"You remember most of the stuff that we went over, right?" Javier whispered to me as we sat down.
"No, I’m stupid," I said sarcastically.
He rolled his eyes and then mumbled, "I sure hope you know how this whole thing works because I only skimmed over the rules."
I looked at him incredulously. He was harassing me about being prepared yet he wasn’t familiar with the rules! The fucking audacity. Before I could lose my shit, a man in a black tuxedo stood in the center of the room and took hold of a microphone.
"Good morning, everyone!" the man greeted us cheerily. "I am so glad to see all of your bright minds here today. You should all be very proud of yourselves for getting invited to participate in such an event. Give yourself a round of applause."
Our competitors clapped for themselves, as did Javier. I opted to hit my hand on my knee a few times.
The man continued rambling about how excited he was to host before he eventually got off track and started talking about his children. I had no clue how we had gotten to talking about how his daughter had a habit of bringing home stray animals and begging to keep them. I was extremely tired of his incessant talking and wanted nothing more than to start the competition. The anticipation of it was killing me.
After what felt like forever, he got back on track and started explaining the rules for the people who were too lazy to read them like the rest of us.Cough, cough, my partner, cough, cough.
The rules for this round were simple. There were ten tables to sit at because there were only ten schools competing againsteach other. The tables were labeled with the name of the high school on the front and then two nametags on either side with the participants' names. The nametag on the left had the number one on it and the nametag on the right had a number two on it. That was the order of answering. I would answer second.
We were given five points if we answered correctly, but we could gain an extra two points instead if we answered correctly and in under five seconds.
The announcer started with the first table and asked a question. The girl on the left answered and said the correct answer with no hesitation, so their school was given seven points. Now it was the second table’s turn, and they gained seven points as well.
It went on like that for a bit. None of the tables, including ours, were getting any of the questions wrong. People were blurting out their answers so quickly that they were spitting in the process. It made sense that things were going soothingly considering everyone in the room was the top of their class. However, someone was bound to mess up eventually.
And someone did. When the boy saw the host frown and a table next to him gasp, his face dropped. His partner sent a glare his way, unable to hide the annoyance and disappointment.
The questions weren't even getting more difficult. It could have possibly been the nerves getting to him, or maybe he hadn’t reviewed that section of history. Each time after I answered, I held my breath for the second it took to find out if I was right or not. I had been right so far, and I wasn’t trying to break that.
Javier kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. I chose to ignore him and focus on remembering what we studied so that I didn't fuck it up for the both of us. Next turn was our table once again and it was my turn to answer.
The man asked me the question, but I didn't catch what he said.
"Can you repeat the question?" I asked with a gulp.
The man nodded. "What did James Watt do for the Industrial Revolution?"
My mind went blank and I suppressed a nervous gasp. On quizzes, tests, and exams I never blanked. I studied so much that I did not believe it was possible for me to forget it. Even when I was nervous, I still normally remembered what I had learned. This newfound forgetfulness made me shudder in my seat.
Why was I suddenly experiencing short-term memory loss? One wrong answer would guarantee that we lose the first round. Hell, not answering at the speed of light could guarantee it. I didn’t expect us to get first place every round, but I wanted us to.
I turned to Javier and found he was already looking at me. He was waiting on my answer just like everyone else around us. My leg was bouncing up and down rapidly as I pondered my answer.
I could tell that Javier knew the answer based on his facial expression. I so desperately wished that he could answer for me. If my partner knew the answer, then why couldn't he say it for the both of us? Damn rules.
I sighed and faced forward and kept quiet. Five seconds had passed so there went our extra two points.
The host adjusted his tuxedo. "Your answer?"
I regretted ever agreeing to the stupid competition.
I took a sip of the water bottle that they gave us at the beginning of the event. I was about ready to give up and end the torment, but then something hit me in my shin. Javier was looking at me intensely. His elbow was propped on the desk and he tapped his finger to his forehead a few times.
He wanted me to remember.
You and me both, dude.
That was when I started to think about his stupid slideshow. Javier made note of the questions that he felt like I wasn’tretaining and made them into a separate presentation. I was being stubborn and saying that I didn’t need any more help, but he tried to drill it into me anyway.
And guess what topic was on that presentation.
