Discord in the Lab

Streets to Scholarships

Thiago Silva never dreamed of attending college. He grew up living on the streets in Brazil while his mother worked tirelessly in the rich house of a top-tier government official as a maid to build up the money to move to America. His father passed away at just six years old, leaving his mom alone with five kids. Though Thiago knew little about his father, he would never forget the soulful strumming of the guitar strings as they attempted to sleep on those restless nights. As time went on, Thiago excelled in school, earning top ten in the entire country on state testing, but he found his true passion in busking with his guitar in the local mall near his home, earning small amounts of money. The day finally came when Thiago reached 16 and received a scholarship to the top university in London.
Thiago felt out of place in London, and no one would willingly sacrifice for what mattered most to them, unlike Thiago. While focusing on music and increasingly becoming more popular through his expert guitar playing, Thiago let his grade slip despite his keen nature until he stumbled into class on the first day of his new research project.

Mr. Maguire, a general in the discord of the lab, sat waiting expectantly as though he could predict the future. Mr. Maguire’s tragic background sourced his stern, cold behavior. A while back, he and his wife suffered a divorce, leading Mr. Maguire to rely on alcohol and drugs. Still, after ten years, he sobered up, regaining his title as the most challenging professor in England and the person who cured thyroid cancer. The tragic events did not stop there, however. Three years ago, the doctors diagnosed Mr. Maguire with a grave, undiscovered cancer with slim chances of survival.

From Triumph to Tragedy: The Cost of Carelessness

A month into the project, the first single Thiago created blew up. It felt that after all his work, it finally paid off, and no one deserved it more. His typically late self showed up early to get to work, exemplifying his vibrant mood. But, during this spell, Thiago carelessly destroyed the samples they had spent what felt like over a year on. Distraught, Mr. Maguire, a nest of bees who had just been hit with a rock, stung Thiago, pelting him with insults so gnarly they would pierce a knight's armor. Thiago expounded on everything he despised about school and the project. He let slip his genuine aspiration of evolving into a famous guitarist superseded his

innate intelligence. But Mr. Maguire could not allow Thiago, imperative to the project's success, to quit.
Even though Thiago insisted he would abandon the project, he still showed up, much to Mr. Maguire’s delight and relief. Mr. Maguire, closer and closer each day to dying, desperately needed a cure, but that would only stem from Thiago and his complete commitment. The project would surely fail miserably without Thiago, so Mr. Maguire ensured that Thiago kept moving toward the goal by offering him a raise that Thiago appreciated greatly.

Wake-Up Call in the Lab

The weeks flew by as Mr. Maguire’s team worked vigorously. Still, progress, minimized by the extreme challenge at hand, gradually continued until Thiago discovered something that could affect the history of cancer and research, and later would present the findings to Mr. Maguire and the team the following week. Due to his procrastination, Thiago spent the late hours of the night before finalizing his presentation. When the time came for Thiago to start presenting, his absence infuriated Mr. Maguire. Thiago indulgently slept in, snoozed his alarm for the 20th time, and rolled over to sleep again. When Thiago finally

came to his senses, the time had already passed, but to mend his mistake, he rushed into the lab, spilled his coffee, and tripped, dropping his papers everywhere. Incandescent, Mr. Maguire screeched, stood over Thiago, and glared. Thiago, an ant, lay helplessly underneath the giant of Mr. Maguire. As Thiago gathered his things, Mr. Maguire lambasted Thiago for his cloddish and indolent nature. As tears streamed down Thiago’s face, he realized how little he enjoyed working at the lab and how he longed to live his father's dream, to make music for all to enjoy. To one day empower others just like his father had dreamt of. But for now, Thiago, stuck in this situation, could not escape the prison of this lab and Mr. Maguire.

When Dreams Clash With Reality

Thiago continued to show up only because he knew he would change the world if he set aside his differences with Mr. Maguire. Even with the raise, his mother and Thiago continued to have financial problems. Thiago devoted much of his time to busking even when Mr. Maguire needed help.

Thiago missed many days working in the plaza, often saying he contracted a sickness or personal reasons. On this particular occasion, Thiago shammed that he felt horrible, saying he did not want anyone to endure the same feelings. Hurriedly, Thiago grabbed his guitar, hopped on his bike, plugged in his earphones, turned on Dave, his favorite artist, and rode six miles to his favorite spot. The first few songs flew by swimmingly until a rose-gold Lamborghini pulled into the parking lot.
Thiago, shocked, rushed to pack up and leave quickly, knowing the consequences if Mr. Maguire caught him ditching. Part of Thiago longed to get noticed, knowing he would get kicked off the project so that he could focus on his music career; after all, Thiago had always aspired to do that. But any lingering thoughts quickly vanished as Mr. Maguire stepped out of his car, looking like a celebrity on broadway. Immediately, a mix of emotions appeared on Mr. Maguire’s face. Thiago froze. A million thoughts raced through his mind as Mr. Maguire approached. The shouting match that ensued, heard by the entirety of the mall, lasted for an eternity. By the end, both men, bombarded with terrible insults, left with tears running down their faces, neither having gained anything from the traumatic experience.

The Cost of Quitting

Despite his longing to quit, Thiago continued, as his mother always scolded him for giving up. Eventually, Thiago burned out due to excessive workload and would become lazy during working hours. The lack of output coming from the project began to frustrate Mr. Maguire. In his recent visit to the doctor's office, they reluctantly told him how much worse his cancer had gotten; at most, he had four months to live. Finally, Thiago, on his last straw, worked up the courage to bring up quitting. Thiago, normally poise under pressure, showed signs of nervousness as he stumbled into Mr. Maguire’s office. Their usually chaotic arguments remained professional as Thiago reasoned with Mr. Maguire, and it lasted late into the night.

The Legacy of a Mentor

A month later, Mr. Maguire fell exceedingly ill and later passed away. Struck with grief, Thiago turned to music to ease the pain. Though he never

liked Mr. Maguire, Thiago regretted never trusting, never looking for the positives that Mr. Maguire offered. Thiago, spending most of his time focusing on his music, started gaining recognition for his talent. By the end of the year, Thiago had grown to be one of the top musicians in the world, with Mr. Maguire’s tragic life continuing to inspire Thiago’s songs. Even though Thiago would never fully heal, Mr. Maguire’s legacy would continue to live on through Thiago and his action, which provoked Thiago to restart the project that caused so much hurt, chaos, and destruction.