The First Competition

A "Cape Summerland" story

by Thelma Mary Caroline

"All right, you guys, listen up.  This is the very first comptition in Cape Summerland.  It is a competiton of logic, and acedimia(?).  It's a mix of a spelling bee, and a game of BINGO.   All you have to do to win is get a B I N G O, but there is a catch.  In the B column, you have to spell five fifth grade level words!  IN the O column, you only have to spell fourth sixth grade level words."

Elle Jae took a breath.  "In the I column, you must correctly spell three seventh grade words; in I, two eighth grade words.  But in the N column, the smallest of the four, you only have to spell one word.  A word that won a real life spelling bee."

Everyone muttered about their spelling.  Most of my co-workers hadn't done any schooling since they graduated high school.

"If you don't know how to spell a word, you can pass, but you'll lose your turn.  But don't spell a word wrong, or you'll be out for the game.  The first person to call BINGO, or the last person standing, if that's the case, will win their choice of prizes!"

There was only a bit of question in my mind.  Would Sam, the walking enclopedia win, or Ham, the walking dictionary?

It really was fun, at least to me.  Three people lost on the first turn, and had to sit out.   I chose the third one down in the B column, and correctly spelt disguise, percent, recommend, pleasure, official and stomach.  It wasn't easy.

Sam chose the first one in the N column.  Her word was psychiatry, and she got it right.  Ham chose the same square, and correctly spelled chlorophyll.

The second turn, two more people were out.

I chose the O column, three rows down.  Everyone was confused, except maybe those with a sense of logic.  I had to spell continue, adventure, gracious, and drought.  Easier than last time.

Ham and Samantha chose the same square again, right underneith their  last one.  Uncle Haman spelt kamikaze and Sam got antediluvian correct.

Another turn went by, and it was me, Sam, Haman, and Zach.  Zach was slowly but surley spelling the fifth grade words (with more ease, I suspected, than he let on).  Haman passed Xanthosis, saying he would come back to it if he had a chance.  Sam mispelt gladiolus.

"Shit," she said, but just walked off the board and lit a cigerette.

Me?  I had to spell two eight grade words.  One was super easey, constitution.  But the other was camouflage, and I missed the U.  But no big deal.  I'd had a lot of fun.

And then it was Zach's turn, and he quickly spelt stomach, exercise, instruction, restaurant, and success.  The first B I N G O.

"Zach is the winner!" Elle Jae announced.  "You have a choice for your prize.  Either you can have a care package from your family, you can request something that you would like us to buy you, or something cool!"

"Shit, I don't need anything from my family," Zach said.  "Half them are here."

Zach was in the buisness for the same reason I was.  His mother and aunt worked there.

"I guess if you buy me Djaum Specials -- "Reds" -- that'd be cool."

"Djarum Specials it is!" Elle Jae announced.

Several of the woman around me started complaining that they should have won.

But I thought that was stupid, and went to talk to Zach, congradulating him.