Venomous Agenda Memoirs

Chapter 21: Away from mathletics

Fast-forward to the Friday before the HSNCT: the policy team qualifies for Nats, by virtue of making it to the semifinals at Last Chance. For the next 3 weeks, those people who resent the excessive room mathletics has taken over the last 3 years will be happy for those VAs attending national tournaments.

The Venomous Agendas' quiz bowl team is assembled in the parking lot, with some of the students and faculty, especially those on the other academic teams and their friends, with a few parents of quiz bowlers for good measure, catching one last glimpse at their quiz bowl darlings before they go off and compete at the HSNCT.

"For me the next three weeks will be the most important weeks of the summer, starting with the HSNCT. It's our third participation in a row, and good luck!" Sadie shouts.

Anna is last to get ready to put her baggage into the coach's car because she is the last on the quiz bowl team to finish her final exam this morning. As she gets out of the school building with Valerie prior to leaving the town... Valerie appears a little nervous.

"Valerie, I don't need to remind you of whose legacy you will be compared to. No matter what happens over the next two years, if you ever are questioning yourself academically or in the mathletic arena, please remember the size of the intellectual requirements to even attend MOP" Anna tries to calm Valerie down.

As much as I would like to say that it's just about how differently my brain is wired compared to Valerie's, and sometimes I feel like my own brain seems to crave intensity, quiz bowl is intense in bursts. MOP, on the other hand, is intense in a much more sustained manner, and I am not sure I would have liked practicing math at that level of intensity. It seems unhealthily intense even to me, and I'd like to think I have a pretty good tolerance for mental intensity, Anna gets triggered by the mention of the size of the MOP's intellectual requirements she made mere moments ago.

"And the same with you in reverse, Anna. You seem to absorb stresses of other people like crazy, just as you absorb knowledge like crazy, too" Valerie then tells her friend, before Anna boards the coach's car to Atlanta.

"Good luck then" Glen then wishes all players on the quiz bowl team before they leave the town.

"Thank you"

As soon as the quiz bowl team's final exams ended, they are herded into cars before they leave town on a road trip to Atlanta. Warren's and the parents of the player who replaced Cristiano as the science player, starting from LQBA Winter Invitational South. They all look forward to playing the best teams in the country.

Upon returning home that day, Valerie starts attempting to solve the latest EGMO in an attempt to appease her father. She has been putting off solving that set to study for the finals. I can't disappoint my father, so I need to practice for the TSTST in Pittsburgh next month, Valerie muses while she spends all afternoon solving a grand total of 3 problems out of the 6 (not necessarily all from the same day) Jennifer was made to solve last month, somewhere in Europe.

"Honey, what are you doing?" Glen asks his daughter.

"Solving the last EGMO?" Valerie answers him, with doubt in his voice.

"Please, stop! You will have three weeks at MOP to do contest math all day, so until then, the time between now and MOP would be better used doing community service for Four-H!" Glen then screams at Valerie, who then stops solving the 2026 EGMO. "I want you to be fresh for MOP because it will be exhausting, and do an activity without competitive pressure"

"Why Four-H? The local Four-H club is filled with people who can't fit in the extracurriculars we offer at school!" Valerie vehemently protests, while pretending to care about the IMO. "Plus Four-H would distract me from practice I need so that I can get to the IMO!"