Glimpse of Hope

Faith and Predictions

The next stage began on a very interesting note. All remaining four contestants were up to the task and none wanted to concede to the other. They all knew, one wrong answer could deny them entry to the next stage. Hence, they all answered correctly to the first set of questions asked.
“What do you think about the competition now?” Mr Dammy asked Mrs Folarin, who looked rather calm, watching the contestants relentlessly provide correct answers to their questions. He felt it was the right time to close the rift.
“I think Ayo would be among the top three finalists” – she nodded her head slowly – “Funmi won’t last any longer than she already has. She’s becoming nervous just like Adura.” She fixed her eyes on the quizmaster as he decided on Funmi’s response to the question.
“Wrong answer!” he announced.
“Geez!” Funmi said, with an American accent. Not that she wanted to but the situation of the hour just bore that, unintendedly. She bit her lower lips with her teeth. Ayo and the other two contestants answered their question correctly. Funmi knew at that instant that she might not make it to the next stage. She, however, concluded in her mind that she wouldn’t lose any more points, but she did.
The stage continued until the last question was asked. Funmi made eye contact with Ayo, who was sitting next to her and gave her a scornful look. Ayo wondered what could have made Funmi look at her that way, but she smiled instead. She knew how helpful Funmi had been to her in the past weeks and decided within herself to check up on the latter, immediately after the competition.
After much delay, the quizmaster took the mic again, to reveal the points of each contestant. “At the end of the second stage.” He looked at the paper, he just received from the judges. “Funmilayo Ogunbiyi had 8 points.” He paused, allowing that to sink in, while the DJ did his job and the student applauded.
“Ayomide Cole, 9 points!” The applause this time was louder and longer than the first. The quizmaster had to wait for it to subside before he read on. “Bidemi Gbadamosi, 10 points and finally Emmanuel George, 10 points!” This brought fewer hands together in applause. They were all now interested in the newbie, Ayomide Cole, who has yet again advanced to the next stage. It was exactly as Mrs Folarin had predicted.
“Funmilayo Ogunbiyi! Please, leave the stage,” the quizmaster instructed.
As Funmi left the stage awkwardly, she threw a glance at Ayo and this time, Ayo couldn’t smile. She just wished it was her leaving, instead of Funmi. It was sad seeing Funmi leave. She now knew the reason behind her resentment.
The next stage, popularly called ‘survival of the fittest’ was the stage that usually determines the winner. Students of JS 1 B were very happy for Ayo. They didn’t care much about being first or second anymore. As long as she was in the final stage, they were satisfied.
The principal wasn’t so surprised that Ayo would progress to the final stage but he believed she can’t beat his daughter, Bidemi and Emmanuel. He looked at the VP and asked, “Do you think Ayo can beat Bidemi and Emmanuel to the first position?”
“I don’t know what I think anymore with what has happened here today,” the VP responded. “I mean who would have believed that Ayo would beat Funmi to this stage?”
“I would have,” the principal said.
“Anyway, I believe Bidemi to be a true daughter of her father and she will make you proud, sir!” In truth, the VP wanted Emmanuel to win and even believed so, but she didn’t want to get on the bad side of the principal. Hence, she kept her thought to herself.
“Shall we begin contestants?” the quizmaster demanded from the remaining contestants on stage.
“Yes, sir!” the three of them chorused.
“Remember, you have just 30 seconds to answer a given question. So you need to be fast. I mean very fast!” he advised. “And also the first to provide the wrong answer to a question will be disqualified immediately.”
That last sentence sent shivers down Ayo’s spine. She adjusted uncomfortably in her seat. The fear returned and settled in her phalanges, making her fingers tremble. As she nodded her heads to the quizmaster’s instructions, her fingers reciprocated too.
“Now your question, Contestant two!”
“I’m not ready, sir!” Ayo found herself saying.
“What…”
“I mean I’m ready,” she quickly corrected herself.
“Good!”
On this note, the final stage began with Ayo’s question. The three contestants provided correct answers to the questions asked for fifteen minutes straight. Between these minutes, Bidemi became anxious, Ayo was full of zeal and Emmanuel, calm as water.
*       *         *         *        *        *   *
“Ayo cannot win this! Look at how calm he is.” Bayo said while pointing at Emmanuel, who was solving a question at the time. “I believe in Ayo but the first position is beyond her reach, with Emmanuel and Bidemi as her competitors.”
“Can’t you see? Ayo is also calm,” Bukky countered. “If anyone is going to lose now. It’s Bidemi. She’s nervous. I can smell it.”
“You can smell when someone is nervous?” Bayo chuckled. He was surprised by Bukky’s statement.
“It’s just a figure of speech, moron!”
“Hehe! So you know the figure of speech.”
“What do you mean? I’m improving.”
“Well, let’s leave that aside.” Bayo changed the topic back to their main focus. “Bidemi being nervous doesn’t mean her brain is affected. Her brain works like a clock,” he argued. “She’s not Adura! That one was afraid of losing and that was her weakness.”
“Ayo is not afraid!”
“She is! I can smell it too.”
Bukky laughed at this but when she saw Bayo’s straight face, she stopped. “What’s she afraid of?”
“Of winning!”
“Why will anyone be –”
“Winning would only make Funmi hate her the more.”
“And so?” Bukky protested.
“Ayo doesn’t want that!” Bayo answered. “Just look at Funmi.”
Bukky turned her slightly, towards Funmi, who was seated to her left and staring furiously at Ayo. “That’s her problem!” Bukky concluded. She couldn’t afford to miss any more moments in the intense final stage. So did Bayo.
* * * * * *
Mrs Folarin and Mr Dammy were also arguing over who would lose first.
“You and I both know Emmanuel can’t lose now,” Mrs Folarin said. “In the previous year’s quiz competition, Bidemi and Emmanuel had been the last two contestants but Emmanuel had won simply because she forgot to add a square to her answer.”
“I know all about that.” Mr Dammy waved his hand. “But this is different. You said it yourself that Ayo is good and I believe she will see this through.”
“I did say that but I didn’t say she will win,” she defended. “It’s either Ayomide or Emmanuel that will lose first. Either way, Bidemi will win.”
Mr Dammy didn’t argue further. He knew Mrs Folarin with her predictions. Once she predicted, it’s most likely to be so and given that she studied child psychology, she knows best. It was better to watch the events unfold than argue blindly with her.

Would Mrs Folarin be right?