The Spelling Bee

Chapter 1-

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I created images of what I had perceived my opponents would look like. As the time passed, I had to continue to reassure myself that I could do this. I had the skill, but I didn't have the courage.

I always got nervous before any of my competitions. I had to get a little perspective on the reality of things and remember that these were all children too. They were here for the same reason I was and most likely, they were quite nervous too.

I was born with brains. Spelling bee's were practically nothing to take on. But this on the other hand, was regionals. It wasn't the same as standing in front of my teachers and reciting words, or taking online tests for hours upon hours. Here I was facing several other kids, whom I knew in my heart were all much smarter than me.

I was the only sixth grader in my school to make it to regionals. I was completely positive that I was the only sixth grader competing in regionals, or so I told myself.

''Honey,'' I heard a woman say in a very sweet and soothing voice. I opened my eyes to see a lady, who looked about sixty years old, holding a thin slip of paper in her hand. She had an astonishing resemblance to my Gram, which was all the more comforting. "This needs to be pinned to your shirt." She smiled. I slowly rose up from my chair in a waiting area that my parents walked me to before I went into alone.

The woman carefully pinned a number onto my shirt and started to lead me to another room. We walked in silence down a long hallway. "You'll do just fine." She gave me an innocent smirk before breaking the silence by opening the door at which we had just arrived to. All sorts of sounds projected throughout the room. There was laughter, soft chatting, screaming, and undoubtedly a faint weeping coming from the left corner of the room.

My heart sank as I gazed over the massive crowd of children filling the room. Most of them were eighth graders; I could tell.

Leaving me behind, the woman closed the door as she walked out. As I crossed my arms and took small steps, I realized that this was not an appropriate time to display my insecurities. I snapped myself out of it and tried to stand taller. In attempt to draw more attention to my rather small chest, I pulled my shoulders back as far as my body allowed for. I was starting to feel like the older girls already! I gained more confidence with every step.

I continued to arrogantly strut toward the seat that had been assigned to me. I passed several girls, each one of them giving me an expression of approval. My newly found self-esteem was unlike anything that I had ever experienced before; that is until all of the smirks and smiles began escalating into laughs and giggles. As my pride started to deteriorate, I grew twice as nervous as before.

I was more than relieved to have reached my seat. When I had finally made myself comfortable I began to familiarize myself with my surroundings. To my right was a young boy wearing glasses which seemed as if they came straight off of a Buddy Holly album cover. He was decent with excellently groomed hair. He was undeniably the scrawniest kid that I had ever come across in my life but he made up for it in height. I could tell that he had the potential to be attractive, although the way he slumped over in his chair stated otherwise.

A slightly overweight girl with strawberry blonde hair sat on my left , fiddling with the rings on her fingers. She was considerably older than I was. I could tell by the way the composed herself and the fact that she wore a low-cut, green V neck that revealed her cleavage. I envied these older girls with a passion. 

The room fell still as the woman who had escorted us came through the doorway. She was accompanied by a dauntless, bright redhead. She flipped her crimson curls behind her shoulder as she walked directly to her chair. She had no regards for anyone else in the room.