The Hiddenville High Science Fair was in full swing, which naturally meant absolute chaos. Students were showing off experiments that probably violated at least three safety regulations, and somewhere in the gym, an erupting volcano project had already set off the fire alarm twice.

Melanie, stuck on crutches and still dealing with her broken leg, was not having a great time. She stood next to Max, glaring at him as he stretched his fully healed limbs like he hadn't nearly shattered his body just a week ago.

"I cannot believe this," she huffed, shifting uncomfortably as she tried to scratch at the itchy brace on her leg. "I break my leg, and I'm still stuck like this, while you get to heal up like nothing happened?!"

Max smirked, flexing his arm dramatically. "Well, what can I say? I guess I just bounce back faster."

Melanie shot him a look. "You have superpowers, Max. That's cheating."

"Hey, I still suffered." He pointed at himself. "Do you know how hard it was pretending to be injured for a whole week? My acting skills were truly put to the test."

She scoffed. "Yeah, must've been so tough for you."

Before Max could retort, the flunky suddenly appeared out of nowhere, holding up what looked like a bubbling beaker filled with neon green liquid. "Yo, Prez! Check out my science project—it's totally gonna win!"

Melanie eyed it suspiciously. "That looks highly unstable."

"That's how you know it's good," Flunky said proudly.

Before anyone could stop him, he lifted the beaker high, only for it to explode in a puff of purple smoke.

Max coughed, waving away the fog. "Flunky, what was that?"

Flunky blinked. "Uh... it was supposed to be a cure for athlete's foot?"

Melanie groaned. "Oh, perfect. Now I can add mystery chemical exposure to my list of problems." She tried to shift her weight but winced. "Ugh, this brace is so annoying. I swear, if I have to wear this thing any longer, I'm gonna lose my mind."

Max, ever the problem solver (or troublemaker, depending on who you asked), rubbed his chin. "You know... I could try to speed up your healing with a little supercharged tech."

Melanie crossed her arms. "Max, I swear, if you put some weird science fair nonsense on my leg and it mutates or something, I will personally make sure your next campaign ends in flames."

Max grinned. "Noted. No leg mutation." He paused. "...Probably."

Melanie groaned and hobbled away. "You better not, Thunderman!"

As she left, Max leaned over to Flunky. "Okay, but if I did build a healing accelerator, what are the odds of her forgiving me if it backfires?"

Flunky nodded sagely. "Ooooh, yeah, she'd definitely break your nose. And, uh, maybe an arm."

Max sighed. "Worth it."

Melanie sat slumped on the couch, arms crossed, her crutches leaning against the armrest beside her. Her broken leg was propped up on a pillow, but even that small comfort wasn't enough to ease her frustration. "This is the worst," she muttered, shifting uncomfortably. "My leg is still sore, the brace is itchy, and now I have to sit here while you guys get to do fun science-y stuff."

Phoebe, Nora, and Billy barely looked up from their projects.

"Hey, guys, whatcha doin'?" Phoebe asked, eyeing their setup with curiosity.

Nora grinned. "Working on our project for the school science fair."

Phoebe gasped, eyes lighting up. "Oh, my gosh! I love science fairs. They've got all the fun of homework mixed with the thrill of academic competition." She paused and winced. "That sounded a lot cooler in my head."

Melanie let out a dramatic sigh. "Ugh, science fair. Great. Just one more thing I can't even participate in because I'm stuck with this stupid leg." She gestured toward her brace, then frowned at Billy as he proudly presented his project.

"I'm making... these!"

Melanie squinted. "Are those... mop socks?"

Billy nodded enthusiastically. "So I can clean the floor with my feet!"

Nora raised a skeptical eyebrow. "That's it?"

Billy shrugged. "Hey, that works too!" He eagerly slipped the mop socks onto his feet and began sliding across the floor like a human Zamboni.

"Whoa, that's way better than hairy foot puppets," Melanie admitted, watching as Billy zoomed past her.

Nora crossed her arms. "Not bad, but just don't say 'science fair' around Max. It stirs up bad memories."

"Wait, what? Why?" Melanie perked up slightly, intrigued.

Phoebe smirked. "Trust me, he'll totally freak."

Nora and Billy exchanged mischievous glances.

"Well, now we have to do it," Billy whispered.

"Yep."

"No—" Phoebe started, but it was too late.

"SCIENCE FAIR!" Both Billy and Nora yelled in unison.

A loud crash erupted from the other room, followed by the unmistakable sound of splintering wood.

"WHO SAID SCIENCE FAIR—?!" Max's voice rang out as he tumbled into the room, completely wrecking the doorway in the process.

Phoebe groaned and covered her face. "Oh, come on!"

Nora and Billy high-fived. "Worth it!"

Melanie, despite her frustration, let out a snort of laughter. "Okay, that almost makes up for my leg itching like crazy."

Max had stormed off after his dramatic entrance, locking himself in his room like a villain licking his wounds. Melanie, still stuck on the couch, groaned as she adjusted her itchy brace. "Okay, this is ridiculous. Someone's gotta get Max out of his hidey-hole before he starts plotting our doom."

Phoebe crossed her arms. "You volunteering?"

Melanie sighed and grabbed her crutches. "Do I look like I wanna do this?" She shifted uncomfortably before muttering, "But I am the best at getting through to him."

Billy gasped. "Wait! I have an idea!" He pulled out a small remote and pressed a button. "We'll just use my automated mop socks to slide under his door and—"

Before he could finish, the socks whirred to life, zooming out of control and launching Billy into the kitchen, where he crashed into the fridge.

"Nope! I got this," Melanie said, shaking her head as she hobbled toward Max's room.

Melanie vs. The Sulking President

She knocked firmly. "Max, open up."

Silence.

She knocked again, harder this time. "Come on, I know you're in there, probably brooding over science fairs and lost elections. Get over yourself and open the door."

Still nothing.

Melanie scowled and leaned against the door. "Fine. Then I guess I'll just talk to you through here. But it's gonna get real annoying, real fast."

A muffled voice came through the door. "I'm busy."

Melanie rolled her eyes. "Busy doing what? Drawing evil mustaches on old yearbook photos?"

"No! ...Maybe."

She smirked. "Max, I swear, if I had two working legs, I would kick this door down."

There was a pause, then the sound of slow footsteps approaching. The door cracked open just enough for Max to peer out. "You're still on crutches. You're not kicking anything."

Melanie took that as her chance and wedged her crutch into the doorframe, pushing it open further. "Busted. Now, are you gonna keep moping, or are you gonna come out and let me cheer you up?"

Max leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "Cheer me up how? By reminding me how I made a fool of myself and ruined yet another science fair?"

Melanie scoffed. "No, by reminding you that you're actually pretty great—when you're not stealing ideas and making ridiculous promises."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Wow, thanks. So uplifting."

Melanie smirked. "And besides, I know you're dying to rub it in my face that you're healing faster than me. Might as well get it over with."

Max smirked right back. "Oh, definitely. I was waiting for that moment."

She nudged him with her crutch. "Then get out here, Thunderman."

With a dramatic sigh, Max finally stepped out of his room, shutting the door behind him. "Fine, but if anyone says 'science fair' again, I will lose it."

Just then, Billy, still tangled in mop socks, slid past the hallway yelling, "SCIENCE FAIR—WHOA!" before crashing into a pile of chairs.

Max clenched his fists. "I hate this house."

Melanie patted his shoulder. "And yet, you love us."

Max grumbled. "Debatable."

Melanie smirked. "Come on, let's go enjoy watching Billy destroy himself."

Max let out a reluctant chuckle as they headed back to the living room, where chaos awaited them.

The tension in the living room was so thick you could cut it with one of Billy's failed potato clocks. Max, Phoebe, Melanie, Nora, and Billy stood in a loose circle, all of them arguing—except for Billy, who was busy stuffing another handful of French fries into his mouth.

"Sorry we said 'science fair,' Max," Nora offered, barely stifling a grin.

"Phoebe told us to do it," Billy blurted, pointing an accusing finger at his sister.

Phoebe shot him a glare. "I did not! The last thing I wanted was for Max to hear those words. Now we have to listen to his bitter, long-winded stor—"

But it was too late.

Max squared his shoulders and launched into a dramatic retelling, eyes narrowing as if he were recounting a great tragedy.

"It was five years ago. Back in Metroburg, I was an idealistic fourth-grader dreaming of science fair glory. I built a device that could make anything ten times bigger. The other projects didn't stand a chance."

Melanie sighed, shifting her weight on her crutches. "Oh, here we go. The legend of the great Metroburg science fair disaster."

Max ignored her and continued.

"Especially Phoebe's. Her project was a complete joke."

Phoebe crossed her arms. "Excuse me, my mouse light was revolutionary!"

"Your mouse light was a glorified nightlight, and you know it," Max shot back.

But as Max recounted his grand moment—flipping the switch on his grow-matic machine—his face twisted with disgust.

"Then, disaster struck. My science fair dreams crashed to the ground."

Melanie rolled her eyes. "You mean your project crashed to the ground."

Phoebe smirked. "And who ended up winning, Max?"

Max huffed. "Some undeserving nobody."

Phoebe put a hand to her chest in fake shock. "Oh, that's weird. Because I won."

Melanie snorted. "Yeah, because your project didn't self-destruct."

Max wasn't listening anymore. He was too focused on glaring at Phoebe. "What I didn't appreciate was how you rubbed your medal in my face!"

Phoebe smirked as she mimicked her younger self, raising an imaginary medal and dancing mockingly. "You like that? This is what first place feels like. Mouse light!"

The memory played out in Max's head like a horror movie.

"You're exaggerating," Phoebe said, but Max wasn't having it.

"I get it, Phoebe! If there were any justice, I'd be the one doing that dance. Well... not that dance. That was stupid."

Melanie clapped her hands. "Okay, wow. We've officially hit rock bottom on the 'Max holds a grudge' scale."

Nora, who had been watching this all unfold, raised an eyebrow. "Wait... are you still wearing your medal, Phoebe?"

Phoebe lifted her chin proudly and pulled the medal from beneath her shirt. "Always. You get used to the rash." She shot Max a smug grin. "Right, Max? Oh, wait... you don't have a rash."

Max clenched his fists. "You'll see! I'll have my day in the sun! Nora, on a completely unrelated note, how would you like some help with your project?"

Nora hesitated. "Um... we're not supposed to have help."

Max smiled slyly. "Oh, I wouldn't be helping, I'd just be... making suggestions." His grin widened. "Like, for example... mind your own business."

Nora frowned but eventually gave a reluctant nod. "Well... as long as you don't do all the work, I guess it would be okay."

Billy's mouth was still half-full of fries when he raised a hand. "Hey! If she gets help, I want help too!"

Melanie sighed dramatically and adjusted her crutches. "Fine, Billy. I'll help you. And, unlike some people, I'm doing it because I care—not because I'm trying to work through some childhood issues."

Max scoffed. "Please. This has nothing to do with my childhood."

Phoebe smirked. "Suuuuure, Max. Totally normal to still be plotting revenge over an elementary school science fair."

Max turned to Nora and pointed dramatically. "Come on, Mini Max. We got work to do."

Melanie sighed again. "Yep. This is my life now."

☆

Billy proudly held up his latest invention—a long pole with a mop sock attached to the end. "Check it out! Since mop socks are 'too dangerous,' I took one of them and put it on the end of a long pole!"

Phoebe stared at it for a long second. "So... you made a mop?"

Billy grinned. "I'm not following."

Melanie, balancing on her crutches nearby, shook her head. "Billy, please tell me you had other ideas."

Billy perked up. "Oh, yeah! I've got a ton! Mop hat, mop soup bowl, mop watch, mop–"

"All great ideas," Phoebe interrupted, "but why don't we try something a little more classic? And, you know, less mop-y?"

Billy gasped dramatically. "Ham phone?"

Melanie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please, for the love of science, tell me that's not exactly what it sounds like."

Billy proudly held up a hollowed-out ham with a phone receiver stuck inside. Right on cue, it rang. He held it to his ear. "Ham phone. This is Billy."

Phoebe let out a deep sigh. "Okay, we are not submitting a ham phone to the science fair. How about... a model volcano?"

Billy pouted but set the ham down. "Fine. But just so you know, that call was very important."

Melanie smirked, shifting her weight on her crutches. "What, was it the other half of your sandwich calling to say it misses you?"

Billy gasped. "You get me."

Phoebe clapped her hands. "Alright, let's focus. If we're making a volcano, we need baking soda, vinegar, and some modeling clay to shape it."

Melanie leaned against the table. "I'll help Billy out. Somebody needs to make sure he doesn't turn this into a mop-cano."

Billy lit up. "Wait... mop-cano? That's genius!"

Phoebe groaned. "Why do I even try?"

Melanie sat on the edge of the table, idly tapping her fingers against her crutch while Phoebe and Billy sorted through the materials for the volcano. It had been noisy just moments ago—Billy rambling about mop-related inventions, Phoebe sighing every five seconds—but now, the sudden silence from downstairs sent a chill through her.

She frowned. "Hey... do you hear that?"

Phoebe barely looked up from the bottle of vinegar she was holding. "Hear what?"

Melanie gestured toward the door. "Exactly. It was loud a minute ago. Now it's dead quiet. I don't like it."

Billy shrugged. "Maybe Max finally accepted that science fairs are fun?"

Melanie shot him a look. "Or maybe something happened to Nora. I mean, you guys do live in a house full of disasters waiting to happen."

Phoebe sighed, setting the vinegar down. "Mel, relax. Nora's fine. She's probably just watching Max mope in the lair. She loves seeing him miserable."

Melanie's brows furrowed. "Phoebe, I said I was worried she's hurt, not enjoying a front-row seat to Max's existential crisis."

Phoebe crossed her arms. "Well, I'm just saying, if it's between Nora being injured and her messing with Max, my money's on the second option."

Melanie stared at her for a second, then rolled her eyes. "You are so off the point right now."

Without another word, she turned and walked out of the room, her pace quick despite the awkwardness of her crutches. By the time she reached the stairs leading to Max's lair, she didn't even hesitate.

With a deep breath, she braced herself and carefully slid down, landing at the bottom with a quiet thud.

Whatever was going on down here... she was about to find out.

Melanie stood near the doorway, arms crossed, her weight balanced awkwardly on one crutch. She had come down here expecting a mess—maybe some minor disaster involving Nora and Max bickering—but this? This was... interesting. And mildly concerning.

"So... this is the famous Grow-Matic, huh?" she said, tilting her head as she took in the contraption. It looked like something out of a sci-fi movie—metallic, clunky, and humming with a suspicious amount of energy. "I gotta say, Max, this seems way riskier than a potato clock."

Max smirked, dramatically adjusting a knob on the machine. "Risky? No. Revolutionary? Absolutely. This bad boy is about to change the science fair forever."

Nora grinned and nudged him. "And it'll finally get him the trophy he lost to Phoebe's dumb mouse light."

Phoebe scoffed. "It was not dumb. It was practical, energy-efficient, and—" She stopped when Nora and Max started making exaggerated 'blah, blah, blah' gestures.

Melanie bit her lip, equal parts intrigued and skeptical. "Okay, but... let's just say, for argument's sake, that I don't totally trust you with machinery that can mess with molecular structure." She gestured toward the giant carrot sitting nearby. "What exactly is stopping this thing from backfiring and, I don't know, turning something dangerous into a Godzilla-sized nightmare?"

Billy, who had been quiet up until now, gasped. "Can we do that?! I knew I should've brought my iguana!"

Phoebe shook her head. "Melanie's right. Max, you haven't tested this thing enough. What if it malfunctions again?"

Max rolled his eyes. "Relax. The only thing this baby is gonna do is make me the science fair champion I was always meant to be."

Melanie wasn't convinced. She took a step closer, lowering her voice slightly. "Max, I know you want this win, but are you really willing to risk another science fair disaster?"

Max smirked. "Mel, the only disaster here is that Billy wasted money on imported lava."

Billy dramatically held up a small vial. "From Hawaii, Max. You don't just waste Hawaii lava!"

Melanie sighed, shaking her head. "Fine. Do what you want. But when this thing inevitably blows up in your face, just remember—I tried to warn you."

Max gave her a confident wink before flipping a few more switches. "Noted. Now, prepare to witness greatness."

Phoebe exchanged a knowing glance with Melanie. "Prepare to witness something, at least."

Melanie, still unconvinced but undeniably curious, took a cautious step back, gripping her crutches a little tighter. If this went the way she thought it would... well, at least it wouldn't be boring.

Outside, Melanie leaned against the railing of the porch, arms crossed as she gazed up at the sky, deep in thought. The late afternoon sun cast a golden glow over Hiddenville, but she barely noticed. Her mind was occupied with one thing—Max and his latest obsession.

Phoebe stepped up beside her, hands on her hips. "You're really worried about him, huh?"

Melanie let out a long sigh. "Of course, I'm worried. You saw how he was in there. He's so caught up in proving something to himself that he's not even thinking about what could go wrong." She shook her head. "It's like he