The bell rang, and seven-year-old Leo shuffled into his classroom, clutching his favorite blue backpack. Today was his second week in a class taught by Mr. Bot, an AI robot teacher. His parents had been excited about the idea, but Leo wasn’t so sure. He missed the jokes that human teachers made, but he had to admit, Mr. Bot had an impressive way of explaining math, making it seem less scary and more like solving a fun puzzle.

As Leo took his seat, he spotted Lily, the girl with the yellow bow in her hair. She sat two rows over, giggling with her friends. Leo smiled shyly but quickly looked down, focusing on pulling out his notebook. Maybe one day, he’d get the courage to talk to her.

“Good morning, class,” Mr. Bot greeted, its digital eyes lighting up. “Today, we’re going to learn about fractions. Don’t worry! It’s going to be fun.”

Leo listened carefully as Mr. Bot projected colorful pizzas onto the smartboard, each divided into different slices. “What’s one-half of this pizza, Leo?” Mr. Bot asked, turning its glowing eyes toward him.

Leo gulped. He wasn’t sure about fractions yet, but he took a deep breath and pointed to the screen. “That one?”

“Correct! Great job,” Mr. Bot responded, its digital voice warm and encouraging. A small badge popped up on Leo’s screen: Pizza Pro. Leo felt a rush of pride. He liked how Mr. Bot gave out fun badges whenever a student mastered a concept.

Halfway through the lesson, Mr. Bot had the class pair up for a math game. Leo hesitated, glancing around. To his surprise, Lily turned and smiled at him. “Wanna be my partner?” she asked.

Leo blinked, his heart racing, but he nodded quickly. “Uh, sure.”

The two worked together, solving problems and collecting digital stars as they played the game. Every time they got a question right, Lily cheered, and Leo found himself laughing along with her. Mr. Bot occasionally chimed in with tips, keeping the game going smoothly.

After class, Leo felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see his mom, who was waiting by the door to walk him home.

“How was your day, kiddo?” she asked as they stepped outside.

“It was good, Mom! I got a badge for fractions,” Leo said, excitement bubbling up. “And Lily was my partner! We got a bunch of stars together.”

His mom smiled warmly. “That’s great, Leo! Sounds like Mr. Bot is helping you learn a lot.”

Leo nodded, his steps lighter than they had been that morning. Maybe having a robot teacher wasn’t so bad after all. Mr. Bot made learning fun, and who knew? Maybe tomorrow he’d sit next to Lily again.