23 A road trip

This time Nora knocked before entering, Tina answered, she opened the door and stepped in. "Why were you knocking?" Tina asked.

"Couldn't repeat the same mistake." Nora said. "Why couldn't you just lock the door before going on with your stuff?"

"Oh Nora, we were in the heat of the moment, something you won't understand." Tina smirked. "But even after you, we got interrupted by that asshole, Luke. Can you imagine, he called in the exact moment when everything was going so good." She said frustrated. "Then, I made Nick switch off his phone."

"TMI." Nora looked at Tina. Tina rolled her eyes. "What did you do anyway, for this long." She asked.

"Oh, I had a meeting to attend." Nora said proudly.

"A meeting?"

"Yes, about the mock practices for the Hackathon. And I went to Slurpies."

"Alone?" Tina asked.

"Nah, Luke and George were there as well." She said.

"Looks like you had a good time, but mine was better." Tina giggled.

The coming weeks were quite hectic for both Nora and Tina. Tina was up for a book presentation from the Literary Club, while Nora was busy with dealing the problems at hand, the National Tech Fare.

Finally, the day of the Hackathon arrived. Sharp at six in the morning, all four of them met up in the computer lab before leaving. Luke and Rachel were already there when Nora arrived, Joseph followed her.

"There you are. All ready?" Mr. James said enthusiastically.

"Yes Mr. James, I am fully prepared. I'll give my best." Joseph said pushing Nora aside.

"And you Nora?" Mr. James smiled.

"All prepared, we're going to win this thing." She said, all fired up.

"Here you go, your jerseys." He handed them each a t-shirt, with 'University of Nuezelea' written in bold. "You guys are a great team, no matter what the outcome just remember, you are the best." He said. "So, off you go. I'll be there on the second day. And I have my fingers crossed."

They all turned to leave, when Mr. James called out, "Nora just wait, rest of you may leave." The three of them left, leaving Nora alone.

"How can I help professor?" Nora said.

"Nora, remember one thing you are the hidden weapon today. Not all teams there will play fair. The three of them are aware about this, so keep it in mind, your caliber is infinite and do not lose your hope easily." He said.

"Is that supposed to be a cryptic message, professor?" Nora questioned.

"Yes it is, decode it on your way." Mr. James smiled. "Now get going, you don't want to be late and remember what I said." She nodded and left the lab.

"Finally you're here." Joseph shouted. "What took you so long? You know if we don't leave now, we'll be late."

"Don't worry Joseph, Luke is the one driving, we'll not be late." Rachel said.

"Luke is driving?" Nora raised her eyebrows.

"Yes I am, any problem?" Luke asked.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I meant we're not using the university transport?" She said.

"No, we aren't. Last year, our university lost almost four hours because the bus broke down midway. So, this time no risks." Luke said.

"Let's leave." Joseph shouted again.

They all got into the car at once. All of them in the backseat. "You all take me for a chauffeur?" Luke asked.

"Oh I'll come in the front." Rachel said.

"No, you should get some rest, you didn't get enough sleep, right." He said.

"I'm sorry guys, I have to calm my mind, so I can't sit in the front." Joseph mumbled.

"Luke, I'm saying it's fine, I can rest in the front too." Rachel said.

"No, that will distract me. Nora, come up in the front." He said.

Rachel glared at her, Nora shrugged her shoulders and sat in the front.

After all the chaos, they finally left the campus and hit the road.

"Hey, how do I turn on the bluetooth?" Nora asked looking at the radio screen.

"Choose the TEL option." Luke answered.

"No songs, I need some peace. Moreover, Rachel has to sleep." Joseph said.

"Dude, it's gonna take us four hours to get there, what are we supposed to do until then?" Nora contradicted.

"I don't care, no songs or anything I need to calm down, also it will distract Luke from driving." Joseph said. Nora gave him a cold stare.

"Anybody has headphones?" Nora asked.

"Nora, it won't kill if you don't listen to any music." Joseph said.

"Hey Joseph, just keep on with your peace and calming down." Luke interjected. He glared at Nora, she rolled her eyes and straightened herself.

The next few minutes and everyone in the backseat was asleep.

"Can I turn on the music now?" Nora asked with a sly smile.

"You're looking to pick a fight." Luke asked.

"Oh yes! I'm bored anyway." She said. Luke let out a little chuckle.

She turned back to look at Rachel, she was fast asleep, with her eye mask on. She leaned in towards Luke and whispered, "You owe me, I helped you this time." He raised an eyebrow, Nora pointed at Rachel. "I see. Sure. Thanks Nora." He whispered back.

"It's cool." She said moving away from him.

"Anyway, how long is it going to take?" Nora asked.

"We've not covered half of the distance yet, and you're already restless." Luke said.

"Bored." She corrected him, she had already sunk into her seat because of it. "You don't need the GPS?" She asked.

"No, it's the same venue as last year. I know the way." He answered.

"You've been there before?"

"Last year, I was one of the programmers." He said looking at her.

"This is your second time?!" Nora asked straightening herself. He nodded. "Woah, I didn't see that coming, and your team lost four hours!"

"Yes." He answered

"Anyway, you a programmer?" She asked.

"For your information, I'm a bachelor of computer science." He said.

"Really. And for your masters?"

"Applied mathematics."

"Wow, that's too bright." She said shielding her eyes from him. He rolled his eyes at her.

"I know what I want from you." She said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked.

"You owe me, do my assignments for me and you'll be free." She said laughing.

"Well aren't you an opportunist." He said.

"I always seize the moment." She said punching the air. Luke looked at her and his lips curled up into a soft a smile.