Talented Teens - 4. Round Four

Five contestants remained. Of the five, Topher was hands down the most nervous. Not one round had gone by in which he didn't receive votes from his rivals. The Tyson, Sona and Elijah trio stood grouped on the left, Topher between two empty podiums and Veikko at the end. Tyson, Sona and Elijah all looked confident in their performance. Veikko was challenging to read, his eyes constantly passing over the others. It was Tyson who laid down the strategy for the round going forward.

"Top five," Sona beamed.

"That's almost halfway," agreed Elijah. "I told myself I wanted to at least get to the halfway point, so... which of you is going home next so I get over the mark?"

"Whoever makes a mistake," said Tyson.

Veikko's eyes honed in on Topher, almost as if he were trying to get his rival's attention, but Topher wasn't looking at anyone but the Hostess as she spoke with the production crew between rounds. With an audible sigh, he looked back to the trio.

"It got very, uhh, male in here," he observed, not bringing up the elephant in the room. "Is that part of the plan, Tyson?"

"What?"

"Well, you're calling all the shots, and now we're quickly running out of girls. Is that a coinky-dink?"

"I didn't think you'd have a problem with being surrounded by dudes," the Sri-Lankan boy retorted.

"Lol, DUH," Veikko flicked his hand at his rival. "But the dudes I usually surround myself with are 10s, babe. I'm just saying, when are you going to vote Sona off?"

Elijah and Topher both took a back seat in this exchange, fading into the background as the two loudest personalities clashed. Sona's eyes narrowed in dislike at the brunette. Tyson seemed to swell as Veikko jabbed at him.

"I've never voted anyone off because they're a girl! In fact, the only girl I voted off was Vanessa - same as you! The other rounds, I voted for him," Tyson pointed angrily at Topher, whose lips tightened. "Get your facts right before you start throwing shade around. The only person voting off all the girls is the other girl!"

"So Sona has nothing to worry about? What about Topher?" Veikko leaned and looked sympathetically at his acquaintance.

Topher eyed him off warily. "Please leave me out of this."

"Why are you trying to start something?" Sona asked, and Veikko's jaw dropped as if personally attacked by that accusation.

"Play nice, Teens! We'll be recording in thirty seconds," the Hostess raised her voice to get everyone's attention.

“We go for the top. We don’t bank," Tyson removed his glare from Veikko and looked at the others as he gave the instructions.

A mumbling of agreement from the contestants - sans Veikko - echoed through the studio before the Hostess kicked the show back on the road.

"Welcome back to a Talented Teens special edition of the weakest link! We're now down to five players, I'm taking another ten seconds off the clock, and because you did so well last round, I'm raising the top prize to thirty thousand dollars. You can more than double your current bank of twenty-seven thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars if you can make lightning strike twice. We'll start with the strongest link from the last round, Elijah. Let's play the Weakest Link! Start the clock."

She turned to Elijah, right in the middle of the five contestants.

"Elijah, in maths, what is longer: ten inches or twenty centimetres?"

"Ten inches."

"Correct! Topher, in politics, who was the first female Prime Minister of Australia?"

"Julia Gillard," Topher answered quickly.

"Correct. Veikko, in slang, what M is a term for when a male clarifies something in an obnoxious or condescending way?"

Veikko and several others laughed. "Mansplain," he smirked.

"Correct. Tyson, what two colours make up the Swedish flag?"

"Blue and..." Tyson paused, and the seconds crept up. Veikko's sharp, amber eyes pointed at him, and Sona turned her head slowly to the right. Ten seconds. Twelve. "Yellow," Tyson finally decided.

"Correct! Sona, in the solar system, which planet's name is the first alphabetically?"

Sona looked towards the bright lights in the ceiling as if imagining the planets above her. "Earth?"

"Correct. Elijah, in Australian history, 'such is life' are said to be the final words of which notorious bushranger?"

"Ned Kelly," Elijah shrugged a bit, as though he didn't know any other bushrangers besides the obvious one.

"Correct. Topher," the Hostess turned to the blond boy, who didn't bank or push his button with fifteen thousand dollars on the line. Topher clenched his jaw with determination. "In food, Hass and Shepard are varieties of which fruit?"

Sona looked like she'd already decided that question was too tricky for Topher to handle, and she looked down. Likewise, Tyson's eyes were rolling into the back of his head. Veikko was grimacing, and Elijah looked like he was about to pop. It was the seventh question in the chain - they'd almost reached the top again.

"Avocado," the tall teen answered almost immediately, to his peers' joyful surprise.

"Correct! Veikko," the contestants watched Veikko like a hawk as the Hostess turned to him. "The prehistoric period immediately before the Iron Age is named after which metal alloy?"

"Bronze," Veikko hesitated slightly before giving his answer.

"Correct! Ty--"

"Bank!" Tyson smashed the button.

The high-energy, victorious jingle again filled the air, with the lights blinking and spotlights shining on the five contenders. Tyson, Sona and Elijah celebrated together, cheering each other on, while Topher celebrated on his own, and Veikko seemed unbothered, his sharp eyes assessing the other contestants.

"Once again, you've reached your top prize and banked thirty thousand dollars!" The Hostess actually applauded them. "Congratulations, teens. You've proven that your previous round wasn't just dumb luck, and it seems we've got the dream team together. But that good news won't last because, as well as you all played, one of you is about to go home empty-handed. Whose high-school nickname is not Einstein? Who is the home-brand cola at this sweet sixteen birthday bash? It's time to vote off the weakest link."

In a perfect round following an already stellar third round, Sona, Elijah, Topher and Veikko took at least fifteen seconds to decide who to vote out. Sona looked comfortable where she was, but the nerves on Topher's face still told the story, and Veikko wore his insecurities on his sleeve. Tyson, though, hit his button right away.

"The voting is complete. Tyson," the Hostess turned to torment the now first contestant. "You took a long time to answer your question about the Swedish flag."

"So? I got it right, and then I also banked the thirty thousand," Tyson pointed out. "There's way over a hundred countries with flags; I don't remember what they all look like–-" he folded his arms crossly. "You got something to say to me?" He aimed his words across the semicircle to Veikko, whose body language indicated he didn't want a bar of what Tyson was talking about.

"No no, it's all you right now, cutie," Veikko brushed him off facetiously.

The other three contestants sandwiched between the two most contentious teens kept their eyes to themselves and each other lest they find themselves on the edge of Veikko's sharp tongue or Tyson's blunt tactlessness. Tyson turned his body to the left, his eyes fierce with scorn. Even though he was two years younger, he was already slightly bigger than Veikko.

"Don't patronise me, mate. All you've done all night is act like you're better than everyone else."

Veikko rolled his eyes and flamboyantly put his raised palm between himself and Tyson as if to block him out completely. "Whatevs, put up or shut up, kid."

Tyson's jaw clenched, and he appeared to square up, but the Hostess quickly retook control of the stage. The tension in the air was thick.

"But we digress. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get that in editing," the Hostess remarked, drawing out uncomfortable chuckles from the three in the middle. "Tyson, what would you study with fifty-seven thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars?"

"Law, same as my dad," Tyson responded gruffly.

"Your dad being Chase Belmont-Lovett," the Hostess reminded the viewers. "Where would you study law?"

"The University of Melbourne."

"Same as Dad?"

"Yeah," Tyson seemed to admit the fact rather than state it with pride.

Picking up on a genuinely sensitive topic, the Hostess quickly segued to something else. "Do you play sports?"

"I play a lot of soccer. I'm the captain of the Under 15s team," Tyson's pride returned, and he seemed to inflate again. "I'm also a black belt in karate."

"A jack of all trades, then. So, who does a jack of all trades vote for in a round with no mistakes?"

"Topher," Tyson's eyes flickered between the blonde and the brunette on the far left.

"This is the third time you've voted for Topher," the Hostess pointed out to him, but Topher seemed to take it in good humour. "Has he done something to personally offend you?"

"No, it's business," Tyson repeated, struggling to ignore the wry chuckle from Veikko. "He did just as well as everyone else in that round, but of the five of us, he's definitely the weakest player. It's a no-brainer."

"Topher," the woman turned to the player now in fourth position. "Congratulations on your first round with all your answers correct!"

Topher beamed at her. "Thanks! You asked me better questions this time."

"Ha," she scoffed. "If you win the prize tonight, what will you study at university?"

"I want to do a bachelor's and masters of teaching at Swinburne," Topher revealed excitedly. "I haven't decided whether to do primary or early years yet."

"Not secondary? Are you afraid that the other teenagers might be smarter than you after tonight?"

Topher laughed, as did the other teenagers. "It'll all be worth it if I somehow win tonight, but I don't think that will happen. I think I'm in over my head here."

"Saint Joseph's must have a lot of faith in you if they chose you to represent them," the Hostess reminded him, arms folded. "Do you do anything else to represent them?"

"I'm the captain of our water polo team and the student representative for Year Ten."

The Hostess looked surprised. "I didn't know water polo was a common extracurricular."

"It's not common, but eight teams are in our interschool water polo group. We actually just beat the Peatsland Academy team two weeks ago," Topher couldn't seem to resist bringing it up, and eyes moved to Veikko.

"Ahh, don't look at me; you think I was there?" Veikko snorted, a grin bringing some gentleness to his face.

"So, we know Tyson is desperate to get rid of you, but who are you keen to see the back of, Topher?"

"I voted for Veikko," Topher looked to the boy, who appeared crestfallen.

"Great. Thanks," Veikko muttered.

"Why him?" Asked the Hostess.

"Self-preservation, I guess?" Topher bit his bottom lip. "I know I'm living on borrowed time, and I'm statistically the weakest, but if I get lucky enough, maybe I can win by just surviving round to round."

"You expect the others to vote for Veikko?"

Topher's courage seemed to fail him, and he only nodded. Sona's dark eyes gave nothing away as she maintained her smile, which appeared less genuine and more diplomatic as time passed.

"Well, the joke's on you," Veikko remarked bitterly. "You've actually just doomed both of us, so good job, babe."

Topher's brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of Veikko's words, and the Hostess rounded on him.

"Veikko, you said you want to be an influencer. I might be showing my age, but doesn't influencer loosely translate to 'useless person?'"

"Oh, wow, excuse you," Veikko gestured with his hand as though he were trying to literally brush aside those offensive words. Tyson and Sona both immensely enjoyed the Hostess' jab. "I build the brand and make the content your grandkids watch all day."

"While they're on the toilet," Tyson remarked crassly, drawing a half-stifled laugh from Sona.

"Ahh, real talk, say what you want about me, but doing everything daddy says isn't a personality," Veikko shot back at him.

"Okay, do I need to put the two of you in timeout?" The Hostess put out a warning, playful but with stern undertones. "We still have a show to finish, and I expect you both to behave like young men and not the cast of Mean Girls." When neither Tyson nor Veikko had the courage - or the foolishness - to object, she continued. "Veikko, what does an influencer need to study to... influence?"

"I definitely want to finish a degree," Veikko explained, dropping the attitude momentarily. "I want to do something with fashion and beauty, then I want to do a bachelor of business."

"So you might transition from an influencer to a businessman once you've set up your brand?" The Hostess drew a conclusion from the boy's words.

Veikko shrugged and tilted his head briefly. "That's for me to know and you all to find out."

"Who did you vote for in this round?"

"Tyson," the camp boy's eyes met his nemesis' across the studio, and Tyson's jaw tightened.

"Why Tyson?"

"So here's what's gonna happen, K?" Veikko often used internet short-hand in his day-to-day vocabulary. "Tyson, Sona and Elijah will never vote for each other because they're safe in their little gang, so they're taking us out one by one. Tyson's had it out for Topher for ages now, so I knew he would vote for Topher again. Elijah will never vote for Topher for some reason," Elijah went slightly pink and avoided meeting Topher's glance. "So I'm pretty sure he'll vote for me instead. Sona's the only one I can't read, but it doesn't matter whether she votes for me or for Topher. All I need is Topher to vote for Tyson - because, uhh, why wouldn't he? We'd force a tie, and as I'm the strongest link in this round, I'll vote him out and save us both. But then Topher came for me instead, so now it's over for us."

"That's a comprehensive observation. You'll have me out of a job," the Hostess sounded quite impressed.

Veikko huffed. "Just because I'm an influencer, people think I'm stupid. Nuh-uh, girl. Maybe when they vote me off this round or next, I'll come back and host the Weakest Link."

She looked down her nose at him and turned to the centre. "Alright, time to reveal who you have chosen as the weakest link."

Tyson went first. "Topher."

Sona followed. "Topher."

Elijah looked flustered. "Veikko."

Topher was next. "Veikko."

Veikko laughed. "Tyson."

"Oooh," Sona cooed, looking at the podium votes.

"We have another tie! This time between Topher and Veikko, with two votes each. Sona," she turned to the only remaining girl. "Why did you vote for Topher?"

"He is the weakest player left."

"Statistically, you were the weakest player in that round."

Sona shook her head. She wasn't about to accept that. "It does not count; I could only answer my questions as they came to me. It's not my fault I only got one. Topher has many wrong in the last rounds."

"Right. How about you, Elijah?" The Hostess came for the boy who spent most of that round in awkward silence. "Why Veikko?"

Elijah fidgeted. "I think we're a good team, but Veikko seems intent on driving a wedge between us rather than working together for the biggest prize."

Veikko looked bewildered, pursing his lips and shaking his head.

"The strongest link casts the deciding vote. As Veikko correctly predicted, he was the strongest player. As he cannot vote himself off, that means Tyson has finally succeeded, and Topher must make the walk of shame," the Hostess declared, turning to a comically relieved Topher. "Topher, your unfamiliarity with U and E was your downfall. Let me help you remember with an example. 'U' Exit. With two votes, you are the weakest link. Goodbye."

Topher was all smiles as he began his walk down the studio past the Hostess.

"Look what you left me with!" Veikko called out after him.

"Sorry!" Topher waved at him and turned around. "Good luck, everyone!"

"I can't even tell you how tense it was up there. Tyson and Veikko are at each other's throats while Sona and Elijah have their heads down to play the game. I honestly think Candice deserved to stay instead of me. I think she'd have done a better job. I can't believe I goofed on that 'queue' question! My friends are never going to let me forget it. Veikko's definitely off next; nobody there likes him. Tyson and Sona are probably going to be the final two. They're both so strong and have a lot in common, so I think Veikko was on to something. I know Veikko thinks Elijah is part of that group, but they will turn on him the moment they have a reason to. I'd like Elijah to win. He's a great guy, but his work is definitely cut out for him."

Four contestants remain.

Thank you very much for reading! Round Five to come in a few days!