The emcee stood centre stage again, the crystal mic trembling in her hand. She glanced back at the hovering screen, then out at the sea of restless faces.
"Ahem… there is a rule," she said, forcing calm into her voice. "If anyone wins… their path is not revealed."
The crowd hushed. Whispers faded.
"That's to avoid conflict, judgment, or… criticism," she added. "Even champions deserve peace after a trial."
A pause.
She shifted her stance and continued.
"But for this case… the pressure is overwhelming. Not just from the crowd—but from the higher-ups themselves. The board, the sponsors… even the..."
Gasps rippled across the arena.
"We were given no choice." Her voice cracked with tension. "We're being ordered to show it. The full breakdown of Jimmy's path"
A beat passed.
Then she held up a finger and quickly added, "But—before we do that, it needs time to process. The data is encrypted and needs decoding."
The audience held its collective breath.
"So…" she said with a tired smile, "while the system calibrates, why don't we hear from the winners themselves?"
The crowd murmured.
"Should we wait… or just go home?" she teased.
"WAIT!" the entire stadium thundered back in perfect unison.
The emcee laughed gently, touched by the intensity. "Mystery really does haunt people to the bone… until they uncover it. What a day."
The arena erupted in cheers again.
......
She raised her arms, inviting the noise, then gestured toward the victory stage. "Alright then. Let's fill the air with voices—not just silence. Let's hear first from our second-place winner!"
She turned to Eola, smiling. "Miss Eola? Any words from you?"
Eola stepped up, hesitant, face pale. Her voice trembled as she leaned toward the mic.
"I… I'm sorry to my teammates," she said, eyes lowered. "Because… I don't know how I won."
The emcee raised a curious brow. "Wait. You don't know?"
Eola nodded slowly. "I didn't finish the final round properly. I just… left."
"Meaning…" the emcee dragged the moment, her grin sly. "…you abandoned your teammates."
A beat. Then—
"What a great betrayal!"
The crowd burst into wild laughter. Some clapped in amusement, others just gasped at the brutal honesty.
And then, the true storm began…
.......
The crowd was still chuckling when the emcee turned back to the mic, wiping a tear from her eye.
"What a confession, folks! I don't know how I won," she repeated, mimicking Eola's voice with mock drama.
Then, smiling cruelly:
"Sounds like someone needs to explain herself backstage!"
Gasps and laughter swirled through the audience like wildfire. But up near the victor's platform, the mood was far darker.
Miss Evergreen, standing a few steps below Eola, clenched his jaw so tightly it popped.
"You really said that?" he growled, climbing the last step. "You don't know how you won?"
Gorran and Binny followed behind, faces twisted in disbelief.
Eola backed up slightly. "I didn't mean it like that—"
"Oh no?" Gorran snapped. "Then explain what the hell you did mean, Eola. Because to me, it sounded like you just threw us all under the bus."
"You said sorry to your teammates," Binny said, voice rising. "But sorry for what exactly? For winning? Or for betraying us?"
"I didn't betray you!" Eola cried. "I just… I didn't know—"
"Exactly," Miss Evergreen cut her off sharply. "You didn't know. And yet you're up here, on that podium, with second place handed to you while the rest of us get nothing. No rank. No clarity. Just shame."
"But I didn't ask for this!" she shouted, the mic catching every quiver in her voice. "I didn't even finish the last phase! Jimmy… he—he must've done something—"
"Oh, so now it's his fault?" Binny spat. "Let me get this straight. You abandoned him. You walked out. And now that it blew up in your face, you're blaming him for your reward?"
"It's not about blame—" Eola began.
"Then what is it about?" Gorran barked. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you profited off a ghost! You vanished when it mattered, and now you're standing here acting like the victim?"
The crowd had gone dead silent again. Every word echoed through the arena like thunder.
Eola's fists clenched. Her eyes shimmered with tears. "You think I wanted this? I left because—because It's our plan. We all were a team after all!"
Miss Evergreen said coldly. "How did you win and we lost?"
"Don't act so noble!" she snapped. "None of you believed in him either! You were the one who said he was creepy, remember? That he was just some quiet kid with dead eyes!"
Miss Evergreen flinched. Gorran looked away.
"But you left," Binny said softly. "We all had doubts. Let's wait for revelation."
Miss Evergreen growled, stepping close enough to look her dead in the eye, "you're standing on the stage like some hero. You didn't win second place. You were dragged here by him. I understand it very well. Well, let's wait."
Eola's voice cracked. "I didn't ask to win."
"Then give it up," Binny snapped.
"Yeah," Gorran added. "If you're really sorry, take the mic and say you refuse it. Give second place to whom is more..."
Eola hesitated, chest heaving.
She glanced at Jimmy—still sitting quietly with the Swablum on his shoulder, not even looking at them.
She turned back to her teammates.
And said nothing.
That silence said everything.
Miss Evergreen let out a bitter laugh and stepped back. "Right. That's what I thought."
Gorran turned his back. "Enjoy your victory, 'champion.' Just don't count on sitting with us again."
Binny added coldly, "Second place doesn't matter when you lose all your friends."
Eola standing alone in the spotlight, trembling.
The emcee, now wide-eyed and awkward, cleared her throat and tried to ease the tension.
"Well… emotions run high in competition, don't they, folks? Let's give them a moment. And remember—what matters most is the spirit of the games!"
But even her voice sounded hollow.
Somewhere above, a Swablum gave a soft, sad "Abum…"
And Jimmy, still silent, just stroked the feathers of the one in his arms.
A storm had passed but for how much time.
.......................................
The emcee stepped forward again, her voice softened after the charged exchange earlier.
"I… I'm sorry, everyone," Eola said from behind, eyes still brimming. "I didn't betray anyone. I don't even know how I won. He… he did something. Something I don't understand."
The emcee turned to her gently. "Miss, it's okay. Don't cry."
She placed a hand on Eola's shoulder. "We understand."
Then she turned back to the crowd, grinning playfully. "Now… let's hear from our winner, shall we? Oops! Seems he's still playing with the little cuties."
The camera turned toward Jimmy, who was crouched low again, letting one of the Swablums climb and cling to his arm like a misty vine.
A voice from the stands called out, "Miss! Can we touch them?"
The emcee laughed. "Oh, I wish I could answer that… but I think that's entirely up to them."
The crowd collectively nodded.
Just then, a reporter pushed forward and raised a mic toward her. "Miss Emcee, could you call Jimmy for us? We'd love to hear something—even just a few words."
The emcee placed a hand over her heart. "Ooooh, the reporters can't wait to get their hands on spoilers, huh?"
She winked. "Alright then. Let's summon our little mysterious boy."
She approached Jimmy again.
He looked up, blindfold lifted slightly onto his forehead, expression neutral as always.
"Is there anything?" he typed on his phone, which spoke for him in its soft mechanical voice.
"Yes, sir," she replied, "the crowd would like to hear from you."
Jimmy nodded once in understanding. Then typed again:
"May I borrow the microphone?"
"Of course, sir," she said, handing it over.
Jimmy took it gently, then typed once more.
"The little Swablum wants to do something. Is that alright?"
The crowd erupted instantly.
"YES, sir!"
"Let her sing! Let her do anything!"
"Sir, please! We're ready!"
The emcee smiled and stepped back.
The smallest Swablum, still perched delicately on Jimmy's shoulder, fluttered forward—gliding like a drifting petal to the center of the platform.
She hovered in front of the mic.
And then—without warning—she began to sing.
"Abum… abu… abu… uuuua… mmmaan…"
A soft melody, wordless but strangely understandable. Not through language, but through feeling. Like rain after drought. Like a memory wrapped in mist.
It spread across the arena like a healing wave.
People fell silent. Eyes closed. Hearts slowed. Some laughed softly. Others cried quietly.
The song wrapped around them like a lullaby from childhood—something forgotten but never truly lost.
Two minutes passed.
And then the song stopped.
Silence hung in the air for a heartbeat.
And then—
ROARS of applause, cheers, and even sobs.
"WHAT a song!"
"It healed my mind so fast!"
"I… I forgot all my fears from earlier…"
Someone stood up, tears on his cheeks. "But don't forget—thank him!"
The crowd turned.
"Thank you, Jimmy!"
Jimmy stood slowly.
With one graceful motion, he removed his dark hat—held it to his chest—
—and bowed.
A deep, theatrical bow, like a magician closing his final act.
The crowd roared. Phones flashed. Children cheered.
But then—
His hat moved.
From within, the smallest Swablum popped up, eyes twinkling, cheeks puffed with cloud, and—
—she bowed, too.
A mirror of Jimmy's gesture.
Gasps filled the air. The crowd lost it.
"She was in his hat?! All this time?!"
"She's… copying him! That's so precious!"
Then, still standing on the brim of the hat, the little Swablum fluttered her wings once more.
Tiny clouds puffed from her feathers, floating up into the sky—
—and in them, written faintly in fog, the word:
"Thanks."
The clouds dispersed like mist on wind.
The crowd erupted again, many with hands over their mouths, unable to believe what they'd seen.
Even the emcee was stunned silent for a moment. Then, finally:
"…Ladies and gentlemen," she whispered, "I think we just witnessed something that wasn't part of any script."
And above it all, Jimmy stood with the Swablum perched on his hat like a crown of cloud light—
..........................................
Jimmy stood still, the microphone and his phone still in his hand.
Jimmy typed :"Those who helped me… I always helped them."He paused, eyes hidden beneath his blindfold, then added:"But how—they never knew."
There was a silence. A blink of confusion. Then—
The crowd burst into laughter.Some clapped. Others pointed.
Random voice:"Now that's a line!"Another shouted, "He just dropped a silent dagger!"
...............................
Random audience voice:"Wait—so she won because of him?"
"How did he change the match results?"
"How?"
To be Continued...