CHAPTER-9
815 Words
Team Seven
Monday Morning
Blackwood University was unusually peaceful.
The Welcome Festival had ended.
The music was gone.
The colorful decorations had disappeared.
Once again, students hurried across campus carrying laptops, textbooks and half-finished cups of coffee.
Reality had returned.
And so had assignments.
Ryan slammed his head dramatically against the cafeteria table.
"I'm exhausted."
Noah looked up from his notebook.
"...It's eight-thirty."
"I've been awake since seven."
"Congratulations."
"I deserve respect."
"You deserve sleep."
Logan chuckled.
"I don't know how you've survived university this long."
Ryan sat up proudly.
"Talent."
Ara walked toward the table carrying two iced coffees.
She placed one in front of Mia.
"I bribed the barista."
Mia smiled.
"With money?"
"No."
"Then?"
"A compliment."
Ryan looked shocked.
"So that's your secret?"
Ara shrugged.
"Being nice occasionally confuses people."
Noah looked over his glasses.
"It confused us."
Everyone laughed.
Their phones vibrated at the same time.
A notification appeared.
TEAM SEVEN
First Meeting
Research Hall-Room 301
10:00 A.M.
Ryan sighed dramatically.
"... Can somebody fake my death?"
"No," Logan replied.
"But I can write your obituary."
10:00 A.M.
Research Hall
Room 301 was unlike any ordinary classroom.
Whiteboards covered two walls.
Glass cabinets displayed scientific journals and models.
A giant touchscreen occupied the front of the room.
Everything felt...
Professional.
Inside, six other research teams were already discussing ideas.
Team Seven found an empty table.
Ryan immediately sat in the most comfortable chair.
"I claim this seat."
Ara looked at him.
"You've done absolutely nothing."
"I got here first."
"You got lost twice."
"I still arrived."
Before another argument could begin—
The door opened.
Dr. Emily Carter entered carrying a stack of folders.
"Good morning, everyone."
"Good morning."
She smiled warmly.
"Today isn't about experiments."
"It's about ideas."
She placed one folder on each table.
"You have one week to choose a research topic."
"Think creatively."
"Think realistically."
"And remember..."
"The judges reward originality."
Ryan quietly whispered,
"What if we invent invisible homework?"
Noah sighed.
"That's not science."
"It could be."
Emily continued,
"Every member must contribute."
"No passengers."
Ryan slowly lowered his hand.
"There goes my plan."
Ara laughed.
After Emily left, the room became noisy.
Every team immediately started brainstorming.
Team Seven...
Did not.
Ryan opened the folder.
"So..."
"What exactly are we doing?"
Noah answered instantly.
"Medical research."
Ara shook her head.
"Too common."
Logan disagreed.
"It has potential."
Mia picked up a marker.
"Instead of arguing..."
"Let's write every idea."
Within minutes the whiteboard looked chaotic.
Cancer Detection
DNA Repair
Artificial Intelligence
Mental Health
Portable Medical Devices
Ryan proudly added...
Robot That Makes Coffee
Everyone stared at him.
"What?"
"It's revolutionary."
Noah crossed it out.
Ryan looked offended.
"History will remember this moment."
Twenty minutes later...
They were no closer to deciding.
Ara leaned back in her chair.
"We're thinking too big."
Noah frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"We're trying to solve the world's biggest problems."
"So?"
"We have one semester."
Silence.
Logan slowly nodded.
"She's right."
Ryan blinked.
"Wait..."
"You two agree?"
Ara smirked.
"Write today's date down."
"It may never happen again."
Everyone laughed.
Just then...
Someone knocked on the open door.
Every team looked up.
Dr. Nicholas Sterling entered.
Not to supervise.
Not to teach.
Simply to observe each team's progress.
The room instantly became quieter.
He stopped beside Team One.
Asked two questions.
Moved to Team Two.
Listened carefully.
Corrected a mistake.
Then continued walking.
Finally...
He reached Team Seven.
His eyes moved across the whiteboard.
Cancer.
DNA.
AI.
Coffee Robot.
He looked at Ryan.
Ryan immediately pointed at Noah.
"That one wasn't mine."
"It literally says Coffee Robot," Noah replied.
Nicholas said nothing.
Instead, he picked up the marker.
On the corner of the board, he wrote four words.
Solve one problem well.
He placed the marker down.
"Great research isn't measured by how complicated it sounds."
His calm voice filled the room.
"It's measured by whether it improves someone's life."
He looked around the table.
"Start there."
Then he walked away.
No long speech.
No lecture.
Just one sentence.
For several moments...
Nobody spoke.
Finally...
Mia broke the silence.
"...I actually like that."
Logan nodded.
"It makes sense."
Noah erased half the ideas from the board.
Ryan looked horrified.
"My coffee robot!"
"It's gone," Noah replied.
"We'll mourn later."
Ara stared at the four words Nicholas had written.
Solve one problem well.
For the first time...
She wasn't thinking about proving him wrong.
She was thinking about the project.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
He'd given them exactly the advice they needed.
Outside the Research Hall...
A hooded figure stood at the end of the corridor.
Watching.
Waiting.
As Team Seven finally began working together...
The stranger quietly slipped a keycard into a pocket.
Then disappeared before anyone noticed.
Somewhere inside the Biomedical Research Centre...
Another locked door had just been opened.
And this time...
Nothing was left behind except silence.
- Writer
