Mia." Mom shouted from downstairs.
"Yes Mom", Mia answered
"The food is getting cold, won't you eat again?"
"I will soon be through, just give me some time and I will join you."
"Young lady if I come up there and meet you you'll be in big trouble." That's my dad, I rushed out from my room soliloquizing: "Dad! You know parents are suppose to applaud their kids for studying on a Saturday but nooo, no no no. Mine basically told me not to study".
"Tell me what study you've been undergoing since with empty stomach." My dad said as I sat down.
"Daaaaad you know I only get inspiration when I'm hungry" I said took a carrot from the plate on the table and threw it in my mouth, then stood up to help my mom finish setting the table.
"Hey! Just say you want to keep sciencing and stop spewing nonsense since you clearly don't know what brings you inspiration" my brother said
"I'm not going to even enter this argument with you" I said then sat down at the dinner table.
"Quiet both of you it's dinner time" my mom said to us, we said grace and started eating.
"Come to think of it what the hell..." "Language". I was interrupted by my parent's.
"I'm sorry, What in the world are you doing with your life big bro" I made sure to make the big bro sound as sarcastic as ever.
"And what are you doing wasting away engaging in an imaginary venture that can never come true."
"Wow! Who knew you could speak such good English. I'll tell you, I was surprised" I said then smiled charmingly at him.
"Hey! Have some respect I'm older than you remember."
" Older? Wow that's a nice line. Are you going to..."
"Both of you stop it." My mom
"Mom why do you guys keep lying to her. Just tell her what she's doing is not possible," Jack said in a calm voice that annoyed me more.
"Just tell her it's impossible to build a time machine especially by an eighteen year old."
"I'll tell you the same thing I've been saying it's possible so just shut up and stop being a hater" I said and stormed off
"Looks like I'll have to go back to the dorms cause I'm getting tired of you being an overachiever." He said to me while I was storming off and I stopped dead on my tracks on the stairs
"Don't worry, you won't have to see me when my time machine works because I will go back to the past and stop mom and dad from ever giving birth to you, or to the future far away from you." I said and stormed off for real to my room.
"Mia you take that back" I heard my mom's voice from my room but I didn't answer.
"Mom, Dad please talk to your kid" Jack confronted them saying I hadn't even gotten to college and I was dreaming about building a time machine.
"I could hear from my room was saying so I replied him in my mind"
"I told you I'm taking a gap year"
"Mia out of the room now" my dad called out but I didn't answer
"When I win a nobel price for my invention, he'll be sorry he was always mean to me", I said to myself
"Ma. I'm not underrating Mia but you know too well that the dream she has is unachievable. She is just eighteen for crying out loud. This is something many bright scientists couldn't do, how can she be able to do it ....it's not that I didn't believe in her, I do and I know she is very smart....I....I just don't want her to be crushed when she finds out that she has been wasting her time building something that won't work while you were feeding her with false hope." Jack made sure to say this when he knew I wasn't listening, and I wasn't. I was busy resenting him while he was worrying about me.
"I know you care for your sister, but have you tried talking to her. All you are doing is undermining her and making her feel bad when you know the type of sister you have" mom said then left the dinner table.
"I'm saying this loving. Your sister is a weird kind of hybrid. She fluctuates between taking after me, your mom, my mom....but you know for certain that she is the time of person to go all in when she is told she can't do something" my dad said smiling.
Later that night my dad came to my room and knocked on the door asking if he could come in and I told him "whatever".
He came in with a plate of spaghetti and meatballs saying I didn't have my dinner. I just smiled at him then sat up on my bed.
"You do know your brother was only trying to look out for you. I hope you know what?" He said after sitting on the bed with me" I just shook my head and said
"Jack, cared about me. He has a funny way of showing it".
Dad encouraged me to always believe in myself even if nobody does. He also asked me to strive harder that as long as I believed that I could make it work it doesn't matter what anyone else thought. I hugged him and thanked him. I ate dinner with him, and after that he took the plate, tucked me in then kissed me on the head and told me to get some sleep. When he reached the door he turned around and said to me
"No scientist has ever cracked time travel are you sure you can do it?" He said smiling but the look in his eyes were the opposite of what his lips were doing. Those sad eyes looking at me like I would fail betrayed the reassuring smile his lips were portraying. I just smiled and acted oblivious to what his eyes were saying.
"Solid dad, real solid. Way to make a girl feel better" I said cheering him on while he laughed out an apology.
"Don't worry dad I'll crack it. I'll be the first person to crack time travel" I said smiling. A false smile resided on both our lips while we said our goodnights.
After he left I tossed around on the bed a little then stood up, turned on the light and went to my closet where my time machine was and started working on it.
While finishings things off on it I kept murmuring to myself that my time machine would work and I knew that for a fact. I kept on feeding myself with false hope hoping my will and dedication will prove to my brother that I wasn't embarking on an unrealistic journey.
When I was done adjusting some things in my invention I breathed in and out, then turned on.
I waited for about 30 seconds but nothing happened. I was a bit disappointed and scared. So I consoled myself by saying "Oh well, there is always a next time."
When I was about to switch it off, the time machine sparked and with it came something round and dark red with bright white cloud and some distant white spot. It looked kind of cool, and the color mix withing it was beautiful. As I was relishing in it's beauty it gave up an electricity surge with turned off the power with a loud spark, and with that it disappeared.
"Mia did you cause a power outage again?" I could hear my brother from his room shouting angrily his loud and angry footsteps getting louder and louder.
"Mia Mary Gonzalez what did you do this time around" my mom's angry and worried voice could be heard by the whole neighborhood and my parents footsteps.
"Mia!" My family scolded in unison as they entered the room together. I was about the answer then in the most apologetic way ever but the return of the colorful, round and stunning looking thing that was neither on the floor ceiling but mid air stopped me.