Enzo slammed his laptop shut. The screen flickered one last time with a stubborn error message. He kicked the leg of his desk hard. A pencil rolled away under the row of silent monitors. The hum of the computer lab felt suddenly louder.
He unplugged the main power cord and plugged it back in. His breath caught in his throat as the monitor stayed dark. A single red light blinked from the tower’s base like an unblinking eye. Enzo reached for his backup battery pack, fingers trembling slightly.
The backup battery sputtered to life. Instead of loading the science project, it projected a giant hologram onto the ceiling. A glowing rocket ship appeared in mid-air. Paper stars began to drift upward, defying gravity. Enzo dropped his stylus in shock.
Enzo scrambled to stabilize the hologram, taping down the floating stars. The rocket ship began to spin wildly out of control. A whooshing sound filled the empty room with sudden wind. He grabbed a ruler to act as a rudder, trying to steer the light beam.
The rocket stabilized into a perfect orbit around Enzo’s head. It cast a gentle blue glow over his smiling face. He carefully saved the file. The hologram faded into a soft, steady pulse. Enzo leaned back, watching the light dance across the ceiling.
The bell rang sharply, breaking the silence. Enzo looked up at the fading light. The computer lab was just a room again. He closed his laptop gently. Tomorrow would be a different story.