The halls forked into various divisions. Cindy and Rose stopped short of the pair of double doors. Voices were heard from within.

"May I come in?" Cindy knocked but there was no response. She peered in to find a quarrel had broken out.

"Look, we will deliver your supply by noon tomorrow. That's a guarantee." Said a slender tall man in a coat. The print on the pocket of his coat was the logo Rose recognized near the name of the University.

"Want to find out what happens when a payment stays overdue by weeks?" Another hooded man whose back was facing the two women spoke. He reached for the rim of a beaker on the table and it collapsed into ashes.

"Ah, students!" The scientist stammered, pointing a pen in their direction. The hooded man reluctantly sunk his hands into his pockets and walked toward the exit. It was then the two girls got a glimpse of his features – pale and wrinkly skin and a bony jawline. A few pale blue locks covered the rest of his features. There was a silence in the room after he left.

"What brings you here?" He said in a fake cheery tone. Rose handed over their sheet of paper to him.

"Ah, I see." He adjusted his glasses.

"Follow me," he handed the two sheets of paper back to Cindy. The back of the lab had shelves packed with cartons from the bottom to the top. Each had an alpha-numerical code pasted neatly on one corner of the box. The cartons were aligned in an alphabetical order. It was obvious that this scientist was not entirely organized since some of the boxes were open while some of them were sealed shut.

He leaned below the desk and pulled out two cartons.

"One on how to build fluorescent lights and the other for mimicking sludge waste for reusable energy. That is a total of 2300 $ please." Cindy placed the exact amount on the palms of his outstretched hands.

"We always have a graduate or two running over to our university for supplies last minute. Gotta keep them handy you know." He winked.

"Who was that?" Rose asked, jerking her head to the doors.

"Nevermind him." The scientist dismissed her question with a palm. "How are you going to carry them all the way back?" He looked over to them while counting the bills.

"Don't worry, we got ourselves a ride." Cindy jabbed a thumb to the door. Rose nodded.

"Alright," the man smiled after counting the exact change of bills. "Good luck to both of you!"

He picked the tablet by his desk and marked two spots on what Cindy assumed to be check boxes. The two lifted each box one after the other to the elevator. The lady of the information desk was kind enough to wait for them all this while. She helped them all the way until the cartons were safely loaded for their ride back.

The boxes safely belonged in Cindy's room until the weekend.