Two days later, after not much rest, it began. Reed had been dreading it. He hadn't had to sit in one of these lecture room set-ups since the academy. The majority of his actual job had been work based assessments and written assignments he could complete at home. He'd bought new notebooks for Connor's training. One for each class. He also had three pens, just in case. He was feeling jittery already as he entered early and found a seat on the far aisle where he wouldn't be bothered. He sat close to the back, but not in the last row. He didn't want to draw attention to himself like that. He was relieved when Tina showed up shortly after, carrying a second cup in her hand.

"Thought I'd find you here. Oh look, you saved me a spot!" she added almost teasingly as she slid into the plastic seat beside him. The chairs weren't great. They were large plastic hulks with metal supported armrests, one of which had a cheap flip table attached. Reed had his set up already, tapping his notebook impatiently with the end of his blue biro. He felt his heart rate pick up as more people gradually filed in. He recognised a lot of them. They were all people he used to see regularly when meeting up with AAL members. Some of them were like him, and had cut ties with the new direction the group had taken, but others, he was pretty sure, still went to meetings. They wouldn't be sacked without proof though, and they weren't paid members or anything. The AAL knew they had to hide that sort of thing for members with sensitive positions.

"This is such bullshit! As if I give a shit about integrating with these glorified hunks of metal!" a low male voice grumbled to his companion with a scoff. They were sitting somewhere behind Reed, and he couldn't help the way his own jaw tightened at those words. They were words he probably would have spoken himself not so long ago. Back before he'd watched the revolution unfold. Before blue had stained the snow. Before he'd watched humans beating defenceless androids mercilessly. Before he'd actually looked into Connor's warm hazel eyes and seen the life glittering back at him clear as day.

"Grin and bear it, man, just grin and bear it. We come in, we play nice, we write a few essays. Easy!" his friend replied haughtily, which was probably a view that a lot of the others in this room shared. Reed slipped a little lower in his seat, almost slumping. Tina distracted him with a little idle chit-chat until the room was full and the lecture began. Reed's leg bounced as he tapped his pen, trying hard to focus on the android speaking at the front. She'd been a domestic model before, but he couldn't think of a number. They'd been pretty common a couple years back as the hot new thing for suburban homes. She was telling them about...something. Reed winced, sighing in frustration. There was just too much.

There was light shining in from outside. Too bright. It caught his eyes as it glinted on the shiny silver frames of the chairs. The dim PowerPoint display was slightly out of focus. The fuzz of the lettering bothered Reed's eyes. He couldn't even make it clear when he squinted. People were talking quietly or scribbling notes with deafening scratches. There was constant movement at the corner of his eye. People tapped their feet and scraped their chairs. He looked around. So many people were watching the lecture, but many weren't even bothering to write notes. Tina was busy beside him, her deep brown eyes constantly darting between the board and her notebook. Reed looked at his own mostly blank page and cursed under his breath.

"Is there a problem, Detective?" the android asked in a clear voice. He could tell she was annoyed. Hell, he'd be annoyed, too. He just couldn't sit still and focus. Not for five minutes. Reed shook his head stiffly and waved her to continue, crossing his legs and hunkering lower in his seat . She gave him a small frown of something like disdain before continuing. He hadn't noticed that Connor had slipped into the room and was currently watching everyone. He was assessing them. Recording who was taking it seriously and who wasn't. His eyes were drawn to Reed more than once. He could tell something was off. It intrigued him. He seemed agitated.

"T...T, can you keep a lookout?" Reed asked quietly as he finally had enough, glancing at the lecturer to make sure she wasn't looking their way. Tina nodded quietly in understanding as he shifted comfortably and settled his head on one arm. Connor watched, slightly incredulous at first. Part of him wasn't surprised at Reed seemingly settling down to take a nap in class. However, from what he'd seen of Reed over the past few weeks, he'd been so serious about his job that he'd thought he would take this seriously. Reed wasn't stupid. He knew these assessments could lead to dismissal if they weren't taken seriously. He monitored Reed's vitals as he continued to scan the room.

Reed sighed inwardly, suddenly feeling the tension leaving his body. He'd needed this. The peace. Shutting it out. Not seeing. He focused on his breathing a little before he tilted his head and listened. Really listened. He reached beyond the tapping and scratching and he could finally hear her. He found himself rapt with attention. She was talking about bullying in the workplace, and how many of her kind were treated. Dealing with the police force in particular, she talked about how humans often saw their lives as being worth less.

"Hah! Worthless, more like!" a quiet voice behind him snickered. Something spiked in Reed's chest at the interruption. I was phcking listening! The android paused for an instant. Reed wasn't sure what she was doing, but he guessed she was likely levelling a look at whoever had spoken up behind him. Android hearing. Couldn't be beat. She continued a little stiffly. Reed could hear it in her voice. The sting she'd felt at those words. They were words that had probably followed her, and others like her, for the past few months. Hell, even before that they were treated like shit! They just didn't know any better...

Connor flagged the two officers sitting behind Reed and Tina Chen. They didn't even try to hide their bias. Either they hadn't noticed Connor, or they didn't expect to be called out on it. How wrong they were. The puzzling one was Reed. He was openly slumped on his small flip table, fingers only loosely holding his pen as he rested his hand on his leg, but his vitals were active. He was more active than he'd been all lecture. He watched Tina kick his foot as the speaker levelled her sharp gaze at him. Reed opened his eyes and raised his head almost sheepishly, knowing the android's soft brown eyes would be staring at him.

"Are you with us, Detective?" she asked in an almost annoyed tone. Connor couldn't blame her. She could hear just as well as he could the things people were saying. It just so happened that Reed had made himself an easy target by appearing to be asleep. The domestic model didn't have the same scanning abilities as Connor. She didn't know that, although he'd appeared to be resting, he was actually very much alert.

"Yeah, sorry. I was listening," Reed replied honestly, though the snickers of those behind suggested they didn't believe him. Honestly, Connor wouldn't have believed it himself without his scanning abilities. He watched Reed sit back, making himself appear smaller. He was likely embarrassed by the attention. He was almost squirming in his seat.

"Well, perhaps you could pay attention with your eyes open this time," the android added in a tone that suggested disbelief. Connor winced inwardly. The words had hit Reed somewhere. He had an almost sad look in his eyes. A look that told Connor he'd heard those words before. That he'd been in this situation before. Intrigued, Connor brought up Reed's personnel file and began scanning through it. It had information about his academy days and, as he'd suspected, he'd been written up multiple times for lack of attention during class. Curious...

Connor was lucky that he had so much processing power because, without it, he would have been unable to complete two tasks at once. Detective Reed was fascinating, and he felt the need to keep one eye upon him at all times. He was able to keep track of everyone else at the same time with his advanced sensors. Rooting out those unsuitable for the new and fully integrated DPD that was soon to become the norm. Reed was becoming increasingly agitated. He'd never seen him act like this. At his desk, working on cases, he'd lose himself for hours in emails and files, but putting him in a classroom setting had completely thrown him. His eyes wandered endlessly, and with it, his attention. He was more nervous, tapping his heel and bouncing his leg. He would fidget in his seat, much to the annoyance of the speaker. Had he anticipated this reaction, there was no way he would have placed Reed in these classes. He was slowly pushing his own stress level up, fully aware that he couldn't concentrate, but also knowing that he had to. It was like he was stuck in the human version of a feedback loop.

Reed seemed both relieved and upset once the class ended. He ruffled his own hair roughly before getting to his feet and working his way out. He barely said two words to Tina before stomping off in a different direction. Not towards the bullpen. Curious...Connor watched him storming down the corridor with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. He seemed to be heading to the gymnasium, likely to vent his frustration. Connor would have followed to appease his own curiosity if not for the frustrated presence that appeared behind him.

"I can't believe you actually want us to work with these humans!" the AX400 android stated with a look of contempt. Connor gave her a sympathetic smile. This hadn't been the best group of people to educate. He knew that. A lot of the officers who could have turned up voluntarily had chosen not to. That meant that most of those present were android haters being assessed for their suitability to remain with the DPD. Of course she'd had a hard time completing her lecture. She'd done remarkably well considering the amount of sarcastic comments and snide remarks.

"Believe me, many of them are not so hostile. As I said, these classes are for re-education purposes, and also rooting out those unsuitable to continue working here. I have compiled a list of those for dismissal, if you would like to give more input?" he offered as he held out a hand to interface. The AX400 withdrew the pale skin of her hand and accepted the link. It was fairly quick, and after a few short blinks, she quirked an eyebrow in disbelief. She agreed with his list, but she couldn't help but notice one obvious name was missing.

"Why is Detective Reed not on your list for dismissal? He clearly had no interest in paying attention!" She was surprised as Connor disagreed, though he couldn't fully explain his reasoning yet. They said a few more words before parting ways. The next class would begin in just under an hour, and Connor wanted to be in the room watching. He knew Reed would show up, no matter how he was feeling. Reed was always there when it was work related.