Man in the crowd

"Olivia, it's your turn," whispered Lilah to Olivia.

She walked straight towards the mic stand.

"Contestant 057, spell the word- SMARAGDINE," declared the instructor.

"Dictionary meaning, please," she requested.

"Of or relating to emerald; yellowish green color like an emerald," explained the instructor.

"S-M-A-R-A-G-D-I-N-E, Smaragdine," Olivia said.

"Is that your final answer?"

"Yes sir," she answered.

"Then you are correct. One point to Melrose High" announced the instructor. A roar of cheers and applauses arose from the crowd. The majority of them had started cheering for Melrose. So far, they were already making history and breaking records, that was what made them able to ignite such a crowd.

The competition continued in the same pattern, with each school taking the mic one at a time. Oliver and the others took turns representing their school. Olivia went first, followed by Oliver, and then Lilah.

The competition was soon at its climax. Melrose seemed to be improving at every stage they got to. Losing just one point, they were leading alongside All Elites, with an equal score of 4 points. The third school; Upper crust high, scored only 2 points, so they were eliminated. Melrose and All Elites had one word each to crown the final winners.

All Elites Academy was the first to take the stage. A tall dark skinned girl with smartly plated cornrow braids, dressed in the custom All Elites matching uniform of a black striped orange coat with a black necktie, on a black skirt. Majestically, she walked straight to the mic stand. Her serene facial expression and the way she readjusted her glasses, all spoke volumes of how highly charismatic she was.

This was the final stage of the competition. There was pin-drop silence throughout the suspended arena. Everyone was curious to see how the end would be. There were questions at every nook and cranny. They were all anxious to know; were they just moments away from witnessing a new history being made, or were they preparing to see history repeat itself?

"Contestant 003, are you ready?" the instructor said.

"I'm more than ready. Let's get this over with," replied the dark skin girl. Her accent was British

The instructor smiled in admiration for her outspokenness. Olivia scoffed in disgust when she saw that.

"Spell- Eudaemonistic."

"It's spelled, E-U-D-E-M-O-N-I-S-T-I-C," the girl said, sounding so confident.

"Are you sure that's your final answer?" the instructor asked.

"I am," she replied shortly.

"Are you sure, or do you want a dictionary definition?" the instructor suggested.

"It's an adjective word gotten from Greek: the act of producing happiness; based on the theory of happiness as the proper end of conduct," she spoke so fast, "I know everything about the word."

"Are you su..."

"I will not change my spelling," she insisted.

"Alright, in that case, you are wrong, contestant 003," announced the instructor.

Everyone was shocked to hear that the girl got the spelling wrong. This wasn't what they expected from someone that courageous.

"But... h... how?" she muttered in disbelief.

It was further explained to her that she omitted a letter, but that couldn't console her as she wept bitterly on the way back to her previous standing position.

Now it was Melrose's turn. The suspense that was in the arena was immeasurable. This was a very critical stage because if Melrose gets this one, they'll be declared the winners. On the other hand, if they fail, All Elites would have to continue. There was hope for both schools.

It was Olivia's turn to spell. She was so excited and full of confidence.

"It's game over for you, cheaters. Time to show y'all how it's done," she said, as she was getting ready to take the stage.

"Hold on, Olivia Anderson," professor Eric called out to her, just as she was about to leave.

"You've really outworked yourself, I think Oliver Logan should take this one," said the professor.

"Me?" Oliver muttered in puzzlement.

Lilah couldn't believe it either, and Olivia was in a confused state.

"But it's my turn, why should he be the one that goes?" Olivia protested.

"Because I chose him," answered professor Eric.

"That is so not encouraging. I can't believe we're choosing someone who could barely grip a microphone," Olivia said.

Lilah tried to hide her sudden outburst of laughter by shielding her mouth with her palm, but that made it more obvious.

"Professor, I think she has a point. She should be the one to go, I'm afraid I might screw this up," Oliver said.

"I never doubted you one second, Oliver Logan. You are the ultimate underdog, most likely, the most worthy candidate. If we really want to make history, it should be done by you, so that the world could see us as you are; the ultimate underdog," said professor Eric.

After bringing up a series of irrelevant excuses, Oliver eventually took the stage. As he stood there, the deafening uproar of cheers and applauses, and the flashes of lights coming from all directions, made his heart beat faster. At that moment, he was under a lot more pressure than he had ever been before. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. The loud noises from the sonic loudspeakers, the cheers, the applauses; every sound heard gradually faded away in his mind, till all he could hear was quietness and calm.

"Contestant 055, are you ready?"

Oliver answered in the affirmative, as he opened his eyes.

"Spell the word- STAPHYLOCOCCUS," the instructor said.

Oliver grinned on the inside, as he heard the word.

"Piece of cake," he whispered in his lowest voice, so low that the microphone couldn't even get anything.

"S-T-A-P-Y...Y..."

"What the..." he suddenly muttered to himself, with raw panic in his voice, looking straight ahead with empty eyes that were wide with an unnamed terror.

"Pardon?" the instructor said, with a look of worry displayed on his face.

Oliver could see the image of a man in a black tuxedo, staring at him from the crowd, with shady mesmerizing eyes and a sinister smile on his face. The weirdest thing about this hideous scene was that Oliver was no longer able to see other people in the crowd. They were all blurred out totally, all he could see were small swirls and blobs of colors. The only clear thing he could see was the image of the strange man in a black suit.

Oliver heard the voice the instructor, call out to him severally. He tried to complete the spelling, but as he was about to do so, the most terrifying thing happened. Oliver could not spell the word any longer. He thought so hard but he couldn't retain the spelling. He tried to picture the written word in his mind, but all he could see was a blank space. He searched so hard, but he couldn't find anything. Somehow that single memory had been mysteriously whipped away.

"No no no, this isn't happening," Oliver muttered inaudibly, as his voice shook with dread.

Oliver was so relentless, he attempted spelling the word over and over again, but the outcome was the same, he kept stopping halfway. Sweats of frustration trickled down his spine, entirely drenching him wet. Oliver could not understand any of this, how he could no longer remember the spelling of a word he was very sure he knew. He was so troubled within himself as he thought about all those that were relying on him, and the highly demanding need to utilize this golden opportunity to its fullest. Oliver had never been or imagined being in a such vulnerable state. This was to him, his worst nightmare.

Oliver returned his gaze to the strange man in the crowd. This time, he could no longer set his eyes off the man, no matter how he tried. It was as if he was being hypnotized, making him totally mystified by the mere sight of him. Oliver was no longer himself. He seemed to be lost in a very deep trance, as he was no longer conscious of where he was and what was going on around him.

At this point, the instructor with the other judges was about to declare a time-out for Melrose, since Oliver wouldn't say a word. Melrose started now to see their hopes of winning, dwindle right before their very eyes. They all could not understand what was going on with Oliver.

Olivia was clearly red in the face. She was so upset because she felt she had everything under control before the professor decided to replace her with Oliver, who was presumably seconds away from ruining their grand opportunity.

"Contestant 055 has just exhausted his spelling time, he may now be asked to le... Ouch!!"

A flying apple from the crowd hit him at the center of his eyes. Nobody knew who threw the apple, but that didn't matter again, because right now the competition was turning into something else. Food and other handy objects were flying here and there. The people demanded that extra time be given to Melrose.

As the management was still trying to restore order, a voice began to call out to Oliver within his mind, where he stood gazing at the strange man in black. The voice was persistently calling him, reaching deep into his subconscious mind.

Gradually, Oliver began to hear that yearning whisper, and the more he heard it, the more he began to recognize it. The voice he was hearing was that of the blue elf; Ugly. Somewhere within his mind, he was trapped within himself and another opposing dark force. Ugly increased his intensity and sounded more urgent. Oliver suddenly shut his eyes tight, regaining his full consciousness.

Order was soon restored, as the management agreed to give Melrose extra time.

"Contestant 055, this is your last chance. You have thirty seconds to spell the word STAPHYLOCOCCUS," the instructor said.

Oliver opened his eyes, firmer and more direct. There was a surge of anticipation in the air. Everywhere was quiet, as if time itself had frozen still.

"S-T-A-P-H-Y-L-O-C-O-C-C-U-S, staphylococcus," he said so fast, finishing before fifteen seconds.

The crowd was already celebrating before it was declared that he was correct.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the winners of this year's annual spelling bee competition, MELROSE HIGH SCHOOL!!!"

The cheers and applauses became louder now. After everything, history was finally made. Oliver did it at last, after all the hindrances, and he wouldn't have done it if not for the last-minute intervention of Ugly; the cranky blue elf.

Immediately after they were awarded the trophies, they headed straight to the airport where their return flight was awaiting them.

★★★★★★★

Tuesday, 1:15 pm.

It was already a week since their historic victory in the spelling bee competition, and everyone was still talking about Oliver Logan, how he earned the victory for Melrose, at the last possible second, and how he won the heart of the crowd in the Madison Square Garden.

A boy was casually walking along the lonely pathway leading to the school block when all of a sudden, he heard a deep growling sound like that of a ferocious beast, coming from the thick shady woods by the side of the pathway. He ignored the sound and kept on going, but then he heard it again, this time it sounded more fierce and aggressive. He began to hear the snapping of dry branches and the rustling of dry leaves. He slowly turned his head towards the woods to get a glimpse of what was causing the sound. As he looked there, what he saw caused a nameless dread to engulf him. He was frozen to the spot, with his mouth open in a silent scream, and his eyes widened with terror.

Suddenly, an incredibly large and terrifying creature sprang at him from the woods and forcefully took him inside the shadows of the woods.