Chapter 4: Trouble at the Dunphy Household
Keeping Luke quiet was easier said than done.
"Are you an alien?" he whispered excitedly. "A robot? A secret government spy?!"
"I'm none of those things," I snapped. "It's just… a school project."
Luke's eyes narrowed. "Liar. School projects don't have glowing holograms."
**[Skill Check: Persuasion (Level 1)]**
**Result: Failure.]**
"Fine!" I groaned. "It's complicated, okay? But you can't tell anyone."
Luke grinned. "I won't. For a price."
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### **Family Dinner Drama**
Dinner that night was tense. Claire kept shooting me suspicious looks, and Luke was barely containing his smugness.
"So, Alex," Claire said, her tone dripping with that signature mom suspicion. "Anything… unusual happen today?"
"Nope," I said, shoving a forkful of mashed potatoes into my mouth.
Claire narrowed her eyes. "Really? Because Luke's been acting strange, and you've been spending a lot of time alone lately."
Luke opened his mouth, but I shot him a glare. **[Intimidation Check: Success.]** He shut up.
"Well, if there's something you need to tell me, you know you can, right?" Claire said.
"Of course, Mom," I replied, smiling innocently.
Phil, oblivious to the tension, jumped in with a story about his drone project, distracting everyone.
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### **Luke's Curiosity**
Later that night, Luke barged into my room.
"You've got to let me help," he said.
"With what?"
"Whatever secret thing you're doing," he said, grinning. "Come on, I'm great at secrets! Remember when I hid a live frog in Haley's room for a week?"
I groaned. "Fine. But if you tell anyone, I'll make sure you regret it."
**[Party System Activated: Luke Added to Party.]**
**[Party Buff: +10 Luck While Together.]**
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### **Chapter End**
As Luke pored over my notes with surprising enthusiasm, I couldn't help but feel a spark of hope. Maybe having an ally wasn't so bad.
But I couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to get a lot more complicated.
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