SELENE'S POV
AFTER thirty minutes of me dealing with the noises coming from outside the room and with ma'am English's strange accent for her saying the words we needed to spell and write here in our spelling booklet, the elimination round ended.
At the speed of events, I didn't know if I had spelled anything correctly because all I knew was that I was next to Jane and the quiz was over. I was nervous. I never felt this way for a long time because of academics. Suddenly, I was thrilled. I don’t know how to calm down my thoughts.
"Hey, Selene! Are you okay? You look retarded again," Jane asked but with another insult.
I just scolded her for saying that. Sheez! This is TOP's fault, a character in a book that I love to read. Why did I say that? I also do not know. It’s just because TOP is handsome in Talk Back and You're Dead, yet he was rude and intimidating… just like Jane.
'"I'm not okay," I nervously replied to her before I moved in my seat like a child. I was trembling yet I was excited. I badly wanted to win the elimination round. The prize money is my motivation.
I wanted to get out for a while to calm myself, but I know that if I did that, ma'am English will not let me in again. Ma'am English is also a terror teacher. It's just like ma'am Math. Is being terror a requirement for high school teachers? I do not know anymore.
Anyway, my hands are cold now and I'm really nervous. My hands are also a little sweaty and I just want the floor to open up and eat me alive. My hands look gross because of all the sweat, I know, but I can’t do anything about this. This is how I really am when nervous. Sweating.
I just remained seated in my chair as I bent over. I sincerely pray that I will be able to pass even though I know in myself that I am not religious. The quiz for the elimination round has sixty items. Who checked my paper, by the way? However, I just hope my score is high. Please. What a waste of a chance to have twenty thousand if I wouldn’t pass!
Aside from the money that really motivated my whole being, I also really dreamed of having a college scholarship. Some people say that I am smart so it is not impossible for me to fulfill that dream of mine. That's why, Jane said, why am I still looking for a scholarship. We are already rich and she is very sure that no matter which school I want to go to, my parents can afford it.
Can you imagine how rich we are?
But, I wanted a scholarship because… just nothing. I just really want to have an achievement in my life, like, a big one. Also, I feel that I will be more responsible when I have obligations to myself, so that I can study even better. Then of course, so that I can also help my parents. Even though I know we are rich, I still want to try to achieve my dreams on my own.
"Penafrancia, score."
"36."
I stopped in my tracks when ma'am English started calling and— the surname is already in the letter P? Huh? Was I that stunned for so long? Did I overthink that much?
"Pequero."
"18."
"Perez."
"59."
My classmates' eyes widened because of my score. Of course, just like them, I was surprised and even held my mouth while looking at one of my classmates who checked my paper.
"59? Good job, miss Perez. Congratulations," ma'am said while smiling at me. I was a bit stupid but I was still able to nod to Ma'am and smile back at her to acknowledge her praise on me.
I couldn’t speak and my brain stopped functioning properly. 59? Just one mistake? Really? What? I wasn’t even sure of all the words I spelled there?
"Shit, Selene! I'm so proud of you!" Jane praised and hugged me.
We didn't make much noise because we were still in class, but ma'am looked at us so we separated again and kept quiet. This is really crazy! But later I will also hug her back.
What a beautiful day it is! I kept smiling as ma’am continued to ask the grade of my classmates!
"Sy."
"10."
But also, my smile immediately disappeared from my lips and my two eyes widened in shock. 10 out of 60? That is impossible. She’s Jane. It was impossible.
She’s effortlessly smart, unless…
"Thania Janelle Sy," I said in a warning tone while looking at her, who was just staring straight ahead while still playing with her fingers there in her armchair. When she heard me call her name she turned to me for a moment and smiled. The lunatic just created a peace sign with me. I'm not happy with her right now. She’s obviously wasting her intelligence.
"I'm weak at spelling bee, aren't I?" she said, smiling before she turned her gaze back to the front.
"Fool yourself, my dear best friend. You can't fool me."
I stared at her before crossing my two hands over my chest. I'm her best friend, so I would know how the thoughts are running onto her brain. I did my best in this elimination round because of the money and scholarship in exchange, while on the other hand, Jane was just chilling. She didn’t care at all.
Maybe Jane is a secret millionaire?
"Peace, yo!"
I just shook my head because of what she said. The truth is, Jane is good at academics and sports. She was even better than me after all. She didn’t need to execute that much effort. She was talented. It was inborn.
As for me, I still need to learn things with much effort and studying, but she can learn only with his brain. She just doesn’t really want to be serious, especially on her academics. Sometimes, she even teaches me the lessons from the other subjects I wasn’t able to understand no matter how hard I study.
At sports, I have watched her play basketball, volleyball, badminton, and table tennis with her other friends who don't attend this school, and I can really say that she's good! She's excellent, but she always hides her talents so I'm the only one who knows that.
She just doesn't really want to participate in contests like this so even though she knows the answer, she’s making her answers wrong.
That's just crazy.
"I'll just tell you directly if you're the one who'll represent the school. Don't spread false rumors. Class dismissed," said ma'am English and walked away while carrying her papers.
Simultaneously, with ma'am English's departure was the ringing of the bell. It was time to go home! By the way, I'll give Kent the food I prepared before I go. It's not spoiled yet, I'm sure it is. I had to give it to him because I put a potion on it so he would fall in love with me completely, but of course it was a joke!