Hope - Episode 16

 

The next stage began on an interesting note. All four contestants left answered the first 5 questions correctly. None wanted to loose to other.
“What do you think about the competition now”, Mr. Dammy asked Mrs. Folarin who looked rather calm as she watched the contestants relentlessly provided correct answers.
“I think Ayo would be among the top three finalists”, she predicted. “Funmi won’t last any longer than already has . She’s becoming nervous just like Adura”, she added, her eyes fixed on the quiz master as he made to decide on Funmi’s response to the question asked.
“Wrong answer”, he announced.
“Geez!” Funmi bit her lower lips in regret. 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 loose any more point but she did.
The competition continued until the last question was asked for that stage and the quiz make revealed the points of each contestants afterwards.
“At the end of the second stage”, he began, reading from the piece of paper he again received from the judges of the competition. “Funmilayo Ogunbiyi 8 points, Ayomide Cole 9 points, Bidemi Gbadamosi 10 points and finally Emmanuel George 10 points”.
Ayo has yet again advanced to the next stage which is the final stage just as Mrs

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. Folarin had predicted. Now, it’s survival of the fittest. All the 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 is in the final stage, they were satisfied.
The principal wasn’t so surprised that Ayomide Cole would progress to the final stage but he believed she can’t beat his daughter, Bidemi and Emmanuel.
“Do you think Ayo can beat Bidemi and Emmanuel to first position?” the principal asked the vice principal who was sitting beside him just to hear her view.
“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”, 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 quiz master 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”, he advised. “And also the first to provide wrong answer to a question will be disqualified immediately”
They all nodded their heads.
“Now your question, Contestant two. The sum… “
The final stage began. The three contestants provided correct answers to the questions asked for fifteen minutes straight. Between this minutes, Bidemi was anxious, Ayomide was full of zeal and Emmanuel calm as water.
“Ayo cannot win this, look at how calm he is”, Bayo said pointing to Emmanuel. “I believe in Ayo but first position is beyond her reach with Emmanuel and Bidemi as her competitor”.
“Can’t you see? Ayo is also calm”, Bukky countered. “If anyone is going to loose now. It’s Bidemi. She’s nervous. I can smell it”
“You can smell when someone is nervous?” Bayo asked surprised by Bukky’s statement.
“It’s just a figure of speech”.
“Hehe! So you know figure of speech”.
“Of course!”
“Well, let’s leave that aside”, Bayo changed the topic back to their main focus. “Bukky being nervous doesn’t mean her brain is affected. Her brain works like clock”, he argued. “She’s not Adura”.
“Okay, we shall see Bayo”, Bukky concluded. She couldn’t afford to miss any moment.
Mrs. Folarin and Mr. Dammy were also arguing on who will loose first.
“You and I both know Emmanuel can’t loose now”, Mrs. Folarin had 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 square to her answer”.
“I know all about that”, Mr. Dammy agreed. “But this is different.

Read " Believe " by the same author ( HABEEBLLAH DAMILOLA )

. 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 loose 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.

Await the next episode titled. "Wrong answer" 

Who gave a wrong answer? A. Emmanuel.  B. Ayomide.   C. Bidemi