Tuesday, October 4th
Emilia and I arrived at school early for the opening ceremony of the Freshman Academic Competition. The assembly hall hummed with anticipation as students from all groups gathered, the air thick with chatter and excitement.
Finally, the Student Council President, Simmons, stepped onto the stage and officially declared the competition open.
After the announcement, the four brackets of groups were separated and escorted by sophomore coordinators to their assigned gym halls. Our group- part of the third bracket- was led to the gym where our matches would take place.
A total of fourteen matches were scheduled for the day, spread across three or four rooms in the gym, running simultaneously. Eight matches were slated for the morning and six for the afternoon. Each match was allotted a two-hour slot: 8:00–10:00, 10:30–12:30, followed by a lunch break, then 1:00–3:00, and finally 3:30–5:30.
Today, our group had three matches- first against Group 26, followed by Group 12, and after lunch, Group 10. I drew in a slow breath, a mix of excitement and nerves swirling in my chest. A week of preparation had led to this day, and I couldn't help but wonder if all our practice would pay off.
The sophomore coordinators gathered everyone at the front in a waiting area set up for groups not competing. Rows of desks and digital scoreboards had been neatly arranged. One of them- a tall boy holding a clipboard- raised his voice above the low hum of conversation.
"Good morning, everyone! I'm Axel Scott, and I'll be supervising this bracket," he introduced himself.
"Alright, everyone, listen up!" he continued. "Before we begin, let's quickly review how subjects will be selected for each round."
The chatter faded almost instantly.
"As you already have the full match schedule, I won't repeat it here," he added. "I'll post it at the gym's main entrance so you can check your matchups. For now, here's today's lineup."
Day 1- 14 Matches
08:00 — 10:00 (Slot 1)
Room 1: G9 vs G28
Room 2: G10 vs G27
Room 3: G11 vs G26
Room 4: G12 vs G25
10:30 — 12:30 (Slot 2)
Room 1: G9 vs G27
Room 2: G28 vs G26
Room 3: G10 vs G25
Room 4: G11 vs G12
01:00 — 03:00 (Slot 3)
Room 1: G9 vs G26
Room 2: G27 vs G25
Room 3: G28 vs G12
03:30 — 05:30 (Slot 4)
Room 1: G9 vs G25
Room 2: G26 vs G12
Room 3: G10 vs G11
Day 1- Total Matches: 14
Axel Scott glanced down at his clipboard.
"You should already be familiar with the basic rules, as your Class President explained earlier," he said. "Here's how subject selection works: each match has ten rounds, each testing a different subject. The subjects are drawn randomly from a box, with the two group leaders alternating picks before each round. You won't know which subjects you'll face until each round begins."
A few students exchanged glances, whispering among themselves. My stomach fluttered with a mix of anticipation and nerves. Could we really stay sharp under this pressure?
The girl next to me murmured, "So there's no way to predict the order, huh?"
Another coordinator- a girl with a bright, confident tone — stepped forward. "I'm Harper Jenkins," she said with a grin. "Exactly. That's part of the challenge! The question sets are prepared in advance by the faculty, and once a match begins, the first six rounds will appear on the projector screen." She gestured toward the large monitor beside the scoreboard.
Flipping through her notes, she continued, "Each quiz round lasts 15 minutes, with a 5-minute break in between. There are 30 questions per round. You'll have 20 seconds to buzz in, and once you buzz, you get 5 seconds to answer. If your answer is incorrect, the opposing team has 5 seconds to respond. Points are awarded based on difficulty — easy, medium, or hard."
She turned another page. "After the six quiz rounds, we move to the Essay Round- ten minutes of writing, with five minutes beforehand to select your team's two participants essay writers. Then comes the Speech Round- ten minutes, with five minutes to choose your two participants speakers. Next is the Word Guessing Round- again ten minutes, with five minutes for selection of two participants. Finally, the Teacher Round — five minutes to choose four participants, and ten minutes for the round itself. The teacher round consists of five challenging questions from any subject drawn by the group leader."
She paused, scanning the crowd. "The group that wins the most rounds out of all ten wins the match."
Axel Scott nodded. "If there's a tie, a bonus round will decide the winner — seven questions drawn from the subjects used in the six quiz rounds and the Teacher Round. The team with the most correct answers wins."
A ripple of excitement- mixed with nervous laughter- spread through the gym. I ran my fingers over the desk edge, trying to steady my racing thoughts. Okay, Madison, I told myself, you've prepared for this. Just focus.
"Alright then," Axel said, clapping once. "Let's begin the first slot of the day!"
The first matches commenced, with our group facing Group 26 in Room 3. Group 26 was led by Victoria Ross from Class E.
Ashley Boone, our group leader drew the first subject: History. We answered 18 questions correctly, claiming the round. I participated in the next three rounds — English, Accounting, and Math — winning two and narrowly losing the Accounting round.
After the six quiz rounds, we were ahead 4–2. My heart pounded as we prepared for the Essay Round. I had been chosen as our team's writer. Sitting down, I focused on organizing my thoughts quickly, trying to calm my nerves.
When I finished, and completed the last three rounds, we secured the final win, 7–3. Cheers erupted from our group as the scoreboard confirmed our victory. I exhaled deeply, feeling a surge of pride — and a quiet confidence that maybe, just maybe, we could maintain this momentum for the rest of the day.