Tara pursed her lips as she stepped out of the writing hall. She had pretty much finished within the first 45 minutes but had read and read her work all over again.
Snr Feranmi who had written this exam twice, her name did not come out meaning she didn't pass the exam. Snr Feranmi was an English guru who was respected a lot.
And now that she wrote it,she who was no where near Snr Feranmi; maybe it would be same. She sat down at the waiting area as others students chatted joyfully among themselves.
Nathaniel glared at Semiloore as he sat down they had just finished the first round.
"You did well" Semiloore said with a big smile.
"You should go for the next round"
"What's the next round?"
"The how many questions you can answer correctly in 20 seconds"
"You are going"
"I'm not gonna make it"
"Of course you are"
Deji and Rolake were also doing well at their side. This time around both of them wore an air of arrogance making others schools give them full attention.
"Oxford, your question?"
"Number 11"
"How many states have Federal Universities?"
Everyone froze. Just what kind of question was that. Rolake smiled slyly at the man "Every state has but states which do not have Federal Universities have Federal University of Technology or Federal University of Agric well except Kebbi state, Yobe state and Zamfara state"
The man looked puzzled "Correct"
Deji shifted closer to her "You read that?"
"My parents hope I take jamb this year to test my capabilities so I checked through jamb brochure that I was when I saw it"
"Oh"
"I didn't know such things come in handy"
Rolake laughed slightly as the questions went round again.
"Oxford"
"Number 102"
"What's the full meaning of DIA?"
"Defence Intelligence Agency"
As the questions kept going round and round the judges were impressed.
"We have to come to the end of this section. Please let's appreciate our students"
A loud applause graced the auditorium.
"Unfortunately for most of the students, their journey ends here. I'll admit everyone of us tried and it was a tough competition but there were people better. We are now down to five schools, Oxford International College, Model Secondary School, Greater Tomorrow International School, ECWA Secondary School and finally Bethel College. We'll meet in ten minutes to decide who the winner of this year BDS Current Affairs Quiz is. Please stay with us. Thank you"
Rolake smiled at the woman selling snacks as she collected her change.
"You don't look as scared as yesterday"
"I adjusted"
Deji chuckled "I wonder how Tara is doing"
"I hate her but I wish her name pops up on her list. Although I have my doubts"
"What doubts?"
"Snr Feranmi has written this essay twice. I mean twice and her name didn't even get to the first list"
"Tara might be stupid but she's brilliant and quite brainy"
"Now that I look at it. We only meet Hicol Lag at three competitions"
"Huh?"
"Cowbellpedia, Volleyball game and the National Mathematics Completion which starts in two days"
"How will they cope? Nath and Semiloore will have to travel to Lagos for the south west competition whereby only three schools can be chosen"
"Jerry and Joshua are going to take care of that. Infact everyone. The NMC allows schools to form a team of six students"
"We are all welcoming..... "
"Shit! We are late" Deji said as he sprinted off.
Tamiloore didn't even bother to smile at the guy in front of her as she collected the mic. She had being really by impressed by the guy's speech. It was both informative and convincing; however he did not capture the attention of his listeners.
Only those who listened would know he was brilliant at that but then what he failed to have he had.
"An American business mogul David Rockfeller once said "Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you are not frightened by these things,the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were"
Just as she started,she noticing everyone listening. She continued as she walked on the podium sometimes describing with her hands as if explaining things to her students.
By the time she dropped the mic,everyone was on their feet and were giving her a standing ovation.
The opposing school had a look of disbelief on their faces.
"We'll take a break of ten minutes then we'll be back for the next round"
"Cmon Odun" Tamiloore said as they stood up to take a break. The opposing school blocked their way immediately and Tamiloore chuckled.
"Who are you guys? Where's Akin and the rest?"
Tamiloore shrugged "They retired"
"What do you mean by they retired? They don't even have exams"
"What does retire mean Odun?"
"According to the Oxford Learners Dictionary,retire means to leave your job or stop working especially when you have reached a particular age. Also it means to go to bed. It also means to leave the court room to decide the verdict of a trial"
"Let's go with the first one. I don't know if you quite understood that. Permit me to explain. You won't be seeing Snr Akin and the rest anymore. We've replaced them"
The boy chuckled "Because you think you are better than them? Akin is one of the best?"
Tamiloore smiled at him "Of course but am better"
"Excuse me? Better?"
"I am not a fan of arguing. Some moments ago you finished your part and people clapped for you. Nice speech, good sense of time and whatever but when I finished; you needed to see the expression on your face. Like you were rejected by your crush"
Everyone burst into laughter as the boy's face turned green.
"You don't know who you are messing with?" He snarled.
"Snr James,I don't think you understand the situation here. You seem familiar with Snr Akin and the rest. You know their temperament and all that and Snr Tamiloore" Odunayo said as she scoffed "I don't think you can deal with it. You'll die from anger"
This time Tamiloore laughed taking James by surprise. He blinked his eyes constantly before walking away.
"Odun take five" one of the guys said as the both of them high fived each other.
"I'm proud of my gang" Tamiloore said with a chuckle. As James walked outside he held his beating heart.
What the hell just happened right now?
Why did she look so beautiful when she laughed?
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah"
"You looked really surprised earlier"
James smiled at his subordinate before he walked off.
Deji and Rolake looked pensive as the final round began. The last five schools showed their toughness and by the third round of question, ECWA and Bethel had missed two question each somehow eliminating them although the recorder didn't say anything.
"Oxford?"
"Number 89"
"Who is the present minister for solid minerals?"
"Olamilekan Adegite"
"We'll be going for the final round now"
"MSS, your question"
"Number 87"
"Who is the President of Nigeria? "
Everyone laughed "Mohammed Buhari"
"Please spell it M-O-H-A-M-M-E-D B-U-H-A-R-I" the boy spelt out proudly.
The recorder smirked "I am sorry but you are wrong" he said and everyone froze.
"Wrong? He isn't wrong" Deji whispered to Rolake.
"He is" Rolake replied.
"Huh?"
"Our President name is spelt M-U not M-O"
"Ohhhh"
All other schools looked nervous as the bonus was being passed and no one got it right.
"OIC, bonus to you"
"M-U-H-A-M-M-E-D B-U-H-A-R-I"
"Correct"
"Huh?"
"Excuse me sir,we spelt the same thing" the boy complained with rage.
The recorder looked at him calmly "President Muhammad Buhari is spelt, M-U not M-O"
Realization dawned on everyone as the boy recoiled on his seat.
"GTIC, your question"
"Number 60"
"Taken"
"68"
"Which Country is the most populous in the world?"
"China"
"Wrong,bonus to ECWA"
"No idea" the girl murmured. If it wasn't China then which country was it.
"Bonus to BC"
"Jerusalem"
"Haaaa" everyone exclaimed before bursting into laughter.
Deji scoffed "Really dude? Jerusalem?"
Rolake just laughed along and smiled.
Deji his head. Some people's way of reasoning was way out of the box.
"Bonus to Oxford"
"India"
"Correct"
"Whoa!"
"They are so good"
"They are currently leading with six points I think"
"I was thinking MSS was going to win again this year"
"Let's hope they don't miss their final question"
"Even if they do, they are still the winner"
"You are forgetting the rules, the winner must at least leave the next person with ten marks"
"Ohh"
"ECWA,your turn"
"Number 65"
"How many local governments do we have in Nigeria?"
"600"
"Wrong"
"Bonus to BC"
"700"
"Wrong"
"Bonus to OIC"
"774"
"Correct"
The whole hall clapped for them.
"Bethel,your turn"
"Number 52"
"In which city does the White Nile meets the Blue Nile?"
"Canada"
"Wrong"
"Bonus to OIC"
"Khartoum"
"Correct"
"OIC your question"
"Number 100"
"Which desert is the driest on earth?"
"Its Sahara nah"
"They actually got an easy question"
"Even if they got this wrong, they are winners already. MSS is 14 marks behind"
"Atacama" Rolake replied and everyone started talking.
"Correct" the recorder said surprised.
"We have come to the end of this year BDS Current Affairs Quiz. Please stay with us as the Chairman will say a few words"
"And the winner of this year's BDS CAQ is Oxford International School, Akure!"