The Invisible Prodigy

Chapter 1

Mika gasped as she walked into the Sycorax building with her class for the first time. The interior was enormous and green, and had little robots floating around distributing snacks to the workers.

"Now class," her instructor, Prof. Jestair, began. "Your assignment is to sketch anything that piques your interest. You have two hours, after which you will meet back here. And remember, you are representing SFAI, so be on your best behavior. Understood?"

The students mumbled their affirmation and dispersed. Mika wandered around for a while, staring at all the wonders of technology she passed. As she walked by a translucent pillar, a bit of movement caught her eye. Upon closer investigation, she discovered three tiny chameleons blinking in and out of sight. Smiling, she crouched down, unfolded her sketchbook, and set to work.

"You've taken an interest in the chameleons, I see." A voice came from behind Mika, startling her mid-sketch.

"Oh, um...yes!" Mika jumped up and turned around to find a tall blonde woman in a red dress looking intently at her drawing. She gasped when she recognized the woman's face from TV. "Liv Amara! Um...I mean Miss Amara...it's nice to meet you!"

"Call me Liv," Liv said. "You're very talented..."

She stared at Mika expectantly.

"Oh! Right, sorry, my name is Mika."

Liv nodded. "Mika. Cute name."

"Thanks." Mika blushed.

"You're with the group from that art school, right?" Liv asked.

"Yes, SFAI," Mika responded. "I'm...a prodigy."

"That's great!" Liv patted Mika's shoulder. "I know a couple of child prodigies myself. One of them even interns for me."

"Um...Liv," Mika said hesitantly. "Not to change the subject, but...I have a question. Why do the chameleons keep vanishing?"

"It's their natural camouflage."

"No, but..." Mika stared into the enclosure. "My cousin used to have a chameleon, and even after it camouflaged itself, I could still find it if I looked hard enough. But these ones literally disappear. Sometimes it's only the tail or a foot, and sometimes it's the entire body, but they instantaneously vanish. Why is that?"

Liv smiled at her. "You're more perceptive than I thought. The truth is, these are genetically enhanced chameleons. I'll spare you the boring details, but basically I've improved their camouflage abilities to the point where they literally vanish out of view of the human eye."

"Wow..." Mika gasped, watching a chameleon's tail disappear and reappear again.

"Anyways, I'll leave you to your drawing now," Liv said, walking away. "See you later, Mika."

Mika squatted back down to watch the chameleons as two other SFAI students walked by.

"Was that Liv Amara?" one student asked, passing by her.

"Yeah, what was she doing talking to the shrimp?" the other student wondered.

"Probably pitied her or something," the first student said.

"Nah, she's just doing it for her 'image'. Gotta look good in the eyes of the public," the second one responded, laughing.

Mika sighed, as all three chameleons disappeared at the same time.

"Lucky."