When Knowledge is Power

I woke the next day in high hopes and bursting with excitement. Today was the day the C.V.C officially began and I was feeling pretty confident in our chances. Before we crashed for the night, we reviewed our tactics for the tournament and discussed possible adjustments for emergencies. I was

sidelined for the entire tournament, at least till the final. While I wasn't exactly thrilled with the decision, there was solid reasoning behind it. My physical abilities were the best

among the group and I also had the best fighting experience. Conserving my

energy till the finals would mean I'd have more energy and a fired up disposition. But that all hinged on us actually making it to the finals, which meant it was possible for me to have absolutely no participation throughout the tournament. Yeah, I wasn't so excited after realizing that. Marcus and Mackenzie would take on the mental aspect while Zoë, Scott, Laura and Henry would be rotated for the round of 32 and 16 knockout stages, as well as the quarter-finals and semi-finals. It was a strong game plan we began working on months ago, and today it was time to finally get in some action (at least for Marcus and Mackenzie).

The official starting time for the mental contest was 10:30 AM but by 9:55 we arrived at Frostville to get the twins prepped on time.

"You guys alright?" Ms. Flores asked the twins.

"Yeah".

"Never felt better".

It was painfully obvious the both of them were nervous as hell but at least they were

putting a brave face on it.

"Listen guys, it's not a big deal. You just gotta trust you gut and take up the challenge

head on. I know you're scared of failing but don't be. Even if it's not enough, go out with pride that you gave it your all," Ms. Flores said encouragingly.

"Yeah you guys shouldn't be afraid of failing. At least when we get back we can say that Darmian was just an extra," Henry said grinning.

"You realize that applies to you too," I said squinting at him.

"It is nice to have somebody's fate in your hands though," Mackenzie said maniacally.

"You're enjoying this way too much," I said squinting at her instead. "Marcus, back me

up here dude."

Marcus simply shrugged and replied, "I dunno man, it is kind of cool".

What's wrong with these people?!

"You've got this guys," Ms. Flores said, "just relax and think of this like another

test back at school. Now that I think of it, didn't Mackenzie score higher in the last test?"

"C'mon," Marcus protested, "it was just two marks!"

"Hold your L bro. I still beat you," Mackenzie sneered at him.

"Gonna let her beat you again?" Ms. Flores asked.

"Like hell I will!"

"We'll see about that," Macknzie said.

"Think they're gonna do it?" Scott asked.

The both of them were bickering back and forth like they always do with heated sibling

rivalry glinting in their eyes. Any trace of nervousness had long disappeared by now. "Yeah. I think they'll be fine".

***************

The auditorium became jam-packed by the time the contest began. More than

1000 pairs of nervous and expectant eyes watched in suspense as the candidates

from the participating colleges took their seats serially. Mackenzie sat at #53

in between Jeffrey Dew College, Ottawa and Lafar College, Havana. The opening remarks was short and simple, taken by Mr. Jason. In attendance as well was the entire board of moderators and the Queen who I glanced at repeatedly but she didn't seem to notice me.

Shortly after, a tall slender woman dressed in a midnight-blue suit and low heeled pumps wearing thin framed glasses that hung dangerously on the bridge of her nose came walking in. Her confident stride and impassive (somewhat aggressive) visage easily gave the impression that she was the type of woman whose look could turn you to stone. Firmly grasped in her hands were sheets of papers; the question papers.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Good morning students," she said sitting down.

"Good morning," the reply.

Taking a few moments to survey the audience and the candidates, she exhaled

slowly before saying, "The rules for stage one of the mental exam are simple. Each candidate will be asked a series of random questions. Ten in all. Questions become progressively difficult; so keep in mind that there will be no 'easy questions' for any candidate. All 100 sets of questions have been examined to be of same difficulty by a board of scholars, so there will be no favorites here. Questions cut across random topics and questions are not repeated for any candidate. Each question carries ten marks, and you have ten five seconds to

answer each one. If you fail to answer within the time limit, you will receive no marks and we'll move on to the next question. Remember that your complete answer must be said in at most five seconds, and any answer partially correct will still be considered invalid, earning you zero marks. Of course, an incorrect answer will earn you no marks as well, so think carefully before answering each question. Only 32 among you can move on to the next stage. Combined efforts from stage one and two is what will earn you the right to progress. Give it your best performance."

The hall was silent as she pulled out the first sheet of paper

"Lastly," she said coldly. "Any sort of cheating or underhanded behavior will lead to the immediate disqualification of the college you represent. Is that clear?"

The contestants nodded their heads as she proceeded to begin calling the name and college of the first candidate before firing off series of questions I never even knew existed

I really hope shell be okay.

***************

After 30 minutes of intense and rapid questioning, it was finally Mackenzie's turn. I wasn't even the one on stage but I felt the intense pressure building and silently hoped she would be alright as she adjusted her

lav mic and stood up.

"Number 53; Mackenzie Hill?" the stern lady asked.

"Yes".

"Crescent College, Maine?"

"Yes".

"Alright," she said pulling out another sheet of paper.

"Ready?"

"Yes"

"Name the capital of the Vatican City"

"The Vatican city has no capital," Mackenzie calmly

answered.

"Correct," then without skipping a beat she continued, "Who invented the traffic light?"

"John Peake Knight."

"Correct. The approximate melting point of a diamond is?"

"About 3600 degrees to 4000 degrees Celsius."

Actually insane

"Correct. The parents of former Costa Rican President Rafael Fournier were?"

"Rafael Guardia and Maria Rosario Mora."

"Correct. What was the favorite book of Alexander the Great?"

"The Iliad written by Homer."

"Correct. Name a theory which violates the second law of thermodynamics."

"The white hole theory."

"Correct. How much current is in a lightning bolt?"

"About 30,000 to 50,000 amps."

The audience began cheering as Mackenzie breezed past the seventh

question correctly, which no other contestant had managed so far. She kept up with the quizmaster, her confidence growing with each question.

Mackenzie was on a roll!

"Correct. The Kuiper belt was named after?"

"Gerard Kuiper."

"Correct. According to Greek mythology, who was the oldest among the Gorgon sisters?"

"Medusa."

"Incorrect."

The mood deflated as Mackenzie missed her question.

"Almost got that perfect score," Laura said frustratedly.

"Bad time to lose momentum," Ms. Flores said. "She can't let it get to her. We have to finish strong here."

"Correct answer is Stheno. On to the last question," the quizmaster said while Mackenzie regained her composure. It was clear she was disappointed with failing to get the ten out of ten, but so far she had already

scored the most points out of any contestant.

C'mon Mackenzie, let's get this.

"Last question. Call out the first ten figures of the mathematical symbol 'pi'."

Taking a deep breath she began, "Three point one four five nine two six five three…"

We held our breath as she hesitated to call the last number. Everyone was on the edge of their seats in anticipation.

"C'mon, c'mon."

"You've got this Kenzy."

"This is it."

We hoped eagerly as the crowd waited as the remaining seconds counted away, three…two…one…

"Four!" she blurted out in the nick of time.

"…that is correct," the quizmaster said as the crowd burst into an applause while Mackenzie sighed in relief.

"Congratulations Ms. Hill, you can return to your seat," she said with a small smile over the loud applause as the next contestant took the microphone.

Mackenzie's performance was like a wakeup call to the other contestants because after her round, the scores started reaching eight and nine for other colleges, until Kingsreed stepped up.

"Number 87; Jessica Monroe?".

"Yes", Jessica replied, her facial expression grim. However she was radiating an aura of confidence with was actually frighteningly intimidating. This girl meant business.

"Kingsreed College, San Diego?"

"Yes."

"Alright Ms. Monroe are you ready?"

"Yes ma'am," she answered unhesitatingly.

"Name the satellite for Mars."

"Phobos and Deimos."

"Correct. The only element that can form organic molecules is?'

"Carbon."

"Correct. What machine is used to smash atoms together?"

"A particle accelerator."

"Correct. Arrange the following according to the year it was invented; the light bulb, locomotive engine, telephone, the wheel, AK-47 and the tractor".

"The wheel invented around the fourth millennium BCE, the locomotive engine in 1804, the telephone in 1876, the light bulb in 1879, the tractor in 1892 and the AK-47 in 1947."

Damn.

"Correct. The tallest mountain from base to peak is?"

"Mauna Kea in Hawaii".

"Correct. The wettest place on Earth is?"

"Mawsynram in India".

"Correct. The only vegetables that are flowers are?"

"Broccoli, artichoke, cauliflower and plants under the Cucurbita species".

"Correct. The Gregorian calendar preceded which calendar?"

"The Julian calendar."

"Correct. Name the countries that emerged from Yugoslavia."

"Serbia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Croatia."

"Correct."

Everyone was amazed as Jessica kept on shooting back answers correctly without breaking a sweat or skipping a beat. Cheers and hollers kept increasing as she breezed through questions raising excitement levels. Even I was on my feet.

"What are the only breeds of monkeys without thumbs?"

So far, nobody had gotten a perfect score, and the silence that filled the stadium was nerve wrecking. Jessica simply straightened her tie and said poshly, "The colobus monkey and the spider monkey."

"That is correct."

The audience rose to their feet as Jessica took her seat with a thunderous applause which rang throughout the hall. The Kingsreed team stood on their seats and hollered her name adding to the deafening cheers. Even the quizmaster took off her glasses and was beaming at her. I have to

admit that her performance was actually incredible.

"Now that's what I call perfection. Down to the last detail," Scott said, astonished.

She'd gotten the first perfect score which already gave them a huge advantage for the second stage.

"Congratulations Ms. Monroe. Let's move on to the next contestant."

***************

A few minutes later the first section of mental aspect ended. It was thrilling to say the least. By the time it was over, most

colleges had gotten pretty high scores. The only colleges with perfect scores were Kingsreed and Westhaven College—represented by Wilson who delivered another electric performance (unsurprisingly). On the other hand, we'd finished strongly for the first part and looked hopeful for the next round.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, that's it for the first round. The second stage will be the anagram test and as such, only the

contestants will be allowed to be seated in the auditorium. The audience will return

once the test is over and scores are ready to be announced," the quizmaster said arranging the papers in front of her. "Each contestant is to answer 20 anagrams. Each question is 5 marks. The time for the test is 45 minutes. I advise contestants to think properly before writing an answer since you'll be using a pen, not a pencil. Cancelling answers is not allowed and any sort of communication with another contestant during the test will led to immediate disqualification for both colleges. For the purpose of orderliness, contestants

should take their seats in the same arrangement as the first stage."

 "Hey Marcus," I said grabbing Marcus as he stood up. "Good luck out there."

"Bring it home bro," Scott said.

 "You've got this," Zoë said patting his back.

"Try not to embarrass yourself," Mackenzie jeered.

He flashed a grin at us while Ms. Flores simply gave him a nod before he walked to his seat with the other contestants. He was nervous, but I had no doubt Marcus would get it done. That's just the way he was.

"The audience at this moment can take their lunch break while we proceed," the quizmaster announced while sharing the question papers.

 "C'mon guys lets go," Ms. Flores said leading us out of the hall.

 There wasn't really much to do during the lunch break. We didn't get any lunch from the school café because our feeding was only covered in the hotel. To say that sucked was an understatement. Scott did come along with some money though, which he spent on a hot dog we both shared. We spotted Wilson in the cafeteria with a complete full tray looking for a seat.

"Yo Wilson," I waved to him.

He came over and sat in between Scott and I. "What's up guys," he said.

"How'd it feel to go ten out of ten," I said tapping his shoulders. "I always knew you had it in you…geek."

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that," he said taking off his glasses. "Why're you two sitting by yourselves?"

"Long story. But the short story is; we could do with some food right about now," Scott said staring at Wilson's plate of smoked tortillas.

 "C'mon dude, just a little. Heck I'll even buy some water to celebrate your performance," I said coaxing him.

"Great idea," Wilson said rolling his eyes. Just then, the Kingsreed squad entered the cafeteria (not quietly by the way) and occupied an empty table. He handed one to me and Scott while we discussed about Kingsreed.

"You know her?" Scott asked nodding in Jessica's direction.

"I and Jessica go way back," Wilson said chewing slowly.

"Her family's one of those stuck up aristocrats that love perfection. The usual."

"You went to Kingsreed?" I asked.

"No. We both used to go to this college—Evertide College," he answered. "We used to be friends back then. She was top of the class obviously. It was almost like she was too good for our class".

"Given today, I'm not even surprised," Scott remarked.

"Yeah. It was mostly her parents who felt that way though. Didn't take long before they took her somewhere more esteemed," Wilson said gulping down some water.

"Yeah, but you'd say you're on her level right?" I asked.

 "Hell no," Scott scoffed. "I dunno, maybe I got lucky. But she's the full package; brains and brawn unlike me. Besides, I'm not exactly the most intimidating person also."

"You don't give yourself enough credit dude. What you did was still mad impressive," Scott told him.

"Hm. Maybe so," Wilson said thoughtfully.

"But Kingsreed have the best chance of winning this competition realistically. Jessica isn't even their best contestant."

"Really?" I asked.

 "Yeah. Sure you haven't forgotten Tyson," Wilson said wiping his hands. "Their team is basically a super team…but with vampires."

"…that are super?" Scott asked.

"You get the idea!" Wilson said heatedly while Scott cracked up.

"Money does get you the best equipment though," I said.

"Yeah, and they have plenty of it. Lots of state of the art equipment too. Enough to make a military training center seem like a kids skateboard park."

Across the cafeteria, the laughter coming from the Kingsreed team made its way to where we sat.

 "And Kingsreed aren't the only main contenders. You've got Blackpine,

Ravenhurst and Vanderlyn. Hopefully some of them get eliminated this round, because

those guys are absolutely ruthless in the physical aspect."

"Hey Wilson," I said still watching the Kingsreed students.

"What would you say are the chances of us winning the competition."

 "Out of a hundred, I'd say about 1.5%," came his reply.

"I'm already loving these odds," Scott said as we stood up to leave.

***************

 After the break was over, we caught up with the rest of the guys and went back into the auditorium where we found Marcus already sitting and waiting for us. He told us they had finished about five minutes ago and were collating the scores.

"Well, how'd it go?" Laura asked.

"Meh. Not too bad," Marcus said. "Pretty easy actually."

"That's good to hear,"Ms. Flores said. "Now we wait."

 It didn't take long before the results were completed and the quizmaster began to announce them. We'd manage to end up in 4th place out of 100 colleges! We were going to the next stage! Marcus got 19 out

of 20 anagrams correct totaling 185/200 as our final score. To say we were ecstatic

would be putting it mildly. Marcus for one was livid when he found out he scored higher than Mackenzie.

 It wasn't a surprise that Kingsreed finished first. 195/200 was enough to clinch the first spot, followed by Ravenhurst and Westhaven tied at 190. However, it was a tough blow for the remaining 68 teams that failed to qualify. Lots of disappointed faces, some tears too. The C.V.C was ruthless really. I tried my best alongside with the

audience to applaud the colleges that failed to qualify. It wasn't much, but it was the least they deserved.

We weren't at the top yet, but we were already looking like a threat early in the competition. The next round however was unforgiving; straight knockouts.

"…and that ladies and gentlemen, wraps up the event for today. The 32 colleges that qualified today will proceed to the physical

tournament beginning with a round of 32. 2 colleges paired against each other in 16 matches. The winners will progress to the round of 16. For the first round, contestants will participate in a round of javelin. Rules will be announced tomorrow. The event begins by 10:00am sharp. That will be all.

Thank you," the quizmaster said with a bow as she walked off the stage and shook hands with the Queen and the other board of moderators.

Javelin was next. Nobody needed to say much because we already knew who Ms. Flores was going to call up for the challenge.

 "Brace yourself Henry. Preparation begins this night," Ms. Flores said standing up as everybody began leaving.

"Preparation's overrated. I just win." Henry said tugging his sleaves.

Show-off.