Thirteen-year-old Sahil sat on the floor of the gymnasium with a broken heart and his broken project. He had spent weeks making this volcano for the science project in order to win the science fest. Alongside him sat Maya, with her broken robotic arm. It was clear that somebody had tried to sabotage their projects.

“I can’t believe this,” Maya whispered. “We have just a few hours! The science fest is tomorrow.”

Sahil, who usually spent his time trying to outdo Maya’s project, sighed in agreement. “My volcano looks like soggy cardboard.”

“And my robotic arm looks like a bent fork,” Maya said with a sad chuckle before asking the ultimate question. “What should I do now?”

“There’s no ‘I’ in this moment. Whatever we do, it will have to be together,” Sahil declared.

They looked around the empty gym. The janitor wouldn’t be back for a few hours. If they wanted to stay in the running, they couldn’t go home and start over. They had to start right away and use what was in the room. So they called their parents, explained the situation, and told them they would be late that day.

Sahil pointed to a large plastic crate in the corner labelled ‘Lost and Found’. “That’s our only hope.”

They dumped the contents of the crate onto the floor. It was a mess: three mismatched trainers, a broken umbrella, a tangled jump rope, two empty soda bottles and a battery-operated toy car someone had forgotten months ago.

“We can’t rebuild either of our projects, but maybe we can build a ‘Recyclable Energy Machine’ or something,” Maya said, her competitive spirit returning.

“Like a Rube Goldberg machine?” Sahil asked, excited by the idea.

“Exactly,” Maya said. “We use the toy car’s motor to pull the jump rope, which tips a soda bottle filled with water. That triggers the umbrella to open and knock a ball into the goal, which will be that old trainer.”

They worked through the evening. The rivalry was gone. When Sahil’s hands shook while taping the motor, Maya held the wires steady. When Maya’s design for the lever kept falling over, Sahil used his knowledge of weight and balance to brace it with a heavy dictionary.

By 6:00 pm, their project was ready. It wasn’t flashy or polished, but it worked perfectly. Satisfied with what they had achieved, they headed home.

The next day, they felt hopeful about what they had created. The judges arrived and scrutinised each project before moving on to the next. When they reached Maya and Sahil’s station, they looked at the collection of umbrellas and trainers with great interest.

“What is this?” the lead judge asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s a lesson in physics and problem-solving,” Sahil said confidently.

“And teamwork,” Maya added. Then Maya flipped the switch. The motor whirred, the jump rope pulled, the bottle tipped and with a satisfying thwack, the umbrella popped open, sending a tennis ball flying perfectly into the smelly trainer.

The judges were impressed, and Sahil and Maya proudly secured second place in the science fest.

They realised that sometimes the most unexpected ideas can turn into the greatest achievements of all.

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 28th, 2026