It was 12 O'clock noon, soon the time for the final selection for the upcoming national annual spelling bee competition. As soon as the sound of the bell was heard, students from grades six to eight all came storming down to the assembly hall, where the selection was to be carried out. The competition, actually, was only within the lower secondary phase.
Already present in the assembly hall, was the school principal, Father Moses, the education secretary, Prof Eric MacDonald, a tall eloquent man with the perfect mustache, and a smart military haircut. Also among the judges was sister Mary Jane Mathews; an average-height woman of raw beauty and elegance. She had a master's degree in English language and phonetics. There were, of course, other teaching staff, and members of the managerial board.
Oliver was in the hallway, calmly walking to the assembly hall, as other kids sped past him in a hurry to make the front seats. Oliver just couldn't get the point of being so noisy and overjoyed about going to the assembly hall. He was irritated with the fact that over ninety-six percent of the kids hurrying to make it to the hall on time, were not even contestants.
As he went, Olivia came by and wished him good luck. Oliver found that so surprising, coming from someone that inarguably proved to have disliked him, the moment he arrived at the orphanage. Lately, she had suddenly begun to behave a little less overtly unsociable and rude toward him.
Shortly after Olivia had passed, Drake and his friends approached him. This time, Max was with them. Oliver tried to ignore them and move straight ahead, but Drake immediately put out an arm in front of him, obstructing his way.
"Well, look who we got here,"
"Look's like Oliver is looking to make a name for himself," he added.
Oliver turned to Drake.
"Get out of my way," he demanded, his eyes firmer, and his voice more direct.
"Just chill out, mate, he just wants to tell you a little something," Max said to him, with a confronting tone.
Drake put his hand on Oliver's shoulder. He had a broad cunning smile on his face.
"You really are smart, buddy, but just not smart enough. I can't wait to see you get your ass whopped by the other kids," Drake said.
"Me neither," Max said.
"I can imagine how embarrassing it would be for you, after failing in front of everyone. See you out there, looser," Max said to Oliver, as he winked at him.
They all laughed continuously as they went, forcefully bumping their shoulders against his, in the most annoying manner.
Oliver remained where he stood, highly furious within himself. He was so enraged because he knew that there was nothing he could do to make Drake and his friends stay away from him. After the big scene he clumsily created with Drake at the cafeteria, when he mistakenly slapped the tray of food all over his body, he has been worried that Drake would not overlook his actions that easily, and would definitely seek payback, one way or the other. Oliver was also convinced that the basketball assault was also a part of the payback, and Drake didn't seem like he had gotten enough.
Oliver managed to wave away his thoughts about Drake and focus on the competition, at least for a moment. He didn't want to get embarrassed like Max said he would.
By the time Oliver reached the assembly hall, all the other contestants were already lined up on the stage, just about to begin.
"You there!" came a thick voice from the commentary table.
Oliver was frozen to the spot.
"Please, are you, or are you not a part of this selection?" the man asked, with straight inquiring eyes.
"Y... Yes... I um... I am, I guess," replied Oliver, with a stutter, with his eyes wide open.
"Well, you wouldn't be counted among while doing the job of a gatekeeper."
"Oh... Right," he muttered to himself, as he quickly went to join the others.
The competition started with a welcoming speech by the principal, followed by the stating out of the rules, by the reverend sister; Mary Jane Mathews.
A total of five words was to be given to each of the contestants, out of which, they were expected to spell at least, three words correctly. Anything less than that would result in immediate elimination from the selection process.
The sister commenced the initial round, starting with the first student in line; Olivia Anderson.
"Olivia Anderson, we'll be starting with you, today," she said.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes, I'm ready," Olivia responded with a bold tone and straight eyes which could vividly tell that she meant what she said.
The sister nodded in admiration.
"Alright Olivia, spell- OBNOXIOUS."
"O-B-N-O-X-I-O-U-S, obnoxious," Olivia said out clearly, without the tiniest show of doubt or hesitation.
The sister stared at her, a bit more intently.
"Is that your final answer?" she asked.
"Yes, it is," answered Olivia, shortly.
"In that case, Olivia, you are absolutely correct," announced Mary Jane, as her lips curved slightly to a smile. This was followed by a roll of applause from the audience.
Oliver looked on, as the sister kept coming closer and closer to him. Right now, only three people were remaining before it was his turn. There was a boy and two girls. Sister Mary Jane approached the first girl; a red curly-haired girl, with several visible red spots on her cheeks.
"Over to you, Lilah. Spell- BAMBOOZLE."
Oliver stole a glance at the girl who was meant to spell the word, mentioned. Clearly, with the look on her face, she was totally puzzled.
"You're keeping us waiting, Lilah. Did you get the word, or do you want me to repeat it?" asked sister, Mary Jane.
"I didn't quite get it. Can you repeat, please?" she replied, with a clear British accent.
"Listen, Lilah, the word is- bamboozle."
"Okay, bamboozle is spelled, B... A... M... B... U... Z... L... E... Is it?" she said, with wide doubtful eyes.
"Lilah, are you sure that's your final answer?"
"It's got to be, I mean... I've never heard that word before," she answered, with a slight shrug.
"Okay, then, in that case, you are incorrect," announced the reverend sister.
Oliver heard the girl mumble something to herself in disappointment. Immediately the sister called for voluntary correction, he saw Olivia throw up her hand, as fast as an arrow. Not only did Olivia spell the word correctly, but she also stated its meaning and origin. Another round of applause was given to her, and all the staff on the commentary table were grinning proudly, they all seemed impressed already. Oliver felt she was just showing off.
"Excellent! That was so impressive Olivia Anderson," said sister Mary Jane to Olivia.
She turned to Lilah, now.
"You see, that is why you are advised to build your vocabulary. As you can see, Olivia here has adhered to that."
Oliver had grown so fed up with the constant praises and adorations given to Olivia by the teachers. Though he constantly convinced himself that he wasn't envious of her academic success, he just felt that she didn't deserve to be treated like she was the most significant, and the only brilliant kid in the entire class. On most occasions, he noticed the way the teachers treated everyone else like they were weak-minded, whenever she was around.
After Lilah, the two other kids didn't spell their words correctly, either, and just like that, Olivia was given more chances to show off. Oliver didn't let anything bother him. It was his turn, now.
Sister Mary Jane approached Oliver. She stared at him, thoughtfully, lowered her head to the long book she was holding, then looked up at him again, looking a bit surprised.
"A new student, how impressive!" she said, with a significant smile.
"So, Oliver Logan, I'm gonna need you to spell the word- MISCELLANEOUS," she said to him.
There was silence throughout the hall, as Oliver began to spell the word one letter at a time, thoughtfully taking his time. Sister Mary Jane constantly reminded him to be more audible.
All of a sudden, as Oliver was still spelling, some voices were heard from behind the hall. Oliver stopped and looked straight ahead, only to find out that it was Drake and his friends.
"Go on, lamebrain, why did you stop?!!" a voice said.
This was accompanied by a roar of laughter, echoing throughout the hall. Oliver could recognize the voice.
"Oh... Now I get it, poor little Oliver is scared of getting his ass whopped by a girl," said a second voice, and this was also accompanied by a long roar of laughter.
Oliver stood there motionless, with his eyes firmer, and his fists tighter.
"You need to focus, Oliver, do not listen to them," said sister Mary Jane to him.
Oliver managed to look away from them. He closed his eyes, as he took in a deep breath.
"M-I-S-C-E-L-L-A-N-E-O-U-S, miscellaneous," Oliver said.
"That was correct, Oliver."
As he spelled the word correctly, Drake and the others who were laughing at him, became silent at once.
The competition kept on progressing, till it got to the last and final round. So far, Olivia had spelled all four of her words correctly, in addition to the many others she had spelled in the correction of others who couldn't get theirs right. There was no point spelling this last word since she had already gotten more than three words correctly, but she still spelled it, anyway.
For many others who haven't gotten up to two points, so far, there was no point joining this last round, because there was no way it would qualify them, even though they spelled their words correctly. For a few others, like Lilah, this was their last chance to round up their points to three.
Drake and his friends started up the mortifying farewell chants, as the unqualified competitors returned to their seats, with their faces covered in shame.
♪♪Na na na na, na na na na, hay hay... Goodbye...!!!♪♪
Now they were down to four. Olivia, Lilah, Oliver, and a second boy named Sydney. One of the four had to leave, for the selection process to be finalized.
It was Lilah's turn, now, and also her last chance to qualify for the competition. Oliver tilted his head slightly and stole a glance at her. When he looked, he saw the tension in her eyes. He could feel the pressure that was on her, at that moment.
"Listen carefully, Lilah. This is your final word, if you fail this one, you're out completely."
"I'm ready," Lilah said, after taking in a deep breath.
"Alright. Spell- SUPERINTENDENT."
"Superintendent, superintendent..." Lilah continuously muttered under her breath, as she gazed upwards, thoughtfully.
Everyone watched in anticipation. There was real suspense in the atmosphere.
"Okay, it's spelled- S... U... P... R... I... N... T... E... N... D... E... N... T," she said, with her brows wrinkled in curiosity.
"Is that your final answer?"
"Wait!! S... U... P... R... I... N... T... E... N... D... A... N... T, superintendent?" she said, with wide inquiring eyes.
Oliver looked and saw Olivia, already beaming with a smile, ready to take advantage of Lilah's possible failure.
"And that's your final answer?"