Chapter 7 · Continued
Chris
The change was subtle but real.
There wasn’t a person within ten feet who wasn’t paying attention.
Cam’s hands tightened slightly around the buggy handle. His gaze moved from the trees to the flowers and then back to Jane.
He was processing.
Adjusting.
Trying.
This time, he didn’t answer immediately. The pause lasted just long enough to stop being funny and become interesting.
“Ohhh, he’s thinking,” someone nearby said.
A few people chuckled.
“Careful,” another voice added. “You’re gonna overheat him.”
The laughter grew, but Cam didn’t react. His attention remained on the plant before deliberately shifting back to Jane.
“I…” he began, then stopped.
His fingers tightened around the buggy handle a fraction too much before correcting themselves.
“I would not—”
His projected face flickered.
No one else appeared to notice, but Jane saw it.
Felt it.
“Come on,” a man said with a grin. “It’s not a trick question.”
“Yeah,” someone else added. “Just pick one, buddy.”
Cam tilted his head as his system processed and rerouted, attempting to settle on an acceptable response.
“…I would not select this plant,” he finally said.
Too formal.
Too clean.
But closer.
“Why not?” the man immediately asked.
Now he was invested.
They all were.
Cam looked at the plant and then at Jane. The flicker returned, stronger this time.
“…It will not—”
He stopped and adjusted his answer.
“…It may not thrive in the intended environment.”
A safe answer.
A corporate answer.
Jane released a quiet breath through her nose, almost laughing but not quite. She slowly returned the plant to the display.
“Yeah,” she said. Then, just loudly enough for Cam to hear clearly, she added, “You used to say, ‘That one’s gonna die.’”
The crowd reacted immediately.
“Oh, that’s much better,” a woman said.
“Yeah, I’d buy that version,” someone else added.
Cam’s grip tightened again and then released. He didn’t look at the crowd or the plants.
He looked at Jane.
This time, he answered a fraction too quickly.
“…It would die.”
Silence held for one beat before the crowd erupted into laughter again.
“Hey! There we go!” the man said. “He’s learning!”
“See? Told you,” someone else chimed in.
Jane didn’t laugh. Her eyes remained sharp and focused on Cam.
That wasn’t learning.
That was him.
“Does it come with a mute button?” a voice from the back called.
More laughter followed.
Jane slowly turned toward the man who had said it.
“Do you?” she asked flatly.
She didn’t raise her voice.
She didn’t need to.