Code Combination - C. Davenport

𝟷. ᴀ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ ᴡʜᴏ ɪsɴ'ᴛ ᴍʏ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ ʏᴇᴛ

Jordyn's phone vibrated, catching the girl by surprise. She looked at the notification and saw it was from her dad, who had just come home and wanted to check up on his daughter.

Her response was short, quickly inquiring about his work and reminding him to eat properly before laying down to rest. It was well known that Jordyn's father overworked himself and neglected his basic needs. Her mother often made fun of him for that but asked her daughter to watch out for him as she herself could not due to her frequently packed schedule.

As fascinating as their work may sound from the stories they told, Jordyn always knew she wasn't supposed to follow in the footsteps of one or another. Her parents were disappointed when they realized, quite early on, their daughter just wasn't as interested as they had hoped. But they recognized ‌her talents may lie elsewhere.

With a mental checklist, they crossed out one thing after another. She was neither the most athletically gifted nor the most creative child. Science wasn't her thing, and neither was socializing. Eliana and Craig were confused, as their child wasn't dumb or lazy. She brought home remarkable grades and didn't stand out in a negative way. But what could her future be?

Jordyn put her phone in her bag and opened up her laptop, which immediately lit up. Jordyn was fortunate that the previous window she had used was still open, allowing her to pick up where she had left off and avoid wasting any more time.

One day, Jordyn's father brought home a gift. There wasn't a special occasion or much thought behind it. It just seemed natural to Craig that as the girl entered her teenage years, now being nearly thirteen, she deserved her own laptop. When Eliana got wind of this, she scolded her husband, as she was worried her daughter would spend all her time on it, playing video games–neglecting school.

Her mother wasn't far off, as her daughter did spend all her time with the new gift. But she did not start neglecting her schoolwork. In fact, her grades flourished once more. Jordyn herself seemed happier, which sparked her parents' interest. They wanted to know what it was exactly that affected her so positively.

Jordyn opened another file on her screen and squinted her eyes to read through the information before her. She quickly clicked to edit the data before her and was greeted with her favorite sight.

Unexpectedly, lines of code adorned the entire screen. It was shocking to see what Jordyn was capable of. Although not yet understanding, it made them happy to see her so content and focused on something.

Over the years, it was clear that Jordyn found her very own passion. Programming. It was the one thing she couldn't get bored of. Of course, it frustrated her a lot, especially when a software didn't seem to work correctly and she had to search through all her work to find the mistake. But in the end, it paid off and Jordyn was proud of what she created.

The girls' ultimate goal would be to secure a stable job in the government, managing their cybersecurity. However, this dream seemed to be very far in her future right now, as even her stupid attempt at securing her own files was failing miserably.

Frustrated, Jordyn slammed her locker door shut, locking up her laptop. She regretted her action once the realization of her books still being inside came over her. Entering her code, the girl went to pull on the door, which didn't seem to budge. Jordyn may have many good qualities, but being patient and calm when utterly frustrated wasn't one of those.

The bell rang, signifying the beginning of her next class, which was on the other side of the school. Jordyn sighed, giving up on opening her locker. It wasn't the first time this happened to her. 

This school is a real dump. Maybe Mr. Miller will accept a late hand-in of my homework, the girl thought and truly hoped. She hadn't known her history teacher to be a sympathetic one.