18 Determination

"You're welcome." Finnia smiled. For her, it's just a small matter because it didn't take much any effort at all.

Kimi's eyes glowed as if for recognition of appreciation but it is gone for the same instant that it appeared. Grandma loosened her embrace and let Kimi stand on her own again. Though, she can't stop herself from pinching Kimi on the cheeks and arms from time to time.

Everybody then dispersed and went back to whatever they are doing. Enryl continued to internalize everything he learned.

The next day, Finnia helped Enryl with a new subject. After a hundred books, Enryl stopped reading and switched to internalization. This became their afternoon routine. And every week, Finnia will test Enryl with exams and he always gets a perfect score.

One month later.

"You've now finished all the books for all the relevant subjects up to the level of First Year in High School. You'll likely get a top score on the scholarship exam in the coming two weeks." Finnia swung her left hand to turn off the book's projection. They are now done with this day's study routine.

Enryl closed his eyes momentarily. He had just read a hundred books about Geography and it was a large amount of information.

"Thank you Finnia." He sincerely thanked her after a while as he relaxed his mind.

"There are still two weeks before the exam. I'm thinking I can still read some of the materials for Second Year for one week. Then set aside another week for rest." Enryl opened his eyes and looked towards Finnia.

"That's a good idea. We can start with the Second Year materials tomorrow." Finnia nodded at him then walk out of the room. She knows Enryl needs to spend some time internalizing what he learned.

A new day came and as they have planned, Enryl studied Second Year materials for one week then he took a break from all the studying for another week. He enjoyed the rest and from time to time, marvel at all of the knowledge he gained. He now knows a lot of things as compared from before. He now understands the world better and how it works.

...

Today is now the day of the scholarship exam.

Enryl woke up early in the morning as he is excited. "Today is finally the day!" he exclaimed while dancing in a circle. He then took a bath, have their breakfast and put on clean clothes. It didn't take a while for him to get ready.

"Grandma! Finnia! I'll be going now! Wish me luck!" he shouted. His voice was filled with excitement and anticipation.

"Goodluck!" Grandma and Finnia just nod and replied. They know passing the scholarship is already a given.

Since it is still early, he decided to walk towards the school. He enjoyed the scenery along the way and was happily singing a tune of 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' as he saw lots of sheep and other animals.

After a while, he reached the school and went towards the building where the exam will be held. It was still a good thirty minutes before the actual assembly time. Along the corridor, thirty young girls and boys are also waiting for the exam. Some of them are accompanied by their parents and guardians.

A girl saw Enryl came and shouted, "The farm boy is here again!"

Every kid and their parents stopped chatting and looked towards the end of the corridor. Some of the kids are laughing in disdain. Some of the parents frowned. Some started whispering.

"That boy is here again." One of the mothers said with a scornful look.

"Hmph, another poor kid who doesn't know how high the heavens is." A tall middle-aged woman whispered.

"Hey, kid! Just go home!" A man shouted. He's clearly not happy that another kid will compete for his son's slot.

Every year, the school will open up five slots of scholarship. Only the top five young students for each Year Level who got the highest scores will be awarded the School's Most Promising Youth Award. The corresponding rewards are as follows:

Top 1 = 100% free tuition fee. Books and other school materials are free. Daily allowance of 200 silver.

Top 2 = 50% free tuition fee. Books and other school materials are free. Daily allowance of 100 silver.

Top 3 to 5 = 25% free tuition fee. Daily allowance of 50 silver.

Aside from the savings on the tuition fee, what most parents are going for is the daily allowance. Two hundred silver is big enough money for most of them. So, the competition is really tough. Everyone wants the top one spot. And scholars have a special uniform built for them so they are easily recognizable. This makes them stand out as the rest are wearing the regular uniform.

The verbal assaults continued. But Enryl just shrugged them all. Last year, he has no confidence but he went anyway. When he got verbal assaulted, he felt ashamed and went home. He wants to prove to them they were wrong but he got only one book to study. And he got little time to go to the library as he needs to assist Grandma on the farm.

"This time, I'll get the top spot!" his eyes were shining with determination.