Akeelah and the Bee (13 page)

Dr. Larabee shook his head. “Believe me, they’re all hard when you’re onstage in front of hundreds of people.”

Mr. Welch fell into silence, chastened by his friend’s implied criticism.

The spellers started dropping like flies.

“…t-i-o-u-s,” said a skinny speller. “‘Loquacious.’”

Ding
went the bell.

“E-s-p-a-d-r-i-l-e,” a tall speller said.

“S-c-o-p-a-l-a-m-i-n-e,” a cross-eyed speller said, looking at the Pronouncer with longing in his eyes, hoping that somehow he might have spelled it right.

Twenty minutes later, Polly was at the mike for her second round. Only about a quarter of the spellers were left onstage.

“‘Malloseismic,’” said the Pronouncer.

Polly looked confused and rubbed her hands together nervously. “Could you repeat the word, please?”

“Malloseismic.”

Polly nodded. Slowly she said, “M-a-l-o-s-e-i-s-m-i-c.”

Polly walked down to her parents, who comforted her as she started to cry into her mother’s blouse. Her father held her hand and kissed her on the cheek.

Good parents,
Akeelah thought.
Polly is very lucky.
She looked worriedly at Javier, who shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “Them’s the breaks. What you gonna do?”

Another twenty minutes passed and now there were only a handful of contestants left, including Dylan, Javier, and an increasingly confident Akeelah. Javier took
the mike and grinned at the audience, always ready to play the clown.

“The word is ‘doublure,’” said the Pronouncer.

As Javier was thinking, the rear entrance to the auditorium opened and a very unhappy Tanya Anderson entered the room. When Mr. Welch caught sight of her, he motioned with his hand for her to join him. He pointed to an empty seat on his left. She shook her head no and glared at the stage. Mr. Welch leaned over and whispered to Dr. Larabee, “I think there’s some trouble ahead.”

Akeelah, who had not yet spotted her mother, smiled at Javier as he returned to his seat. “Nice job, Javier. ‘Doublure’ is kinda tough.”

“Luckily I knew the word.”

Now it was Akeelah’s turn to take the mike.

“Your word is ‘psalmody,’” he said.

Akeelah frowned. “Definition, please?”

“The practice or art of singing psalms. ‘Psalmody.’”

There was a commotion in the back of the auditorium. Akeelah squinted in the bright lights, trying to see what was going on.

“Do you need him to repeat the word?” the Judge asked.

“No,” Akeelah said. “‘Psalmody.’ P-s-a—”

“Without my permission!”
The sound of her mother’s voice sliced right through Akeelah’s brain.

Voice trembling, she said, “Uh…l-m-o…”

Mr. Welch had rushed to the back of the auditorium and was trying to calm Tanya down. People, including
the Judges, strained to see what was happening. Some even stood.

“…d-y,” Akeelah said faintly. “‘Psalmody.’”

She quickly returned to her seat and kept her head down. She was too confused and disheartened to respond to Javier’s thumbs-up. It was all she could do to fight back a flood of tears.

The Judge looked hard at Akeelah and then at the ruckus in the back of the auditorium. “Um, okay…. Next contestant.”

Dylan took the mike. Akeelah glanced up and saw a very frustrated Mr. Welch coming down to the stage. He gestured to her urgently, but she ignored him. He turned to the Judge.

His voice cracking with embarrassment, he said, “Excuse me, I’m sorry. One of the speller’s mothers needs to speak with her. I’m afraid it’s rather urgent.”

The Judge nodded and regarded Mr. Welch coolly. “This is irregular.”

“I understand that.”

“Well, if she’s not back onstage by her next turn, she’s disqualified.”

“Oh, she’ll be back. This will just take a minute.”

He frantically gestured to Akeelah, who glanced over at the smirking Dylan. She then turned to Javier and he gave her an encouraging but wan smile. Humiliated, she got to her feet and slunk off the stage, her hands held stiffly to her sides. Javier followed her with his eyes, looking very concerned.

Tanya, Akeelah, and Mr. Welch stood just outside the
auditorium’s rear door. Dr. Larabee followed them a moment later.

“Mrs. Anderson, I swear we thought you were onboard with this,” Mr. Welch said.

Tanya turned on Akeelah, speaking through clenched lips. “You wanna tell me what’s going on? I never signed any consent form. You’ve got some explaining to do, young lady.”

Akeelah nervously looked at Dr. Larabee, who seemed as perplexed as Mr. Welch. Then she looked down, ashamed. She wished she could shrivel into nothing. Disappear from this world forever.

“I signed Dad’s name to it,” she said finally, in a small voice.

“You did
what?”
Tanya said, her voice rising. She was so enraged she took a threatening step toward Akeelah, who shrank back.

“How do you think I felt when your friend Javier’s mother called to see if I needed a ride to USC? I didn’t know what she was talking about, or who she was. I felt like a fool.”

“I’m sorry, Mama. I just wanted to do the bee. I had my heart set on it.”

“And you were willing to do it by lying to me? Going behind my back all this time? How can I ever trust you again?” She let out a breath of sadness, anger, and disappointment. “Say goodbye to your friends, Akeelah, ’cause this is your last spelling bee. You are grounded.”

She grabbed Akeelah by the hand to leave, but Mr. Welch intervened.

“Mrs. Anderson, I
beg
you to reconsider. Akeelah’s doing this as much for Crenshaw as for herself. If she wins, there’s so much we’ll be able to accomplish for the school. New textbooks, needed repairs, some important hirings.” He turned to Dr. Larabee. “Josh, please… tell Mrs. Anderson how you’ve been working with Akeelah and how gifted she is. She
deserves
this opportunity.”

Dr. Larabee stood there, trying to make sense of what was happening. He looked into Akeelah’s desperate eyes and then felt the heat of Tanya’s anger and sense of betrayal. He had a decision to make and it was not going to be an easy one.

“No,” Dr. Larabee said, shaking his head. “Mrs. Anderson’s right. Akeelah doesn’t deserve to go to the bee this year. She lied to her mother and that’s unforgivable.”

“What?”
Mr. Welch stared at his friend, openmouthed. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Yes, Akeelah made a mistake, but doesn’t she deserve a second chance?”

“Dr. Larabee,” Akeelah said. “Please….”

He turned to her and said solemnly, “You have to learn to respect your mother’s wishes.” He then trained his gaze on Tanya, and after a pause said, “I apologize if we contributed to any anguish you’re feeling, Mrs. Anderson.”

Tanya took a moment to size up this tall, dignified stranger before responding. “Who are you exactly, sir?”

“My name’s Joshua Larabee, ma’am. And I’ve been helping Akeelah prepare for the spelling bee.”

“You mean while she was supposed to be going to summer school?”

“I’d been told that our lessons were taking the place of summer school. It seems that I was misinformed.”

Mr. Welch chimed in, saying, “No, you weren’t. Mrs. Anderson—Akeelah has earned school credit studying with Dr. Larabee. We worked out a special program just for her.”

Tanya grabbed Akeelah’s arm. “Why didn’t you tell me about that?”

“I didn’t think you’d let me do it.” She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “Mama, I hated goin’ behind your back. It bothered me every single day. But every time I brought up the bee, you didn’t wanna hear it. I didn’t know what to do.” She reached out and touched her mother’s hand, looking deeply remorseful. “I’m sorry, Mama.”

The four fell into a tense silence, broken by Dr. Larabee, who said, “Mrs. Anderson…Akeelah’s clearly forfeited her opportunity to participate in the bee this year. But if I may…. Your daughter has a remarkable gift. She’s able to process and retain information as well as anyone I’ve ever known. So at the very least, I hope that you would consider letting her do the bee…next year. I really believe that a gift like hers shouldn’t be wasted.”

Tanya stared at Dr. Larabee for a long moment and then turned to Akeelah, who still looked chagrined.

At the same time they were debating Akeelah’s fate outside the auditorium door, another speller left the stage in bitter disappointment and Javier stared nervously at
the rear of the auditorium for a glimpse of Akeelah. She was taking too much time. It was his turn to spell, with Akeelah to follow. When his number was called, he pretended not to hear.

“Number seventy-two, let’s go,” the Judge said sharply.

In an effort to buy time any way he could, Javier walked very slowly to the mike. He then bent over and retied one of his shoelaces. The Judges observed his slowdown with a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

Tanya was now wrestling with what to do. She was impressed by Dr. Larabee and at the same time still very angry at Akeelah. She felt betrayed and it hurt. It wouldn’t be easy to rebuild the trust she felt she had always had with her youngest child. She turned back to Dr. Larabee.

“Dr. Larabee. You are a doctor, aren’t you?”

“A professor of English, yes.”

“Do you think Akeelah actually has a chance at winning the National Spelling Bee?”

“Well, she has to get through the Regionals first. But yes, I think she has a good chance.”

Tanya nodded, not taking her eyes off him.

“Mama, I’m so sorry for what I did.”

Tanya slowly turned to her. “You never lied to me before in your life. I’m pretty sure of that. You must want this thing pretty bad.”

“‘Pretty bad’ doesn’t describe it.”

“Well, then, maybe you can tell me what you think a good punishment would be for what you did?”

Akeelah looked at Dr. Larabee.

“Your mother asked you a question,” he said.

Akeelah reluctantly turned to her mother, and said with difficulty, “I guess I gotta miss the bee.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Tanya said, “Well, that doesn’t just punish you. Mr. Welch and Dr. Larabee put a lot of time into this, too. So think of something else.”

A glint of hope glowed in Akeelah’s eyes, and Mr. Welch’s expression was trained on Tanya as though through the intensity of his gaze, he could will her into acquiescence.

“Uh…maybe double chores for the next month?”

Tanya shook her head. “Try
three
months.” She turned to Mr. Welch. “Does she still have time to get back onstage?”

“If we move quickly.”

Tanya squeezed her daughter’s shoulder. “Then you better get movin’.”

“C’mon, Akeelah,” Mr. Welch said, “we don’t have much time.”

Dr. Larabee nodded. “The Judges are not very forgiving about infractions.”

Akeelah looked at her mother, leaned forward, and kissed her cheek. “Thank you, Mama,” she said, and rushed into the auditorium with Mr. Welch.

Onstage, Javier was doing his antic best to stall for time.

“Can I get the pronunciation again?” he said.

“He’s given it to you five times now,” the Judge said, clearly running out of patience.

Javier tapped his hearing aid. “Hello? Is this thing
working? Mom,” he called out to the audience, “did you bring my spare battery?” There was a wave of nervous laughter in the audience.

When Javier saw Akeelah and Mr. Welch rushing down the aisle, he said, “Ah, never mind. ‘Ratatouille.’ R-a-t-a-t-o-u-i-l-l-e.”

He winked at Akeelah and strolled to his chair, leaving the Judges dazed and confused.

“Okay, where’s Number seventy-three?” the Judge said. “I’m afraid she’s going to have to be—”

“She’s right here,” Mr. Welch yelled out. He ushered Akeelah back onstage. Dylan, watching closely, shook his head and frowned. As Akeelah walked past Javier, he whispered, “Where
were
you? I was about to start tap dancing, and if that didn’t work I planned to faint.”

“Thanks, Javier,” she whispered, and stepped up to the mike.

“The word is ‘pluviosity,’” said the Pronouncer.

Tanya entered the auditorium and stood in the back, watching her daughter onstage, a whisper of a proud smile on her lips.

“Can I get a definition?” Akeelah said.

“‘A state characterized by much rain; a condition of being rainy.’”

Akeelah took a deep breath and looked out at her mother watching her closely. She smiled and then said, “‘Pluviosity.’ P-l-u-v-i-o-s-i-t-y.”

Tanya, her face suffused with amazement and pride, applauded heartily as her daughter took her seat.

Finally the contest was reduced to the three who
would go to Washington, D.C., for the National Bee: Dylan took first place, Javier second, and Akeelah third. Photographers snapped pictures of the three finalists. Flashbulbs burst and the three were interviewed.

Akeelah said, “I’ve got so many people to thank for this chance to win the National Bee, I don’t know where to start. But there’s my teacher, Ms. Cross, who got me to enter my school bee. Then there’s Mr. Welch, my principal, standing over there. And a whole lot of other folks, friends and fellow students. And then there’s Dr. Larabee, my spelling coach, and without him I wouldn’t be here talkin’ to you now. And there’s my mother, Tanya Anderson, who’s been so great. I love you, Ma….”

A huge blown-up newspaper photograph of the three finalists with the caption GOING TO THE NATIONAL BEE! was hanging over a pep rally in honor of Akeelah. The Crenshaw Middle School students cheered as the band played. Akeelah, overwhelmed by the fanfare, stood to the side while Mr. Welch addressed the crowd.

“We at Crenshaw have a lot to be proud of today,” he intoned. “Thank you all for coming to this pep rally to honor our very own Akeelah Anderson. When she goes on and wins the National Spelling Bee”—the cheers ratcheted up to roars—“Crenshaw Middle School will be on the map!” He turned to Akeelah and gave her a hug. “Now, why don’t I let the star of the moment say a few words. Akeelah…”