Underneath the clouds

VII

The weekend had arrived, well not yet. It was almost midnight on Friday, and along with a few brighten windows, Jolin still had her light on, along with a few electronics. Every teenager was up in the neighborhood, not including the boring ones, and some had multiple lights on in their house, lighting up the quiet night. Unfortunately, Jolin wasn't the only one in her house who was awake. She kept her breath quiet trying to listen to the stairs, or anything down them. Her father was still down there since he took off to his lab after dinner. Only god knows what he's doing in there, but Jolin had a pretty firm idea. Mindlessly she opened her door, a water bottle in hand. She was reminded of what she was doing. Refilling her bottle, because she was parched. The faint source of light caused her to fumble and bit, but she eventually found the bathroom. The sound of the running water soothed her mind, as her legs bent. The darkness was so loud, overwhelming her with the deafening sound of silence. Soon the water overflowed dripping down the bottle, over her fingers, giving her a cold shock. Silently she cursed, trying to balance the at the top fluid, as it danced in the bottle. Walking past the staircase she saw the faint light from downstairs, which perked her interest. Quietly, with water bottle in hand, she went down the stairs, listening to the faint clanking of metal in the garage. Her feet touched the cold floor, sending a deep chill up her spine. Now she was in the foyer, turning to the right you'd go into a hallway, go down the hallway you'd get to the kitchen. Jolin heard water running, and the faint groaning of a tired man. "Dad?" His pale face looked at her, dark circles underneath his eyes. "What are you doing awake?" Jolin sipped her water. Jeffery looked tiredly at her, raising his eyebrow. Returning the question to her, he rested his tired back on the counter edge. "Well I mean I can... it's the weekend." She muttered. "But you still didn't answer my question." Jolin stood straight up, repositioning herself from leaning on the doorway. He sighed, grabbing his cup and having a long sip of water. "I'm almost done with the thing... I'm so close." Jeffery beat himself down. Jolin stayed silent, what was she supposed to say? "What's-uh... what's the thing?" She asked. "It's a- never mind you probably would think it's stupid." Jeffery sipped the last couple drops of water. Jolin felt a ping of guilt, bowing her head, watching the little waves in her water. "Anyways... I'm going to go to bed now." Jeffery yawned. Setting down his cup of water. "O-okay... goodnight." She sadly smiled as he lazily walked up the stairs. Jolin groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. Quietly she put down her cup, tiptoeing to the garage door. The door creaked, as she turned the handle. Now curiosity got the better of her, as she silently opened the door, turning the light on. Inside sparkled fluids that had bubbles that looked like crystals. Jolin watched in amusement as they floated up the top, breaking in half as they reached the surface. A little quiet wow escaped her mouth, as she wandered around, looking at the colors in the bottles. "How'd did he even..." Jolin questioned looked at his notebooks, which were filled to the brim with math, equations, and symbols, too complex for her brain. "Make anything..." she tried to recall anytime anything went missing, and not a single thing came up. "Did he steal?" Jolin questioned, tracing her fingers along the edge of the table. On one metal table contained many things, like a beaker, with a safe, and countless leather notebooks. She examined the beaker, seeing half of one beaker filled with an orange fluid. Jolin picked it up, swishing around the stuff. Suddenly, mist started to pour out, created a burning smell. She flinched letting some liquid spill out. Quickly she moved her foot, letting the liquid hit the ground. To her amazement, the liquid chipped at the concrete, emanating white thin dancing smoke as it evaporated into the air. Quickly she put the beaker back, carefully stepping over the little depression in the ground. Exiting quietly she went to the kitchen retrieving her cup, and retreated upstairs. She hoped the chip in the ground wasn't too noticeable. She sipped more of her water, setting it down in her nightstand, she laid down, feeling the heaviness behind her eyelids. Her whole world went black, as she felt her body relax to the point of melting into her soft sheets. Instead of dreaming, it seemed like she blinked, now the sun was up, shining through her windows. Her head seemed to pound, with a stinging pain that was based behind her eyes. Looking at her clock, she noticed it was 7. Quietly she got up, feeling the cool floor hit her feet. Not bothering with brushing her hair, she floated down the stairs. The absent smell of pancakes, coffee, and syrup disrupted her. Quietly she pushed to the kitchen, peering inside, seeing nothing but cleanliness. Jolin knew her mother was a clean freak. One reason why the house always smelled like lemons, and looked like it was up for sale. Wandering around she found herself at the garage door, looking inside from the little window in the door, which was about eye height. Opening the door, Jolin saw her dad, hunched over, scribbling in his notebooks. "Morning dad..." sighing he looked back. "Oh, look who's awake." Jolin rolled her eyes, grabbing a chair, sitting down next to him. The silence was the only thing between them, other than the breathing, and the scribbling sound, Jolin felt it hard to not feel uncomfortable. "So..." she broke the silence. "What... what are you working on?" Jeffery sighed, looking at his daughter's tired eyes. He sweetly smiled, moving away from the table, opening up so she could see what he was working on. Looking, she furrowed her brows, examining the complex math on the paper. "What...?" Jeffery laughed, standing up, pulling her up as well. She was dragged to another table, watching as he pointed to a beaker. "I'm working on something extremely revolutionary!" Jeffery triumphantly stated. Gazing, she realized the two things she was looking at. Reading the labels, she saw her name on one, most specifically the left one. Looking at the right one, she read "other." Not only that, but the beaker with her name on it had an orange fluid in it. "What-what's this for...?" She gulped. "Oh just wait, it's going to be so cool!" Jolin smiled, hiding her terrified eyes. "That's what you kids are into these days right? Cool things?" Jolin absentmindedly nodded. Chuckling, Jeffrey continued to scribble on his notepad. "O-okay... did you make breakfast?" Jeffrey silently cursed. "No I didn't... do you want me to?" Jolin nodded, fiddling with her fingers. "I would like you to." He smiled getting up. "Okay, sugar cube."