Episode 16: Codes and Confrontations

Keith had just stepped out of the shower when his terminal chimed. It was Emile. Let me know when you can jump on a video call.

Taking a deep breath, Keith spoke into the microphone, "Give me ten minutes to get dressed."

Emile responded with a thumbs-up.

Keith quickly put on a blue polo shirt and khakis, running a comb through his hair to look presentable.

Once ready, Keith called Emile.

Emile answered immediately. "Sorry for bugging you first thing in the morning."

Keith waved his hand dismissively. "The sooner we get this done, the less work we have to worry about today."

"Yeah."

"So, what's going on?"

Several lines of code appeared on the screen.

"It won't terminate, no matter what I do."

Keith leaned closer to the screen, examining the code. "Have you checked for any infinite loops or recursive calls?"

Emile nodded. "I've gone through it a few times, but I can't spot anything."

"Okay, let's take a closer look together," Keith said, opening his own terminal. "Start by walking me through what this section is supposed to do."

Emile began explaining the function's purpose, highlighting key sections of the code. Keith listened carefully, occasionally interjecting with questions or suggestions.

After a few minutes of analysis, Keith's eyes lit up. "I think I see the problem. There's a condition here that's never being met, which keeps the loop running indefinitely."

Emile's face showed a mix of relief and frustration. "How did I miss that?"

"It happens to the best of us," Keith reassured. "Let's fix the condition and see if that solves it."

They made the necessary adjustments and ran the code again. This time, it terminated successfully.

"Great job spotting that," Emile said, visibly relieved. "Thanks for your help."

"Anytime," Keith replied with a smile. "Now, let's get the rest of this wrapped up so we can enjoy the rest of our day."

"Sounds good."

hey continued working together, solving other problems and making progress toward finishing the project. As they worked, Keith couldn't help but notice Emile's skillful coding style and attention to detail. He still had a lot to learn, but, Keith thought he showed promise.

Keith felt pride seeing Emile grow and develop as a programmer.

He knew that with hard work and dedication, Emile could become a valuable member of the team.

Keith hoped Emile would continue to seek his guidance as he navigated the world of software development. After all, learning from others was one of the best ways to improve oneself.

As soon as he stood up from his desk, Keith's stomach growled.

Breakfast sounded good right about now.

When he got into the kitchen, Aurelia was sitting at the table with her brother.

"Have you eaten yet?" Keith asked.

"No," she replied. "Deni and I had a slow morning, enjoying our teas."

Keith opened the fridge to inspect its contents. "How about sandwiches?"

"For breakfast?" the boy asked.

Keith grabbed two pieces of bread and put them in the toaster. "Why not? Sandwiches are easy to make, versatile, and filling."

Deni wrinkled his nose. "Sandwiches are for lunch."

Keith laughed. "Not necessarily. They can be enjoyed at any time of day."

As the toast popped out, Keith spread butter on both sides. Then, he added slices of ham and cheese between them before cutting the sandwich diagonally.

He set it down in front of Deni. "Try it. You might be surprised how much you like it."

The boy took a small bite, chewing slowly. "It's not bad," he said after swallowing.

Aurelia got up and made herself a sandwich with jelly instead of ham and cheese.

Keith watched Deni devour his sandwich.

It felt good to see the kid enjoying something he made.

Seeing Aurelia eat her jelly sandwich made him chuckle.

After finishing his sandwich, Keith put his plate in the sink, so the robots could wash it.

Yolie yawned as she trudged into the kitchen.

Keith greeted her, "Good morning!"

She grumbled something incomprehensible and slumped into a chair next to Aurelia. Aurelia handed Yolie a cup of coffee.

"Here, drink this," Aurelia said with a smile.

Yolie accepted the cup gratefully, taking a long sip.

Her face brightened as the caffeine hit her system.

Keith smirked, "Did you get enough sleep?"

"I guess," Yolie grumbled.

Keith chuckled. "If you need more rest, feel free to go back to bed. We can handle things here."

Yolie shook her head stubbornly. "Nope. I'm fine."

"Look who woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Deni muttered.

Yolie glared at him. "Shut it, twerp."

"Make me," Deni challenged.

Keith rolled his eyes. "Children, please behave yourselves."

"You know perfectly well that I'm not a child!" Yolie shouted.

"You act like one," him and Rel mumbled.

"Whatever," Yolie huffed. She finished her coffee and stood up. "I'm going for a walk to clear my head."

Deni smiled. "Enjoy your walk!"

Yolie stomped out of the room without another word.

Keith sighed. "Well, that was entertaining."

Aurelia shrugged. "She'll get over it eventually."

Deni shrugged. "Yeah, just let het sulk."

Keith was checking the time on his terminal when a text from Yolie popped up. Get rid of the brat or I go.

Aurelia gulped. "Or not."

Deni looked over at it. "Yay! No more clown!"

His sister narrowed her eyes at him.

Deni seemed to shrink under her intense gaze.

Keith sighed. "Well, can't say I blame Yolie. The kid is tough to handle."

"Am not!" Deni said, pouting.

Aurelia sighed. "You used to be easier to get along with when you were littler."

Deni got up and ran upstairs.

"Deni!"

Keith stood up. "Let me talk to the kid."

"You sure?"

He laughed. "Don't worry, I'll try to avoid making things more difficult than they already are."

Rel smiled. "Thanks, Key."

The young man blushed. "Uh, yeah."

He then bolted up the stairs.