Before they leave the campus, Pablo has an idea for the rest of the season:
"My love, since LQBA Winter Invitational South made everyone in town believe that it's realistic to have a second squad qualify for the HSNCT, better get started now! We're going to beg money at church!" Pablo tells her about how they're going to fund the quiz bowl team getting VA B to the HSNCT.
Audrey then proceeds to email Warren, who's busy grading AP Biology finals, about her begging at church, while she's open to implementing more ideas. Also, she attaches her remaining schedule of basketball games.
Upon receipt of the email, the quiz bowl coach starts formulating plans in his mind. The math team is probably not going to go very deep in the playoffs this year. If we want to schedule quiz bowl exhibition games during either math games or basketball games, we need to ensure that we can charge higher prices, and secure our opponents. However, the math team is essentially paying the bills of all academic teams, and the funding priority goes to the first squad at the HSNCT, then the MSNCT, and then a second HSNCT squad. I guess I could always try scheduling DCC if possible...
"Since you're Catholic and I am not, we will be attending different masses at different churches" Audrey points out to him. "Double the begging, double the money. And we shall attend the HSNCT together"
"Our best bet is going to be the ESA Cade Cane Classic. Operation Holy Begging is go"
At the same time, they ask their respective teammates which holiday masses they will attend, if any, with instructions for begging money at church.
Upon returning home from the basketball game, Pablo asks his parents about which Christmas mass they plan on attending.
"Since my teammate is attending the midnight mass at Our Lady Help of Christians, is it possible to go to Immaculate Conception, or to attend the ten PM one if you still want to go to Our Lady Help of Christians?" Pablo asks his parents about Christmas mass attendance.
"Why do you want us not to attend the same mass as your other teammates?" Pablo's dad asks him.
"It's for quiz bowl fundraising. Since it became realistic for us to get a second squad at the HSNCT, we estimated it would cost about three grand to go, but we need to rotate the beggars. Myriam already picked the midnight mass at Our Lady Help of Christians" Pablo explains to his parents.
And he realizes that Audrey is Pentecostal, Lilina is Baptist, and, for most people on the quiz bowl team, attending Christmas mass is mostly a convenient venue for begging, er, raising money for them to go to the MSNCT or HSNCT. Even if I put all remaining spending money into the HSNCT fund, it's still a lot of money to beg, Pablo starts thinking about being a beggar at mass, which he knew was the only time where begging at church made any sense. For which he hastily labels a piggy bank HSNCT money and the piggy bank is carried in his mother's handbag.
"Wait a minute... are you saying the B-team could attend the HSNCT?" Pablo's mom asks him about his role on the quiz bowl team.
"To be fair, the linchpins of the B-team are Nadine and Gerard... I scored about in the high-teens at LQBA Winter Invitational South, in which we finished fourth" Pablo explains to his parents as they get to the 10 PM mass.
"Don't discount Lilina. She might be a ninth-grader, the same as Gerard, but she has good upside" Pablo's father advises him on his way to the Christmas mass.
At church, he only has a few minutes to go beg money according to his plan. Upon arrival at the church, Pablo's mom hands the piggy bank to him so that he can start begging for money to attend the HSNCT.
YOU ARE READING
Can't Stop the Questions
RomancePablo, a sophomore playing tight end for Venomous Agendas High, plays the best football game of his life, but as the season comes to a close, his coaches tell him he can't rely on football to go to college, forcing him to buckle down on academics fo...
