Everyone watched the bodyguard's progress, waiting to see what would happen and hoping he was coming to speak to them.
The bodyguard smiled as he walked over to stand beside Alex and Darryl.
The others slumped into their seats, realizing that the sultan hadn't asked for them. Darryl was the lucky one, and they were all extremely envious.
Darryl felt like had won the lottery, and he could barely contain his grin. He thought, Even though I only spoke with the sultan for a few minutes, I must have impressed him.
The bodyguard bent down to Alex said something in Malay, and then gestured toward the sultan.
Alex understood that the sultan wished Alex to join him. He didn't want to sit at the sultan's table, but he couldn't refuse, so he got up and followed the bodyguard.
Everyone was stunned. They hadn't expected Alex to be invited to sit with the sultan.
They stared at the sultan's table, waiting for someone to realize the bodyguard had fetched the wrong person, but nothing happened, and they didn't know what to think.
"The sultan is a very pious and charitable man," Darryl said, flushing with embarrassment. "He must have noticed how poor Alex is and felt sorry for him."
The others murmured their agreement. They couldn't believe the sultan wanted to speak to Alex. Several of them offered their opinions.
"Exactly! The sultan feels sorry for him. Alex clearly doesn't belong there. I bet he has no idea what to say to such important people."
"He's probably terrified!"
"I think the sultan wants to set Alex up on a blind date. Do you see that ugly girl beside him? Don't you think she's perfect for Alex?"
They all snorted with laughter.
The sultan welcomed Alex to his table. He asked the city government to give up his seat, and then he talked to Alex, with Nelly acting as their interpreter. He completely ignored the governor and all the other important people.
Alex offered the sultan his condolences, and the sultan nodded, his expression gloomy. After a few seconds, he said through Nelly, "Alex, you were my wife's student, and I wish to grant you a favor. Come back to Brunei with me, and I will make you a senior official with a salary of five million dollars a year."
Alex was surprised. "Thank you for your kindness," he said, bowing his head. "But I don't wish to leave my own country. And despite how I'm dressed, I'm not short of money."
Nelly stared at him. Instead of interpreting for the sultan, she whispered to Alex, "If you go with the sultan, you'll never have to worry about anything ever again. Do you really want to refuse his offer?"
Alex nodded.
Nelly looked at him and sighed, and then she interpreted Alex's words for the sultan.
The sultan looked at Alex and thought, What an honourable young man!
He reached out and patted Alex's arm with affection.
The city leaders were impressed that Alex had refused the sultan's generous offer, but no one could understand why the sultan thought so highly of him.
The sultanate, considering what else he could do for Alex, and then an idea popped into his mind. He turned to the governor and spoke in Malay.
Nelly interpreted. "Governor, the sultan wishes to present the Brunei National Medal of Honor to one of the guests, and then he will announce his decision about the five-billion-dollar investment."
The city leaders were thrilled with the idea.
"Okay, that's no problem," the governor said. "Tell me, who is to be the recipient of the award?" He looked around the hall at all the important families.
The sultan hesitated. He wanted to present the medal to Alex, but the governor expected him to give it to someone else. Now if he gave it to Alex, the governor might be offended.
The sultan claimed he didn't have anyone specific in mind and that the idea had just come to him when he had looked around at everyone.
The governor nodded. "Yes, of course," he said. "The sultan doesn't know many people in this city, so each family should send forward a representative, and then the sultan can make a decision."
The sultan agreed.
The guests were all excited. They knew how prestigious the award was, and each family began to discuss who should represent them.
Almost twenty families selected someone to put forward. Most of them chose young people in their twenties, but a few chose the head of their family.
The sultan asked his men to fetch the National Medal of Honor. The medal was in a blue box, and it was an octagonal shape, with the head of the founder of Brunei in the middle, surrounded by petals and inlaid with a ring of sparkling diamonds.
The governor held up his hands and said, "Now, each representative will make a brief statement, and then the sultan will decide who gets the medal."
The sultan didn't listen to any of the statements. When they were finished, he patted Alex on the shoulder and asked him to speak.
No one understood what was going on. Surely the sultan wouldn't award the medal to a lowly pancake seller.
When Alex stood, everyone covered their mouths, trying not to laugh. They didn't dare disrespect the sultan.
But the sultan noticed, and he wasn't pleased.
"I'm just an ordinary man," Alex said. "I worked to pay for my tuition and living expenses. And this summer, I spent two months selling pancakes—"
A few members of the audience laughed.
Others murmured to each other.
"He can't compete with us."
"He doesn't really think he'll get the medal, does he?"
"The sultan just feels sorry for him."
The sultan asked Nelly what the people were saying, and when he found out, he scowled.
The audience noticed the sultan's expression and thought Alex's speech had made him angry, so they continued to talk.
"Look at the sultan's face!"
"This loser is offending him."
"If he messes up this investment, I'll kill him."
The governor asked the sultan to come to the stage. Then he stood in front of the sultan, holding the box containing the medal. All eyes were on them as everyone waited to hear their name being announced.
The king spoke in Malay. Then he fetched Alex and led him onto the stage. Nelly interpreted for him. "The sultan wishes to present this National Medal of Honor to Alex!"
There was a great uproar. No one could understand why the sultan had awarded the medal to such a loser.
They all considered themselves far superior to Alex. So what had the sultan been thinking? They just couldn't believe it. Confused, they all began to speak at once.
"Him? Why?"
"All the best families are here, and none of us were chosen! How could this happen?"
"How could the top twenty families in Washington, D.C., have lost to a kid who sells pancakes?"
"We can't let that loser be presented with that medal. Our families would be humiliated."