Electric Memories

It was finally the day of the city's annual science exhibition, the day Sarah Bella Pepper had been preparing for. The event had gathered a large crowd as always. Being here was like taking a peek into the future. At least a few of the inventions and advancements shown at the University's science exhibition were sure to become commonplace. Toiling away in her given space in the track field being used Pepper hardly even heard as the Headmaster of her university stood on a stage and welcomed the civilians. He prattled on about how proud he was of Elm University's finest students, he tried to sound like a gloating parent but he came across as if he were showing off a cabinet of trophies he didn't earn. Pepper heard her name mentioned, and reflexively jumped up, banging her head on the hood of the car she was working on, covering her emerald colored hair in black grease. Turned out he was only listing the soon to be graduating class in attendance, her name in particular was emphasized, due to the fact that she was only eighteen. She curtly waved to whoever bothered looking her way, ignoring a sparse few glares and turning back to the sporty car.
"Jealousy appears to be in the air." Anri, a close friend said. Anri was a student in the same university as Pepper, and a childhood friend. She was the daughter to a lucrative business man, yet had somehow grown up pretty grounded. She stuck out like a sore thumb here since she was dressed in an elaborate purple robe with gold hem. She had curly black hair, and two braids adorned with gold ribbons that framed her face. A bonafide mage if there ever was one.
"Jealousy? I wish, that would be easier to deal with." She said as she placed an angular blue stone into the engine of the car. Anri peered at it before the hood was shut.
"The magic I supplied to that stone was enough, was it not? I have seen you fiddle with it ten times now. You should relax." Anri said. Pepper let out a sigh and tapped a wrench against the palm of her hand. She was covered in more than a little bit of grease from her preparations, thankfully she was wearing a fairly bland white tank top and black overalls.
"Yeah, the stone is fine, I just... It really needs to work. Once I prove that these stones can be used for good, things will- well, things will change. They have to." Pepper prattled nervously, Anri patted her on the shoulder.
"Breathe, you will be fine. I am here after all."
"You're so full of it, but I can't argue with that."

As the event went on students were given time to showcase their devices and findings. One student demonstrated a machine that was able to teleport objects from one place to another, which did not seem impressive at first, until it was revealed that it did so by switching the spaces between the two machines. The teleporters currently used worked by breaking apart things atom by atom and transporting them to another location, which was problematic for unstable materials. Another student showed off what was essentially a shrink ray. Shrinking objects wasn't anything new, however, bringing them back to their normal size without destroying them as this device did was.
"Tough competition. Right?" Anri said. Not quite sure how to gauge the inventions. Pepper nudged her in the side.
"What, not enough spells and chanting involved for you to get it?" She teased.
"Excuse me, I understand it well enough, and the differences between magic studies and science-"
"I know I know!" Pepper raised her hands, stopping Anri before she went on a rant, something they were both guilty of doing on occasion.

Soon enough it was Pepper's turn to try and wow the crowd which had gathered around the fancy red car that was her prototype. She had made the engine herself, but she had Anri to thank for paying for the rest of the car. She tapped the top of the microphone that had been given to her, testing it even though multiple others had used it fine. She was calm up until this point, now she was nearly shaking. She took a deep breath, it didn't help. She looked out into the crowd for Anri, once she spotted her she nearly broke into laughter. She was holding up a sign of a green pepper with cartoony eyes and freckles. Of all the times to make fun of her hair she chose now. Anri knew her too well. Pepper relaxed and walked over to the car.
"I'm here to present an alternative power source, for everything. Until now we've had to rely on sub-optimal means to power our homes and machines. Instead of needing to charge your car every day, what if you never had to worry about fuel again?" Pepper reached into her pocket and pulled out a clear stone, at the sight of which she was meet once more with glaring eyes. "This stone is able to absorb magical energy, either from a living being or over time in a controlled environment. This energy can be used to power anything you can think of, such as this car." Pepper opened the car door and sat inside. At the press of a button by the steering wheel the vehicle quickly rumbled to life with a quiet hum. The crowd grew with excitement, applauding. Pepper smiled, and revved the engine, causing the quiet hum to grow into a powerful roar. The crowd ate it up, cheering.
But something was wrong. The car's engine was rapidly heating up, and the loud roar was starting to become an unsettling screech. Blue light began to shine from the hood of the car as smoke rose into the air.
"Pepper, get out of there!" She could hear Anri scream. The crowd had begun to disperse as people ran for their lives.
"No, I've got it under control, I just need to cool it down with the- what, where is it?" Pepper began to panic, she had checked the car's engine numerous times to prevent just this problem. As much as she wanted to try and fix this, she knew it was a lost cause. She opened the car's door and stumbled out, tripping over the raised platform as she moved away from the car. Anri helped her to her feet and stood in front of the unstable machine. The mage whispered something swiftly under her breath, and extended her hands from her body, she then motioned her hands together by the tips of her fingers. A purple force field surrounded the car a moment before it exploded in a violent blue plume. The magic force field expanded like a balloon being filled with air. Anri locked her fingers together and gritted her teeth, struggling to maintain her magic.
"Disperse it upwards, you won't be able to hold it!" Pepper yelled. Anri nodded and weakened the top of her magic field. The swirling blue energy ruptured like a geyser, spewing the dangerous explosion into the sky, gusts of powerful wind blew across the grassy field until it finally subsided.
"That... Should do it." Anri gasped for air, releasing the magic spell. "What just happened? I have seen you test that engine more times than I can rightly remember." Pepper jumped onto the platform and examined the mangled wreck that remained of her experiment. The engine had completely melted from the searing heat of the magic stone.
"Sabotage."

The chaos eventually subsided, though the entire event was canceled. Pepper found herself being called to the headmaster's office. She kept her head down as she walked, ignoring the condemning eyes of fellow students and staff. Her mind was all over the place and yet completely void of any substantial thoughts. She knew her prototype shouldn't have failed. The only answer that came to mind was that someone tampered with it, but she had no clue who that could be.
The office's door read ANDERSON, in bold font that forced you to see it every time you opened the door. As Pepper stepped inside she was motioned to take a seat by the heavy set man behind his desk. She sat in the chair across from him. "It wasn't my fault." She said. "Magic stones don't just explode like that, you have to agitate the energy inside in a specific way so tha-" The headmaster raised his hand.
"I didn't call you here for a lecture. I called you here to tell you that you're being expelled." He said. Pepper blinked a few times, then leaned forward.
"What? I'm a month away from graduation. I'm telling you this wasn't my fault, you really think I'd try to set off a bomb at the fair?"
"On purpose? No, but you knew how dangerous those stones are. Were the atrocities your father created not enough to make you understand?" He said. Pepper stood from her chair and clenched her fists.
"You talk as if you knew him. Do you really believe that one man was responsible for destroying an entire country?" She slammed her hands onto his desk. "You never wanted me in your precious school in the first place, you just saw who my father was and figured I'd bring attention to this place. Now you think I'm a liability, can't have someone like me be a graduate, huh!?"
The door suddenly opened, it was Anri. She grabbed Pepper by the arm and pulled her out of the room before the stunned headmaster. "What was that about?" She said, yanking her arm away.
"You need to calm yourself."
"Calm myself? That asshole is kicking me out of the school."
"I heard, which is why I'm dropping out as well." Anri said. Pepper was instantly deflated. She looked at her friend as if she were crazy.
"What are you talking about? Don't you need to graduate?"
"Neither of us need this school, coming here was essentially a formality anyhow. You believe in those stones, in the work your father started, yes? Well I believe in you." Anri smiled with confidence, disarming Pepper completely.
"You... You're really too much, you know that?" Pepper said, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. She didn't know if she was worth this much trouble.
"Yes, yes, I am the best friend you could ask for. Come, I called in a helicopter."
"Eh? Already?" Pepper yelped as Anri began to stride away.
"Of course, We have a company to build."