Hush

> Chapter Seventeen <

Paige

Raine was eliminated.
          Oh no.
          If I win, she'll hate me even more than she already does.
          But now, we're down to the finalists. There's ten of us left; Jorden, Diana, Astrid, a few other people I can't name, and me.
          The words have gotten very hard, and I find even I'm beginning to struggle. I stand at the podium now, the word hippopotamus causing sweat to bead along my hairline.
          I manage to spell it correctly, and Jorden is up next. Excruciating doesn't stump him, and he says each letter clearly and confidently. He sits back down next to me, smirking.
          After a few rounds, only four remain; me, Jorden, and two others. With words like gargantuan and superstitious, the girl and boy I don't recognize are eliminated.
          Now, Jorden and I have been pitted against eachother. He cracks jokes, trying to throw me off my game, but my skill is on point right now.
          "Now that it's only two of you, I will give you both a word. If you both spell it right, you get a new one. If one spells it wrong, they are eliminated and the person remaining gets their name in the draw. The draw will be done on Monday at the end of the day." Mr. Lawrence informs. "Now, your word is infinitesimally."
          My breath catches in my throat.
          What?!
          "Um..." Jorden starts, thinking. "I-N-F-I-N-I-T-E..." he spells, pausing again. "S-I-M-A-L-Y." he finishes finally.
          "I-N-F-I-N-I-T-E-S-I-M-A-L-L-Y." I state, smirking at Jorden.
          "One of you spelled that correctly, and that would be..." Mr. Lawrence starts a drum roll, the audience joining in. Holding up a hand, everyone goes silent. "Congratulations, Paige Hills!" he announces. I smile widely, blushing when Jorden hugs me.
          "You might go to Fellhollow, Paige! Imagine that!" Jorden says in my ear, still wrapping me in his arms. "Promise you'll buy me something?" he asks after releasing me.
          "Of course." I laugh.
          I scan the clapping crowd before me, until I make eye contact with an angry Raine. She leers at me, her arms crossed and her eyes dark. She despises me now.

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When I get home, my parents congratulate me. They watched the whole thing from the fifth row, and my mom even took some videos on her phone.
          "So, are you and Jorden a thing?" she asks me over dinner.
          "Mom!" I shout, embarrassed.
          She just laughs. "I know you like him, Paige." she says, forking some potatoes into her mouth.
          "No matter if I like him or not, he'd never date me." I shrug, pushing my green beans around on my plate. I hate when my mom talks about my love life.
          "Why not? You're pretty, and smart, and-"
          "Mom, just stop."
          "Okay, okay. Now, eat your green beans."
          "Gladly."