Chapter 1 · Paperback pages 7-12
The Protest
At the library protest, Alex approaches Jeff to find out what is happening.
Read Chapter 1 freeA question to read withWhat does asking someone directly help Alex discover?
The connector
Meet Alex
Ideas are a beginning. Alex helps turn them into a plan.
AI-generated fictional illustration. Not artwork from the printed book. Image model and directing model/effort not exposed.
Image details
AI-generated with OpenAI tools, directed in Codex. Image model and directing model/effort not exposed.
Created October 19, 2026. Proportionally resized and WebP encoded; not cropped. Original fictional character illustration, not artwork from the printed book. Faces, clothing and staging are artistic interpretation. Exact image-model and directing model/effort identifiers were not exposed by the available tool receipt.
A staged library portrait of Alex, not a particular scene in the novel.
Every adventure needs someone who can turn a jumble of ideas into a plan. For this trio, that's Alex. He connects Kali's and Roman's different ideas and helps decide what to do next. But curiosity doesn't cancel caution: when Benjamin Franklin offers a trip through time, Alex wants to know how they'll get home.
- Age in the story
- 15
- Home
- Crystal City
- The beginning
- Summer after ninth grade
Roman wants to understand the machinery of a journey. Kali is ready to trust her intuition. Alex asks a different question: how will they get home? His caution belongs beside his curiosity, not in opposition to it.
Start with Chapter 1 freeFollow Alex into the story
Chapter 2 · Paperback pages 13-18
The Book
Before agreeing to Franklin's journey, Alex wants to understand how the friends will return.
View Chapter 2 reader accessA question to read withHow can a practical question change a group's decision?
Chapter 1 is free. Later chapters require reader access. Questions are invitations from this site, not quotations from the characters.
Beyond the page
Talk it over
Your friends have three different ideas for a project. How could you bring them together without losing what matters to each person?
Bring your own answer, or discuss it with a friend, family member or teacher. Nothing is recorded here.
AI-generated fictional illustration. Not artwork from the printed book. Image model and directing model/effort not exposed.
Image details
AI-generated with OpenAI tools, directed in Codex. Image model and directing model/effort not exposed.
Created October 19, 2026. Proportionally resized and WebP encoded; not cropped. Original fictional character illustration, not artwork from the printed book. Faces, clothing and staging are artistic interpretation. Exact image-model and directing model/effort identifiers were not exposed by the available tool receipt.
A staged library portrait of Alex, not a particular scene in the novel.