Ms. Perrault must have been running late. At least that was what Jaime thought as he glanced at his watch again and saw that it was now nearly ten minutes after the time class had been supposed to start. Where was she?

...

Wait... he was the TA. Maybe this was a test! Maybe she wanted to see if he was actually doing his job properly! He should... Assist! Somehow!

Except with Cindy not there, it wouldn't really be assisting. Still! It was a responsibility that she'd given him, and he didn't want to fail her. So... time to step up, Jaime...

He stood up awkwardly, wincing at the noise he made as he bumped into his desk while trying to look smooth. "Ahem." That probably would have been less ridiculous if he'd actually cleared his throat. "Um... it seems that Ms. Perrault is running late today," he announced. Then almost facepalmed because everyone could see that. "So... I guess... we'll talk about..." Come on, Jaime, think!

Oh! Good idea time! Jaime whipped out his cell phone.

"I know we talked about modern communication way back at the beginning of the semester, but that's not what I'm holding this thing up for." Jaime grinned. "We're going to talk about portable electronics. Cell phones are one of the most ubiquitous types, and you're all pretty familiar with them by now, I suspect. Some of you might also have digital watches, and I bet you mostly at least know how to operate the remote for a television. There are tons of little things packed full of computer chips and batteries that are an integral part of twenty-first century life."

He pocked his cell phone again and shrugged, looking a bit sheepish. Apparently lecturing wasn't exactly his forte. "I think a lot of it comes down to convenience? It's a lot more convenient to have things you can carry, or at least move, to do the stuff you want to do, you know?"

They knew.

"Anyway... let's talk about some of them, I guess? Like, what's a portable thing you find super-useful, and what's a thing that would be super-useful if there were a portable version?"