Kingdom Keepers: Next Generation

Chapter 6: Up and Running

Sofia Whitman

Around 11, when the house was quiet, I snuck out of bed. I had gone to sleep in workout clothes, so the only thing I had to do was grab my shoes before meeting up with Lucas in the garage.

By the time we got to the soundstage it was nearly midnight, and despite living the farthest away, Alex was already there, his backpack stuffed full. After a few minutes, Eli and Emma came around, both still quietly upset they lost the vote. To be fair, they didn't have to come, but neither of them ever backed down from a challenge.

"You ready for this?" Alex asked.

"Let's do it," I responded.

There were no security guards anymore, but the doors to the soundstage were locked. Eli, out of nowhere, starts picking the lock. Within a few seconds, the soundstage doors swung open.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Emma asked, taking back the bobby pin he had asked for.

"Youtube," he said. When he was met with raised eyebrows, he scoffed, "I can do research, too!"

With that, we headed into the building, Lucas shutting the doors behind us. It was dark, but Alex found a light switch and flicked it on. It was massive, with big cameras, high tech computers, and cords everywhere. Alex pulled out his own laptop, and he and Lucas got to work while Eli, Emma, and I explored the soundstage.

"Check this out!" Emma called, standing back next to the doors to the outside.

Eli and I came over, and she pointed to a plaque by the light switch. It read: "This soundstage is where the DHI program was modeled. It is no longer used in commemoration for the Kingdom Keepers' efforts to disband the Overtakers."

"That's gotta be a joke," Eli said, though he certainly sounded less convinced than earlier.

After a few minutes, Alex told Lucas, Eli, Emma, and I to put on the green suits I had seen our parents in hours before. He hooked us up to huge, heavy cords, and told us to do a few poses and athletic activities. Eli complained the entire time.

When we were done, Lucas repeated the procedure with Alex, who told him exactly what to do. It took us hours, but Alex finally declared that we were done around 3 am, and all of us were ready to get out of there. With a flash drive in hand, we all hurried home, as the next day, or really just a few hours later, we all had school.

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Waking up sucks even more when you're running on 3 hours of sleep.

Even Lucas looked like he got run over by a truck. Despite the confidence I had yesterday, this morning I felt like we were stupid for even trying. I mean, even if it was true, all of the rumors, how could we have repeated the same modeling they did? Alex was good, but was he really that good?

Finally, after what felt like a millenium, the lunch bell rang. I picked up a tray of pizza and headed over to our normal spot, with Alex and Lucas both beating me to the table. Alex was on his laptop, talking in a hushed voice to Lucas, who was listening with rapt attention.

I sat down, dumping my tray on the table before letting my head hit it as well. I covered my face with my hands. Lunch was 45 minutes, barely enough time for a nap, but it would have to do.

"Sof?" Lucas said, prodding me with a pen.

"What?" I asked.

"You need to eat," he said.