A New Beginning

Chapter 9

"They are really good, aren't they?" said Chloe as she sipped from her juice.

"Well they are one of the best students, so I am not surprised," Nate said.

Currently, Ash's group was sitting in a far corner of the gym while watching the Round B quiz battle as it neared its end. Drew and Leaf were completely dominating the competition with their team. From Brock's group, two guys named Cilan and Clemont were evenly matching up with them, though being a few steps behind.

Chloe had become kind of a celebrity after the last Round. Even some of the professors congratulated her.

"Seriously, it's like they completely forgot this was a teamwork. I didn't even do half the work," she said tiredly. Ash chuckled. "It's fine. You worked the hardest out of us all, so I think you deserve it"

"Ash is right. You should be glad a boring girl like you is getting attention for once," Barry mocked her as she glared at him fiercely. The others laughed at this.

"Oh it's already the last question," Nate pointed. The contestants were looking nervous because of the last round

"You think they'll give another ridiculous mystery riddle?"

"I don't think they'll use the same tactic twice."

Ash's guess wasn't entirely right. Because the last question was a riddle yes, but it was math riddle than a mystery one, and its difficulty was certainly high.

Drew's group managed to crack the answer first as they hogged the 15 points for themselves. Round B came to an end.

"Now, the results of Round A and Round B will be conjoined. Please wait," Professor Rowan instructed.

Everyone paid attention to the screen. After a few seconds of waiting, the names of the groups on the top spots were revealed along with their members.

#1. Drew and Leaf - 70 points

#2. Chloe and Barry- 65 points

#3. Cilan and Clemont- 55 points

The rest of the groups ranking also were revealed as the list descended.

The noise from the students increased as they saw the list.

"Ah shit. I was actually hoping we would get first place," said Barry, disappointed.

Chloe sighed. "Well we did do our best. So I am not sad or anything."

"Cheer up you two. Second place is no easy feat. And if Ash and I manage to dominate the battles tomorrow, we could still get the top spot," Nate said. Barry and Chloe looked excited all of a sudden.

"Oh yeah. Tomorrow's your turn. Best of luck both of you," Chloe said, smiling.

"Yeah man. Don't you dare hold back," Barry said glaring at them.

"No worries. We will be fine," Nate assured them.

"Hey, how about we go to the cafeteria. It's almost lunch time," Barry suggested.

Everyone agreed to that as they started heading out of the gym. Ash followed suit, but sensed a pair of eyes watching him. He turned around to look, and saw Drew watching their group from a far. He looked mad, probably upset over the fact the difference between him and Class D was only about five points.

'What should I call him? A sore winner?' thought Ash as he ignored him and walked out of the gym.

***

Ash didn't stay for lunch because he wanted to rest inside his dorm for the rest of the day. He parceled some food for both lunch and dinner, so he wouldn't have to come again.