Chapter 4 RACE AGAINST TIME (PART 1)

After the bus drove off, Mark, who was inside, walked down to the lab to inspect the device which he built with Steve and said to himself. "This is how I do it. This is how I graduate. After 4 years at this school, I'm finally going to be done at last," he said to himself and said in his mind. "I never thought I could even have an obvious chance of doing it, especially since I didn't have the backing of my parents." And then his phone rang, and he answered it, it was his cousin.

"What's up, charity student, Graduating this year?" The person said.

"Yeah! Now back off," Mark shouted at the phone and hung up the call, then sat down on a chair, remembering his childhood and how tough it was for him at that age. How his father, who was a soldier in the U. S armed forces, sent him to live in New Orleans with his uncle and Aunt who treated him harshly after they admitted his mother into a mental asylum. They kept him at home instead of having proper primary education and had to sneak to read the books of his cousins. He also didn't attend a quality high school like his cousins rather attended a school in the slums of New Orleans but got a scholarship from a Christian organization who agreed to sponsor his tuition fees at Grand Canyon University if he could pass their entrance test and well, in a display of grace. He passed the test with flying colors, albeit with a bit of cheating. In 1985, they admitted him to study Robotics and Mechanics but failed badly in his first exam after being caught in the act of malpractice. He would later bounce back and pass all his remaining exams, but his very poor scores in his first year meant he needed this project to graduate or he would have to spend an extra year to gain the points he missed out on in the first year. He sighed, took a deep breath, left the basement, went into his bag, pulled out all his files, and looked at his results one by one, then pictures of experiments he had in the lab and then pictures of him playing the soccer team, he's a midfielder whose idol was Cruyff. He put all these back in his file and took a seat, deep in thought, wondering where all this would lead.

Meanwhile, on the bus to Alaska, Sylvie sat down on the passenger's seat at the front reading a journal while Steve sat at the back right next to one of his friends who was also in the student union, Josh Hart, the student's relations officer.

"So, you're a big movie fan?" Steve asked Josh.

"Well, I like time travel stories," Josh answered. "The Back to the Future trilogy are my favorite movies." He added.

"Well, I love time travel, too. Just a shame it isn't possible," Steve replied.

"Well, that's no biggie, is it?" Josh replied. "So someone's in a relationship with the queen bee," Josh said to Steve, laughing.

"We're not in a relationship. We're just friends, duh!" Steve replied.

"Oh really, and she invited 'just a friend' to fill the position of her vice instead of her entourage or her fans, right?" Josh said to Steve.

"Well–" Steve said before being sharply interrupted by Josh.

"Well, nothing dude. You got yourself one hell of a bird right there." Josh said. "Have you kissed her yet?" He asked.

"Kissed? No." Steve said instantly. "This is our first time going out," he added.

"Well, kiss her today during the movie," Josh said.

"No... It's too early for that." Steve said. "Maybe I should get to know her better or something," he added.

"Brother, time waits for no king. Make your move while the Sun still shines," Josh said calmly.

"Aren't we motivational today?" Steve said, smiling and then holding his chin as though a new idea had entered his head. "What about the Grand Canyon ball after graduation? Maybe I could get her to dance with me and probably even kiss her." Josh turned to Steve and smiled.

"Well, you'll have to act fast immediately after graduation. That girl's heading straight into politics. This might be your only shot." Josh said and instantly the driver pulled into a halt, parking the bus. "Good luck man," Josh said

"We're here!!!" said the driver, and they all came out of the bus. Steve walked towards Sylvie and they both moved into the theater to see the movie.

Nearly 3 hours later, they all came out from the theater chattering and talking about the movie.

"What did you think of the movie, Sylvie?" Josh asked, still looking towards Steve.

"Hasta la vista baby!" Sylvie said, quoting a line from the movie, and they all laughed out loud.

"I don't even know what that means," Josh said.

"Well, I do. After all, I am half-Spanish." she said.

"Oh yeah, you are!" Josh said. "Your dad is from Spain, right?"

"No. My mother is of Spanish descent, my father is American."

"What's your Spanish name then?" Steve curiously asked.

"Valeria!"

"That's great!" Steve said, and they entered the bus, but this time Sylvie sat at the back next to Steve. "So, I was wondering, On Sunday, if you would be my date at the Grand Canyon graduation ball," Steve said to Sylvie.

"I don't know if I should have a date, why not have some fun on my own," Sylvie said.

"But sure, I'll be your date," Sylvie said and Steve blushed, his cheeks red, struggling to control his emotions as Josh shifted to him and whispered in his ear. "The ball is in your court now, dude." And the bus rode back to Phoenix.

"And then the Terminator dipped himself in the lava and died while Sarah and John watched," Steve said to Mark, telling him about the movie experience the next day.

"Well, thank you, Steve, for that spoiler alert. You made me hate the movie." Mark said while getting up.

"You're welcome," Steve replied sarcastically.

"What about Sylvie?" Mark asked.

"We were great. I asked her out to the GCU graduation dance," Steve said. "And she accepted!" He added with joy.

"That's amazing man," Mark said. "I'll keep my eyes open to all your encounters."

"I bet you will."

"Now about the important stuff. We haven't been able to test my project at all."

"Let's submit the project first and then we test it. I know it will work." Steve said, and both men dressed up, put the cloth under the machine, which they put inside a wheelbarrow and pushed to school and then to the office of the professor, which was locked, but a note of paper hung on the door. "SUBMISSIONS OF PROJECTS HAVE CLOSED." At the sight of this, Mark broke down and whimpered.

"What do I do now? What do I do from here?" He said with tears firmly in his eyes. Steve knocked on the door and they opened it from the inside and they went in where 2 men told them they were no longer taking projects, called Mark unserious, and sent them out of the office. Mark went outside and continued sobbing.

"We can't give up. There has to be a way! You must graduate!" Steve said.

"Oh, come on. My certificate is ready. They just aren't giving it to me without seeing my project and now they can't," he said while pain increased in his voice. Steve put his hand on his head and chin, trying very hard to brainstorm an idea, but nothing would come. As he was about to join Mark in giving up, he remembered the words Mark said.

"Wait, did you say they have to SEE your project before they hand you your certificate?" Steve asked curiously.

"Well... Yeah, how does that help?" Mark asked Steve.

"I have an idea and you may not like it, but this could be the only way," Steve said. "Will your professor be at the graduation?" He asked.

"Yes. As will all other professors and staff in the school." Mark said.

"Then we take this sucker there," Steve said, feeling determined. Mark got up and looked at Steve in agreement, and they pushed the wheelbarrow back home, keeping the device and preparing for graduation the next day.

On the Sunday of graduation, Mark and Steve woke up around 10 am with the ceremony set to begin at 1 pm and the dance at 5 pm. Both guys got up, went in the shower, brushed their teeth, and one after the other, showered and dressed up.

"Which suit should I wear to impress Sylvie? Red or Blue?" Steve asked, holding both suits in his hand.

"I'd rather you go blue, it screams elegance rather than Red which screams Passion" Mark replied.

"Do I wear a tie or bow tie?" Steve asked again.

"Bowtie and wear the brown loafers," Mark added, and both men got dressed. The time was still 11:30 am. "Wait Steve, we haven't tested out the project yet," Mark said.

"Fine, fine. Get the water. I'll get the lightbulbs." And as Mark poured the water on the piezoelectric basin, Steve hit the switch but instead of powering the lightbulbs, it made them short circuit and Mark felt like he wanted his brain to short circuit too.

"Oh, I'm not gonna graduate, am I?" Mark said in disappointment and shock.

"I really won't speak yet." Steve replied equally in shock as he perceived a circuit of the machines fried with a burning sound and smell.

"What happened? Why did this happen? How could this happen?" Mark asked, feeling very stressed out and disturbed.

"I don't know. Let me check." Steve said and went to observe the machine. "Ah, I see the problem. We should've used water droplets hitting the basin rather than just pouring the water in. I can repair the machine though, but to power it you still need a large supply of water droplets and the only way to get that many droplets is-" Steve said and Mark completed it.

"Rain!" Mark said. "Rain is the only way we can get enough water droplets that can power the machine," he added. "But how do we know if there will be rain or not?" Mark asked again, feeling worried.

"Let's check the weather forecast!" Steve asked, and he turned on his black-and-white TV.

"4:30 pm to 5 pm. That's when the rain will fall." Mark said. "But the graduation ends exactly at 5 pm. How are we going to do it!?" He asked, feeling very confused and unsure. "We haven't even repaired it yet! Oh, I'm so gonna wait till next year till I graduate," he panicked and at that moment Steve picked up a book and hit Mark hard in the head with it.

"Snap out of it. The time is 12:45. We still have time to repair it and submit it before graduation." Steve said. "We have all we have, we are all we need. Now let's help you graduate."

Steve and Mark repaired the device, and as they repaired it. Time passed by. By the time they were done, it was already 4 pm, an hour till the end of graduation, and then Steve's phone rang and he answered.

"Hey, Sylvie, what's up!" Steve asked.

"Where are you, Steve? I'm about to give my last speech and then the certificates will be shared and then we will close the ceremony and the dance will begin." Sylvie said, sweating.

"I'm coming baby, give me a moment," Steve said.

"Call me baby when you come and be quick please," Sylvie said and hung up.

"So, what's our plan?" Mark asked Steve.

"Alright. We push the wheelbarrow to school and unveil the gadget, then when the rain falls I'll sneak into the back of the center and disconnect the generator and connect our device, and then the rain powers up your machine which we used to power up the place and then you explain it and pass your project." Steve said.

"That's a splendid plan, but the event isn't being held at school. It's at the Phoenix event center and by the time we get there. The ceremony will be over!" Mark panicked and Steve picked up his phone.

"I have a plan for that too," Steve said while calling Sylvie. "Hey, Sylvie, please can I ask just one favor from you," Steve said.

"What is it?" Sylvie asked

"Seems I may be really late. Can you help me create more time so I can get my certificate before the ceremony is over? Maybe make your speech long or a distraction," Steve pleaded.

"Fine! But you'll have to explain why you came late once you're here." Sylvie said.

"Agreed!" Steve replied and hung up. And then Steve received a call from his parents.

"Where are you, son? The whole family is here." Steve's father said.

"I'm kind of busy right now," Steve replied. "See you, old man," he added.

"We love you so much Steve and we're very proud of you!" Steve's mother said and Steve smiled and hung up.

"Let's move!" He said to Mark.

They pushed the wheelbarrow and by the time they got there the time was 4:50 pm as the rain clouds appeared, but thanks to the distraction from Sylvie. They were yet to give certificates. Steve sneaked off to the back and unplugged the generator once the rain started and connected the machine to the power source and after some minutes, the power came back.

"What was that!" An elderly man who looked to be the Vice-Chancellor of the university said.

"Hem!" a voice said with a microphone and that was Mark Toney. "Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Mark Toney, a final year student of Robotics and Mechanics and here presenting my project." He added.

"What project is that and I thought the time for the project was over?" The man asked.

"It's a power generator that creates electricity like solar panels with the sun, but mine uses the rain?" Mark said.

"Interesting? Tell us more!" The man said while other professors and students agreed.

"With the help of my friend, Steve Fleming, a graduating quantum physics student, we could create a machine that generates electricity from the vibrations of raindrops hitting piezoelectric material and the kinetic energy of these Raindrops are converted to electrical energy like I just did," he said pointing to the lights. The professor, a Dean, stood up and said,

"This is a brilliant source of electricity that is clean and doesn't cause pollution. We would love to have this machine here at GCU."

"I'm willing to pay $500,000 for the blueprint of this device," another man said in the crowd. And then the vice Chancellor stood up.

"Despite missing out on the set deadline, the quality of your project, your creativity, and your determination have impressed me and all of us. I grant you graduation!" Mark screamed for joy once he heard this. "Take this man a picture of him, the machine, the union president, and all the professors and put it on the wall of my office." He added.

"What's the device called?" Sylvie asked.

"It's called Genera Pluviam, which is Latin for Rain Generator," Mark said and everyone present cheered for him when Steve ran to meet Mark.

"You did it, you amazing man, Toney. You did it!" Steve said, pulling Mark into an enormous hug. They took pictures, the graduation ceremony concluded, and it was time for the dance.

A sweet romantic song played in the background as Steve, wearing his blue suit, walked up to Sylvie wearing a golden-colored dress encrusted with diamonds and a tiara with a sash that boldly wrote QUEEN GCU and they held each other's hand.

"So that's why you were late, Mr. Steve Fleming," Sylvie said.

"Had to help my dude graduate," Steve said, chuckling.

"You're a nice guy, really smart and clever," Sylvie said as they both danced with each other.

"But I'm not a wonderful dancer," Steve said to her.

"Don't worry, you don't need to be, just go with me and go with the flow," Sylvie said while dancing with Steve and then the song switched to a Latin song. "Come on, I'll teach you how to dance.," she said as the song came on.

"Okay."

"Now this is how we do it in Spain!"

"Don't you go go, Senorita

Don't you leave me, don't you leave me now

Don't you go go, Senorita

Cause you know I won't leave you down."

As the song played on. Sylvie and Steve made magic on the dance floor, with Sylvie teaching him salsa and him learning instantly. They twirled, jumped, went slow and then fast while dancing and when the song went off, Sylvie pulled Steve into a kiss which caught everyone's attention but she didn't mind and neither did he and the two kissed and danced with each other till the end of the dance.