Slowing Down from the Carousel's Ride

Kabanata 14

"Slow down, when you surface, I'll be right here"

Teamwork at connection ang dapat pairalin sa special round na ito. I have to trust Catalina that she knows the answer and she needs to do the same. Magkahiwalay kami. We formed a circle on the center of the stage and each of us has our respective buttons. If I push the button first, Catalina must trust that I know the answer, kung hindi, mababawasan kami ng puntos. That was the twist. Magulo pero kaagad ko ring nakuha.

May ilan pang inanunsyo ang host bago sinimulan ang special round na ito. Ibinato niya ang unang tanong. Sabay sabay kaming pinindot ang aming mga button pero nauna ako ayon sa bilis ng pag-ilaw nito. Dahil roon, pinasuot ng host si Catalina ng soundproof headphone para hindi marinig ang sagot ko. Suminghap ako bago binigkas ang aking sagot. Nakuha ko ang tamang sagot. I was pretty sure about that one, although, nalito ako noong una.

"What do you think, Ms. Catalina? Did Ms. Anya say the right answer?" the host after removing to Catalina the soundproof headphone.

Another twist of the game. Kailangang isagot ni Catalina na makukuha ko ang tamang sagot. Dahil kung sasabihin niyang hindi, mawawala sa amin ang puntos. Isinulat ni Catalina ang sagot sa ipinamahagi sa amin kanina na mga maliliit na white board.

Say yes, say yes, Catalina!

Sa mabagal na paraan niya itinaas ang hawak ng board. Napatalon ako nang 'yes' ang sagot niya. We got the point!

"Ohhh! There's really teamwork here, huh?"

Nagpalakpakan ang mga guests sa entablado. Muling hiyawan ang iginawad ng mga manunuod.

Sa pangalawang tanong, nauna ang mga kalaban sa pag pindot. Sinabi nung Raya ang sagot niya. The host asked Logan and quickly, he wrote down his answer. This time, they got the point, which means, again and again, we have a tie!

Mainit ang labanan sa pagitan namin. Maski ako, kabang kaba na rin sa maaring maging resulta ng kompetisyon na ito.

We are all so alert for the last question. We are so focused, but the host didn't read it. In fact, he said there is another twist for the last round! We are all so shocked of that, especially when he explained the mechanics.

Bubunot ang Governor ng pangalan kung sino ang sasagot sa huling tanong, without even telling us about it! Shit! Paano kung ako ang mabunot tapos hindi ko alam ang sagot?

Oh, no!

They disabled our buttons when the Governor started to grab a name from the small glass ball. The host read it and it was Catalina! Mabilis na dumapo ang tingin ko sa kanya. Mukha siyang kabang kaba sa mga oras na ito. Sino ba ang hindi? Pinahid niya ang mga butil ng pawis sa kanyang noo.

"Ms. Catalina, before I read the question for you, here's the rule. Listen so carefully dahil ngayon, nakasalalay sayo ang kapalaran ng paaralan niyo. We all know that you may not know the right answer, that is why, we will give you the power to call a friend. And that friend is none other than Ms. Anyariese! So! Now, the question is..."

Binasa niya ang tanong. It was actually the hardest question here. Maski ako, hindi ko alam. I tried to dig deep to my mind, but I couldn't recall anything abou it. Binalikan ko, sinariwa, at inalala ang mga librong nabasa subalit hindi makaya ng utak ko na ibigay ang sagot. But it is familiar! I know this one!

The host read it but Catalina didn't give her answer yet. The question was read twice pero hindi pa rin siya gumalaw. The countdown flashed on the big screen.