Summer Break... Again

Hello, readers!

You may remember from last year that we like to take a break every summer - to relax, finish random projects, and basically just catch up on life. Well, that time has come again. We'll be gone from here until the first week of August.

Thank you so much for being understanding about this... at least, we hope you understand. ;) We just need a time to get refreshed, re-inspired, and ready for another round of blogging. We are always so ready to come back at the end of our break!

So enjoy your summer, everyone! Relax, eat ice cream, finish projects, and have fun. We'll be back before you know it. :)

-Kirsten, Sylvia, Saige, & Caroline

Caroline Says Farewell to Spring

Hello, everyone!

It is I, Sylvia. We've hit that time of the year when Spring's last flowers are dropping to the ground and fading away, while Summer, chuckling gleefully in the distance, is preparing to throw her blanket of heat over the land.

Well folks, that was my moment of poetry for today. Now on to a photoshoot, in which Caroline says farewell to the last of the cool weather. :)

Have a lovely day!

-Sylvia

~Lily Rose Brookshire~

Hello, readers!

We've finally finished our picture of Lily Rose. Thank you for waiting so long! ;)

Thus ends the very long journey of Lily Rose Brookshire. But in a sense, it's only the beginning. What if AG sees our work and decides to make her the 2017 Girl of the Year? Wouldn't that be amazing? I hope it really happens.

Have a lovely day, ya'll. :)

-Sylvia

Cyberfantasy: Episode 3

Hello, everyone!
     Enjoy the next episode of Cyberfantasy. :)

Episode 3

I grabbed the laptop out from under my pillow, where I had stuffed it an hour or two before. I still felt wary about it.  

Gingerly, I put it down in front of Chloe, opened it, and typed in the password. The email was still there from when I had slammed the computer shut. Chloe glanced at the cyberbot’s sentences.

“Say something in your mind,” I suggested. “It might reply.”

Before the words were fully out of my mouth, however, a row of new words snaked across the page. My name is Sona. You have permission to call me that.

Chloe leaned forward, and I pointed wildly at the screen. “Did you see that? Did you see that?”

“This is weird,” my friend murmured. Then she narrowed her eyes at the screen, and I knew that she was talking to the cyberbot in her mind.

More words appeared. Are all humans this ignorant?

I almost felt like laughing. “What did you ask her?”

“I asked what a cyberbot was. Wow, I didn’t know that a computer could have such an attitude.”

For the record, I am a cyberbot, not a computer, but that is of little relevance. I am in need of your assistance.

“This is getting really bizarre,” I said, fiddling with my paper plate. “This Sona person needs our help? I’m starting to feel like I’m in a bad sci-fi dream.”

“Maybe we are,” said Chloe, being inconveniently mysterious. “I’m not sure of anything anymore. But this,” she motioned at the laptop, “is pretty amazing. Very advanced technology. I like it.” And she narrowed her eyes at the screen again.

Thank you for asking. I am glad to see that you have more sense than your friend.

“Apparently I’m smarter than you,” said Chloe, with a playful smirk at me. “At least, Sona thinks so. I asked her what she needs our help with.”

I rolled my eyes.

We - that is to say, myself and other cyberbots - are currently under attack. An army of viruses is threatening to destroy us, and if they do, all devices connected to the Internet will detonate.

Without meaning to, I began imagining all the people who owned electronic devices. Kids as young as five or six had phones now. That would be a lot of explosions, injury ... and death.

I forgot that I had decided not to speak with Sona again. My thoughts were whirling, but I organized them enough to ask, What do we do to stop the viruses?

I am glad that you care for your race, replied the cyberbot. It has taken me a long time to find a personal computer network that I could trust. You are the first who has responded rationally.

“We still don’t know what a cyberbot is,” I said out loud to Chloe. “I want to know who I’m working with before we do anything crazy.”

“Sure, I’ll ask her,” said Chloe, smiling at me. She must have known what a leap of absurd faith I was making. To be honest, I didn’t know what made me trust Sona. I still don’t know.  

After a moment: Cyberbots exist within electronics. We protect the owners and keep their technology running. 

Chloe gazed at the screen for a second, then looked
up at me. “I’ve asked her what we have to do. Now pay attention.”

Before we begin, said Sona,

are you equipped for extensive travel?

     Hope you've enjoyed the episode, and have a lovely day! :)

-Kirsten

Cyberfantasy: Episode 2

Greetings!
     Here's the next episode of Cyberfantasy. Enjoy!

Episode 2

After the words “I am a cyberbot” appeared on the screen, my human panic reflexes kicked in and I slammed the laptop shut. I didn’t know what a cyberbot was, but it sounded terrifying. 

There was a pause while I stood there, half-expecting the computer to blow up or something. Nothing happened, however. The only sound to break the stillness was my cat, Tanuki, yowling at me to get him breakfast.  

Relieved, I got up and dumped the remains of my coffee into the sink. I wasn’t taking any more chances with that stuff. It was probably time to buy fresh coffee beans, anyway.

I poured some kibble into Tanuki’s dish and glanced idly around the kitchen. I wasn’t hungry anymore. 

Just then, my phone buzzed. My friend Chloe was texting. For a second, I hesitated - was this Sona cyberbot person trying to contact me again?

The phone buzzed again. I pushed down my fear and tapped on the text.

Hey, Ri, it said. What are you doing today?

Chloe has this habit of using perfect spelling and grammar when she texts. I get on her nerves by using all those little abbreviations for things.

I replied, nothing much.

Would you like to get together for lunch at your place? I’ll bring pizza.

sure! sounds gr8.

GREAT, she corrected immediately. 

I grinned a little. yes i know. 

See you then!

c u.

SEE YOU, she sent as a parting shot. 

I laughed and tucked my phone into my pocket. Life always seems better after talking to Chloe - even if it’s just a few texts. And I could feel my appetite returning. 

At twelve, the doorbell chimed and I opened the door.

Chloe walked in, balancing a pizza box on one arm. 

After saying hello and giving her an awkward side hug (the pizza box got in the way of a proper hug), I put paper plates and a few napkins on the table. We sat down. Chloe said grace and then we started eating.

“Well, this is fun,” she commented. “Thanks for having me over.”

“You pretty much invited yourself,” I said with a grin. “But I was glad you were coming, because something really strange happened this morning and I wanted to talk to you about it.”

“What happened?”

“Well, I was checking my email, and there was a message from someone I didn’t recognize. Then words just started typing themselves onto the page. It could read my thoughts, Chloe.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you making this up?”

I looked at her straight in the face. She knows I’m not joking when I do that.

“No, this is real. The thing said that she was a cyberbot - whatever that is - and that her name was Sona.”

“It might have been a virus. Is your computer all up-to-date?”

“Yes. But a virus couldn’t read my thoughts, and this thing did.”

“Hm,” said Chloe. “I wonder if it would happen again if you showed me the email.”

“I’m not talking to that crazy computer mind-reading robot again, thank you very much. You can do it if you want. But -”

“Well, then, get me your laptop,” Chloe interrupted, wiping her fingers on a napkin. “If this is really real, it might be the beginning of an adventure.”

     Stay tuned for Episode 3! Have a lovely day. :)

-Sylvia