One month later. Friday morning.

"Ansh and Sai handed in their first trial yesterday. Professor Kain said it was over 50%," Hope said, angrily.

They had set up the computer and 3D-printer at Hope's house in the den. Cole sat in front of the screen and Hope was next to him. They were shoulder-to-shoulder and the light from the display brightened the dark room. Since she realized she was in love with him, whenever their bodies touched like this, it filled her with the urge to embrace him and confess her feelings. Maria helped her push that aside and re-focus on what is most important. She still had to win, so she glanced down at her Betrothed bracelet, re-focused, and went back to work.

"There's no way they could have designed it and printed it this fast," Cole said while he typed hastily. They quieted their voices to not wake her parents.

"I think someone did it for him. Nothing else makes sense," Maria whispered from the seated position on Hope's couch. She read from her viewer.

Hope took a swig from Maria's thermos that she filled with piping hot coffee. It burnt her tongue. The sweetened flavor helped snowball her addiction. She required caffeine every day because it made her more productive by allowing her to concentrate more over longer periods of time.

"Like his cousin?" Cole questioned.

"I don't know. I'll try to find out," Maria said.

"OK. I designed smaller solar cells so they will take up less space." He clicked on the new solar panel image on the bottom and dragged them onto the map.

Hope took control and zoomed in on Cole's blueprint. She examined its feasibility and checked if the materials he used were readily available on Mars. That is essential for every item they designed. Professor Kain would verify that first. Dr. Bettencourt's vision was to have an entirely sustainable system, so they did not rely on Earth. Although, they manufacture the 3D-printers on Earth, and she planned on addressing that once they arrived.

"When did you come up with this?" she asked Cole.

"During Kain's class. He basically told everybody how to do it at the beginning of class, but no one else paid attention."

"I heard him and made a note about it, but I did not apply it to our project."

"Well, I did," Cole beamed.

"That's amazing but you placed them horizontally."

Cole did not respond.

"Look! The sheet is thin, but you still have four inches to work with..." Hope held her forefinger and thumb four inches apart in front of Cole.

"And?" Cole shrugged his shoulders.

"... and if you line them vertically you conserve more space and still allow them to receive sunlight." Hope did the same thing on the computer program. She lined them up vertically on the screen.

"Wow!" Maria jumped up between Cole and Hope with her arms around their shoulders. "That's impressive. I hope it works."

"Name Jinx!" Hope reached over and pinched his arm. This time she did it harder, trying to brand him for when he would be with Skye.

"Goddammit!" Cole shouted and rubbed his arm. "You're not supposed to injure me."

"Concentrate!" Hope gestured toward the screen and they returned to the design.

Hope's alarm vibrated. It pulled her from this project and back into reality. "It's time to eat. We'll continue this when we return."

They strolled to Hope's kitchen, but her mom was not awake.

"You should have set up the computer at Cole's house," Maria said.

"You got that right," Cole added. "My mom always made breakfast."

Hope's stomach growled, and she rummaged through her cupboards hunting for food. She found an almost empty box of wheat cereal and a loaf of bread. She shook the container and rattled the remaining shredded biscuits.

Cole's viewer vibrated with a message.

Mom: Where are you guys? I have breakfast ready.

"Oh. Thank God. I'm starving," Cole said, and they sprinted to his house.

"Good Morning Everybody." His mom hugged Cole, Hope, and Maria

"You are a lifesaver," Hope said.

Cole's mom chuckled. "I just make food. Your dad is the doctor."

Today they ate mouth-watering French Toast, omelet, bananas, and orange juice. The freshly squeezed orange juice tasted like you were eating actual oranges, unlike most bottle versions. The omelet had diced red and green peppers which were also fresh.

"You need to hurry. You are running late."

Skye knocked on the front door. "Hey guys!"

"Try this food. It is amazing," Maria told Skye.

"No, thank you. My chef makes me egg whites and a special shake every day."

"Well, you are missing out," Cole kissed Skye.

They used the limousine again. This had become their main mode of transportation to and from school for the last month.

Hope, Maria, and Cole made a great team, and she never questioned if Maria should be with them because Maria fit perfectly into their group. They arrived at school then they went to Professor Kain's class and took their seats in the front. Cole and Skye still sat next to each other. She grabbed his hand, distracting him.

Hope lost Cole's attention each day when Skye showed up. Their twin-like superpower disappeared. She could be on fire or bleeding to death, and he would fail to notice.

"Hope?" Maria tapped her shoulder. "You're doing it again."

"Thanks, Maria."

The bell rang to start class.

Professor Kain said to Anshe, "I tested your groups project, and it measured at 56%. I sent it to the lab for the official trial."

Then he shifted to the class and stated, "We will begin with a pop quiz. Class, how many failed domed structures have we had on Mars?"

They discussed this in the reading material for today's lesson. She had read it previously over the summer and then re-read it last night. She raised her hand before everybody.

"Miss Anderson?"

"Two. Daedalia Planum and Solus Planum."

"Good. What were the main reasons for their failures?"

"Daedalia Planum did not have a strong enough skeleton to hold up the heavy outer membrane against the strong Martian wind gusts. Solus Planum had an outbreak of the flu and most of them died."

"Correct. Miss Anderson. We learned two important lessons. First, we must have a solid structure that could hold up the membranes permanently, and that medical professionals are as essential as the construction teams."

She had caught Anshe in Professor Kain's class with answering questions, but that did not matter because they had chosen the group project. This knowledge helped her, and Cole make the best dome membrane possible while avoiding previous mistakes.

This continued until the bell rang and they made their way to Professor Petrov's class outside. It was relatively cool day today, overcast clouds blocked the sun and a strong wind made her cold. That would pass with time. She noticed that since they removed the trees here; the wind was stronger, and colder than anywhere else. During the heat waves it was the opposite since there were no trees to hide in the shade.

They had attempted to catch up to Ansh and Sai countless time. She believed that she had made conditioning improvements, but Cole did not spend extra time training. No matter how hard she tried during the four hours they did not plant as many rows as Ansh and Sai. Today was no different.

On the limo ride home, she stated, "Cole we need to train more and we're running out of time."

"The semester just started," Cole said, arguing.

"No. It didn't. We're over half-way done. I expect to see you at the hill tonight."

"Fine."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After school on the hill, they ate, and met at the top. While standing, Hope grabbed her foot and pulled it to her butt to stretch her quadriceps muscle. She balanced on one foot for ten seconds. Then repeated on the opposite. "We are going to start with a one-hour run."

"One hour?" Cole groaned. Then his viewer vibrated with a message. "Woah!"

Hope tried to see it, but Cole hid it from her. "Sorry, I gotta go!" He sprinted through the backyards to Skye's house.

Now he wants to run. "Cole! Come back!"

"I don't think he's coming back," Maria said, "Come on. I thought you wanted to run."

Maria and Hope jogged around the park. The sky had changed to black with stars. The moon was near the center of her view. She would be there soon.

"Don't worry about him. I know you two will be together in the end. She's just some girl. You two will look back and laugh at this when you're celebrating your ten-year anniversary."

"I no longer believe that's true. You said this would not last long. It's been over a month"

Maria was not fast, and Hope had to slow to match her pace.

"Yes. It has. But I know my friend, and this will all implode in time."

"I'll believe it when I see it."