"Aw man," said Kathleen sympathetically, putting one of her hands behind her head, closing her eyes, and smiling embarrassedly as I settled down back in my seat diagonal from her. "Tough break, huh, Jordan?"
"Yeah, a little," I said. "My mind just drew a blank."
"You're probably just tired is all," she suggested. "so you're not thinking as clearly."
"Yeah, I guess," I admitted. Between my unsatisfying nap, losing my lunch during lunchtime and running around the playground and crawling through the tunnel during recess I was feeling a little more lightheaded than usual, and the world felt softer somehow. "It just sucks that I had to lose because of it."
Kathleen went back to watching the next group, where William was currently locked in orthographical combat with Eli. "We both got out before Jenny or Kiki this time," she commented. "Do you think either of them are going to win?"
"Maybe," I replied to be polite, but secretly I didn't think either of them would win. For some strange reason, my money was on Owen this time.
"Correct. Loading."
"L-o-a-d-i-n-g." spelled Eli.
"Correct. Special."
"S-p-e-a-s-u-l-e." misspelled William.
"Um, incorrect," replied Mr. Pony. "Eli, can you spell special?"
Eli nodded, causing his helmet to bob slightly, like a sponge. "S-p-e-c-i-a-l."
"Correct. Eli wins group 3."
"Dang it!" went William again. "I thought for sure it was gonna be like how treasure was."
Mr. Pony took another look at the card. "Huh, that's an interesting way to look at it. But nope, it's still incorrect."
William slunk back to his seat while Eli joined Randy and Jenny in the next round group. That meant that the last group for this round was…
"Group 4: Kiki and Owen!" announced Mr. Pony. The two shortest kids in class both strode forward to see who would be crowned the superior speller. "Are you both ready?"
"Yeah," said Owen, and Kiki repeated him an instant later.
"Very well, Kiki, your first word is push."
"P-u-s-h."
"Correct. Owen, your first word is apple."
"A-p-p-l-e."
"Correct. Greedy."
"G-r-e-e-d-y."
"Correct. Middle."
"M-i-d-d-l-e."
"Correct. Maximum."
"M-a-x-i-m-u-m."
"Correct. Insight."
An expression of innocent curiosity spread across Owen's face, and he opened his mouth to speak, but words, rather than letters, came out. "What kind of insight? Like the observation insight, or the kind where you incite a fight?"
Mr. Pony put their hands over their mouth mischievously. "The first one, the observation insight."
"I-n-s-i-g-h-t."
"Hoo hoo! Correct." They then turned back to Kiki. "Restrain."
"R-e-s-t-r-a-i-n."
"Correct. Something."
"S-o-m-e-t-h-i-n-g."
"Correct. Malleable."
Kiki was silent for a few seconds. "What does that mean?" she asked, squinting her eyes.
Mr. Pony offered a definition. "It means easy to mold and shape. Play-doh is an example of something that's malleable."
"Hmmm..." said Kiki, putting one of her fingers up to her lips and making a face as if she were going into a strange reptilian torpor like Gower Glackens. "M-a-l-i-a-b-l-e."
"Incorrect. Owen, can you spell malleable?"
Owen grinned and put his hands behind his head. "You bet! M-a-l-l-e-a-b-l-e."
"Correct. Owen is the winner for Group 4!"
"Hee hee!" giggled Owen. "Nice try Kiki, but you're no match for me."
Kiki looked a bit disheartened. "Aw man. I was doing so good too." she loped back to her seat, joining myself and Kathleen at the first table.
"It's okay, Kiki," reassured Kathleen. "You did better than me and Jordan this time."
"Yeah," mumbled Kiki. "But I wanna actually win though."
"Well, we all still have one more chance tomorrow," I remarked. However, at the same time, Kiki's comment got me thinking. Did I want to win the spelling bee too? Could I? I had made it to the third round on my first try, maybe I could.
Mr. Pony's announcement cut through my thoughts. "Alright, it's time for Round 3 to start! This time there will only be Group 1: Jenny and Randy, and Group 2: Eli and Owen!" The four remaining competitors looked at each other with mixed expressions of seriousness, nervousness, and amusement.
I started to second guess myself again. All of the people left were really smart… Maybe I couldn't win. I had lost to two of them already, and three of them were bound to be back in the next practice session.
"I'll let you lot choose among yourselves who wants to go first again," offered Mr. Pony, turning the conversation over to the class.
"Numerical order still work for you, Randy-boy?" asked Owen, closing his eyes and cupping one of his hands around his sharpie-bearded mouth like a megaphone. "Or are you too scared to lose to a girl in front of little ol' me?"
Randy's ice-blue, elegantly eyelashed eyes flashed from uncertainty to annoyance briefly as he tried to think of a stinging retort. "No, numerical order is fine," he insisted, pronouncing 'order' more like 'h'ors d'eurves'. "Besides, Jenny beat you last time, remember?"
"Only 'cuz I let her," shot back Owen quickly, clearly satisfied that Randy was now officially on tilt.
"Right, if we're doing numerical order again, let's go then," inputted Jenny, urging Randy to the task at hand to de-escalate his argument with Owen. Randy nodded a bit hesitantly and stepped forward alongside Jenny.
"Okay Group 1, are you ready then?"
"Yes," said Jenny clearly, and Randy nodded again. Was it just my imagination, or was Randy a bit nervous? This was the round where he had lost last time as well.
"Randy, your first word is sway."
"S-w-a-y."
"Correct. Jenny, your first word is stuck."
"S-t-u-c-k."
"Correct. Quill."
"Q-u-i-l-l."
"Correct. Marker."
"M-a-r-k-e-r."
"Correct. Service."
"S-e-r-v-i-c-e."
"Correct. Trumpet."
"T-r-u-m-p-e-t."
"Correct. Foreword."
Randy hesitated again. "Forward as in the direction, or the beginning of a book?"
"The beginning, or introduction, of a book."
"F-o-r-e-w-o-r-d."
"Correct. Automate.
"A-u-t-o-m-a-t-e."
"Correct. Disaster."
"D-i-s-a-s-t-e-r."
"Correct. Marvelous."
"M-a-r-v-e-l-o-u-s."
"Correct. Ascending."
"A-s-c-e-n-d-i-n-g."
"Correct. Allusion."
"I-l-l-u-s-i-o-n."
Mr. Pony paused dramatically. "...Incorrect." Jenny looked confused. "Randy, can you spell Allusion?"
Randy hesitated for a second to think. "What is the definition? Can you use it in a sentence?" He was throwing out all the rules he knew to buy him time to think.
Mr. Pony put their hands over their mouth mischievously. "An Allusion is a reference in something to something else. For example, 'This story contains many allusions to the works of Walt Disney.'"
Randy continued hesitating. "A-l-l-u-s-i-o-n." he finally answered.
"Correct! Randy moves on to the final round!" Randy exhaled a sigh of relief before turning to Jenny. "Good job," he congratulated Jenny. "I didn't know that was a word either."
"Thanks," she replied, a little bit taken aback by Randy's praise. "Yeah, I thought I had spelled it right. I didn't even know there were two illusions." She then stopped to think for a second. "How did you get it right, then?"
"Well, if it wasn't the illusion you said, it had to be something else," Randy explained. "And there are only a few letters I could change that would have made it sound the same."
Jenny put her hand to her chin thoughtfully. "I guess that makes sense," she answered. "I'll keep that in mind for next time." And after that, she walked over and rejoined the rest of our table. Just like in the first practice session, our table was the first one to have everyone be eliminated.
"That kinda sucks," remarked Jenny as she sat down. "How was I supposed to know about 'allusion' in the first place?"
"This whole thing is just unfair," agreed Kathleen. "Randy didn't know about it either, so why does he get to win?"
Sweating nervously a bit at the thought of opposing their opinion, I spoke up. "Well, I guess it goes back to what Julia mentioned earlier, about the spelling bee being more than just spelling. I… also had a group like that, with Jacques. Neither of us knew the word, but he just got it wrong first."
"That just sounds like bad luck is all," said Kiki.
"A little," I admitted, "But at the same time, Randy and I were still able to figure out the right spelling, just only after knowing what the other person said was wrong."
Jenny shook her head unconvincedly. I simply shrugged before turning my attention back to the practice spelling bee. "Oh, Owen and Eli have already started!" By the sound of the words they were spelling, they were already several words into it.
"C-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y," spelled Eli carefully.
"Correct. Production."
"P-r-o-d-u-c-t-i-o-n," spelled Owen.
"Correct. Microscope."
"M-i-c-r-o-s-c-o-p-e."
"Correct. Propaganda."
"P-r-o-p-a-g-a-n-d-a."
"Correct. Speculation."
"S-p-e-c-u-l-a-t-i-o-n."
"Correct. Obsessive."
"O-b-s-e-s-s-i-v-e."
"Correct. Circumference."
"C-i-r-c-u-m-f-r-e-n-c-e."
"Incorrect." Eli's eyes widened a bit, and he pulled his helmet down to hide them from view. "Owen, can you spell circumference?"
"Uh…" began Owen, putting a finger to his mouth curiously, "S-i-r-c-u-m-f-r-e-n-c-e?"
"Also incorrect." Much like Randy after eliminating Jenny, Eli exhaled a sigh of relief. "Eli, you were right in that it does start with a 'c'. You both missed the first 'e', though." Mr. Pony flipped the card around so they could read it. "Okay Eli, next word is pastoral."
"P-a-s-t-o-r-a-l."
"Correct. Wednesday."
"W-e-d-n-e-s-d-a-y."
"Correct. Antibodies."
"A-n-t-i-b-o-d-i-e-s."
"Correct. Guaranteed."
"G-a-r-u-n-t-e-e-d," spelled Owen, making a move as if he were about to reach forward playfully with one hand.
"Incorrect," stated Mr. Pony. Owen began sweating slightly, and his expression became unsure. "Eli, can you spell guaranteed?"
"G-u-a-r-a-n-t-e-e-d." replied Eli, tipping his helmet like a neckbeard tips his fedora.
"Correct! Eli advances to face Randy in the final round!" announced Mr. Pony excitedly.
Owen stopped sweating, grinned, and put his hands behind his head. "Aw, you got me!" He then held up his hand and stared at it melodramatically. "I tried so hard, and got so far, too."
"But in the end, did it even matter?" inputted Kristy, closing one of her eyes, putting her hand to her chin thoughtfully, and raising one of her eyebrows like Jack Black.
"Who knows?" replied Owen, on his way back to the second table. "Maybe I lost on purpose, just 'cause I didn't feel like embarrassing Randy-boy in front of the whole class."
"But you just said you tried so hard..." responded Kristy, putting one hand over her reverse widow's peak in dumbfoundedness.
Owen had to be lying about one of those things… if I had to guess, he had actually lost to Eli, and just didn't want to admit it. After all, what was the point of making it to the third round and then losing on purpose?
"All right, you lot," continued Mr. Pony. "In case you weren't paying attention, this is the final round, which means the day is going to be over soon after it ends. If you have anything to start cleaning up before you go, now would be the time." They then turned back to Eli and Randy. "Are you two both ready?"
"Yes," said Randy seldomly, while Eli nodded in agreement. This was bound to be good – both Eli and Randy had only lost to Julia last time, and this was Eli's second time making it to the final round. Was he going to win this time? Or would Randy win? I almost felt as if I were, as they would call it, on the edge of my seat.
"Eli! Your first word is fried."
"F-r-i-e-d."
"Correct. Randy, your first word is Combat."
"C-o-m-b-a-t."
"Correct. Lettuce."
"L-e-t-t-u-c-e."
"Correct. Sailboat."
"S-a-i-l-b-o-a-t."
"Correct. Evaluate."
"E-v-a-l-u-a-t-e."
"Correct. Suspicious."
"S-u-s-p-i-c-i-o-u-s."
"Correct. Assistance."
"Uh…" Eli turned deathly pale and began shuddering. Sweat trickled down his face and his cheeks flushed. "M-mr. Pony?" he began quietly. "C-can I h-have a d-different w-word?"
"Huh?" asked Mr. Pony, putting their hand to their cheek on their face and lilting their head to the side slightly, as if they were a bit put off by the question. "Why?"
"That's against the Ru-ules," inputted Randy, to my surprise. Eli jumped as well, already on edge and clearly startled by his sudden upspeak. "No, you can't just ask for a different word. If you could, then everyone would just do that until they got a word they knew how to spell."
Eli covered his eyes with his helmet in embarrassment, in a way using it to defend himself from Randy's statement. "I-it's not that I d-don't know how to s-spell it," he replied. "It's j-just that it has a w-word in it that I'm n-not allowed to s-say, and I d-don't want to s-spell it."
Mr. Pony blinked for a second. "Ohoho," they chortled mirthily, putting their hands over their mouth mischievously. "It's okay. You can spell it, it'll be fine. I promise you won't get in trouble."
"O-okay," gulped Eli, adjusting his helmet and bobbing his adam's apple. "A-s-s-i-s-t-a-n-c-e." Some of the other students giggled sillily as he spelled the first part of the word, but he didn't let the self-consciousness get to him.
"Correct." Mr. Pony turned back to Randy. "Diagonal."
"D-i-a-g-o-n-a-l."
"Correct. Trepidation."
"T-r-e-p-i-d-a-t-i-o-n."
"Correct. Colloquial."
"C-o-l-l-o-q-u-i-a-l."
"Correct. Replenish."
"R-e-p-l-e-n-i-s-h."
"Correct. Oscilloscope."
Randy blinked in intimidation, his elegant eyelashes fluttering. "O-c-y-l-o-s-c-o-p-e," he answered slowly.
"Incorrect. Eli, can you spell Oscilloscope?"
Eli reached up to hold his helmet in place before shaking his head.
"Are you sure?" asked Mr. Pony, putting their hand to the cheek on their face and tilting their head to the side quizzically. "This is your chance to get Randy out."
"You might as well give it a shot," agreed Randy surprisingly. "It's not like you get out if you get it wrong."
"A-all right then," conceded Eli. "A-w-e-s-i-l-o-s-c-o-p-e." He covered his eyes with his helmet with the embarrassment of someone being forced to give an answer that they knew was wrong, but also didn't know what the right one was.
"Incorrect." Mr. Pony flipped the card around to show them both the correct spelling. "Don't feel bad for getting that one wrong, it's a tough one for sure." Both of them took in the correct spelling. Mr. Pony turned the card back around. "All right Randy, your next word is unfortunately."
"U-n-f-o-r-t-u-n-a-t-e-l-y," spelled Randy, glad to have a word he knew again.
"Correct. Eli, Illuminated."
"I-l-l-u-m-i-n-a-t-e-d."
"Correct. Polarization."
"P-o-l-a-r-i-z-a-t-i-o-n."
"Correct. Advertisement."
"A-d-v-e-r-t-i-z-e-m-e-n-t."
"Incorrect." Eli gritted his teeth in shocked surprise, rather than irritation or anger. "Randy, can you spell advertisement?"
Randy uncrossed his red-and-black-flanneled arms, as if he was about to seize the opportunity to land a perfectly timed cross chop on his helmeted opponent. "A-d-v-e-r-t-i-s-e-m-e-n-t."
"Correct!" exclaimed Mr. Pony, who somehow still had an uncanny amount of energy for someone reaching the end of the day. "Randy is the winner!"
"Aw," said Eli, covering his eyes with his helmet while Randy clenched his fist triumphantly. However, he soon unclenched that fist and extended his hand towards Eli for a handshake.
"Good game," said Randy, drawing Eli's attention. He peeked out from under the helmet. "Don't feel bad about losing. You're obviously a good speller if you made it to second place twice in a row."
"Totally!" agreed Mr. Pony. "And remember, since Randy and Julia aren't going to be in the next one, you've got a pretty good chance of winning the next one, too.
"T-that's exactly what you s-said last time," mumbled Eli discouragedly.
"This time I mean it!" said Mr. Pony. "The less people participating, the higher your chances of winning are!" Eli still seemed unconvinced.
"Anyways," interluded Randy, "This means that I get to participate in the school-wide spelling bee, right?"
"Totally! So far it's you, Julia, and one other lucky student that will be decided tomorrow," answered Mr. Pony. "The final spelling bee will be the day after that, in the gym, just as a reminder."
Randy nodded in confirmation. "I'll be ready for it." He then turned to Eli. "Good luck in the last practice round tomorrow."
"T-thanks," replied Eli halfheartedly.
"All right then!" proceeded Mr. Pony. "With that out of the way, it's just about time for the day to be over! Please gather your things, push in your chairs, and line up behind the line leader as we prepare to leave." That was my cue. I stood up quickly, eager to get out of here after such an exhausting day, and stumbled woozily as my brain struggled to catch up with the rest of my body.
"Whoa," said Kathleen. "Careful, Jordan. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I reassured everyone at the table again. "Just a little lightheaded is all."
"You should probably go home and get some sleep," recommended Jenny.
"Thanks," I replied at first, before adding slightly after, "I think I will." I then awkwardly turned towards the door and began walking towards it so I could start the line. Because the sooner I started the line, the sooner I could be out of here and get some much needed rest.
I remembered getting in position as the line leader in front of the door, but after that, my memories became a bit hazy, as if I had zoned out and had to create false memories to fill in the gaps with my imagination. I proceeded robotically, as if in a daze. While I know I must have led the line to the outside world and gotten into my uncle's bus shaped vehicle, since that was where I currently found myself, I couldn't recall any specific details about what had happened… if I had had a conversation with anyone else, both their face and their voice had been lost to me. Nonetheless, I had somehow managed to make it through that long day.
