She Dies - Season 1 - Episode 13

5 years ago

She Dies - Season 1 - Episode 13

Thelda and her daughter returned their
pleasantries with handshakes and faces filled
with smiles, amidst the flashes of cameras by
the press. When they were settled, the MC
called up the judges: two ladies and a young
man. They walked up immediately and sat
behind a table. The MC handed the mic to the
man who was the chief judge. He was an
authoritative figure in his forties, with an
intelligent face, dark hair and shrewd blue
eyes behind black horn-rimmed glasses.

He immediately called up the contestants to the stage.

They were thirty-six in number,
representing each of the states of Nigeria.
Their ages ranged between eleven and fifteen.
They lined up on the stage and the chief judge
reeled off the rules, “No word will be called
twice. No word will be spelt more than once.
Pronounce the word after you’ve spelt. You’ve
twenty seconds to spell a word. Contestants
should spell audibly. You fail a word and
you’re out. The definition of the word you’ll
spell will be given to you if you wish. There
will be only one winner at the end of this
spelling bee. Thanks so much and good luck.”

The competition began immediately. A
contestant from Lagos was the first on the
line, about fourteen years of age. A
microphone stand was before her.

“Spell ostracize,” The chief judge said from the table, his eyes fixed on his watch.

The girl spelt, “O s t r a c i z e,” and
pronounced quickly.

“That’s right.” The judge said and the
contestant went behind as the audience broke
into clapping. Another contestant walked up
and stopped in front of the mic. A female
judge said, “Sassy.”

The contestant spelt rightly and went behind.
The third came up.

“Procrastinate.”

She spelt rightly. Others followed suit, all
spelling correctly. As a judge called a word,
Stella hummed the spelling in her mum’s
hearing even before the contestant finished
spelling it. Thelda smiled and sq££zed
Stella’s right hand at intervals and said,
“You’re great.”

In the third round of the competition, most of
the contestants were already knocked out,
leaving only three contestants from Enugu,
Kaduna and Lagos on the stage.

A female judge said, “Manoeuvre.”

Stella hummed the spelling quickly and
watched the Kaduna contestant stutter the
letters, “M a n o u v r e”

The bell rang and the judge said, “That’s
wrong,” and she gave the correct spelling. The contestant’s eyes were instantly filled with tears as he walked down the stage. The
audience became tensed as the remaining two went on spelling correctly each word any of the judges called. Stella wanted the
contestant from Enugu to win and whenever it
was her turn, Stella was visibly shaken and
her spirits sank lower.

“Ophthalmology,” A female judge called.
The contestant from Enugu said, “May I’ve the meaning please?”

The judge said, “The scientific study of the eye and its diseases.”

The contestant breathed and spelt, “O p h t h
a_” She paused and Stella shook her mum’s thigh,

“God,” she whispered, her heart beating fast,
“her lips have become nervous.”

Thelda didn’t utter a word. She was as well
consumed in tension. She’ll fail it. She
thought with her heart pounding.

The contestant went on slowly; unsure of
herself and the letters she was calling, “l m o l o g y.” She pronounced it.

“That’s correct.” The judge said.

The audience clapped widely and Stella
shouted, “Thank God!”

Thelda smiled and exhaled slowly.

The Lagos contestant stepped forward.

The chief judge said, “Schizophrenia”
The contestant demanded, “Definition please?”

The judge said, “A mental illness in which a
person becomes unable to link thought,
emotion and behaviour leading to withdrawal
from reality and personal relationships.”

The contestant said, “Pardon.”

The judge repeated the definition and the
contestant nodded and spelt, “S h i_”