Rehan had spent three whole weekends building a papier-mâché volcano for the school science fair, layering newspaper strips over a wire frame until it stood taller than his little sister. The plan was simple: mix baking soda and vinegar inside the hollow volcano so it would 'erupt' with foamy red lava in front of the judges. The night before the fair, Rehan tested it one final time in the kitchen, and it worked perfectly, spilling a satisfying stream of fizzy foam down the painted sides. On the morning of the fair, however, disaster struck. He had accidentally packed the vinegar bottle upside down in his bag, and it leaked out completely during the bus ride to school, soaking through three of his notebooks. With barely twenty minutes before the judges reached his table, Rehan felt his stomach twist into a knot. He considered giving up and simply explaining what had happened, but then he remembered that his neighbour ran a small grocery stall just outside the school gate. Rehan sprinted there, breathless, and returned with a fresh bottle just in time. When the judges arrived, the volcano erupted exactly as planned, and one judge remarked that Rehan's frantic dash showed more scientific persistence than the eruption itself.