The Sultan of Brunei stood up. Alex and Phillipa were both a little dazed. Nelly, who was dressed as the mascot, gently touched Alex's arm to reassure him.
The sultan began to speak majestically into the microphone.
However, he spoke in Malay and very few people in the audience could understand him. Alex heard Nelly whisper to him, "Hello, everyone, I am very happy to be here with you in the United States of America."
Alex felt relieved that he could hear Nelly's translation clearly. He repeated her words into the microphone, "Hello, everyone, I am very happy to be here with you in the United States of America."
Phillipa, standing on the other side, heard Alex's English translation and immediately translated what he said into Spanish.
There was a burst of applause and cheers from the audience. Alex and Phillipa started to relax as they listened attentively to the sultan.
With Nelly's help, Alex delivered the English translation of the speech, and Phillipa delivered the speech again in Spanish. They cooperated very well with each other.
In the volunteer rest hall at that moment, everyone was astonished to see Alex and Phillipa on the podium with the Sultan of Brunei. They couldn't believe that they had really dared to go up. Myriam was particularly bewildered, and she stood like a statue staring at the screen.
When Alex had first stepped up onto the podium, Myriam was shocked, but she still didn't believe that he could speak Malay. She thought that the sultan would speak, and Alex wouldn't be able to translate. He would disgrace himself and the whole US Olympic committee in front of the whole world. She figured it would turn into a diplomatic nightmare.
She smiled to herself at the trouble that he would be in. She thought, "Alex, you really are the most stupid fool in the world. And Phillipa, you are willing to accompany him to also make a fool of yourself. You only have yourself to blame."
However, when Alex smoothly translated the sultan's speech, everyone was awestruck. There was a burst of admiration in the hall.
Myriam's heart froze and her whole body felt numb. Questions were racing through her mind. She wondered when and where Alex had learned the language. It had only been two years since she had last seen him. How had he become fluent in a new language so quickly?
The live broadcast camera remained focused on the sultan, but Alex and Phillipa were also visible on the side of the screen. The volunteers watching them had gotten over their shock of seeing them up there and were expressing their admiration for them.
One man said, "Those two are amazing. They're both excellent at foreign languages."
His friend said, "The camera has been on them the whole time that the sultan has been speaking. They're live on TV and will be seen by people all over the country and all over the world. That's amazing. I really envy them."
"They're the people we were about to kick out just now. Who would have thought that they would be the big stars of the opening ceremony? They're even more important than those of us who run the show."
Myriam's expression was pure fury. She couldn't bear it. In her mind, they were still two losers. She was miserable.
She muttered, "So, they're translating for the leader of a small country. What's the big deal?"
By that time, Alex and Phillipa had finished translating for the sultan. On screen, the viewers could see that the sultan was talking to the US president. But then he turned back to Alex and gave him a thumbs-up as if praising him for his good translation skills.
The volunteers watching were even more shocked when they saw the president actually shaking Alex's hand.
"Woah, the sultan just gave him a thumbs-up," one man said.
"I want to have a closer look at him. I feel very honored that I met him. He even shook the president's hand," said his girlfriend excitedly.
"That boy is going places," someone else stated.
Myriam was horrified. Before that moment, she thought that even if Alex had done the translation at the opening ceremony, he was still just a loser. But now everything was different. He had personally met and shaken the hand of the president. That put him way above her in Myriam's mind.
**
Alex, Phillipa, and Nelly were led off the podium by the organizers and were taken straight to the director's office.
The director of the US Olympic committee and more than twenty staff members were standing in the office, smiling and clapping their hands. The director went to Alex and shook his hand vigorously. He said, "Thank you. Without you, the opening ceremony would have been a disaster. You should feel very proud of your role today."
"Director, you're welcome," Alex said. Then he looked at Nelly and said, "But today, it was my friend, Nelly, who should receive the honor."
"Yes, director, I am the translator. You should be grateful to me." Nelly pushed Alex aside, stood in front of the director, and said with a smile, "However, I don't need you to thank me officially. I have a food cart outside, and all I ask is that you buy your dinner from me."
"Certainly, of course. Definitely," the director agreed. Then he turned and said to his subordinates, "After the opening ceremony, let's all go to this young lady's cart. We will spend plenty of money."
"Yes, of course," everyone agreed. Nelly giggled.
Now that the opening ceremony was over, the director invited Alex, Nelly, and Phillipa to dinner, but Alex politely declined. He thanked the director and they walked out of the office.
As they were leaving the stadium, Phillipa suddenly remembered, "Hang on, I left my bag in the volunteer rest area."
"I'll go with you to get it," Alex offered.
When they reached the rest area, they paused in the doorway. Alex told the girls to wait at the door. He said, "Don't come in. We don't know what everyone will do. They might surround us again. I'll go in alone. I don't want either of you to get hurt."
Alex pushed the door open and went in.
Everyone turned and looked at Alex. One by one, they stood up and stared at him. They each felt anxious when they thought about how they had tried to kick him out earlier.
They thought, "Why has he come back? We treated him so badly before and tried to kick him out. Has he come back to take his revenge on us?"
Of course, this was not the same man that they had ridiculed earlier. Now, he was someone who had shaken hands with the president. They now looked at him in a completely different light.
"You still want to get rid of me, don't you?" Alex looked at everyone, frowned, and said, "I'm just here to get my friend's bag and then I'll leave. If you still want to fight me, what are you waiting for?"
The volunteers were relieved to hear that he was only there to collect a bag, not to confront them over how they had behaved earlier.
With a long sigh of relief, one of the men nearest to Alex said, "No, Alex, you misunderstood. We were wrong before. You're very welcome here."
Another said, "Yes, of course. Which bag is yours? I'll get it for you."
"Come in and bring in your friends," said another.
Alex was astounded. He still remembered how scared he had been of these people just an hour before. He couldn't believe they had changed their attitudes so quickly.
Phillipa and Nelly were still waiting by the door, and they started to worry about Alex. When they pushed open the door, they saw how everyone was welcoming him and they were also surprised. Nelly laughed, "Of course, they must have seen Alex shaking hands with the president, and now they're afraid of him. We don't have to be scared of them now. They won't say anything to us if we're with him."
Nelly pushed the door open and went in, pulling Phillipa with her. They went over to Alex.
"Why did you come in?" Alex asked.
Nelly smiled and whispered back, "It's okay." Then she looked around her and said to the other volunteers, "You all wanted to kick us out before. Why don't you do it now? Come and try it. Earn your money from Darryl."
The volunteers were very worried that Alex would report them to the volunteer director. Now even the director of the US Olympics was indebted to him, Alex had the power to ruin them all. They were desperate to please him and get into his good books.
"No, no, we weren't thinking straight before," one man pleaded.
Another said beseechingly, "Alex, buddy, we were wrong before. We're all friends here. We're on your side."
"Of course, we have no right to kick you out. We wouldn't even try," said another.
"Ha," Nelly said with a sneer, "you've all changed your attitudes very quickly. Do you expect us to forgive you?"
She continued, "When Alex was speaking with Mr. Wade earlier, he told him about your terrible behavior. He told Alex that he can punish you as he sees fit."
Alex was dumbstruck. He knew that Mr. Wade hadn't said anything like that. But he glanced at Nelly and nodded.
Nelly looked at the crowd and said with a leisurely smile, "Yes, you heard me right. These were the director's exact words."
Everyone was shocked.
All of a sudden, Nelly roared at the crowd, "Now get down on your knees."
They were all petrified and deeply regretted their previous behavior. They were desperate to make up for their mistakes but didn't know how. Nelly's roar made many of them tremble, and more than half of them dropped instantly to their knees.
When the other half saw that others were on their knees, they also dropped to the ground. The only two people who refused to kneel were Myriam and Darryl. They sat on their chairs and looked around them. They didn't know what to do.