text: [Themes: modern, drama]
  
  You're not overly trusting of technology after one of your conference calls nearly dropped out today, and for all you know the GPS could send you to the wrong side of the city. You recall that time one of those darn devices looped your aunt around a Reserve! So you offer Dawn a lift to the party, which she gratefully accepts.
  
  Buckling her seatbelt, Dawn keenly directs 'I've been there for a wedding before, it's quite a simple route, you turn on the motorway and...' before you calm her down.
  
  'Easy there, just direct me one turn at a time. I've had a very hard day at work and need to chill out a little!'
  
  Dawn nods in comprehension, agreeing 'Sure, my brain is still in math-solving mode, I guess I can take a breather for now.'
  
  You follow her instructions and while on the motorway you engage in some small talk, with Dawn mostly pontificating about her math students and why she got into tutoring in the first place. You mainly listen as you need all the energy you can muster to focus on the road ahead.
  
  Dawn directs you to a car park a few buildings from the party venue, which you find to be a large football club with a bar and stage. You walk inside and locate a spare seat beside James, who is flanked by your manager Ray. Still finding your bearings, you calmly occupy the seat and start conversing about good times long gone at high school.
  
  'You know, I already wanted to get into school tuition years before I graduated', James shares with you while Ray orders from one of the barmaids. 'That's what spurred me for those final exams. Originally I went into this business for the good rate coaching grants, but then I appreciated how my earnings would be far greater as the CEO of a large company. It burns up all my time, but I've grown to like directing the business while Ray manages the human resources.'
  
  You've never organised something from a position of power, so you just listen and attempt to relate as he continues discussing the company. He finishes with 'You can ease up friend, we're not at work so you don't have to treat me as your superior!' and smiles as he graces the stage, open microphone in hand.
  
  You notice Ray sit down with his gin martini, watching James in anticipation of his speech. However James is still sorting his notes and adjusting the wooden stand on the stage, presenting you a chance to talk to Ray if you wish, although you can't think of anything profound to say to him. You're afraid he'll scoff at your attempt to chit chat because he's so factual at work, though perhaps that's only a persona.
  
  > ignore Ray
  You don't have something useful to say, so you won't say anything at all. You watch James collect himself and as the spotlight illuminates him, he begins his speech.
  
  'Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the 2014 Tuition Party!' The crowd (i.e. the 2014 Tuition employees) start cheering before James hushes them and continues his pitch.
  
  'It's been a very successful year at 2014 Tuition - we have more students than ever, a diligent team of tutors, and most of our proteges are performing in the highest percentiles in exams! So can anyone tell me why our company is trumping the other local companies hands down?
  
  The group remain silent, afraid of insulting the CEO, when Ray shouts 'The tutors!'
  
  'Thank you Ray, indeed it is because we have the best tutors - you blokes and girls - that our company grows! You all bring a unique passion to your coaching, and cultivate that keenness in your students to practice deliberately and thus succeed in their exams. We instill qualities in our students that carry over to their other endeavours.'
  
  At this point you notice a few of the company's most promising students behind the stage curtain, and soon they briefly make motivational testimonials onstage about the company before departing.
  
  'Now I have an important announcement to make.'
  
  That captured everyone's attention.
  
  'Starting tomorrow, we will be enriching your rosters with a groundbreaking service - coaching math over the internet from your home! Furthermore, there are countless rural schools without a qualified local math teacher, and with our new internet class coaching, we will not only reach out to the community, but expand our business and raise your wages!'
  
  At this point everyone stands and cheers, many pumping their fists in the electrified air. You're starting to wonder if James is Elvis Presley reincarnated, when out pops another startling announcement..
  
  'What gave birth to this idea? The ball started rolling when one of my employees made a suggestion to our second in command Ray, who liked the idea so much he propagated it to me!'
  
  You're starting to think he's referring to you! No, it can't be! You wonder what will happen next.
  
  James looks your way as he projects 'Now I'd like to call our innovative staff member up to the stage to say a few words!' Yep, he's referring to you.
  
  You really have no idea what to say. You didn't even realise you were meant to be speaking tonight. You reach the stage looking white as a ghost with nerves.
  
  James unperturbedly proceeds 'Tell me, how did you come up with this idea?'
  
  You pause, staring into the crowd with your bloodshot eyes. It's been a very long day and you can't even remember anything from the morning.
  
  'Planet Earth calling! (chuckles) What made you push this idea of expanding to flexible internet lessons?'
  
  You eventually stammer 'I just wanted to spend more time at home and I did that by asking to coach my internet students from my place. It works just as well as face-to-face lessons.'
  
  That was a fairly honest answer, and yet you check Ray's face for approval. He is frowning, as though you didn't say the right thing. James pauses awkwardly for a few moments before speaking.
  
  'All right, thank you very much, now please return to your seat', which you promptly do. After this he calls everyone to a toast.
  
  With the speech over, you expected James and Ray to continue to talk to you, after all they gave you credit for the concept, however they disappear for the rest of the night, leaving you to find someone else to talk to. You have a somewhat interesting conversation with one of the female students, who hid and waited for James and Ray to leave before returning to the party, but quickly get bored and drive back home.
  
  It's not long before sleep takes you over...
  
  > A New Day
  You arrive at work the next day to find some major changes. First, there are a lot less people tutoring in the rooms at once. You also notice that a writer is sitting at your usual deck, ironing out a curriculum to help bridge the big jump from Year 10 to Year 11 Algebra.
  
  You find Ray and ask him what exactly is going on. 'You see, I already noticed that you were getting a bit jaded working with students face-to-face. You were basically doing it just for the money.'
  
  You don't like where this is going...
  
  'In spite of this, you've been a very successful tutor for us however, and your students have performed exceedingly well. I thought that your talents may be put to the best use helping a larger number of people. So you will be our primary tutor for our new school class program, over the internet.'
  
  You don't know what to say at first. You inquire 'And how many schools will I be coaching?'.
  
  'We don't have a lot now, currently just four rural schools, however we expect a lot more schools to take this opportunity, so there's the potential for you to learn quite a lot of money. I hope you like your new job.'
  
  You kindly thank him for this opportunity and get to work right away. It is certainly a different experience having to control a large group, and at first you have some difficulty keeping the class's focus. Somehow the kids tend to goof off more when the authority isn't actually in the room.
  
  After about a month of this new line of work, you get the curious idea that your students may be more obedient to what they believe to be a machine. You get your act ready by getting Daniel to design a program that distorts your voice to sound like a machine, including a special sound adjustment device. You emphasise 'Those kids aren't going to muck around on my watch anymore!'.
  
  The plan works quite well, and the kids are quite terrified of this 'perfect' math robot who catches them whenever they lose focus. Your classes become very well behaved, and you make them work harder outside of class by teasing them, shouting when a class member answers one of your questions wrong. In the present era it would almost be considered abuse, but the kids don't report anything as they believe the lie that a machine has been programmed to instruct them.
  
  It transpires that this twisted persona carries over to your real life, as you begin teasing your friends with various taunting techniques you practised on the kids. Eventually you even start to give Kim and your parents a hard time purely for the sake of it. Eventually your friends desert you, calling you an unpleasant, malevolent and unkind person, and Kim gets sick of your verbal mind games and ends your relationship. Somehow you don't even care, all you need is the schadenfreude from your students' torment.
  
  You live out your life as this tormenting math teacher, and get nicknamed 'The Iron Fist' by students and teachers alike. Eventually you realise that your whole life was hollow and while your students were extremely successful, you lost the pride in your work and your former pleasure in your students' successes, which could not be satisfactorily replaced.