Venomous Agenda Memoirs

Chapter 12: To IMO or Not to IMO

In the weeks following the AIME, the parish media intensified their comparison games for Gen and Krista, first comparing them to past Louisiana participants at the USAMO. In turn these two also ramped up their training for that tournament.

However, Marcia didn't seem to harbor nearly as much hope that she will even compete there in the first place. Especially not when the last article ran by the student newspaper on the AIME itself mentioned that Marcia had violent panic attacks over the last question. Which caused Marcia to write off the USAMO and focus on quiz bowl until at least the release of the AIME results. Which are forwarded by Trent in late February.

"Let's see: Randy, our footballer at the AIME, got a two and is our worst scorer. The second-worst is a sophomore, Jennifer, scoring a four" Glen thinks out loud while reviewing the results on the AIME. He then proceeds to make his announcement regarding the AIME results. "Good morning everyone, the results on the AIME have finally arrived! And our hopes that a Venomous Agenda represent us at the EGMO, or the IMO, are still alive! For the first time in school history, we have a student, or should I say, two students that qualify for the USAMO! And, for this year, the only two qualifiers in all of Louisiana for the USAMO are here!"

The student body is exuberant especially since the sports teams lacked anything remotely resembling success. But it also forced Trent to consider getting an alternate for the VMC final. He seemingly had an alternate identified for weeks but it's only now that he feels the need to notify the principal about it.

Once the principal is notified, he wasted no time sending a message to the parish office regarding whether Title IX money can be used for a reservist, here Imélie. Sure, Imélie might have the brains to make mathletics work, for years, was a mentally ill perfectionist, is somehow healthy enough to try mathletics again... as much as I would like to believe that puberty and its associated growing pains caused her intense anxiety, I am not sure, Glen reflects while filling out the form for Title IX money.

The parish's answer comes back fairly quickly and it requires Imélie to compete at a tournament for the money to be disbursed. If, in the meantime, Imélie plays quiz bowl then the money shall be used for quiz bowl instead. And she does just that several weeks later, playing at quiz bowl-State as part of a deal that makes her a starter at the VMC final in return.

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On a Monday morning in March, for the first time since the pandemic, the extracurricular portion of the morning announcement contains no allusion to athletic or mathletic results. And quiz bowl, which hitherto flew under the radar, came back from quiz bowl-State with a pleasant surprise. Which is the first part of the morning announcement:

"Good morning: today's news will take everyone by surprise. The Venomous Agendas won the silver medal at the quiz bowl state championship and, for the first time in school history, will go to the national championship!" Glen starts announcing before pausing to let the kids sink in the news. "This announcement won't surprise anyone, however, and is a prelude to April the second. Geneviève got into the University of Chicago"

"This is the calm before the storm, and quiz bowl is now at the... what do they call it again?" the secretary asks him.

"The HSNCT, or High School National Championship Tournament in Atlanta"

"Finally, something other than sports or mathletics! I wonder how you feel about the debate district qualifier, what some of us call a state championship"

"It's a mixed bag, really, especially since I feel like Florence will be a little tired from quiz bowl-State"

"And the USAMO then?"