Chapter 105: Decathlon (3)

[Edward POV]

"Also, can I get a picture?" Tara asked with a light blush after making a burning declaration about winning the competition.

"Sure." I replied casually, and posed for a picture with her together. She gave her Iphone to her friend who in turn snapped a few pictures of Tara and I, before changing the students a few times.

Alex rolled her eyes at the incomprehensible treatment I was getting, and muttered, "Didn't she JUST say she's going to destroy us? Why are you being polite to her now?"

"My celebrity image and student image are two totally different things." I replied with a fake smile as I waved to my fans.

Enid decided to make some trouble and said, "Didn't you just go easy on her because she's pretty?"

Alex and Haruna perked up at the statement as they smelled gossip, and they stared at the Atlas team leader girl who was stealing glances at me.

I sighed and said, "Let's go study. Although we already know Dryden is losing, it's still going to take a few hours until the final match."

"Why do we need to study? We have you!" Enid said with sparkling eyes as she grabbed my arm and hugged it in between her tiny bumps. Her statement alarmed me, but it shook me much less compared to the attitude of others who were nodding in agreement to her.

I turned to Mrs Henderson who shook her head in disappointment and gulped my saliva fearfully.

"This is not the outcome I expected it to be." Mrs Henderson muttered.

When she inserted me into the team, her intention was to inject a fresh breath and make the team members more motivated. But my brilliance had completely outshined the others, making them forget that they had strength of their own to compete at this level.

"Students. Please give your best in the next match, and stop depending on Mr Newgate. He is not going to be here next year, but you all will." Mrs Henderson advised, but no one was truly listening to her – except for Alex.

"That reminds me of something. Have Edward's grades come back? Is he eligible for skipping grades?" Alex asked, hiding the fact that she wanted me to fail the test so that we could spend more time together in high school after waiting for her to graduate in a year.

"I have already submitted the results to the principal, and he's currently reviewing Mr Newgate's application. I can't say anything about him skipping grades, but Mr Newgate's performance in the examination was brilliant. He got full marks on all of the exams except for History, in which he was short of 1 point to get full marks."

"Huh? What question did I get wrong?" I asked in confusion.

Mrs Henderson showed a rare grin and said, "No. you answered everything right. But you didn't write your name on the exam paper."

I rolled my eyes and retorted, "I was the only one taking the exams there!"

"Still. A mistake is a mistake Mr Newgate." Mrs Henderson replied, her face turned stoic again.

The Gamma and Dryden match became heated as Dryden managed to catch up on point and forced the game to a tie in the later rounds. While waiting, I tried to convince the team to involve themselves in answering the questions with me, but only Alex was responding to my encouragement and was willing to try in the final match.

Before the match began, I received text messages from Jenna, Elsa, Jacob, and even my disappearing aunt– sending their prayers to add to my strength for me to win the competition. I sent them back a text saying it was unnecessary, which earned me a 3 minute phone call from my aunt in Cuba admonishing me for my blasphemous behaviour. But even so, I was just glad to hear her voice again.

…

The old moderator grabbed the microphone and declared, "The final match…between Atlas Middle School, and Franklin Middle School, starts NOW!"

The audience applauded his 'enthusiasm', but mostly they applauded because he looked so pitiful.

Among the sparse applause sound reverberating in the venue, I leaned to Alex and spoke using a whisper to her ear. She blushed and blood rushed to her head as she felt my hot breath on her skin.

"Alex. I won't interfere until you guys truly need me. Okay?"

She was startled and turned her face towards me instantly, but as I had leaned in before, our face was extremely close with one another. She was agape for a second and her eyes lost focus as they stared at my lips before she shook her head and said, "You can't do that!"

"I will participate if you guys are getting destroyed out there." I announced. Sanjay and Haruna gulped their saliva in fear as they heard my statement and protested, "But…we're not as fast as you!"

The Japanese girl belief had been reignited after the complete destruction of Dryden Academy, which earned them the last spot in today's competition between 4 schools.

They lost against Gamma a few minutes ago, and the sight wasn't pretty. At least 2 chairs were broken, and 2 students suffered bodily injuries from the scuffle happening onstage. The school was banned from further competition for at least 3 years because of the incident.

"Don't worry. I noticed that Atlas wasn't quick in their answers. They discussed it among themselves before they went for it, and that's what made their team so strong. We will do it like them, but it's up to you three to discuss it. I will handle the snitch this time."

Haruna was in disbelief and blinked a few times before gritting her teeth in frustration. She and Sanjay didn't say anything despite their disappointment, as the match was finally starting.

Sitting across the participants, a member of the panel had tissue rolled up into his nose as it was broken from the scuffle.

"Poor Leonard." I muttered as I shook my head in pity for the Caltech physicist. His jacket was a bit torn, and his hair was pulled during the fight. He sat at the judges table with dazed eyes as he silently cursed his luck and wondered if it was better for him if Sheldon had kept his job as the panel member.

Rajesh was snapping pictures of Leonard as he sat beside him with a grin on his face while Howard laughed at the audience seat. Sheldon was worried for Leonard at first, but then he felt that he deserved to be beaten after his 'betrayal' before this.

"Release the Golden Snitch." Rajesh said shyly into the microphone. Atlas had 3 girls and 1 boy in their team, causing Rajesh to be overwhelmed. But as they were still kids for him, and he was in a public space, his selective mutism didn't affect him that much rather than him just being shy in the setting.

The staff member revealed the Golden Snitch question, which baffled Atlas's team completely when they saw it.

"The question is based on Fermat's Last theorem, and it's created by Dr Sheldon Cooper who's in the audience seat. This unique formula is worth 500 points if you guys could solve it. My advice? Just ignore them." Leonard said with a nasally tone.

"Hey!" Sheldon retorted from the audience seat. "I solved it when I was 13! It's easy enough for them!"

Leonard turned to him and scowled, "You graduated high school at 11! You cannot compare your experience with the others!"

I was confused as to why Leonard was so mad, but I couldn't ask him about it now. I would learn later that Sheldon had underplayed the difficulty of the equation when he submitted the equation to the staff member before. It was impossible for a middle school level student to solve the question unless they took 7 years of college level mathematics.

The Atlas team had completely given up on the snitch, but right now I was in a dilemma. 'Should I solve it, or not?'

"The first question, what is the difference between a proton and a neutron?" The moderator asked.

Alex's eyes lit up and she pressed the buzzer immediately, startling both Sanjay and Haruna. She answered for a while with the panels and the moderator listening to her intently.

"That is correct! 10 points for Franklin Middle school." The moderator muttered. The audience clapped, and I patted Alex's head gently to praise her. "Good job."

She blushed a little and said, "Thanks. But that is just a basic question."

"Yeah. That question IS kinda basic huh." Haruna muttered to herself.

"The final match has 30 questions after all. They add 10 more questions compared to the other matches. I'm sure they just throw a few easy questions into the mix." Sanjay said as he fell into deep contemplation.

"But, even the easy questions are points. So do your best!" I said to encourage them.

"Second question, What component must be equal for a chemical system to be in equilibrium?" The moderator asked.

"I don't know that." Haruna muttered. Alex rubbed her chin and said, "I read it before. But I'm not confident."

Sanjay turned to the team member and said, "I…think I know. Alex, is it.."

They discussed amongst themselves for a few seconds before they all turned to me. I shrugged and said, "I'm not telling you whether you're right or wrong. Believe in yourself."

Alex clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction before pressing the buzzer and answering, "The rate of the forward reaction, and the rate of the reverse reaction."

"That is correct." Leonard replied with a nasally tone as his nostril was still blocked by the tissue.

The audience applauded, and even Mrs Henderson smiled slightly as she applauded for the team.

"Third question, What is the best indication that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide are of anthropogenic origin?" The moderator asked.

The atlas team leader, Cara, immediately pressed the buzzer as she heard it and answered, "Comparing atmospheric composition from before the industrial revolution to the present."

"Correct answer. 10 points for Atlas." Leonard said. Cara jumped in excitement before waving at me with a blush as she sat back down.

Alex glared at the Atlas team and muttered, "Guys…Let's destroy them."

As the match became heated, I was focusing on the Golden Snitch question which was otherwise known as "Fermat's Last Theorem," this equation was first posed by French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in 1637, and had stumped the world's brightest minds for more than 300 years.

"It was solved in 1994, but like Leonard said, the question is too hard for this current middle school student level." I muttered. "But. It is a basic question far into the future though."

I grabbed the yellow notepad nearby and used a pen instead of a pencil to answer the question.

"The hypothesis said that there are no whole number solutions to the equation xn + yn = zn when n is greater than 2. This is what I need to prove."

To answer the question, I need to combine three complex mathematical fields of modular forms, elliptic curves, and Galois representations.

"But. Can I finish this in time? Or will it be worthless?" I murmured to myself as I continued writing on another piece of paper. I glanced at my teammates who were answering the question with a burning gaze in their eyes.

"Well…I guess I should hurry." I said with a proud smile on my face as my team managed to keep their lead in answering the questions.

…

[General POV]

Outside of the venue, the Dryden team was standing facing Mr Hiles, the disgraced panel member who got kicked out for his lack of knowledge. He smacked Hiles Jr head with a rolled up paper and said angrily, "YOU GUYS ARE FUCKING USELESS!"

The prestige of the private school had been completely shattered after they lost to a meagre public school, and now, Mr Hiles was called by the board member to discuss the repercussions of this incident. He would be lucky if he managed to keep his job after this.

Hiles Jr rubbed his sore head and said, "This is all Newgate's fault! If he weren't there…"

"Does it matter what you say now?" Mr Hiles glared at his son. The young boy whimpered and took a step back in fear of being hit again.

Mr Hiles suddenly thought of something and flashed an evil grin. "Well… Newgate… IS the one responsible for this. So… We shouldn't let him go so easily right?"

He took out his phone and called someone. "Hey Tyler. You're still a reporter? Do you know Edward Newgate?"

In Franklin Middle School, the school session was finally over. Jenna waved goodbye to Elsa before getting into her driver's car and was driven back home, unaware of the black SUV following her car from behind.

Jenna texted Alex and Edward to find out the result of the competition, but none of them replied. "I guess it hasn't ended yet." She pursed her lips and muttered in dissatisfaction.

…

[Edward POV]

The score was now 270 to 260, with Atlas taking the lead after managing to answer a 50 point worth of question before this. I was a bit hesitant to continue keeping my hands away from the competition, but as I turned to glance at my teammates, I saw that they hadn't given up yet.

"There's still 3 questions. 2 of which have 50 points each. I don't know what's the value for the last one, but I'm sure it'll be higher than the rest of the questions today." Alex planned. "We still have a chance to turn this thing around."

I nodded and said, "That's true." I flipped the paper I was writing upside down to prevent anyone seeing it and said, "Also, you guys could count me in the game."

Alex scoffed and said, "Nah. You just stay still. We got this!"

I was taken aback at first and laughed loudly soon after, causing the entire audience to look at me. Alex was confused, but I ignored her questioning looks.

"Okay. I will sit tight. But if you guys don't know the answer, I will take the lead. Is that a deal?"

"Deal!" X3

Enid was clasping her hands together and praying for our success. Next to her, Sam Obisanya was also praying, but in the muslim way of praying by raising both of his hands parallel to his chest.

"Please, help Edward's team win." Sam prayed.

"Ditto." Enid muttered.

"We are now down to the final 3 questions. Next question required the students to calculate, therefore you can use the A4 paper provided in front of you." The moderator said before asking, "What percent of a circle is 75 degrees?"

Without even calculating, Haruna pressed the buzzer. Atlas's team gasped in disbelief, and so did the members of her own team. I looked quizzically at Haruna, but then she answered, "20.8%"

"That is correct."

The crowd applauded, and the team managed to take the lead again with 310 points compared to Atlas's 270 points.

"How did you calculate so fast?" Alex asked Haruna in disbelief.

"No. I didn't calculate it just now! I…had answered the question before in my workbook." Haruna confessed while lowering her head in embarrassment.

I nodded and said, "Don't be ashamed. You did great. I always know we can count on you with math problems, and I was right."

Alex and Sanjay agreed with me. But right then, my phone suddenly vibrated. I had put it in silent mode before, and was confused as to who was calling me right now. I wanted to ignore it as the moderator was giving the next question.

'But…why do I feel so uneasy?' I wondered.

"Hold up!" I suddenly shouted, causing the old moderator to be startled. He held his heart quickly, and breathed heavily for a few seconds, but fortunately the worst didn't happen, and his heart was still strong enough.

"What is the matter Edward?" Leonard asked.

"I got a call." I replied casually.

"..." All of the people in the venue looked at me in disbelief, but I ignored them and answered the call after checking the caller ID. "Hello. Jenna?"

My chest tightened as I heard the anxious sobbing sound coming from the other side of the call. "Ed…Help me!" She said in a whisper.

My face turned cold, and I stood up from my seat abruptly. Alex held my arm and said, "W-Where are you going? What happened?"

I gave her my paper and said in a cold tone, "You're the leader now. Turn this in when you feel it's necessary. There's an emergency that I need to attend to right now."

"O-Okay." Alex replied. I ran down the stage amidst the murmur of the crowd, while Enid replaced me on the stage.

When I was almost out of the venue, Mrs Henderson stopped me by standing in front of the door.

"Teach. I'm sorry. I need to go now." I said anxiously.

"I know. But, can you do me a favor?" She said in a still calm tone, causing me to be perplexed.

"What?" I asked hurriedly.

"I picked up this car key outside on the grass. I think they belong to the Vice Principal. When you come back, help me return the key to him, can you?"

I was taken aback at first, but I grabbed the key urgently and said, "Okay. I will give it back to him later."

"Good. Now, I can go back and watch our team win." Mrs Henderson said with a slight smile as she patted my shoulder. "Go. Hurry." She whispered.

I nodded and ran to the parking lot where a bunch of semi-luxurious cars were parked. I pressed the car key, and it connected to a double seat convertible of the Porsche brand in bright red color. Without thinking much, I opened the car door and activated the engine. I wore my earphone and played a song as I pressed the pedal.

Song playing : Teriyaki Boyz - Tokyo Drift

[General POV]

"L-Lets continue with the game." Leonard said using the microphone after Edward's sudden departure from the venue. The old moderator took a deep breath, but before he could ask the next question, the door to the hall they were in burst open. A crowd of paparazzi rushed into the venue, flashes of camera photography illuminated the stage.

Alex covered her eyes with her hand from the malicious picture snapping, but then the crowd suddenly stopped.

"Wait. Edward Newgate isn't here." A paparazzo murmured.

"What the hell did you guys think you're doing!" Cara exploded at the paparazzis, her head still spinning from the flashes of lights. The paparazzis were disappointed, and they murmured amongst themselves.

"Where did Edward Newgate go?"

"Did he leave?"

"Hiles said he's going to be here!"

"HEY MY CAR IS STOLEN!"

"Huh? A police chase is ongoing? A red Porsche? I will be right there!"

(A/N: Check out a new fic from a friend of mine: Balls of Steel by GrandmasterOogway.)