I Hope You Will Never Regret

At 6 am, Mr Grey and Miss Carr led the learners to the hotel restaurant to eat breakfast. Around 6:45 am, they thanked Miss Booth; the hotel had prepared a takeaway lunch for them. Then they left the hotel to the KZN University.

Bridgette drove Avery to the venue and said, “Baby, I will be outside your school gate waiting for you. Be calm during the exams and I have faith that you will ace the paper.” Avery kissed her and hugged her tightly, and then she joined her fellow learners.

The learners from other schools were already waiting outside the auditorium. In the first round, there were five thousand learners who entered the Mathematics Olympiad Competition, but only three hundred learners qualified for the second round. Other schools went back after they received the results because no one from their schools qualified to go to the first round.

Unbeknownst to Principal Glen, other school principals lodged a complaint against Trinity Leadership Academy. When Principal Fritz found out that the learner who got 100% was a five-year-old child, he was so upset.

He called the Mathematics Olympiad Competition organizer, Mr Stein, and asked for an explanation. He wanted Avery to be pulled out of the competition. He was not wrong because, according to the rules of the competition, only learners from Grade 8 to Grade 12 should participate in the competition. How could he allow a five-year-old child to embarrass his school?

Outside the auditorium, Principal Glen smiled at the learners and said, “I am so proud of you. When you see your question paper, don’t be scared. Take your time and think before you put down your answer. May the Lord grant you wisdom.” The learners thanked Principal Glen, and then they walked to the auditorium to write.

The Mathematics Olympiad Competition organizer, Mr Carl Stein, approached Principal Glen and said, “Mr Glen, we have received a complaint from other schools indicating that you have used a Grade 0 child in this competition. The rules of the competition clearly state that this competition is for Grade 8 to Grade 12 learners. You give me no choice but to disqualify Miss Martins.”

Principal Glen calmed himself down and replied, “Mr Stein, I have a letter from the department of Education allowing Miss Martins to participate in the competition. The letter was sent to the Taylor Group’s Talent department. I advise you to call your company before taking any action to avoid embarrassment.”

Mr Stein was taken aback when he heard Principal Glen’s words. He quickly took his phone and called the Director of the Talent department and asked, “Director Spinks, I have Principal Glen from the Trinity Leadership Academy with me. He indicated that he sent a letter from the Department of Education allowing Miss Martins to participate in the Mathematics Olympiad competition. Are you aware of that letter?”

Director Spinks indicated that they received the letter and Chairman Taylor stamped it for approval. He promised that he would scan the letter and send it to his e-mail as soon as possible. Mr Stein thanked Director Spinks, and then they hung up. A few minutes later, the letter with the Taylor Group stamp was sent to his e-mail. He was so embarrassed; he didn’t want to look at Principal Glen’s eyes.

Mr Stein was glad that he discussed the matter with Principal Glen before he removed Miss Martins from the competition. He looked at Principal Glen and said, “I apologize for jumping to conclusion without investigating the matter. Please forgive me.”

Principal Glen smiled and replied, “Mr Stein, I am disappointed in you, as the organizer of a big event such as this, you don’t seem to notice that these people are jealous. However, I am glad that the matter has been resolved.” Mr Stein was so embarrassed he thanked Principal Glen and left.

In the meantime, in the auditorium, the Senior Invigilator, Miss Sihle Faku, smiled brightly at the learners. She was aware that the first-round paper was difficult and said, “Good morning, congratulations for your achievement this far. Today’s paper consists of twenty multiple choice questions, and it is a two-hour paper. Best wishes.” Then she asked the invigilators to distribute the question papers, answer books and black pens.

The learners were shocked when they saw the question paper, it was extremely hard. They looked at each other with worried eyes. They took their pens and started writing their names. A few minutes later they started tackling the questions. Avery was smiling when she was doing some calculations. After an hour she was done but she waited for half an hour before she raised her hand up.

The invigilator was shocked when she saw that all the questions were neatly answered. Avery walked to Principal Glen smiling and said, “Sir, the paper was not easy but I have faith that our school will do well.” Principal Glen couldn’t contain his excitement, he hugged little Avery and replied, “I believe in you Miss Martins that you will bring glory to our school.”

Thirty minutes later, Miss Faku looked at the learners and said, “Times up, stop writing. Please put your question papers inside your answer book. Please don’t leave the venue until you are told to do so.” The second-round paper was shorter than the first-round paper, but it was extremely difficult. Time allocated to that paper was not enough. Then the invigilators started collecting the answer books from the learners.

When all the answer books were collected, Miss Faku asked the learners to leave the venue. They left with heavy hearts; they were so disappointed in themselves. The Trinity Leadership Academy learners walked to Principal Glen with gloomy faces. Principal Glen smiled at them and said, “I am so proud of you, you’ve tried your best. You have broken so many records in this competition.

The Mathematics Olympiad Competition organizer, Mr Carl Stein, called all the school principals and said, “I have received a letter written by the department of Education allowing Miss Martins to participate in the competition. How could you lodge a complaint against a five-year-old child? Are you trying to tell me that your Grade 12 learners are inferior to Miss Martins?”

Then he took a sip in his bottle of mineral water and said, “The award ceremony will take place at 12 pm in the auditorium. We have invited media and the award ceremony will be broadcast live. The results will be out during the award ceremony.” Principal Fritz was fuming but nothing he could do. He held a grudge against Principal Glen.