A Word With a Friend

The room felt empty even though I could see dozens of people walk by me. The commotion was unlike anything I had experienced before in my life. Despite all that surrounded me, it felt as calm as a river’s gentle flow. I didn’t have a care in the world. I was in the moment. On one side of the curtain was chaos. On my side, it was heaven. 

I couldn’t believe that it had come to this. The St. Jerome’s 16th Annual Spelling Bee was not something I thought that would bring me so much stress. After all, I was deemed as the second best speller in all of the school. Well, there’s only 248 students in the school and my eighth grade class has 31 of them. Not a really stiff competition since I’m really just competing against my own class. Getting here wasn’t shocking. But what surprised me the most was who I had to face off in the final round.

Devin. My best friend. 

We had known each other since we first met in kindergarten – and we were always with each other. He was a scrawny little kid when we first met. He had this dark curly hair that looked like a bed of cotton resting on his skull. I thought he had the coolest hair then and I still do now. Our moms both seemed to like each other too. I think I was always hanging out at Devin’s house every other Saturday. He lived about a mile from my house and both my mom and I would walk the 20 minutes or so to get there. She enjoyed her mom time with Mrs. Devin and I would just play video games with my friends while scarfing down the stuffed crust pizzas from Pizza Hut. Mrs. Devin always got that for us. That’s the best kind of pizza there is. I haven’t eaten that kind of pizza since the last time we hung out at his mom’s house. Those were some great memories.

We used to play with each other all the time during recess. Basketball. Dodgeball. Tag. And I would like to think that we had grown out of that but we still do hang out during recess. Well, we just hang out with others in the same group now. It’s not the same as it once was. We’ve made new friends since kindergarten. Of course we have. I suppose that’s how life goes, right? 

“Hey Ivan!”

I looked up from my seat and saw Devin running towards me. He’s got the same Jordan 12s on with the sleek black and navy colorway. Oh, I wish I could have a pair of sneakers like that. Mom just finds some no-name brand from Wal-Mart whenever my old pair starts to rip. But the other things Devin is wearing, I could relate. A clean white polo shirt. A green vest with our school crest with a raven centered. And a pair of blue slacks that could pass off for the color of a dark starry night. Not the most flattering outfit but at least that’s where he and I are equal. Thank God for school uniforms!

“Bro, you ready for this? One of us is going to be spelling champ!” Devin said with a glee in his voice. 

“Yeah, we are,” I murmured back to him. I wasn’t sure why I wasn’t excited. Perhaps because despite both of us making it to the final where we would go one-on-one with each other, I wasn’t sure I was going to win. Or maybe, I didn’t want to win. How could I beat my best friend? Could we tie? I would have liked that option. 

“Dude, did you hear what the prize was?” Devin asked me. 

“No, man, what’s the prize?”

“They’re giving the winner a free pizza party at Pizza Hut this Saturday!” Devin proclaimed. “And the winner can invite up to 10 friends for the pizza party! Isn’t that cool?”

“Yeah it is!” 

I couldn’t tell if the way I responded was with excitement or melancholy. I sensed there was something preventing me from sharing that same joy as my friend. Before I could even piece my thoughts together, Devin grabbed my arms with his hands. His hands, dry as sandpaper, rubbed up against my forearms. A momentary sense of shock ran through my body. Not very pleasant. 

“Listen buddy, I got a favor to ask you. Could you, like, lose this competition for me?” Devin pleaded with a look of hope in his eyes. “The thing is that a few of the fellas been wanting me to prove that I fit in with them. You know, like show them that this whole spelling competition isn’t just for nerds. And I haven’t studied as much because I have been at practice, so I am not feeling too good about me winning. I don’t want to look weak either in front of them.”

“But this competition isn’t for ner—”

“Let me finish,” Devin interjected. “The deal is that if I win this, then I can invite them to the pizza party. I would look cool and they can see that I am not a loser. You understand, right? This would help me so much. It would be great for both of us, buddy!”

A loser? A nerd? Is he saying this about me? And he wants me to lose on purpose? The very idea of throwing the competition felt like a slap to my intelligence. 

“So will you do it?” Devin asked with a sense of urgency.

CONTESTANTS PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY BACK TO THE STAGE!

I looked back up at my friend. There was a flush of emotions running through my mind. How do I respond to something like that? Does he not care about what it would mean for me to win? 

“Let’s go, let’s go, boys!” 

Principal Lau started pushing us back towards the stage. A sea of people emerged from the shadows to applaud both of us. I was hesitant to walk to the stage but the strength of our principal’s presence could not be outmatched. We both scurried to our seats on the stage. 

The heat of the lights pressed on me like a scorching fireball. How can I focus after what Devin just asked of me?

“All right, please everyone take a seat as we enter the final round of our wonderful competition,” Principal Lau asked the crowd. 

I could tell that Devin was trying to get my attention but I didn’t want to look in his direction. I felt stuck. Like in the tar pits. I didn’t know if I could get out. 

“We will begin the final round with a round robin elimination style,” Principal Lau explained. “One competitor will go first. If he can spell that word correctly, his opponent must spell their word correctly to continue the competition. If the first competitor spells their word incorrectly, the second competitor can win if they get their word correct. These are the only scenarios for this round to determine a winner.”

A huge holler came from the crowd. It was my mom. She screamed my name as if I was at least three football fields’ length apart. But she actually had a front row seat next to Mrs. Devin. 

“OK, ma’am, please remain quiet. We cannot have any disruptions.”

I sat in my chair being as uncomfortable as I could be. I still hadn’t looked up from my legs. This was not what I wanted. To help my friend gain the respect of his new friends I had to lose to make him look strong? Could I even justify that?

“OK, Ivan, you’re up first,” announced the principal. 

I felt like a fish out of water, inhaling its final breath. I stood up and approached the microphone. The spotlight nearly blinded me as I tried to look out to the darkness that lay ahead of me. I know they’re there but I couldn’t see what was ahead. 

The air conditioner had been turned on for most of the night and I could feel the goosebumps on my arm. Was it the air or was it because of what was about to happen? I glanced over at Devin. He looked intently at me through his frames, clutching his hands in a symbol of prayer. I smiled at his direction and he slumped just a little, as if I just took off the weight of the world from his shoulders. 

“Your first word is artifice,” the principal announced in a stern yet majestic voice. 

Before I could even process the word, I asked for a definition. I’m sure the principal agreed to my request but I had tuned him out. I was at a loss for words and my mind refused to turn on. My knees started to tremble and my heart was doing its own 100-meter dash. I took a deep breath and asked for a repeat. 

“Could you repeat the word again?” I asked gently. 

“Artifice,” responded Principal Lau with a slow annunciation.  

“A-R-T-I-F-I-C-E. Artifice,” I quickly spoke into the microphone. 

“That is correct!” 

A rush of applause ran through the entire auditorium. I could see my mom in the pitch black darkness. She probably was standing on her chair but I couldn’t see it. I turned back to my seat and slumped my head down. I couldn’t look at Devin’s direction. I didn’t even see him walk towards the microphone. I could imagine it was a slow walk but that’s just an assumption. I wouldn’t know with that guy. 

Did I do the right thing? Am I a good friend? Before I could answer the question, Principal Lau gave Devin his word. 

“Your word is credulous,” he announced. 

“Could you use it in a sentence?” Devin asked shakily. 

“The chamber of commerce hosted a ceremony staged for credulous tourists,” Principal Lau replied. 

“Ummm,” Devin started to speak. “Could I get the definition too?”

“Having or showing too great a readiness to believe things,” Principal Lau responded with pride. 

I raised my head ever so slightly just to peek at Devin. He fumbled with his hands as if his fingers were his own fidget spinner. He seemed to be staring blankly at the crowd of peering eyes. I dropped my head back down and awaited my potential fate. 

“Ummm… C-R-E-D-U-L-E-S-S,” he replied with the heaviest sense of doubt. 

“I’m sorry, that is incorrect,” Principal Lau revealed. 

What? He got it wrong?

“And the winner of The St. Jerome’s 16th Annual Spelling Bee is Ivan Chan!”

I won? I won!

“Baby! You did it!” 

I could hear my mom yelling as she ran across the stage towards me. Her grand hug felt like the softest pillow. My mom has always wanted me to win something at school. I could hear her sobbing as she wrapped her arms around me. 

“Baby! I am so proud of you! Oh my baby!”

I could see the principal over my mom’s shoulder, holding the gold-plated trophy. That was going to be mine. Confetti fell from the heavens onto that shiny prize. 

“Baby! Are you ready for your trophy?” my mom asked. 

She released her hug from me and I peered across the stage to where Devin’s chair was. Empty. The stage was just me, my mom and the principal. 

I had to win. I knew this was how it had to be. 

===

I don’t remember the last time I came to Pizza Hut. This party was everything I wanted it to be. Principal Lau had a way too small party hat on and my mom just stood in the corner with so much joy. 

Jason and Timmy came. Sally and Benny too. Gemma and Cody both arrived shortly after Hailee and Alex. Karla was a few minutes late too but nobody ever really starts any parties on time these days. 

“Are you ready to start the party?” my mom whispered into my ear. 

Everyone had taken their seat and I looked at the one right next to me. Empty.

I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. 

“Yeah, let’s start the party.”