Firewall:

This is a tale of Echo Green, a surreal artist living in the heart of the city with her daughter Query. Her narrow bungalow squeezed between two storefronts on Easy Street. Side eying the steely power plant from her corner window. The smokestacks admitted a plume of gas that looked like runway lights at night.

Her daughter was quite the opposite of Echo in that she loved the newest gadgets. Query would always have some devices answer a voice command. With her electric purple tips coiled around her finger in deep thought. She’d code away on her desktop.

As Echo prepped for her newest commissioned piece, brring the cellphone vibrated, and her new water cup rippled on her desk. Her hair and smock were tied up.

“Hello, this is the Vice Principal at Birch Elementary. We are calling because we have been made aware that your daughter is using her school login to hack into the database and change the calendar by resetting the district password. We have many disgruntled parents. Ms .Green this type of security breach is grounds for expulsion. Please come pick Query up for the remainder of the day. Her suspension will be lifted in two weeks.”

“I will be right there,” Echo answered shoving the phone in her back pocket and scrambling out the door. I may lose this client but, I gotta do what I got to do. She huffed turning off her studio light. She couldn’t really afford not to finish the commission piece later. She went out to her car and unplugged the extension chord. Her vehicle had just enough charge to get there and back. When Echo arrived, Query was slouching in the lobby and chewing on her sleeve. Echo signed her daughter out on the time sheet. As she checked the time on her phone, an instant notification popped up on her device “reset your password.” Echo shrugged off the warning and put it back into her back pocket. The car ride home was silent. Instead of their usual jamming-out playlist, all they opted to listen to was the rubber tires on the asphalt.

As they entered the house Query started defending her actions, “Mom, I just wanted to see if I could stream gameplay on my computer during lab. I didn’t think I could change everything. The system worked just like my drawing app.” She explained.

Echo interrupted, “What you did, while impressive skill-wise for a grade-schooler. Query that it was not okay to attempt in the first place. I agree with the school’s punishment.” She answered firmly.

“I’m sorry mom.” Query mumbled.

“For what?” Echo asked to clarify for understanding.

“For resetting the password and playing with the schedule, it was wrong.” She acknowledged.

“Okay, babe, I must put in some hours on my latest art piece. Since I had to pick you up before lunch go ahead and make some noodles.” She suggested as she headed back to her studio area.

Query shook her head in understanding. Meanwhile, Echo heard cabinets slam and silverware rattle. She let out a slight giggle and primed her canvas.

The weekend fast approached, and the Green’s were on each other’s last nerves. Echo installed a video camera doorbell that Query had gotten her. Any object motioning near the device would chime on the cell phone and alert her.

Instead of Saturday cartoons, Echo took Query to whole foods. She huffed all the way through the last check on her mom’s grocery list. As they stood in the checkout line the familiar beeping away from the scanner kept tempo with the flick of the checker's wrist.

Suddenly the overhead lights flickered, and the backup generator roared on. Customers began to panic in a frenzy. The display no longer was tallying the total, the pixelated, type “reset password” appeared. A red laser-beamed firewall was unearthed from the roadway like a sinkhole. Trapping Echo and Query within city limits. There’s no reset for life, there’s no way out of this-