(Rebecca's POV)
Eleven third-graders file in.
Their teacher — a woman with a lanyard and tired eyes — nods at me like I'm doing her a favor she didn't know she needed.
The docent unlocks the display case. Rolls K2 out onto the floor.
The kids form a half-circle. Too close. Tightening. The fluorescent glare presses down on all of us, and the HVAC hum climbs a half-register I feel in my jaw. The air tastes like floor wax and ozone and hot electrical dust.
Jack stands beside me. His shoulder touches my hip.
I steady.
"This is K2," I say. "It's a medical-assist robot. It helps kids in hospitals."
One boy raises his hand. "What does it do?"
I kneel beside K2. Run my hand over the sensor array.
"It tracks your vitals. Heart rate. Temperature. Oxygen levels."
I tap the wrist sensor. Th
