On the quiet weekend morning, Rose and Cindy hurled the two large boxes into the lab.

"I'm glad we did this." Rose smiled at her, unpacking the equipment. "It gave us more time to work on the fair for next week"

"Don't mention it. We only have so much time remaining. Let's make our projects work." Cindy helped her sort the equipment in order.

"I was a bit worried about how much money you had on you. Saving up?"

"Yea, something like that." Cindy was disinterested. Rose shrugged it off as anxiety for the upcoming Graduate fair.

An exhaustive hours of the week were spent experimenting in the lab and drafting the thesis to prove their hypothesis. It meant days of work undone and redone to verify the experiments and record the data accurately. The proposed formula was checked and rechecked to identify the accuracy of the results.

The professor had prepared a written and mock interview for each student which was conducted in the three remaining days of the week. A follow up was taken on the results of the mock preparation to give students a feedback on their responses. The last day was spent in organizing the material for the showcase.

"Hey, how are you feeling for your big day tomorrow?" Mum phoned her that evening.

"Yea, a little nervous." Cindy played shadow puppets with study light on her desk. It wasn't much but it was entertaining.

"We're excited to come see you" Mom chimed. "Dad says no matter what we'll treat you to dinner"

"Aw mom!" Cindy loved her parents. It made her feel less anxious about the fair.

"We'll let you get busy. Good luck!" Mom hung up.

The students were pre-allotted tables in the main assembly hall. Cindy spent the rest of the evening setting up her experiment on her desk before the hall was closed for the night.

"Can't wait to see the rejection on your face" Zeke retorted when they crossed each other in the hall.

"Back at you," Cindy winked at him with finger guns.