Hello. Hi. Harry Potter. No sorry, that's a random comment. Without further ado...
Chapter 57: All The Nerds In The Land
The spotlight beamed down on the contestants as we stood against these wooden podiums, with crappy mics on bent wires.
I poked the wire, and it jiggled before the mic came back into place.
Eek, the lighting is so bright. It's relentless, like God is going to descend from the heavens and take us all up with him.
I squinted to my left where Jun cracked his knuckles and eyed up the competition. He had his name and the Preston Oakes tag already on display at the front of his podium. This guy was ready.
I looked across at our competition. Lucas Tran and Noah Bennett, two of the best mathletes in the state, stood behind their own podiums, expressions unreadable.
I gulped.
The announcer in his electric blue suit said, "We are going to begin with the head-to-heard. One contestant from each team will answer. First to solve it correctly gets the point."
I gulped again.
"First up," the announcer paused for dramatic effect, "Noah Benett v Millie Ripley. This question is for ten points, and you have 60 seconds to answer. Contestants, are you ready?"
No.
Not at all.
"Great. You may begin."
The screen flickered as the problem appeared and an irritating timer started to countdown:
"Find the value of the integral from 0 to 1 of 6x² dx."
Okay.
I can do this.
It's just a basic power rule, right?
Raise the exponent, divide by the new exponent.
Easy. The integral of 6x² is 2x³. I just need to evaluate from 0 to 1.
Wait, do I need to plug in the limits before or after? Is this a "before or after" situation? This feels like ordering at a coffee shop—do I say my name first, or do I order my coffee first?
I glanced at Noah. Of course he was already writing down the answer like it was a shopping list. I bet his coffee order is flawless. I bet the barista knows his name by now.
Focus. Just plug in 1 and 0. It's 2 times 1³ minus 2 times 0³. Which is... 5.
No wait, it's 2. Or 5? Snap, what I do?
Ding!
"2," Noah's hand slammed the buzzer.
"Correct!" the announcer said.
Noah simply capped his marker, barely sparing me a glance. Meanwhile, my hands clenched uselessly around my own, my brain cursing me for freezing up and thinking about coffee.
I always think about coffee.
I stepped back as Jun cracked his knuckles again, stepping up to the plate. He didn't look at me, but I could feel the energy shift. He wasn't about to let that happen again.
"Lucas Tran versus Jun Park," the announcer called.
Jun rolled his shoulders as Noah adjusted his posture, standing a little straighter.
The next question appeared.
"Evaluate the integral of (2x³ - 5x + 4) dx."
No hesitation. Both markers flew across the boards.
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