ll Soulmates ll A Spirit Animals Alternative Universe

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own the Spirit Animals series.

Merry (late) Christmas to everyone!

The cheers from the audience was deafening, and almost drowned out the commentary of the hosts, Tarik and Lishay, as Meilin, Conor, Maya, Finn, Worthy, and Xanthe stepped onto the stage. Dawson and Takoda were staying in the wings as backup competitors. Each member of both school's trivia teams lined up in an arc around the stage, and Meilin found herself staring at six serious faces from the opposing team. The roars from the crowd and the tense atmosphere made Meilin's palms sweat, though she tried not to let it affect her mood too much. She had always taken competitions seriously, if she had been in another situation, she would've laughed at how her mood seemed the most tense compared to everyone else, Maya was even smiling.

Tarik's introduction flew by, and soon, Meilin found herself hearing the words "There will be eight rounds, with a break after the fourth round. The questions in the first round will test your general knowledge, each one is worth one point. Good luck."

Lishay announced the questions, her voice echoing loudly in the now quiet room. "What does 'www' stand for in a website?"

Meilin and Kana buzzed in at almost the same time. Lishay confirmed Kana's buzz with a nod.

"World Wide Web."

"That is correct," Lishay said to a storm of clapping from the Greenhaven High section of the bleachers.

The rounds went by quickly, and tensions rose. Meilin, Finn, and Maya scored 3 points each while Xanthe and Conor each scored 2. On Greenhaven's team, Abeke and Kana had each scored 3 while the rest all scored 1 point. Everything was going according to plan for Meilin. She hoped to keep this steady lead throughout the competition.

Finn gathered the Unity Academy team together for a group discussion in their ten minute break, and they went through their strategy one more time, going through everyone's strengths and weaknesses when it came to different questions. According to Tarik, the next round's topic was about geography, one of Meilin's strengths along with Zhongese Literature. 

Lishay leaned closer to the microphone. "In which Zhongese country is Mount Fuji located?"

Meilin buzzed first, with Song and Kana just behind her.

"Yamato."

(Note: I chose this because "Yamato" was an older name for Japan)

Finn whistled, while Maya gave her a thumbs-up. Meilin could see Raisha and Tasha, Greenhaven High's backup, whispering in the wings.

It was a eventful round. Geography trivia included questions about every nation on Erdas, making it everyone's main topic to score points in, but what really surprised Meilin was the unexpected buzz-in that happened later into the round.

Conor had just scored their team another point, and Tarik read the next question out loud.

"In what direction are Zhongese roads mostly headed? Bonus point: Why?"

Meilin was sure she got this one in the bag, until Rollan from the opposing team buzzed in just before her. This took her by surprise, as the Amayan boy had only answered questions about his homeland for the round.

"They mostly goes from west to east, and it is because most rivers in Zhong  flow from the northern mountain range to the south or southeast and they need to make up for the lack of transportation to the east coast," Rollan answered confidently.

"Answers for both questions are correct," said Tarik, unable to suppress a smile.

Abeke and Rollan high fived, while Meilin stared in shock at the detailed description, almost identical to the ones in her geography textbook. She didn't have time to dwell on it, though, as Lishay moved the competition along smoothly.