8.1 The Fall of the Prodigy

The cheering students seemed to be incredibly thrilled to see Reyana go against Abed.

"They are getting a little too excited. Well, you can't blame them. They don't usually get to see Abed play in a quiz as no one is stupid enough to challenge him." said Rahul.

Abed tapped his feet repeatedly on the floor with enthusiasm. One could see the excitement twinkling in his eyes. While Reyana sat calm and composed on the other end of the table. She had a feminine aura to her.

"I don't understand whether he is more excited to solve questions or to win the quiz. Did he fall for that frail-looking girl? I accept that she is cute but I have a bad feeling about her." Rahul let out a theatrical sigh.

They were handed a couple of blank pages along with a pen. Both of them uncapped their pens and placed the nip of the pen on the paper, ready to solve any question shot at them.

The Qmaster(quizmaster) raised his hand putting an end to the cheering and chitter-chatter of the students. A momentary silence surrounded the canteen. The quiz between a genius and a mysterious challenger was about to begin.

"The first one to get three questions correct will win the quiz and the loser will have to keep their side of the deal. No answering before the options are read and without tapping first. No changes will be made once answered. Also, I would like the viewers to avoid blurting out answers or helping the participants. Without any further delay, let the quiz begin!" The Qmaster proclaimed the rules of the quiz out loud.

"Question number one-

Which of the following compound is a tribasic acid?

Option one - H3PO2

Option two - H3PO4

Option three - H3PO3

Option four - H4P2O7"

Bang!

Bang!

Both of them tapped on the table simultaneously the moment the quiz master finished reading out the options. They noticed that they had tapped at the same time and stopped.

"Who tapped first?" Rahul asked curiously.

Even the Qmaster appeared to be startled, "It looks like both of the participants tapped at the same time. We will resort to the written showdown."

"What's a written showdown?" I asked Rahul.

"When both the participants tap at the same time, they write their answer on the page and show it concurrently," he explained.

Abed and Reyana wrote down the answers and revealed them.

'Opt. 2 - H3PO4' -- Abed' answer

'Option two - H3PO4' -- Reyana's answer

"Both of them are correct!" declared the Qmaster.

Comments like, "Woah. she is on a par with Abed.", "They are fast!" "She is not only cute but smart too.", could be heard from the viewers.

"How is the answer H3PO4 and what is a tribasic acid?" I asked Rahul as I didn't want this to be a complete waste of time. So I decided to at least learn the questions asked in the quiz.

"A tribasic acid is an acid that has three hydrogen ions to donate to a base in an acid-base reaction. Therefore, a tribasic molecule has three replaceable hydrogen atoms."

"But doesn't phosphoric acid have 4 hydrogen atoms?" I asked.

"It does have 4 H atoms but if you look at the molecular structure of phosphoric acid, there are only three H atoms that can be released from the hydroxyl groups, making it a tribasic acid. You have to have the molecular structure or the facts memorised to answer such questions"

Students like Abed, Reyana and even Rahul had all these facts on the tip of their tongues which is only possible after tons of revisions. As of now, I was no match for these guys.

The Qmaster flipped through the pages of the book and started reading out the next question, "Question number two-

Solanum tuberosum and Allium cepa are similar in presence of

Option one - Axile placentation

Option two - Epipetalous condition

Option three - Versatile anther

Option four - Obliquely placed ovary"

No one answered immediately this time. Abed bit on the cap of his pen and furrowed his eyebrows as if trying to recall the answer. While Reyana sat still on her chair, her eyes observing Abed with her big eyes. She didn't even appear to be trying to think of the answer.

"Should I repeat the options?" asked the Qmaster.

"Ye…"

Thump. "There's no need for that" Reyana interrupted Abed with a thump on the table.

"Option one - Axile placentation." answered Reyana

"Th... That's the correct answer!" Exclaimed the quizmaster.

"She got it right?" Rahul exclaimed.

It looked as if she knew the answer from the start and was just observing how Abed was performed. Is she that confident in her skills? She has already taken the lead. If Abed doesn't do anything soon, things might get worse.

"I had no idea about this question. Botany was never my strong point. I have trouble memorising these tedious names. Hehehe" Abed laughed off his loss with an excuse.

"How can he laugh? She is already one point ahead! Ahh, I can't believe this guy." Rahul let out a heavy sigh.

"Reyana has one point and Abed at zero points!" The Qmaster announced the current score, "The challenger has taken the lead! This quiz keeps getting better. The prodigy himself is in a pickle. Can he turn the tables? Let's move onto the next question." He flipped through a bundle of pages at a time and stopped at the last section of the book, which was of physics.

"Question number three -

A man covers one-third of a distance with 60 kph, next one-third distance with 20 kmph and the last one-third distance with 10 kmph. His average speed of the entire journey is

Option one - 30 kmph

Option two - 26 kmph

Option three - 22 kmph

Option four - 18 kmph"

Both of them started solving the question immediately, without even waiting for the quizmaster to read out the options. Abed had his head down, focused on solving the question. He would usually look up, murmur something and once again continue solving the question. On the other hand, Reyana's pen moved continuously without stopping for a second.

"Finally a physics question. That's what I am talking about. No one is better than Abed in phys…" Bang! A loud thump interrupted Rahul.

"Already? Abed is really something. He never ceases to amaze me…." Rahul spoke without taking a look at the table. He had complete faith in Abed's abilities. But then his gaze fell upon Abed. The temporary smile of relief on Rahul's face was now turned into a complete shock, "Wait! Abed is still solving the question. Don't tell me it was…?"

The one who banged the table wasn't Abed but Reyana.

"Op...option four 18kmph" Reyana muttered the answered.

"She is correct." Just as she answered, Abed too completed solving the question and confirmed her answer.

"The prodigy said it. That's the correct answer." said the Qmaster.

"Impossible! She defeated Abed in Physics. Who is she?" Rahul cried out.

Even the audience was in complete awe. There was a momentary silence in the canteen, which the Qmaster broke by announcing the new scores, "Reyana at two points while Abed is still hanging on zero points! This is the first time someone has defeated Abed in a quiz! This quiz keeps getting more exciting with every question."

Reyana solved the question a couple of seconds before Abed. Abed was one question away from losing. Her getting the botany question could have been a blunder on Abed's part, but defeating Abed in Physics was a completely different case. It was certain that she wasn't an ordinary girl.

"She's fast. Hehe." Sweat ran down Abed's face. Even though Abed still kept on the usual smile on his face one could easily tell the pressure he was feeling.

Things were looking bad for Abed. His opponent was someone whom no one knew about. That made her unpredictable and even more dangerous.

"Qmaster. I would like to make a request." Reyana's soft voice cut through the silence. She shifted her gaze from the Qmaster towards Abed.

"If A...Abed is okay with it, I would like the next question to be again from the Physics section."

'...'

"What? Isn't she getting too cocky because she defeated Abed once? Her words don't match her looks at all. I don't understand her. Does she think she can win twice in a row in Physics against Abed or has she forgotten that Physics is Abed's strong point?"

"Haha...hahahaha" I burst out into laughter.

Rahul looked at me with wide surprised eyes, "Asura, why are you laughing?"

Every time I think humans can't surprise me anymore, they prove me wrong. I finally understood why she wanted to defeat Abed and why she made such a bet. Rahul and the audience will understand in a few minutes too. This quiz keeps getting better.