Two of a Kind

6

Brian began cleaning up his room, moving multiple things off his cluttered desk. He moved all of his games to the closet. He cleared his table of all dangerous items. He even took the glass ball out of the closet and placed it on the desk, hoping it doesn't roll off.

As he frantically cleaned, he heard his grandmother from downstairs. "What are you doing up there?" She managed to yell.

"Cleaning!" Brian yelled back as he stuffed the last of the undesirables into his closet before forcing it shut.

"That's a new one! Is it because of your friend that's coming over?" His grandmother yelled again. Brian rolled his eyes while cleaning the rest of his room, making sure that it was passible.

As soon as he finished, the doorbell rang. "It's your friend!" He heard his grandmother say from downstairs. Brian immediately rushed downstairs and opened the door.

On the other side was Liliana. She was wearing her lab coat over a pink t-shirt and jeans, similar to what she was wearing when they first met. A white shoulder bag was over her left shoulder. "You look tired." She said while looking at him.

Brian stares at her in confusion while panting. After a couple seconds, he caught himself. Lili watched him step out of the way and invite her in. She stifled a giggle before walking inside. Her sneakers caused the wooden floor to creak slightly. The noise caught her off guard since it was what broke the silence. Her face grew red as she quickly took off her sneakers. "Where should I set these?" She asked.

"Follow me." Brian said while recomposing himself. He closed the front door and began to head upstairs when his grandmother walked up to them.

"Hello." She said as she waved to them. Her gray hair was tied into a bun. Her blue eyes looked directly at Brian, completely missing Liliana. An apron covered her blue shirt and pants. Slippers saved her from the wooden floor.

"Hey. This is Lili." Brian said as he gestured towards Liliana.

His grandmother looked over to her and smiled. "She's cute." She commented.

Liliana and Brian blushed at the comment. "We'll be in my room. I'll come down if we need anything." Brian said as he began to run up the stairs. Liliana followed him, running with her sneakers in her hands.

"Ok! Have fun you two! Oh, and if I hear anything suspicious, I'll be checking on you!" His grandmother warned.

"Will do!" Brian yelled back from his room. Liliana quickly ran into the room and closed the door behind her. "Damnit. Why'd she say something like that?" He complained.

Liliana looked at him before giggling. "She's nice." She teased while looking around the room.

Brian sighed before heading towards his bed. "You can put your sneakers anywhere on the floor. Just don't trip over them." He said as he laid on his bed.

"Thanks." Liliana said as she set her sneakers by the door. Once she did, she looked at the desk. Her eyes lit up when she found the glass orb on the desk. She quickly sat down before taking many different materials out of her bag.

Brian looked over to see many different tools, wires, and electrical components on his desk. To his surprise, Liliana easily separated the device into two. Inside were many electrical components that she carefully laid on the table.

Once the whole device was dismantled, she began to attach and install new components. Brian watched as she replaced the chip with a new one, replaced the memory, as well as a few other adjustments. "There. I increased the size of the memory, made it more powerful, and more accessible." She said as she reassembled the device.