Talented Teens - 6. Round Six

As soon as Veikko had disappeared through the red-lit tunnel of shame, the final three should have been all smiles, but they felt uncomfortable. Since the first round, none of them had ever sent a vote at the other, trusting the other members of the trio to have their backs. They were all strong players and shared a mutual goal - but now, with one final vote coming up, they would need to betray someone. Sona, in the middle of the two, broke the silence first.

"We made it, guys," she beamed, turning her head back and forth to meet the uneasy gaze of the boys. "We're almost at the end!"

"True," Elijah wearily leaned forward on his podium. "No hard feelings, yeah? What you guys said. It's strategy, it's not personal."

"Yes," Sona agreed.

When the two of them focused their eyes on Tyson again, the would-be politician nodded, his smile obviously feigned. Without Veikko to draw the tension like a lightning rod, it was thick in the air. Though he was attempting to drive a wedge between them to save himself - obviously - the reality was that the dependence on each other couldn't last any longer. One of them had to go, and the final two had to battle it out head to head.

"So we're going to vote for the person who makes the mistake, right?" Elijah looked to the younger contestants.

"Yeah. Why would we do it any other way?" Tyson asked him.

Elijah paused. He had no idea if Tyson was being sincere. For that matter, he didn't know if Sona was either. "So we're going to vote off the weakest?"

Tyson and Sona's dark eyes met, then they both turned to the bespectacled beanpole.

"Why wouldn't we?" Tyson sounded suspicious.

"I watched a few episodes of the Weakest Link to prepare. The last vote is where it gets nasty," Elijah didn't let the intensity of his rival's stare daunt him. "In the Teenage Triumphs episode, the weaker players voted off the strongest player so they wouldn't have to go head to head with him. I guess I don't want any nasty surprises, that's all."

Tyson didn't like this line of thinking at all. "If you think I'd vote you off because I was scared of you, then you're not as smart as you pretend you are."

"Okay. Fine. Pretend I didn't say anything," Elijah huffed.

"I'm not a coward. I'll beat you because I'm smarter than you," Tyson added.

"If you can," the curly-haired youngster looked ahead to the Hostess, who was busy with the producer.

"Why do you think I won't win?" Sona put it to the two, who had largely ignored her during the increasingly hostile exchange.

"I never said anything like that. The fact is we got this far because we're good and because we made good decisions when we voted," Elijah explained coolly.

"Every time I voted for someone, they went home," Sona couldn't help bragging, brushing her long hair behind her petite ears. "So stay on my good side - let's win the big prize again!"

"Don't bank like you did last time," Tyson warned Elijah, who stood up straight, half a head taller than the bossy youngster. "We go for the top again."

"I don't know. The questions are getting harder," Elijah gently shook his head.

Tyson didn't accept his answer. "Don't be a wimp."

"We can do it," Sona agreed, confidence written all through her body language. "We will not fail."

The Hostess stepped up to her platform again, and the next round officially began.

"Round six! We have only three contestants left, and I'll take another ten seconds from the clock. That means you will have only one minute and forty seconds to bank your target prize. This time, you've earned a shot at a hundred thousand dollars. You can come close to tripling your almost impressive total of sixty-seven thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars before only two of you face off against each other for the top prize. We'll start with the strongest link from the previous round, and for the second time, that's Sona. Let's play the weakest link! Start the clock."

Of the three, Sona still appeared the most put together. Tyson was definitely nervous about competing against the two people he'd grown to rely on, and Elijah looked exhausted.

"Sona, in music, what instrument are you playing if you are 'tickling the ivories?'"

Sona's mouth fell open. "The harp?"

"No, the piano. Elijah, fans of which female pop star refer to themselves as 'Swifties?'"

Elijah exhaled. "Taylor Swift?"

"Correct. Tyson, in fractions, what is a half of a half of a half?"

"Annnn... eighth."

"Correct. Sona," the Hostess turned to her, but Sona did not bank. "In India, who is known as the Father of the Nation?"

Sona's smile widened and even appeared genuine. "Mahatma Gandhi."

"Correct. Elijah, in which 40-year-old video game is a yellow, round creature chased by ghosts named Pinky, Blinky, Inky, and Clyde?

"Pacman."

"Correct. Tyson, in landmarks, what is the famous statue located on the New York harbour?"

"The Statue of Liberty," Tyson answered confidently.

"Correct. Sona, what 'T' word can mean the order of school lessons and the running of trains and buses?"

It was a fifty thousand dollar question. Sona's brief hesitation in answering was warranted. "Timetable," she said finally.

"Correct! Elijah, in sport, cricket bats are typically made of the wood of which tree?"

Elijah's face fell. Sona's hopeful gaze fell on him, and Tyson's harsher look of expectation followed. Elijah looked guiltily at both before guessing. "Oak?"

"No!" Tyson growled, and Sona turned back to the front, a grimace on her face.

"No, willow," the Hostess corrected him, and all the life evaporated from Elijah on the spot. He leaned forward, resting his elbow on the podium, and held the top of his head. That question, the seventh in the chain of eight, was worth seventy-five thousand dollars. The Hostess turned back to a distraught Tyson. "Tyson, in geography, Belgrade is the capital city of which cou--"

"Serbia," Tyson cut her off.

"Correct," the Hostess ignored him. "Sona, in space, how many stars are there in our solar system?"

Sona frowned as though this was a trick question. "One?"

"Correct. Elijah," the Hostess turned to the older teenager, and he did not press his button. "If a woman has quintuplets and twins, how many children does she have?"

"Seven," Elijah didn't even look up at her.

"Correct. Tyson," as the Hostess turned to him, Sona looked panicked, acutely aware that time was ticking down. Tyson did not push his button. "In maths, what is the smallest two-digit prime number?"

"Eleven."

"Correc--"

"Bank!" Sona hit her button to secure ten thousand dollars for the team.

"Time's up," the Hostess announced as the tones played around them. "Sona, you got your bank in by the skin of your teeth." She folded her arms and looked at the three before her.

"From a possible one hundred thousand dollars, you've managed to bank only a tenth of that - with nanoseconds to spare. Your final bank for tonight is seventy-seven thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars. Half of this will be put into your education, and half will go to your schools so that they can assist with helping others follow in your talented footsteps. Of course, only one of you will walk away with the prize money. Who is less of a smart cookie and more of a limp biscuit? Who needs to call Mum to pick them up early? Before two of you go head to head in round seven, we must, for the final time, vote off the weakest link."

As Tyson had all game long, he made his vote in seconds. Sona followed suit. Elijah took his time to measure his vote, sneaking glances at both Tyson, whose gaze was fixed firmly ahead of him, and Sona, who had become very interested in the glittery bangles she wore on her left wrist.

"Voting is complete," the Hostess announced quietly and tensely, eyes combing over the three who had made it so far. "Sona, do you enjoy the harp?"

"The harp is nice."

"Do you like it more than the piano?"

"No, I like the piano," Sona had a slight shade of pink under her brown skin. "English is not my first language. I don't know some expressions. Tickling the ivories? What is that?" She giggled.

"Piano keys used to be veneered with ivory," Tyson told her tersely, still visibly stung about losing so much money.

The girl's brow wrinkled. "How does anyone know that?"

"Same way we know cricket bats are made of willow wood," the angry thirteen-year-old tapped the sides of his podium with both hands.

Elijah folded his arms, getting sick of the attitude he kept getting first from Veikko, then Tyson.

"So, Sona, you've had a stellar game. You've played very well," the Hostess gave her the props she deserved, bringing the show back onto the tracks. "You've been the strongest player on two occasions, and you've only had two incorrect answers. Without spoiling your vote, do you think Tyson or Elijah might vote for you?"

Sona sucked her teeth and shook her head. "We can't all make it to round seven, so it's no hard feelings, right guys?"

"Yep," Tyson brushed her off. Elijah shrugged.

"Are you telling me you would be okay if Tyson and Elijah voted you off for being a threat?" the Hostess probed. "It's been known to happen. Lance Lovecraft took the walk of shame because the other contestants lacked the courage to go head to head with him."

Sona, a little called out, let the facade drop. "Nooo," she admitted. "I want to go on, and I want to win. So I hope they are brave enough to face me."

"How about you, Elijah?" The Hostess moved to the boy who was still reeling from the loss of fifty-thousand dollars. "I take it you're not on the cricket team at Oakfield."

"Oh, no," Elijah puffed out his cheeks. "My mum used to make me play cricket all the time. I couldn't get to boarding school quick enough."

"Does boarding school put enough distance between you when she finds out you lost fifty thousand dollars because you weren't interested in cricket?"

Elijah made a pained, whining noise. "I wanted to bank, but if I did, I'm pretty sure Tyson and Sona would have voted me off for not risking it all, like they did with Vanessa."

"Do you think he's less likely to vote you off for getting that question wrong instead?"

"Not even a little bit," Elijah laughed awkwardly. "From the looks I'm getting from him, I think he can't wait to see the back of me. But I can only do my best, you know? He can't have it both ways, and he's a hypocrite if he says he can, because he's made mistakes in previous rounds too."

"I never cost us five figures," Tyson pettily pointed out.

"You've been wrong as much as I have," Elijah, sick of being berated by the other boys, lost his cool and leaned past Sona to address the teenager on the other side of her. "It's not my fault that my questions are worth more than yours because I'm on this side of the curve."

"Tyson," the Hostess quickly moved to the third contestant before he could launch into another argument. "You were the only one to answer all your questions correctly. Do you think Elijah or Sona might send votes your way? Remember, no spoilers about your own vote."

"Elijah will because he knows I would beat him head to head," Tyson sniffed, swallowing his anger. "I don't think Sona will vote for me because she and I have been doing a great job together since the start. Elijah's the one who cost us everything!"

"Alright. Well, don't keep each other in suspense any longer. It's time to reveal who the team has chosen as the weakest link."

Tyson almost pressed his button too early. "Elijah."

Sona's smile crossed the boundary from professional to devious as she pushed hers. "Tyson."

Elijah was chuckling, unable to believe the situation. "Sona."

Intrigue and tension filled the air as the Hostess surveyed the votes. "We have a three-way tie, team. After you all made it to this point as a cohesive trio, none of you can agree on the best direction to take. Elijah, why did you vote for Sona?"

"Yes, Elijah, why?" Sona was bewildered, now suddenly panicked as she felt real danger for the first time in the game.

"I thought Tyson would be tempted to vote you off because he'd be able to beat me in the last round," Elijah admitted.

"Ugh," Sona shook her head, looking back to the Hostess in despair.

"What about you, Sona? You voted for Tyson?" She asked.

"I really thought Elijah would vote for Tyson, and I can beat Elijah," Sona explained, unable to bottle up her anxiety any longer.

The Hostess turned to Tyson, who wore his triumph on his sleeve. "Tyson, as the strongest link, you will cast the deciding vote. Between Sona and Elijah, who will you face in the final round, and who will you send home without a chance to compete for the prize money? Will you stick with Elijah or change your mind and send off Sona?"

"Neither of them deserves to make it to the final round," Tyson explained his feelings, Sona unable to keep still and Elijah being more still than he had been all game. "Sona's a backstabber, and Elijah cost me fifty grand because he's never touched grass. But, I have to pick one, so..."

It was quiet enough to hear the rushed heartbeats of Sona and Elijah as they both awaited their judgement. The Hostess also waited with bated breath, Tyson analysing the two in front of him for a long time.

"I would have stuck with Elijah any other time, but Sona sealed her fate when she voted for me," Tyson announced. "She can go. She doesn't deserve to go any further."

Elijah let his head fall back in relief. Sona's jaw dropped, and she looked at the Hostess like she'd been shot in the chest.

"Sona! Nobody can say you haven't played the game exceptionally well, but one miscalculation has cost you everything. Tyson tickled the ivories and played you your swan song. With two votes, you are the weakest link. Goodbye."

The studio went dark and the red lights glowed, lighting up Sona's face and highlighting how close she was to tears for everyone to see.

"Sorry, Sona," Elijah called out, feeling guilty.

"No hard feelings, remember?" Sona managed a forced smile once more as she waved to Elijah - and only Elijah - and did her best to maintain a stiff upper lip as she took the final walk of shame.

I'm not happy to be voted out right before the final round! I could have beaten either of those boys and won the prize money tonight, but I did not play the votes well. Veikko thought the whole time that Tyson was using Elijah and me to get ahead, but it was not true at all - I was using Tyson to hide! He was useful to protect myself because he is very good at politics - he will be a great politician I think. Hehe. I want Elijah to win. I think he is smarter than Tyson, but he is not as confident as Tyson. Tyson was so good at playing the game - that's why I made him think we were friends. I'm just sad it didn't work for me in the end.

Two contestants remain.

Thank you for reading!!