Playing Dumb [Open]

[michael]

The teacher droned on. Michael was paying so little attention, he hardly remembered what subject he was in. But, he did know, his mechanical mind wouldn't let him forget. History. That was something else he couldn't forget. And so as the teacher spoke about the fuedal system and medieval Europe, the Chee let his thoughts wander.

His hologram showed his head resting upon the palm of his hand as he looked out the window, automatically adjusting the hologram to match his own movements as he watched the true lifeforms of the planet, birds, squirrels, plants...things that lived and died. He'd been around for millenia, never changing, simply adjusting an artificial image of himself.

"Mr. King," The teacher folded her arms across her chest as she noticed his inattentiveness, "What was the lowest rung on the fuedal social structure?"

"Surf." Michael answered automatically, his attention never wavering from outside the window. That was, of course, the class he had been. Always, it seemed, the Chee had been lowly in their human illusion. Slaves in Egypt, surfs in Medieval England...Middle Class America was a nice change.

[Carson Berenson]

Carson sat in the back, not paying too much attention as the teacher spoke. The teacher asked a student what the lowest rung on the fuedal social structure and he heard the answer, but didn't write it down. Of course, part of that was because it was the first class in the morning. He wished it wasn't set up the way it had been, his schedule, but it had. Now he had to live with it.
The teacher continued droning and he tried really hard to pay attention.

[michael]

Michael wasn't even trying. He glanced at the teacher from the corner of his gaze, and saw her regarding him as though he must have somehow cheated to know the answer. He turned to face her, knowing he should have gotten the answer wrong, as most normal boys that hadn't been focused on the class would have.

"I'm sorry..." He asked innocently enough, 'Is that wrong, Ms. Carmike?"

She continued to wonder how he ha managed to cheat his way to the right answer, this boy who never seemed to pay attention, but so often had the answers when asked, and always seemed to pass his tests with flying colors, "No, you're correct."

After a few moments she returned to her lecture, and Michael tried his best to pretend to pay attention. Surfs and lords and kings and queens, dukes and earls and parcels of land. He'd heard it all countless times in lectures. He'd lived it. He was tired of it. His eyes began to roam the classroom, though his hologram stared straight at the teacher. His gaze landed on Carson. He knew well whose son the boy was, though over time the Chee had fallen out f contact with the Animorphs. It seemed this human teen was having as much trouble focusing as he was.

[Carson Berenson]

Carson saw Michael look at him, but didn't say much about it. In fact, he didn't say anything at all. He figured he was just looking around the area. Carson felt his eye lids droop but then snapped them back open.

[michael]

Michael sensed that Carson knew he was looking at him. The android turned his head away, looking instead at the teacher, who sounded almost as bored as he felt. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly lunch time. He would have to eat, whether or not he could actually use the food. It was part of his illusion. He let out a sigh as the seconds ticked by.