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May 19th, 1990 — Cape Canaveral, FL 3:12 PM, EST
"Colewell." There was a soft knock on her office door that brought Shelby's attention away from the report she was writing. "We still on for dinner tonight?"
The redhead smiled as she looked up and met Adam's eyes. "Absolutely."
He grinned as he leaned against the doorway, looking every bit as handsome as Tom Cruise ever could. "Can't wait. Is Maggie still joining us?"
"You bet she is. She never misses out on a chance to get takeout and watch a Tom Cruise movie." She replied with a grin.
Shelby had previously had an enormous crush on the handsome young genius, and vice versa, but it had soon fizzled out when the two realized that they had absolutely no chemistry together whatsoever. The two were professionals, however, and had maintained the relationship as one of friendship. There were times when Shelby still found him incredibly attractive, however, and the two had stolen more than a few drunken kisses over the course of their friendship, but nothing would come in between the professional bond they shared.
They hung out all the time, many times with Shelby's roommate, Maggie, as the three shared a love for the same kinds of food and the same kinds of movies. There was nothing that Shelby enjoyed more than a night with a good movie, pizza, and some beers.
"I was thinking ... Italian?" He suggested as he walked towards her desk, inspecting the gadget that sat upon it. "What is this?"
"For my research." She stated. "For MIT."
"Ahh, yes. MIT." He smiled, sitting down across from her desk. Apparently, she would not be getting back to her report anytime soon.
Shelby was immensely thankful that NASA was working with her to obtain her PhD. It was a joint effort, really, between MIT and NASA to make sure the young genius had the time to earn the degree. NASA found her a valuable asset, and thought she'd be more valuable with three letters behind her last name. MIT just wanted NASA's money and Shelby's research.
"How's our future Miss PhD in Electrical Engineering doing, anyways?" He asked.
"Well, I thought I was getting somewhere, but ..." She groaned. "I don't know."
She was researching efficiency in certain devices that would be on board Tenacity as her dissertation topic. Her main goal was to make them more efficient and more environmentally friendly. It wasn't necessarily an easy task, but with NASA's budget, and the time they allotted her to work on it, she could do it.
Not only was she solving a problem for NASA, but MIT had allowed her to do the project as work towards her doctorate.
It was stressful, everything that Shelby had on her plate. She worked a full-time job, where she put in more than 60 hours a week, while also working towards her doctorate and maintaining a semi-healthy social life. But, she knew it'd be worth it. With all the work she was putting in, and the agreement between her employer and her alma mater, she'd be in space in two years time, and have a doctorate to her name a mere six months before.
