The lab smelled faintly of ozone and coffee—Dad's favorite "creative combo," if you asked him. I leaned over the holographic projection of the mansion, eyes glued to the pulsing red square marking the Silver Door. Jayden was beside me, smirking like he knew he'd found my kryptonite.
"You see this?" he whispered, tapping on his phone. The hologram zoomed in, revealing tiny energy signatures around the door, lines of code running in real-time. "Sensors, energy spikes, structural anomalies… very interesting."
"Interesting?" I said, hovering a drone above the hologram. "It's mysterious, Jayden. Extremely mysterious."
"Same thing," he replied, tossing a floating stylus in the air and catching it. "You're just too dramatic for your own good."
I rolled my eyes, swiping at the hologram to highlight different zones. "If you think this is dramatic, wait until Dad catches us snooping around. Rules are rules."
"Strictly rule-abiding," he agreed, grinning. "Except for the part where you snuck into the lab at midnight."
I groaned. "You're impossible."
We worked in a silent rhythm for a while, drones whirring softly as we manipulated holographic screens. Jayden leaned closer, tapping out code, while I guided a miniature mapping drone through the virtual layout of the mansion.
And then… the door burst open.
"Helloooooo, geniuses!"
I jumped. Jayden groaned. Drones scattered like startled birds.
Alex strode in, grin wide, eyes sparkling with mischief. "What's this? Holograms? Drones? Is that the Silver Door? Wait, wait—are those sensors? Oh wow, look at that!"
"Alex—" I started, exasperated.
"Look! You've got the drone going up! Why is it going up? Did it eat breakfast? Is it… hungry? Oh, careful—don't hit the table! Oooh, there it goes—nice flip! Wait, why is it spinning? Spin again! Spin!"
Jayden pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering, "Why is it always him?"
I threw my hands in the air. "Alex! We're trying to be quiet and focused!"That literally not a word Alex knows. It not in his dictionary.
"Focused? Focused is boring!" Alex waved a hand at the hologram. "This is awesome! Look at these lines! Who made the code? Dad? You? Ooh, wait—I know! Did Jayden hack it? Wait, wait—don't tell me! Secrets!"
Jayden sighed dramatically. "I hacked nothing. Stop talking." He's just getting started"I muttered at myself. Who even or what woke him up.
Alex ignored him entirely. "Hey, Kim, does this mean you're going to open the Silver Door? I mean, technically, it's right there—ooh! Could I press a button? Just one? Please?"
"No!" I said firmly. "Rules are rules, Alex!"
"Rules? Rules are suggestions," he countered with a mischievous grin. "You're supposed to bend them! That's why your drones are spinning—they need fun! Right, drones?"
The drones, as if on cue, spun faster and zipped past his head. He ducked, laughing, while I facepalmed and Jayden muttered, "This guy is a frick". Well thank God atleast I'm not the only one who thinks so.
After a minute, Alex finally plopped onto the lab counter, still jabbering. "Okay, okay, fine, don't touch the door. But we can watch the hologram! Oooh, can I highlight the energy readings? Oh my gosh—look at that pattern! Is that… magic?"
Jayden leaned closer, eyebrows raised. "Magic? Really?"
Alex nodded seriously. "Absolutely! Very technical magic!"
I groaned. "Jayden, can we… ignore him for five minutes?"
He smirked. "We could… but why would we deprive him of this much fun?"
Alex then leaned over the hologram, poking at lines of code like it was a comic book. "Oh! This one! That line! Did you see it? Look at it! What happens if we touch it? Oooh, I wonder what it does!"
I sighed. "Alex, stop touching everything!"
Jayden rolled his eyes. "And that, Kim, is why we can't have nice things."
Despite the chaos, I couldn't help but laugh. Alex was a whirlwind, relentless and talkative, but somehow, he made the lab feel even more alive. And as I watched the Silver Door flicker on the holographic screen, I realized that with Jayden's teasing, Alex's chaos, and my own curiosity, things were about to get very, very interesting.