Tuesday, September 26th
In the morning, all the freshmen gathered inside the gym instead of their usual homerooms. The Freshman Council had called the assembly to officially announce the upcoming Freshman Academic Competition.
The council members stood on the stage as Class President Zoey Myers stepped forward to address the crowd.
"Good morning, everyone," she began, her voice carrying clearly across the gym. "As many of you know, we've been working hard these past tt weeks to prepare something exciting- the Freshman Academic Competition!"
A wave of murmurs and quiet excitement spread through the students.
Zoey Myers continued, outlining the details of the event.
As she spoke, our Class Secretary Jessie Robinson operated the screen behind her, displaying slides summarized the competition's structure.
"The competition will be held on October 4th to 6th. It will consist of ten rounds in total. Six of these are quiz rounds, while the remaining four will include an essay round, a speech round, a word-guessing round, and finally, a teacher round."
She paused briefly to let the information sink in before explaining the group structure.
"All 320 freshmen have been divided into 32 groups, with 10 members per group. Every student will have a chance to participate."
For the three individual rounds — essay, speech, and word-guessing- two members from each group will participate in each event.
The teacher round will involve four members from every group.
As for the test materials, the teachers will prepare them.
This ensures that all members take part at least once in the individual and teacher events."
"Now about the six quiz rounds," she went on, "five members will compete in three rounds, and other five members will compete in remaining three rounds from a group. But the catch is, the subject of each quiz will only be revealed after the group chooses their participants. That way, every team has to think strategically and rely on teamwork rather than just subject preference."
She smiled. "This format keeps the competition fair, balanced, and hopefully- a lot of fun."
She continued speaking as the next slide appeared on the screen.
"As for group divisions, we've followed the same system used in the previous years- a long-standing tradition. You can see the full list displayed behind me, and printed copies will be distributed after tassembly along with other competition details. The tournament chart, designed by the committee showing which groups will face each other, is also included in the copies."
A low buzz spread through the gym as students turned to their friends, excitedly flipping through the printed sheets being handed out. Laughter and chatter filled the air as they began discussing strategies and who might compete in which group.
When the meeting ended, I took my copy an stepped outside, scanning through the list to see where I'd been placed.
The groups had been organized to stay as balanced as possible- thirty-two groups divided into four larger brackets, each containing eight groups:
First Bracket: Group 1-4 and Group 17-20
Second Bracket: Group 5-8 and Group 21-24
Third Bracket: Group 9-12 and Group 25-28
Fourth Bracelet: Group 13-16 and Group 29-32
I found my name under Group 11, listed in the third bracket, and Emilia's name under Group 3 in the first bracket.
That means we would only face each other in the knockout rounds- if both our groups advanced that far.
Around me, students were still buzzing with energy — some talking about their group assignments, others already forming plans for practice sessions. The gym doors opened, letting in a warm wave of late-morning sunlight as students began spilling out into the hallway.
I folded my copy neatly and slipped it into my backpack. As I stepped outside, Emilia was standing a few feet away, standing with members of the Freshman Council, clarifying the doubts of the students. She looked up, noticed me, and waved with a bright grinn.
"I'm in Group Three - first bracket." she called, walking over to me.
"Group Eleven - third bracket." I replied with a small smile.
"Looks like we will only meet face-to-face, if only our groups make it to the knockout rounds," she said with a playful expression.
The bell rang, signaling the passing time before first period. We started walking toward the hallway together, the chatter of hundreds of freshmen echoing behind us- all sharing the same mix of nerves, excitement, and curiosity about what the competition would bring.