It's coming up to eight in the morning and fifteen-year old Evie is yawning, as usual, as she ambles along to a desk in the Goodman room. It's a slightly earlier start than normal today because Professor Mbago's engineering lesson is starting at 9am East African time.

Of course, she could have arranged her daily schedule to view it later, but she wants to get away earlier this evening to hang out with Oscar. Despite the early start, this way also means that she'll have less work to do overall since she'll be able to ask questions and chat with her classmates if she needs to.

Outside in the quad she can see her younger brother poking desultorily at one of the school's vegetable patches. He'd be the first to admit that he didn't have the greenest of fingers, which made it particularly strange that he should have elected to take the gardening option this term.

Secretly Evie thought that it was probably because he couldn't stand the alternative on offer - the energy generation team - which involved a few heights… still, it's never something he would admit to.

She takes a free place at the desk next to Patsy who is catching-up on Miss Stevens's atmospheric science lesson from yesterday. Typing her password into the desk brings up her user space on the paper-thin transparent screen in front of her.

School machines have a lot of social functions disabled during lesson periods, but she can still see where the members of her network are at the moment and what they're up to. Tapping her brothers icon she sends him some gardening tips, and is delighted to receive an irate response moments later.

Shortly afterwards Prof. Mbago's lesson begins, and Evie's network map alters to include the class members. She's pleased to see that Alethea from Greece and Emefer from Cambodia are with her as well and immediately sets up a video-linked work group with them and Patsy.

As the Professor himself appears on screen alongside the presentation materials for the lesson, Evie spots his wry smile. She knows that he can see her and her work group just as she can see him, and will undoubtedly be monitoring them to make sure that their 'work' doesn't appear to be getting too animated…