The Glitch

The air in the robotics lab crackled with a silence thicker than usual. Even the whirring of cooling fans seemed muted, hushed. Annabelle chewed on her thumbnail, her eyes glued to the newsfeed projected on the wall. Jagged red letters screamed: “MINING BOTS MALFUNCTION – TRAPPED WORKERS!” Below, a live feed showed the entrance to the Xylos Mines, a gaping maw of darkness swallowing the hopes of the families gathered there.

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The Coding Carnival

The air buzzed with excitement, a mixture of cotton candy sweetness and the whirring of tiny robots. Colorful balloons bobbed against the bright blue sky, shaped like cartoon characters and computer mice. Streamers, printed with lines of code, fluttered from every booth. This was the Coding Carnival, a place where learning to code felt like playing the best game ever.

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