so patient. How could you do this?"

I let out a low laugh.

"I changed my mind.

"I regret not taking the honors class. What's the point of teaching you? No matter how much effort I put in, you're still dead weight. You don't even come close to those top students.

"So I killed them. I killed Ms. Martin's prized students and ruined everything she built."

I glanced at them.

"As for you… You're not even worth the trouble."

I was shoved into the car before I could say more.

The door slammed, cutting off the noise outside. The two officers beside me looked at me like they wanted to put a bullet in my head.

In the jail, a couple of legal aid lawyers sat across from me, all of them avoiding eye contact. No one wanted to touch this case. No one wanted to defend a man who had killed 40 people.

I scanned the room and settled on the youngest.

The second our eyes met, he flinched and started to refuse.

"I won't…"

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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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