Alma slides her tablet onto the white desk. The wall-mounted projector hums to life, casting a giant, glowing dragon over the rows of silent computers. She grins, watching the pixelated scales shimmer in the dim room.
She drags a folder labeled 'Final Project' toward the center, but the cursor freezes, spinning its wheel with an impatient click-click-click sound. Alma frowns at the lagging icon, then tries clicking faster, harder.
until the fan whirs loudly in protest. Alma closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, restarting the connection by unplugging and replugging the cable with a sharp thunk. The dragon reappears, but now it is wearing a tiny, pixelated party hat that wasn't there before.
She zooms in on the glitchy hat, laughs out loud at the silly accessory, and quickly saves the new version, feeling a spark of pride in the quiet lab. The unexpected change turns a bug into a feature she can’t wait to share.
Alma grabs her bag and runs to the door, pausing only to wave at the frozen dragon one last time before stepping into the hallway.
The hallway feels warmer than the cool lab. Alma walks briskly, her backpack bouncing against her shoulders. She imagines showing the dragon to her friends tomorrow morning.
By the time she reaches her locker, she has already rehearsed the explanation three times. 'It wasn't a crash,' she whispers to herself. 'It was a surprise.'
Tomorrow, the dragon will roar again. This time, everyone will see the hat. Alma smiles, knowing that mistakes often make the best stories.