Flashbacks

"So, dad, when are you going to help me with my science project? I gave you my 'blueprints'." said 9 year old Sabrina while jumping excitedly. 

Michael Keys, sat in front of her, cross-legged on the couch, while sipping coffee and reading the newspaper. "Don't worry sweetie, we'll start soon after I finish this paper and my coffee. You have quite an interesting and advanced way of thinking with your plans-" "Blue prints," she interrupted, "-yes, blueprints. Sorry," he smiled. She returned it, "You're forgiven." "Well, as much as I admire your eagerness to build complex machinery at such a young age, shouldn't we settle for something more simple? I think your teachers should be impressed with a solar system model, but it's up to you." 

She frowned, "No I want to build a drone. Solar systems are boring. I want to make it interesting. You're not an engineer and scientist for nothing." She smirked knowing that she won. He looked at her with narrow eyes and chuckled. 

"She gets that mouth from you," said his wife, Sarah.

He gave her a sly smile, "Isn't it brilliant?" She rolled her eyes fondly and went back to the kitchen.

He leaned forward and spoke, "So how about we start this project, my little scientist and engineer?" "Well, it's about time old man." she retorted. They burst out laughing while Sarah whispered, "Just like you..." and smiled.

xxx

The soft murmurs of people mixed with the lapping of the water against the shore, not disturbing the serenity of the afternoon. 13 year old Sabrina went out with her family to the lake to spend some quality time together and catch some fish. 

"I can feel it tugging! Oh yeah, that's a big one!", she called out. Her family cheered her on while her brother held her so she didn't fall overboard. She pressed the button on her fishing rod-which she engineered by herself over the course of three weeks- to reel her catch in.

"Oh she's coming in hot!", her dad shouted, intertwining his fingers with his wife's and fiddling with a silver chain around his neck, with it's contents hidden under his shirt. She gave him a soft smile and said, "Maybe we'll have fish for dinner tonight." Her brother, Jason- who was 17- chuckled, then turned his attention back to his excited sister. 

Her tongue protruded slightly from her mouth in concentration as she pulled her fishing rod backwards chanting, "I got it. I got it. I got it. I-" she gave one final yank and the line shot out of the water as she fell back onto her brother "-got it..." she said exasperated. She looked at her prize to see that it was really tiny, thrashing around to try and escape. 

She frowned at this while everyone else laughed and she eventually joined in. "But, but, I don't understand. Why was it so strong?" "It wasn't, you just have noodle arms," Jason laughed and wiped away an imaginary tear. She huffed and punched his arm playfully. "Oh no, I'm wounded," he deadpanned with an expressionless face that made his sister howl with laughter. 

Their parents just watched their exchange, chuckling slightly and squeezing each other's hands momentarily. 

Fast forward 2 years:

Father and daughter sat in basement tinkering and making new gadgets. They were a dynamic duo. Sabrina was brilliant in mechanics and chemistry but she wasn't perfect. Her dad had a lot of experience since he was the head scientist in the biggest tech corporation in the U.S. 

Actually scratch that, the world. He was really ecstatic as he thought he was making a difference , that he was making it better, that he was freeing the world from grasps of corrupted humans. 

This new found confidence significantly uplifted his mood and his inspiration. It lifted the entire spirit of the house. In fact almost everyone who knew about his job looked up to him. But to his daughter, he wasn't just a scientist. He was her role model, her hero and she was his little girl. 

She always had a keen eye for the little details in everything. Questioning everything and the answers to those questions lead to more questions. She had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and her father always helped her by sharing his experiences, tips and tricks. For her age, she caught on quite quickly and had almost mastered advanced engineering which most people struggle with at tertiary level! 

The duo hardly talked during these little Master Building sessions save for occasional 'Mhmm', 'Yes' and asking each other to hand over various tools. She found it quite interesting and dare I say, relaxing to rebuild her dad's inventions -with his help- and add her own twists to it, to give it that 'Sabrina Style'. They both enjoyed each other's company, even sitting in comfortable silence together was quite rewarding to them. At different intervals, Sabrina's mom would walk in and offer them some refreshments and snacks, sometimes she'd just go down there and watch them. 

Her brother, well, he enjoyed building things himself and was also quite intelligent. While Sabrina excelled in most parts, he was a bit more experienced, having learned from his dad when he was little as well. He started working on some things for himself, alone and would occasionally join his sister and his father in their tinkering times. 

Jason and Michael didn't really see eye to eye. The only reason they spoke to each other was because of Sabrina. She was clueless about their grudge, she thought it was just some guy thing that made their encounters awkward. 

Once they were done, they all headed upstairs for a family movie night. The Keys particularly enjoyed Action, Thriller Comedies. (because, who doesn't?) 

So they spent their night eating popcorn, laughing and enjoying each other's company. 

Everything was perfect.