In the coming months, Ryan became busier and busier. On one hand, the students were delving deeper and deeper into their lab curriculum, which he and Anthony had prepared. On the other hand, they, as teammates, had to carry on with their project for the exchange. It would be presented and published before everyone went back to their schools, hence why the exchange was very important to the academic community. It meant a huge influx of high-quality research papers born from the collaboration of the younger, upcoming lecturers.
Ryan and Alex started staying late at school, sometimes even overnight, as their workload increased. With their schedules no longer matching, Carl could no longer take Ryan to and from work, and it was back to Alex and Ryan on the scooter. Meanwhile, their office went through at least one pack of coffee every week. Caffeine had become their lifeline in surviving the long nights and busy mornings.
