One Month Later - One Month Until Finals.

He sat in Dr. Kain's class. The professor had spent today teaching about one of Mars' moon, Phobos. A hologram of it resembled a large ball of clay that someone had hastily smashed together, waited for it to dry, then rolled it down the street, breaking off little pieces every time it collided with the ground. The alarm rang to signal the end of the class.

Professor Kain told them he would test their sample before they left. He twisted it and shined his light through it.

Cole rose from his seat and hurried to grab Hope's crutches, which were leaning against the wall at the front of the classroom. The metal arms of the crutches were cool. He handed them to her and then helped her stand. She did most of it on her own, which was an improvement.

The first week, he had to do all the lifting. But the more time passed, she became stronger and realized that there still was a path to victory.

"Thanks again, Cole."

"That's why I'm your best friend. I'm totally raking in the best friend points." He patted himself on the back and smirked.

"Yes. You are."

"Let me add these to my total." Cole counted to five on his right hand, "Hang on, I wanna make sure I'm doin' my math correctly, because at this rate by the time you recover," then he finished counting to ten his left. "I will never have to do anything for you, ever again."

"Whatever. You feel guilty because this is your fault."

He chuckled. He was glad to see her joking because she was angry and depressed the first two weeks and unproductive. He needed to keep her spirits high. When this happened, she took a lot of her anger out on Maria, which he still did not understand. He had, unsuccessfully, tried to arrange calls between them to patch up their differences.

He grabbed a carrot from his pack and bit into the crunchy sweet vegetable. She also knew he received the blame with her parents because they were irate. Even though he thought that they were equally responsible.

"The first thing you will do to repay me is finish my homework. Starting now."

"Nice job." Professor Kain stated. "Very impressive solution." He held up their film.

"What percentage?" Hope asked, eagerly.

"Sixty-Five. Although, I still need to put it through more tests."

"Yes!" Hope shouted and attempted to hug him but lost her footing.

He caught her, held her in air, and spun her.

"That was all you," Cole declared.

He gingerly placed her back on the floor.

"I have plenty of free time while you crash every night from overexertion."

They entered the hallway and made their way to Professor Petrov's class.

Hope ambled like a turtle, so he tried to keep busy by checking the rankings.

She saw him and said, "I already checked last night."

"Of course, you did."

The semester and final trials were most of their grade. So, performing at half capacity every day still gave them a chance. At the final, they would need to perform the same level they did when they won. He worried about that because they took four months of training to get to that level. He was still there. But she was now at level zero.

"We're in first and second place for Professor Kain and 5th an 6th in Petrov's class," Hope said, "Based on the first four weeks, I project that we will drop to 7th and 8th by the time I recover."

"You need to get back in shape as fast as possible. Is there anything you can do while you wait?" She needed something.

"Well. My doctor said I can finally add more physical therapy workouts tomorrow. That will help," Hope said.

"Yes. It will."

They entered Petrov's classroom and continued through it to the farm outside. They were late again.

Professor Petrov frowned at them. "The rest of the class arrived on time and started, already." She shouted in her Russian accent. "This is why we need smart and strong people on Mars. Prochnost."

She repeated that every day they were late.

"Today we are harvesting Red Russian Kale."

He held back his laughter from the many Russian jokes that came to mind. Now was not the time.

Hope placed one crutch against the school's red brick wall and limped to the lecture area. He held her to keep her balance.

"What is the best way to harvest kale?" Professor Petrov asked.

Hope hastily raised her hand, "Make certain you do not remove too many leaves from each plant. They must continue to grow until the end of the year."

"Correct. Miss Anderson."

Cole stared at the plant and counted the leaves. This one had six, so he pulled off three and gave them to Hope. She held a bag open while her elbow rested on the crutch for balance. He moved with speed and she hobbled around behind them. He knew they would lose to Ansh and Sai, but limiting their losses was his goal.

This was painful labor, on his hands and knees for four straight hours. The knee pads helped, slightly. It was cool and cloudy this afternoon, so he was aware he would get a lot done. This was monotonous work and he mentally checked out immediately.

Hope stopped him after the first sixty-minutes. "One hour completed and you've already caught up to Johnny and Meredith," Hope told him.

Like before, they had planned water breaks every hour. He rose and shook out his legs to get blood to them. He moved next to Hope. Then he removed his gardening gloves to let his hands breathe. He was sweating a lot, so he drank his cool water, and his body welcomed the refreshment.

"We always beat them. Who's next?"

Hope used her arm to push herself up on the crutch. She smirked and pointed. "Sarah and AJ are next. Wow! You've never caught them."

He was at his peak and nothing could stop him.

He laughed. "Awesome. How far ahead are they?"

"Twenty rows."

"Woah, twenty? I'll catch 'em."

He placed his gardening gloves back on, flexed his muscles, and winked at her, "Challenge accepted."

"You're an idiot." Hope snickered.

He increased his speed a little. One advantage that he had gained, during their excessive training was an ability to listen to his body and know the exact amount to push to last for another three hours. He zoned out again and thought about going to Mars. This was so much closer now than before, and he could envision them boarding the plane that would take them to the moon then walking onto the Mars transport. This was not in the bag by any means, but his confidence was through the roof.

They completed the second hour.

He repeated the same steps earlier and went to his friend.

They drank water.

She stared over at Sarah and AJ.

"Only eight rows remaining. Why are you smiling?" Hope asked.
He was because, "Only thirty-five days until Mars."

"Reality check; yes, you are about to beat this group, but Ansh and Sai are almost eighty rows ahead and I still can't walk."

He ran in place to show her he was ready. "Come on. This is easy."

They caught Sarah and AJ, at two-and-a-half hours, then maintained that pace until the end. He could have worked without a water break, but he did not want to argue about it. They could not catch anyone else over the last hour. The bell sounded, signaling the end of class.

Professor Petrov marched past them. "Nice work today, Ansh and Sai. Class, remember that the final trial will be harvesting with the same setup as the first semester test."

Professor Petrov made her way to Sarah and AJ and asked, "Are you aware that you lost to a group with a girl that can't walk? You should be embarrassed!"

Sarah started to cry and ran out of the room.

AJ removed his shoe and said, "I have blisters on my foot, and my fingertips are raw." He thrust his hand in the air to show her his injured hand.

Professor Petrov towered over them. "Stop complaining and work. No more excuses."

Hope limped behind him with her cast, which was no longer white, more grayish. It had many signatures and get-well statements. Cole had written "SORRY HOPE" in black marker and it spanned the length of the cast with "Cole" in small letters underneath it. Everybody that saw the cast saw his writing, which led to many questions.

"I can't wait another day," Hope said, with frustration, "I want to rip it off. It will be nice to take a shower, like a normal person.'

Hope limped over to him and he grabbed her other crutch. Then they stumbled back into their classroom.

"Patience, Miss Anderson."

They continued together through the hallway and toward the exit.

"I keep saying I want this cast removed." She knocked on it. "But if I put any pressure on this foot," she leaned on her broken leg, grimaced, and switched back to using her crutches. "This still hurts a lot. Shouldn't it be close?"

He shrugged his shoulders. He was not a doctor, but figured she was right.

"What if I'm not ready?"

"I will carry you over the finish line." He flexed his muscles again.

"You've said that before, but you can't actually carry me to win. It's not a foot race."

Her face flushed red, and he understood how horrible she felt. They cleaned up and headed out to meet his mom. Hope and him sloth-walked to the parking area.

His mom waited for them. They entered her car and then drove away.

"How is your leg today, Hope?" his mom asked.

"Excellent. I wish I could have the cast off right now," Hope said. He knew she was lying.

"Great to hear," his mom replied.