That shall unclasp and set me free

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin looked around, her face burning with irritation. She’d been quite content, falling asleep with her arms wrapped tightly around Nick, nestled up close to him. The assassin had been looking forward to waking up in his embrace.

Instead, she found herself here. In a classroom of all places!

And with someone she couldn’t care less about.

“Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin,” Amelia said, pushing up her glasses and looking at the trained killer with a disaffected tone of voice. “It’s time that you and I had a talk.”

The assassin rolled her eyes and gestured to her throat.

Amelia winced. “That… came out poorly,” she admitted, shaking her head. She had difficulties saying what she wanted to say, and the trained killer’s lack of consideration for that wasn’t helping much, either.

But there would be time to discuss that at a later date. For now, she needed to get the naked woman on the same page.

“It’s likely that you were brought here as a result of my transformation,” Amelia said, approaching the other woman. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin took up a defensive stance and narrowed her eyes. She reached to her waist for her umbrella, only to remember that she didn’t actually have one right now.

She was naked, after all.

Amelia sighed, removing her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose. They weren’t going to get anywhere like this.

“Allow me to remind you,” she said, calling up her transformation. There was only one reason she would have woken up in a classroom when she went to bed in her own room just the other day.

Of course, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin couldn’t read it, so that was a problem. Amelia would have to read it out to the trained killer.

• Private Lessons: Once each round, Amelia will find herself waking up alone in the room with another contestant. Neither woman will be allowed to leave the room until Amelia has completed teaching a predetermined lesson, and her student has learned it. [NOTE: Curriculum of the day will be determined by the host.] (Teacher)

“There, you see?” Amelia finished, glancing at the assassin when she was done. “I will be teaching you a lesson today.”

She didn’t know what that lesson was- it would be determined by the host. But judging by who was present, Amelia’s suspicion was that it would likely be…

“You’ve got good instincts, Amelia.”

Amelia glanced over at Dakota and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin jumped back in alarm. Her instincts as an assassin made her overly sensitive to the way the host just tended to pop in on things without warning, catching her by surprise.

Most of the time, in her line of work, that would mean the assassin would be dead. But that certainly wasn’t the case here.

Dakota wore a smirk on her lips, standing in front of the blackboard. Amelia raised her eyebrow as she took in what the host was wearing. Instead of her usual black clothes and gothic dresses, Dakota wore a tight pencil skirt and starched white blouse, and her golden eyes twinkled from behind a pair of glasses. Her pale lips curled up into a grin and she pushed her glasses up her nose.

She was dressed like the iconic sexy teacher she’d brought Amelia onto the show to embody, and Amelia wasn’t thrilled by the mocking display.

“As you suspected, you’re here to teach Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin a very special lesson indeed!” Dakota chirped, gesturing to blackboard. A piece of chalk floated up and began to squeak against the dark surface, etching out the words “Reading is Fundamental!”

Amelia blinked, suppressing her exasperation.

“…Of course.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin obviously couldn’t read it, so she was just confused. With a silent sigh she shook her head and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. Her boobs had grown a little more, thanks to her own transformation.

“So I will be teaching Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin how to read, is that right?” Amelia asked with exasperation, much to the assassin’s alarm.

Her eyes widened and her mouth twisted into a wide “O” shape of shock. She shook her head firmly and stomped her foot. She couldn’t verbalize her protests, but she nearly threw herself across the room to attack the both of them!

Only her better judgment kept her from snapping and doing just that.

“…It would seem that there are some issues in that regard,” Amelia noted, glancing at the assassin. The woman didn’t have to say a word to show just how much she didn’t want to be here right now.

Dakota sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, yes, I am aware,” she scoffed, sauntering over to the naked killer. “Perhaps we need to get her in the mood, hmm?”

She waved her cane and a burst of light engulfed Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, much to the assassin’s surprise. With a silent gasp, the assassin looked down as clothes spread over her body, covering her nudity.

It was a schoolgirl uniform. And while Dakota could have gone all-out with the bimbo clothing, giving the assassin a skimpy outfit that looked like something from a cheap porno, clinging tightly to the assassin’s body and showing a generous amount of cleavage, along with her midriff, she chose not to. Not even a scandalously short skirt! No- the clothes were surprisingly modest.

After all- Nick wasn’t there to be tantalized, so what was the point?

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin took one look at the outfit, and grinned. This wasn’t so bad after all!

“There we go!” Dakota applauded, smirking. “Look at you, all nice and dressed up! Isn’t it cute, being a little schoolgirl? You never got a chance to go to school before, but now’s your opportunity to do so, isn’t that great?”

“Dakota…” Amelia warned her.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s face soured and she glared at the host. Suddenly, she didn’t seem all that happy about her new clothes.

“…But think of it this way! Now you and Kim match!” Dakota quickly pivoted.

The assassin blinked, the anger sliding from her face. That actually did placate her quite a bit, and she smiled and nodded in approval.

Amelia sighed. Well… what else could she do, at this point?

“You realize that teaching someone to read can’t be done in one day, correct?” The teacher asked, looking sharply at Dakota. “It would be a massive endeavor to-”

“Blah, blah, blah,” Dakota interrupted her, rolling her eyes. “Look, I’m the one who sets the conditions here, or have you forgotten? And no, your job isn’t to teach her how to read.”

Amelia blinked. “…It isn’t?” She raised her eyebrow.

Dakota shook her head. “Nope,” she replied. “Let’s start with something basic. How about the ABC’s? Hmm? I mean, it’s not like she can sing along to the song, but-”

“Are you taking this seriously or not?” Amelia demanded, her voice turning icy. “Teaching an adult to read is no laughing matter.”

Dakota’s smile slid off her face, and a vacant, empty glare replaced it.

“I am well aware,” she said coldly. “But that is what you are doing. It’s what Nick wants, after all. For Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin to read.”

The assassin’s eyes widened in surprise and she frowned. A somber expression crossed her face for a second and she looked down. That didn’t go unnoticed by the perceptive teacher. Amelia frowned.

“Let’s put it like this… you don’t need to get her reading Shakespeare,” Dakota assured the teacher, waving her hands. “But it would be very nice if you could open our cute little assassin up to the possibility of learning to read. That’s your condition. …And neither of you can leave until you’re done, alright?”

“Was this the intended purpose of this transformation?” Amelia asked, raising her eyebrow. “I would have expected that this would be used for teaching… other things.”

Dakota blinked, then she smirked. “…Well, yes, in most instances that’s what we’d be doing. But it seems like the audience is beginning to tire of our little assassin expressing herself with only haughty sneers and rolled eyes, so…”

She shrugged.

“…Fine.” Amelia wasn’t thrilled about it, but she didn’t really have a choice, did she? She’d have to go through with this.

The teacher turned to her student, who regarded her with an expression that was a mixture of caution and hostility. She shook her head sharply and narrowed her eyes.

Of course Amelia would have to teach a delinquent student. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was shaping up to be a bigger hassle than Vivian! And Vivian Carrington was one of her most annoying students already.

As Dakota popped out of the classroom (which Amelia noted didn’t have a door) Amelia turned to her newest pupil.

“We should get started, then,” Amelia said, placing her hands on her hips. “If you want to get out of here anytime soon, we must move along.”

She summoned up her riding crop. She hadn’t used it very often since acquiring it, for obvious reasons. But if Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin got too abrasive in her opposition, the teacher would have to do something to keep her in line.

Amelia had no intention of having a brawl over some letters.

Meanwhile, things were in a bit of a tizzy back in the hotel. Everyone had gathered together in the Banquet Hall for breakfast, and comparing notes about what happened.

“I don’t get it, how did Amelia and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin just vanish?” Rose questioned, leaning back in her chair. “What about you, great detective? The assassin was sleeping in your room, wasn’t she? Pick up any clues?”

Mary turned to Rose, not very amused. “And what’s that supposed to mean?” She asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Rose smirked, and shrugged.

“I think it’s her transformation,” Dawn said, recalling one of Amelia’s new transformations. “You know, the one that makes her have to get trapped in a room, teaching a lesson to one of us?”

“Ooooh, yeah! I remember that one!” Vivian chuckled, smirking in amusement. “And here I thought I would be the one Dakota would pair up with Teach, just to upset her!”

She shook her head and sighed. “But this is much more amusing…”

“I kind of feel bad for Amelia,” Dani said, sighing. She couldn’t imagine Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin being a very good student. “Being stuck trying to teach that girl… …Well, anything, really. That would take a lot of patience.”

While a lot of people held a bit of fondness for the assassin, even with her intimidating nature, they could all agree that the woman was very headstrong.

So was Amelia.

It wasn’t going to be fun.

“Are you sure she’s the one who got paired up with my stepmom?” Nick asked. He didn’t like the thought either, and was looking for any bit of hope that couldn’t be the case. “I mean, has anyone seen Sylvia around? Or the twins? Maybe it could be one of them.”

Sylvia, Carly, and Marley were the only girls that weren’t here right now. As far as Nick was aware, they were all still in the Garden Suite.

“She did kind of disappear from your bed, right?” Gina pointed out, raising her eyebrow. “Can you imagine her doing that if Dakota wasn’t involved?”

Sigh. Unfortunately, Gina was right. Nick didn’t want to admit it, but…

“Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin isn’t so bad,” Kim said, coming to the assassin’s defense. “She’s a great girl! She just… has her own way of doing things, that’s all.”

Kim tried to make it sound like it wasn’t that big of a deal.

“Sticking up for your fellow student?” Rose snickered. “Aww, that’s just precious!”

Kim glared at her.

“I, uh… I think maybe it could be a good thing!” Morgana said, looking hopeful. “Maybe they’ll get along really great! And Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin… maybe Amelia might even teach her how to read, what do you think?”

There were a few nods of approval. That was actually a good notion.

“It would make things easier,” Dani agreed. “Communicating with her, I mean.”

Dawn couldn’t agree more. “She does need to know how to read,” she said with a nod. “I’ve been able to get her to do some things she hasn’t wanted to do before, but reading…”

“I just don’t see why she’s so opposed to it,” Mary sighed, shaking her head. “Reading is important! People can learn all about all sorts of different things, and it’s really fun, too! You guys understand, right?” She looked hopefully at the others.

Nick nodded. “Yeah… I understand that,” he agreed. But he looked uncertain. “Still… forcing her to read, when she doesn’t want to… I don’t know.”

There was something about their connection last night, when he was trying to get to know her. Something in her eyes. It made him feel…

…

Well, he didn’t know how he should feel, really. This was new territory for him, after all, and he was worried about the woman’s feelings.

But maybe this would be a good thing.

“EXCUSE ME!”

Nick was shaken from his thoughts by the shout of an unexpected voice. Everyone was surprised, and turned to see Ella, of all people, had spoken up. Before now, she’d been sitting at the end of the table with her head down, not trying to draw attention to herself.

So much for that.

Ella flinched, temporarily stunned by the looks of the others. But she took a deep breath and exhaled, shaking her head.

“It’s just… you know, right?” She said weakly, her amber eyes swimming in her head. “Should we really be talking about someone behind their back like this?”

A hush fell over the table.

“Well… she raises a good point,” Kim agreed. “I know I wouldn’t want someone talking about me behind my back, going over my flaws and the issues they have about me…”

“Me neither…” Morgana’s face burned with shame. She was doing just what the bullies she had feared in high school did, she was a total mean girl!

“But we’re not trying to be malicious,” Dawn pointed out. “We’re concerned about her, that’s all this is.”

That was a valid point. They were coming from a place of caring and consideration. Nick could understand that.

There was a strange tension in the air. Even though nobody said anything, he felt like everybody was looking at him. Waiting for him to say something.

That was something he had to do for himself.

“We should table this for now,” he said, trying to put a bit more **** into his voice. Mary nodded in approval. “It’s not like talking will help anyway,” he continued. “Let’s wait and see what’s going on. And I’ll try to talk to Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin again later. Well, I mean, I say I’m going to talk to her, but…”

He scratched his head and looked sheepish. “You guys know what I mean.”

“Aww, how sweet! Everybody coming together as a group and discussing the things that really matter,” Dakota purred, appearing in the center of the room. She clapped her hands cheerfully.

Nick wasn’t at all surprised that their host had waited until he’d made a decision to pop into the Banquet Hall. She delighted in doing stuff like that.

“Anyway, I thought it would be best to come and make sure everybody was on the same page,” Dakota said, strolling forward. “Yes, you’re right, Amelia and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin are engaging in a little tutoring session right now! And as for how it’s going…”

Amelia looked over the sheet of paper she’d given the assassin. Her face was calm, for the most part.

She raised her head and looked at the assassin. Slowly, she turned the paper back to the assassin so she could see what she’d written.

Or, in this case, drawn.

It was a picture of a middle finger, and a sloppy sketch of Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s face with her tongue sticking out.

The real Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin stuck her tongue out as well in response, and leaned back in her chair.

Amelia didn’t say a word, she just crumpled up the paper and tossed it into the wastepaper basket with an exasperated sigh.

“What will it take for you to take this seriously?” Amelia demanded. It felt like they’d been trapped in here for hours, but obviously that wasn’t the case.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin stuck out her tongue again. How cute.

Amelia’s eye twitched. They weren’t getting anywhere with this.

There has to be some way of motivating her… what could it be? The assassin didn’t seem to want anything. She only cared about Nick, and apparently, being a pain in the ass whenever someone tried to help her with something important.

Like learning to read.

Amelia needed to come up with a new approach.

“And I thought teaching Nicholas how to do algebra was difficult,” she muttered under her breath, massaging her temples in frustration.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s ears perked up. Something that didn’t go unnoticed by Amelia. From the corner of her eye, the teacher could see the trained killer lean in slightly, sucking in a silent breath of air.

Oh? This… I can work with this.

A small smile touched Amelia’s lips. She stroked her chin thoughtfully and stepped forward, standing over the assassin’s seat.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin looked back up at her, an amused smile on her lips. Almost like she was daring the teacher to try something.

“…You have feelings for my stepson, don’t you?” Amelia asked coolly. “Nicholas.”

She knew that had to be the case. She felt a fondness for the assassin, like she was her daughter. And that could only be because the assassin had slept with her stepson.

And she wasn’t exactly shy about her feelings for Nick in public, either.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s eyes widened, and she looked cautiously at Amelia, as if she suspected that the teacher was trying to trick her. Uncertainty burned across her face, and she narrowed her eyes.

“I have a great many stories about Nicholas from when he was a boy,” Amelia continued, pacing in front of the assassin’s desk while never taking her eyes off the girl. “Would you like to hear about them?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin felt like she was trapped, which wasn’t a good feeling. She wanted to hear more, yes. But she knew that, to do that, she would need to make a deal with the teacher.

She would need to learn to read.

What a conundrum.