December 11th 2022

Chapter 345
Our Cheers For Curiosity

Maya really didn't know why the team had been so nervous about the Quiz Olympics. Never mind that it was all good fun, and fundraising for a cause of their choice, but all eight of the players, whether the half on the graduates' side or the half on the students' side, knew each other very well. They had either been teammates at one time, or they were sisters, or they would be as good as siblings by virtue of a relationship. The stakes could not have been lower, so was it just because there'd be an audience? Whatever it was, she had been doing her best to get everyone to just have fun and relax. She was succeeding… more or less…

Well, now, the big day had finally arrived, so she supposed they'd find out how it would go, one way or the other.

"Lea says that they're leaving the airport now," Lydia reported, still looking at her phone as she hopped off from the window ledge in the art room. "Maybe they won't be here on time," she went on, and it sounded to her teacher/cousin-in-law like she was suggesting they might as well pack in and head out, never minding these Olympics. Fortunately, while she was still very nervous – and in many ways had every right to be – her teammates were doing much better by now.

"They'll be here, we've got this," Nika went up to the freshman. She may not have been called Hypnoteyes, but the captain led her team well, and her eyes said that every word she spoke was true. Lydia let out a breath and nodded back at her.

Though this was Nika's final year, both at the school and as part of the team, it was also her year to be in charge, and Maya had to admit that she hadn't known what kind of captain she would be at first. Now, with the year nearly through, she could say that she was more than worthy of the title, and not just because she was the senior of the year. After what had happened earlier with the scandal, they could easily have fallen apart, but it hadn't happened. And she still had as much faith in Lydia's place on the team as Maya did. They didn't know how it would go today, but while Lydia was nervous about it, Nika gave off just the air they needed, one that said that they had no reason not to go in with their heads held high.

There was no telling what things would be like by the time Lydia carried the mantle of captain, but in the meantime, she had nothing to worry about with the two who would precede her. Rolly would be next, as a senior in the fall, and as much as he had his big sister Rochelle's drive, he had her heart, too. And then Maia Bennett, well, Lydia was one of Ash's closest friends in the ninth grade, and as much as her enbyfriend cared for the girl, so had Maia come to do the same.

Just as Nika had assured her youngest teammate, all was well. The graduates arrived with time to spare before the match was set to begin. They were all happy to see them come along, for all their nerves, and their teacher was no exception. Even if she got to see a couple of them regularly, and she'd been in contact with the other two in the time since they had graduated, it was very exciting to have them all back together.

She couldn't forget what it was like to see Bodhi again, the first time after he and Rochelle returned from their travels. Even though she'd gotten to see a number of photos along the way, it just hadn't been the same. He'd changed so much in the time since she'd last seen him, and by the time he had come by to visit, as he and Rochelle had promised to do, he'd felt at once like a whole other person and the same person he'd always strived to be on the inside. Now Bodhi's outside and inside had never been so aligned, and the effect that it had on him was made all the more wonderful when you were someone who had known and cared for him for a long while, as Maya had been. He was to be captain of the graduates for these Olympics, as he had been that for the very same team, four years ago, when they'd all still been students.

"She's still freaking out, isn't she?" Lea quietly asked her former teacher when she got the chance. She wasn't looking at her little sister when she asked this, but she hardly had to. Who else could she be talking about?

"Comes and goes," Maya reported. "Nika's got her, and the rest of the team, too, I think."

"I told our dads that they should focus on cheering her on and not me. I don't know… They're good cheerleaders out there, it'll do her good to hear them encouraging her, right? Or maybe it'll feel like too much pressure…" she started to reconsider her position "Should I tell one of them to cheer for me, so it balances?"

"Do you really think your fathers are going to be able to sit out there and ignore you?" Maya pointed out, and Lea bit back a laugh. She had a point. "Everyone will get their due."

It had been nearly two years since Rosemary Adewumi had graduated high school. Aside from letters the two had exchanged, they had not seen one another since the day she'd received her diploma, after which she'd left Texas for college. When she'd been a student here, it had always been impossible to ignore the fact that she was younger than her classmates, even if not by much, having skipped grades. Whether it played a part in this, or just the fact that it had been so long since she'd seen her, Maya felt a jolt to see her arrive, thinking she was now the age she would have been upon leaving here, had she graduated with her original class.

"Guess what!" she approached her former teacher with a smile that had gone unchanged. "Fatima and her mother came along to watch the match." Maya's smile of surprise was as genuine as could be. She'd heard all about the young girl she'd met, while frequenting her mother's café, who had wanted to and eventually did see to the creation of a quiz team in her own school. It was wonderful that they'd come all this way, and she couldn't wait to meet both of them. They had to see to it that the pair had a great experience out here.

"You know, the last time I had a match, I was the captain, and now I'm back at the bottom of the list again," Ava Nash declared as she joined her former teammates, from one end to the other. She'd arrived along with her girlfriend and their roommates and had just left them at the gym. She'd only been gone for a little under a year, so she had as many former teammates on either side of the divide. Those who hadn't seen her in a while – Rolly and Maia – came up to greet her right away. Lydia had never been her teammate, but Lea had been, so it still counted in her book.

"Yeah, but last time you were on our side. Now we have to play against you," Nika told her friend and band songwriter.

"Sorry in advance," Ava gave her and the others a small but proud smile. Lydia squeaked, and Lea moved to calm her down even as Nika went. After a beat, the latter deferred to her teammate's big sister to handle this, even if she would soon be 'the opposition.' "She's going to be okay, right?" Ava quietly asked what was getting to be the question of the day.

She knew about what had happened back in January, and like the others, she was of a mind that, even if she did not approve of the action, she would not turn against Lydia. She could put herself in her shoes just fine, just as she couldn't pretend that she hadn't done at least one big, stupid thing while she was in high school. Lydia's had been far worse, but still… There was no doubt of her deep remorse, and Ava could accept that above all else.

The moment of truth would be when they all headed into the gym. Everyone was getting into game mode, but Maya could also see the same question playing at all their minds, whether they wanted to or not. Would it all actually go alright? What if the audience did turn on Lydia? They wanted to tell themselves that it had been a few months, and things had calmed down some, but then the more she'd worried about people turning on her, the more the others had come to think 'well, what if they do?' Nika had given her team a bit of a pep talk before they went in, trying as much as possible not to make it sound like it was directed specifically toward Lydia. She'd hoped that it would get the point across. Unfortunately, she would get to see whether or not it paid off.

The teams went into the gym, and they barely got through the introductions, the last name being Lydia's, that there was a distinct call of 'cheater' from somewhere in the stands. It sent a ripple of discomfort across the gym, no one certain what to do about it at first. Cory, who was doing the introductions, was telling whoever it was – they couldn't find them – to be respectful of the players. Maya's eyes were on Lydia though, and she could see thoughts playing across her face. She wasn't falling apart; she was considering her options. And then she was walking across the line of her teammates, all of them whispering at her. She went up to Cory, asked to borrow the microphone. He looked unsure, but he handed it over. Lydia knew just where the call had come from, and she faced the person who'd called her out… and called them out. She challenged the guy, a member of another team, to a face-off. If he won, she would quit the team right then and there. And if she won, then it would be known to any and all that 'the cheater' was a better player than him. There was no worry of no one knowing; a lot of people were soon recording the scene on their phones.

It was a delay, no doubt, as they hadn't planned for this, but the boy accepted the challenge, and now they needed questions to ask them both. The audience didn't mind; this was more than they'd expected for today. Lydia had all the power of the Hypnoteyes going, a fire going in her that gave her challenger the first signal that perhaps he shouldn't have stepped up to the freshman girl. When the questions did come, it was soon very clear that Lydia was right where she was supposed to be. She did not lose her seat that day. If anything, it had never felt more hers than ever before, and the audience was cheering for her, supporting her rather than what she'd feared they'd do. Her team was so very proud of her, and even the opposing team shared the sentiment, most of all her big sister Lea. It had everyone in just the mood they needed to be in for the match they'd gathered for in the first place. By the time it was over, they'd ended up with a tie, broken by captains and tipping, this time, in favor of the students. The graduates gracefully bowed to them… though they wouldn't say no to a rematch in the future.

"You know, in four years' time, you guys will be defending champions," Maya told them, and they liked the sound of that. Now, all they had to do was wait four years and find out who they'd be facing up against. None of their competitors had yet to even begin high school…

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners