UNIT 7: Made for the Shade

The science fair was near, and Ms. Rivera had to authorize every project. Maya and Leo planned a solar shade, but problems kept coming. When parts vanished or numbers looked off, Leo was always the culprit. While Maya measured carefully, he would dawdle on his phone. Finally, Maya sat down to dissect their plans to see what could be saved. She had already expended hours fixing errors. “At this rate, our project is going to be a total fatality—completely dead in the water,” she muttered. Leo smirked. “You’re so gullible—hard work doesn’t always pay off.” Then he proposed buying an illicit kit. Ms. Rivera overheard and told him firmly to immerse himself in the real work if he wanted any credit at all.

The tension finally boiled over when Leo made an inflammatory remark: “Maya’s design looks like a kindergartener’s.” The words hit hard—Maya had spent hours sketching and testing angles—and she shouted back that at least she was doing the work. Their argument grew so loud that Ms. Rivera stopped the class and pinned a memorandum on the board, a short note that read: Respect your teammates, or lose project points. It felt pathetic that Leo still dodged blame, but Maya chose to persevere, wiring the panels alone. When the principal checked, Leo tried to prevaricate, claiming Maya had refused to work with him, so he never knew what to do. Ms. Rivera quickly quashed the excuse by pointing to the classroom’s security footage, which showed Maya asking him for help again and again while he ignored her.

On the day of the fair, the solar shade worked beautifully. Maya could finally relish the applause from classmates and teachers. Weeks later, she would reminisce about the long nights she had to scour hardware stores for cheap materials, and how close they had come to failing. In the closing ceremony, the judges gave Maya a glowing testimonial, praising her persistence and skill. Ms. Rivera announced that only Maya’s name would appear on the project record, since Leo had failed to contribute. Sitting in the audience, cut off from the team’s success, Leo could only writhe with frustration, realizing that shortcuts and excuses had left him with nothing to show.