I’m trying my best, honestly, I am, but the thought of the impending treatment is in the back of my mind for the next couple of days, even though I know I have no control.

Mainly, this is a problem with having nothing to do, no meaningful tasks to occupy my mind and still three weeks before the unofficial end of summer and the start of my new life as a trainee teacher.

I was accepted for the job without an interview, or any communication. As I told Jack and Peter, I think there is a lot of AI-to-AI communication going on that we know nothing about. We just see the effects and wonder if it was all a coincidence.

The day after my therapy session, I get a call from Adam Cottier, the head teacher at the middle school. We have a brief chat and he invites me down to the school for a brief reminder of the layout and to meet a few of the other staff members. I vaguely remember his name. It has, after all, only been four years since I was in middle school and he must have been one of the teachers there at that time, even if he wasn’t the head then.

He tells me that there won’t be all that many staff members at work, as the still-traditional long summer break is very much ongoing, but there are always a few teachers preparing for the new term or catching up on paperwork and there’s a bit of summer-school happening as well.

Yes, I know I was a student here for four years, but I still feel very anxious when I arrive. I’m going in through the front doors, not the student entrances, and I’m going in as the newest member of staff. I stand outside, still a little anxious and uncertain.

“Oh, hey Nick!” a somewhat familiar voice from behind me calls. “I didn’t know you wanted to be a teacher?”

“Oh, hi Tony.” I recognise a schoolmate who I know a little from a couple of shared subjects. “I didn’t know, either. Blame the AIs!”

“Well, it’s good to see a familiar face on my first day. You seem nervous. Were you just going to stand here for the rest of the day?”

“Oh, I am nervous. You have no idea. But I’m ready to come inside now.”

“So, Nick, what are you going to teach?”

“History, what about you?”

“Science. Mostly Chemistry, but it’s more general here in middle school, isn’t it.”

“Yeah, from what I remember. I hated science.”

A short, slim, dark-complexioned man in his forties is standing in the reception area as we both walk in and I now do indeed recognise Mr Cottier.

“Good morning, gentlemen. I’m assuming you two know each other? I’m Adam. I remember you, Tony. You’ve not changed very much and I think I taught you in some of my classes. That means that you,” now he turns in my direction, “You must be Nick. My apologies for not recognising or remembering you.”

“No need to apologise, Mr Cottier, we didn’t have any classes and I was always hiding in a corner anyway.”

“It’s Adam, Nick. I know it can take a little getting used to, and I was exactly the same as you are today when I first started, but you are now part of the staff and we are on first-name terms. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

“Eventually!”

“Actually, sooner than you might think. Anyway, let me show the two of you around and introduce you to the few staff who are on-site today. There will be a proper full-scale staff meeting about a week before term starts and we’ll do official introductions then, but you might as well start to get to know people right away.”

“Are there just the two of us starting this year?” Tony asks as we walk deeper into the building.

“Yes. Even having two new teachers is quite uncommon. I think it will actually benefit you both. You’ll be able to help one another if you have any issues.”

“Yes,” I tell him. “It was good to meet a familiar face at the door.”

The morning passes in a pretty enjoyable blur. We are introduced to a few other teachers in the staff room and look quickly into a couple of classrooms where summer-school is in full swing. Most of the building is familiar enough, coming back to me from my time here as a student.

Adam outlines the basics of our first few months. Lots of study to begin with, but also a start to what will become many months of sitting-in at the back of class while we absorb what teaching is all about from a different perspective. We’ll be encouraged to help students, answer questions when we can and just be seen.

Apparently, at the start of our second year, we will have to spend a couple of months at a dedicated training college in Scotland, a requirement if we are to have a formal qualification to be a teacher.

Adam is keen to point out that quite a lot of our studies will be in things far removed from our primary subjects. “There’s a lot of law, I’m afraid.” He looks like this isn’t his favourite part of the job. “Worse for me, but you still need to know everything about the legalities of being in charge of the students. We take our safeguarding responsibilities very seriously here and the safety and security of our students always comes first.”

I think the two of us both look a little concerned, because Paul feels he needs to continue. “No, it’s not that bad, just mostly common sense. But someone does have to explain to you just how best to deal with a student who has a crush on you, or how to stop two kids fighting. There are rules, procedures and, I’m sorry to say, paperwork.”

As we make our way back to the foyer, Adam hands us each a key-card. “You should never need these. The main doors are controlled by AI cameras and you’ll always be given access, but if the system stops working, for whatever reason, then these keys will always work. You are members of the faculty now and are free to use the library and terminals at any time.”

We stop briefly on the steps outside and both Tony and I shake Adam’s hand.

“Now, enjoy the rest of your summer and I’ll see you both a week before the start of term.”

When I walk breezily into the kitchen on Saturday morning, in plenty of time to join Mum and Dad for breakfast, there are a couple of obvious looks of surprise.

“Morning Nick,” Mum chirps. “Did you have a good night’s sleep?”

“Yes, I slept like a log. Actually, I was having the most wonderful dream and I just felt so… Oh, fuck!”

“Nick!” both Mum and Dad shout at exactly the same time.

“Sorry. I know I shouldn’t swear. I think I must have had a treatment last night and I was really shocked.”

“Okay, son. We understand,” Dad says. “But you do know that we don’t swear in the house. And, yes, we both do swear at times, just like you. Just try and be careful. You won’t be able to swear in front of a class of twelve-year-olds.”

“What makes you think you’ve had a treatment?” Mum asks.

“Well, Paul mentioned that nice dreams were often a side-effect and I don’t often remember my dreams, but I remember the one I had last night really clearly.”

“Okay, it must feel good to get the treatment started.” Dad says carefully.

“Actually, I feel… I feel amazing. I can’t explain, I just feel more… Well, more relaxed, more rested, more content. More everything.”

“It can’t work that quickly, can it?” Mum asks.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to run with it. I’ll probably keep running until it wears off.”

When Peter arrives in the cab outside about an hour later, I’m still buzzing and, as he takes my hand, I haul him out onto the pavement. “Driver, please wait for us.”

“Morning. Did you forget something?” Peter asks.

“No, come in for a moment and meet my parents.”

“Any particular reason?”

“Well, they want to meet you. They want us to have a meal, but I want to just make the introductions right now.”

“Okay, sure.” Peter lets me draw him towards the house and in to the kitchen. Mum and Dad both look a bit puzzled by my re-appearance.

“Mum, Dad, this is Peter. Peter Corlett.” As Peter reaches out to shake hands with Dad, I continue the formal introductions. “Peter, these are my parents, Juan and Maureen.” Juan is a traditional Manx first name and it is pronounced more like ‘joo-an’, not ‘huan’ like you might in a Spanish-speaking country.

Everyone mumbles “pleased to meet you” or some variation and all look a little non-plussed.

“Right,” I say into the growing silence. “We’re off for our workout now. I’ll arrange a day for supper. See you later.” I grab Peter’s hand again and haul him quickly back to the waiting cab.

Once in the cab, moving off down the street, I let out a huge sigh. Peter puts his arm around my shoulder and kisses me gently on the cheek. “Nick, are you okay?”

“Yes,” I mumble. “I think I had a treatment overnight and I’m buzzing.”

“Oh, that would explain a lot. Introductions to your parents, the high energy, everything really.”

“Where are we going today?”

“Oh, a short drive, but a long walk. I thought we might walk along the coast to the lighthouse in Maughold. It’s not such a hard climb, but quite a long walk.”

“That sounds nice. The views must be spectacular.”

“They are. Out from the pier is about four kilometres, but we can get a cab from the village so we don’t have to walk back.”

“I trust you, so lead on.”

Once again, I really enjoy the walk. I sometimes wonder why I never came out to these places myself. There was nothing stopping me, just the fact that, as a family, we never really did much walking in the countryside. It is clear, however, that most people are just like I used to be. The coastal footpath is all but deserted. We meet a couple out with their dog at Port Lewaigue, but, once clear of the houses along the first kilometre or so, the rest of the walk is just the two of us.

Peter holds my hand the whole time, pulling me into a long kiss whenever we stop to admire the view or catch our breaths. As we move closer to our destination, our kissing sessions become steadily longer and deeper.

Finally, at the lookout above the lighthouse, we sit, shoulders touching on one of the benches. When Peter seems like he might be content to sit and hold hands, I move and sit myself sideways across his lap, placing my arm around his neck and initiating another long kiss.

“Nick, are you sure that everything is really okay?” he murmurs between kisses. “You seem to be so much more, well you know, more vibrant today.”

“Hmm… Move your hand a little lower.” I hum.

“This hand?” he asks, as the hand on my back moves slowly down to rub over my arse.

“Hmm…”

This is growing a little more intimate than I thought I was ready for. What exactly did the AI treat me for last night. I feel freer, more confident and more relaxed that I have ever felt before. I’m not quite losing my self-control, but there’s a definite release of tension that’s wonderful.

Our kisses are becoming more passionate, mouths open and tongues exploring. Our hands are similarly wandering, over areas that, just a day before I would have considered out of bounds.

I’m becoming aware of an odd pressure in the side of my leg, one that feels very similar to the pressure I feel inside my trousers.

“Peter?”

“Hmm…”

“Are you hard?”

“Hmm…”

I take his hand in mine and guide it down towards my groin, placing it lightly on the fly of my jeans and my own obvious bulge. “Me too.” He moves his hand lightly across me, experimentally. I shiver involuntarily at the touch, arousal pulsing through me.

“We need to go somewhere,” I whisper.

“My apartment?”

“Wait, you have your own apartment? I had no idea. Peter, why did I not know this?”

“Probably because you never asked.”

“I’d like to see it.”

“We’re not going too fast? Are you genuinely okay with this?”

“Peter, call a cab so it will be there when we get down to the village.”

“Nick, I’m trying to be serious.”

“I know, and that’s one of the reasons why I love you. Oh, shit!”

“What did you just say?” His smile beams and his brilliant eyes are twinkling with suppressed delight.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.”

“Nick!” Peter grabs both my hands and holds on tight. “Say it again.”

“I love you?”

“Why did you make that a question?”

“I don’t know. Probably because it feels too soon.”

“It’s not. I love you too.”

“Right.” I know I’m turning bright red; I’m still aroused and I’m shaking like a leaf in the breeze, but somehow, I don’t care. “Your apartment, right now. I’m not promising anything, but I need to be alone with you. Immediately.”

“Nick, what’s happening here?”

“I have no idea. I think the treatment must be working better than I ever expected. I have a sudden feeling of confidence that’s almost overwhelming. Let’s make the most of it, in case it wears off.”