Ch 207 - The Sultan of Brunei

Until that moment, no one had been paying any attention to Alex and his friends. When Myriam pointed out that the girl with short hair had acne scars on her face and was quite unattractive, everyone started to whisper about her. But they weren't heartless. There was no way that they would kick her out because of the way she looked.

Myriam put her arm around Darryl and said, "Darryl, you should kick these three people out. They have no respect for us."

Darryl said aloud to everyone, "Listen to me, these three are not good people."

He pointed at Alex. "This guy grabbed my girlfriend in a restaurant two days ago. Luckily, I was there, and I stopped him from doing anything else."

Then he pointed at Phillipa. "I really feel like this girl should know better than to hang out with this creep! My girlfriend knows her. They went to the same school. But clearly, she's not making smart choices."

He didn't even bother to comment specifically on Nelly. Instead, he gestured at all three of them and summed up his judgment, saying, "They shouldn't be here. They're bringing down the whole room."

When they listened to Darryl's words, some people started to agree with him.

One young volunteer said, "Mom, look at the boy's cheap clothes. I thought he was a good student in a work-study program, but it turns out that he's the sort of boy to push his luck with that beautiful woman."

His mother agreed, "You're right and the girl is just as bad. She looks so pretty, but why would she mix with such scum? She should be more careful about who she associates with."

Her husband added, "Birds of a feather flock together. It's true, you know."

Alex frowned and said to everyone, "Please don't believe their words. They're not telling you the whole truth. They have it in for me so they're trying to stir up trouble, that's all."

Myriam interjected, "Oh, please. How dare you claim that you didn't grab my hand that day?"

Alex started to try to explain. "I grabbed your hand because—"

But Darryl interrupted him. He said, "You heard me. This loser just admitted it himself. I think these three should leave, now. Are you all with me?"

"But we don't have the right to drive them out," said one boy.

"Listen, I personally know the director of the US Olympic Games. It's not a problem. I will give two thousand dollars to the first person to kick these three out. I will also give a further two thousand dollars to the Olympic committee," Darryl said with a smile.

"Really?" A portly man stood up excitedly. When he heard that the first person to volunteer would be given two thousand dollars, he called out, "I'll help."

When everyone realized that the portly man was going to be given the reward, lots of others started shouting out.

"I'll do it," said one guy.

"I'll come too," said his friend.

"I want to help," said another.

More than ten young people rushed at Alex and his friends, wanting to kick them out so that they could get the reward.

"What are you doing? Leave us alone," Nelly exclaimed angrily.

Phillipa was frightened. She grabbed Alex's hand and whispered in horror, "Alex, what are we going to do?"

Alex immediately stepped in front of the two girls, blocking anyone from reaching them. He held a stool above his head and waved it violently at the crowd. He managed to keep them a couple of yards away.

Assessing the current situation, he realized that they could not stay there any longer. He thought, "If those guys really do try to kick us out, they could hurt the girls. I won't be able to stop them". He shouted, "Get out of the way. We'll leave by ourselves."

"Alex, what a hero you are. Now, suddenly, you want to leave anyway. You're such a loser," Myriam said triumphantly with a smile. She raised her cell phone to Phillipa's face. A video of the parade played on the screen. "Phillipa, look. The whole of America, and probably the whole world has just watched me leading the parade. Although you go to one of the best universities, you're just a menial volunteer. I bet for the rest of your life you'll never do anything as great as what I've done today. You should be dying of shame."

Darryl also sneered, "You stupid loser. Now you want to leave by yourself?" He looked at the crowd and said, "Well I won't let him. Listen to me. If you throw him out, I'll give you another ten thousand. I bet you'd all like to earn that kind of money today!"

Suddenly, there was pandemonium. It was useless for Alex to wave the stool again. When they heard the amount that Darryl was offering, nothing would stop the young men from trying to earn it. They rushed at Alex and his friends, looking possessed.

When Alex realized that he couldn't stop them, he threw down the stool and stood in front of Phillipa and Nelly, trying to protect them.

At that moment, the door of the hall opened, and a majestic voice boomed, "What are you doing?"

Hearing the man's voice, everyone froze. Then they turned around.

A middle-aged man walked into the crowd. His expression was livid. He said furiously, "You are here to help us run the Olympic Games, not to fight. Do you want me to throw you all out?"

It was Sebastian Wade, the director of volunteers for the Washington Olympics and an important member of the organizing committee. He was responsible for the volunteers, the security guards, and other helpers.

The volunteers knew that Sebastian held a lot of power. If he was dissatisfied with them, he would not only deduct money from their wages, but he would also fail their evaluations and prevent them from receiving any awards or preferential treatment from the school. All the work they had put in over the previous month would be in vain.

"Mr. Wade, they're just having fun. They're young people," Darryl said politely as he approached Sebastian.

"Darryl, you're here, too. Hello," replied Sebastian.

Then he turned to the volunteers and said, "We have an emergency in the opening ceremony. The Sultan of Brunei is due to give a speech on the rostrum later, but his translator has canceled last minute. We are in desperate need of someone who can speak Malay. Can any of you help us?"

When she heard this, Nelly was slightly stunned and murmured in a low voice, "If the sultan is here, then the queen must also be around here somewhere."

"Nelly, what are you talking about?" Alex and Phillipa heard what Nelly murmured but didn't understand what she was talking about.

"Nothing," said Nelly.

The other students looked at each other and thought the situation was probably hopeless. Most of them had taken French or Spanish in school. Malay was a very uncommon language in American education.

"No one?" Sebastian asked aloud, but no one stepped forward.

Several people answered, "No, sorry."

Sebastian put away his cell phone, frowned, and said, "If we can't find a translator, this opening ceremony will be regarded by the world as a disaster. Ah, what can I do?"

Sebastian's eyes strayed to one of the large screens on the wall. On the screen, he could see the sultan seated on the podium. Beside him was an empty seat with a label, "Queen of Brunei."

Nelly saw what he was looking at and asked in a loud voice, "Didn't the queen come?"

Sebastian replied in a deep voice, "The queen should also have been here, but she couldn't attend today."

Nelly was happy. She grabbed Alex and whispered in his ear, "Tell him that you can speak Malay."

"Huh?" Alex was surprised, but when he saw Nelly's joyful face, he suddenly remembered that she had been able to speak Malay in the square that afternoon. He couldn't figure out what she wanted now but he trusted her, so he raised his hand and said in a loud voice, "Mr. Wade, I can speak Malay."

Everyone looked at Alex, and Sebastian said with joy, "Really? That's wonderful. You will be speaking with the sultan. Quickly, it's not too late. Come with me."

Alex led Nelly and Phillipa over to Sebastian.

Myriam stepped up to them and said coldly, "Mr. Wade, this boy is lying to you. He and I are old classmates, and I know that he can't speak Malay."

Everyone assumed that Alex had only said that he could speak Malay to give himself a chance to get away. They realized that if he managed to get out, they would lose their opportunity to earn money from Darryl. Other people quickly started to point at Alex.

One said, "Mr. Wade, he can't speak Malay."

"He's lying," said another.

Someone else shouted, "He's a loser. He probably doesn't even know the English alphabet, let alone speak another language. Don't let him leave."

Sebastian looked at Alex's shabby appearance and cheap clothes and started to have some doubts. However, under such circumstances, he had no option but to take a risk. Some of the sultan's subordinates were also there waiting for him to resolve the problem. He frowned but quickly made a decision. He turned to Alex and said, "You come with me."

Alex, Nelly, and Phillipa followed Sebastian to the main office of the Olympic Committee. The chief director was frowning, but when he saw that Sebastian had brought someone who could speak Malay, he was overjoyed. He pulled Alex toward the two Brunei subordinates and asked him to speak with them.

"Well, I don't know what to say," Alex said with an embarrassed smile.

"What?" The chief director was furious.

Alex quickly said, "You don't have to be angry. I don't have anything to say, but my friend does." Then he pushed Nelly to the front.

Nelly and the two subordinates understood each other perfectly. The chief director and Sebastian were relieved.

Nelly looked at the chief director and said, "I am happy to translate, but I don't want to be on the camera directly. Please let Alex stand on the podium and be filmed. I'll dress up as a mascot and whisper the words to him. Is that okay?"

The chief director nodded. He had overheard some of what Darryl had said about Nelly and thought the girl might be self-conscious about her appearance. He was happy to have her wear a disguise if it meant she would serve as translator.

"Director, I think we should also have a Spanish translator next to me. Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the US, after all. Is it okay if my friend also comes up on the podium?" Alex said to the director. Thinking of the way that Myriam had ridiculed Phillipa, he wanted to give her the opportunity to use her language skills in front of the world. That would show which of them deserved to look down on the other.

"Um, okay," the director agreed and immediately sent Alex and Phillipa to have their clothes and make-up done.

Alex and Phillipa quickly dressed and had their make-up done. Nelly put on the costume of the mascot, which was a bald eagle. No one would be able to recognize her with the head part of the costume covering her face.

It was soon time for the sultan to speak. The director asked the organizers to lead Alex and Phillipa into position next to the sultan.

Standing on the podium next to the sultan, Alex felt very excited. He was impressed with the dignified appearance of the sultan. It all felt like he was in a trance or a dream. He found it difficult to believe that it was all really happening.

A voice announced, "Next, let's welcome the Sultan of Brunei."

Thunderous applause broke out in the stadium.