Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"Alright, place your textbooks under your chairs. We're going to be starting the graded recitation," Sir Dao said, pacing back and forth in front of the board.

However, even then, the students scrambled to get some last-minute information into their minds. Haobin and Bao, the two smartest kids in their class, also continued reading through their textbooks, fearing to get their questions wrong.

Meanwhile, Kai sat in a relaxed manner, his hands folded neatly on the table.

Bao glanced at him and shook his head. It seemed like his friend had already given up.

Sir Dao, too, noticed Kai's disposition and smirked.

"This kid, really," he muttered, already preparing a tough question for him to answer.

"I said—keep your textbooks!" Sir Dao snapped, finally making the students obey his instructions.

"I do not want to repeat myself again, alright?" he said, now walking around the room with a stick in his hand.

Then, without any warning, he placed his stick down on one of the tables at the back.

"Jiali," he started off, causing the small girl to gulp in nervousness.

"Which punctuation mark is used to indicate possession or to show that something belongs to someone or something?"

Kai nodded after the first question was revealed. It was definitely much easier than he had anticipated.

Jiali sighed in relief since she knew the answer to the question.

"The apostrophe," she confidently said.

"Good," Sir Dao smiled. "Sit down. You have passed for today."

The graded recitation continued on, with some people getting the answers correct…

"What is the correct term for a sentence that asks a question and ends with a question mark?"

"An interrogative sentence?"

"Which punctuation mark is used to indicate a pause or break in a sentence, or to separate items in a list?"

"Oh, a comma!"

"What is the term for the emotional atmosphere or mood created by a literary work?"

"It's the tone!"

…and some who gave the class a good laugh.

"What is the term for a word or phrase that is used to represent something else, often something abstract, in literature?"

"Umm, an emoji?"

"What is the plural form of a mouse?"

"Mouses!"

"What is a question that is asked to make a dramatic point rather than to ask the question itself?"

Zeren scratched the back of his head. "Your questions, sir," he hesitantly answered, making the class burst into laughter.

Kai, too, covered his mouth at Zeren's ridiculous answer.

Sir Dao shook his head. "Keep standing," he said before going near Bao's desk.

"Bao," Sir Dao said, causing Kai's seatmate to stand. Kai could see Bao's hands shaking from underneath the table. However, in reality, there wasn't anything to be worried about. Bao would definitely answer the question correctly!

"What is the term for a word that is spelled the same forwards and backward?"

Bao smiled as soon as he heard his question.

"A palindrome," he confidently answered.

"Good," Sir Dao said. Meanwhile, his classmates whispered among themselves.

"A palin—what?"

"I don't think we've learned that yet."

"I have no interest in learning those things."

Kai drowned out their conversations since he knew what was coming next. He could already feel Sir Dao's gaze on the side of his face, so he prepared himself to answer the question.

"Kai," Sir Dao finally said.

Kai wasted no time in standing and looking him straight in the eyes. The tension in the room increased as the two of them had a stare-off.

Then, Sir Dao finally asked him his question, determined to put the cocky boy in his place.

"What is the term for a rhetorical device in which words are repeated at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences for emphasis?"

The class was surprised at the sudden increase in difficulty. Bao, too, frowned in confusion since he himself didn't even know the answer to the question.

Kai subtly shook his head as he searched his mind for the answer. He was sure he knew of it; he just needed a couple more seconds.

"Time's ticking," Sir Dao said, so Kai searched his mind even faster.

Chapter Continue:

After a few more seconds, Kai finally realized the right answer.

Anaphora.

However, before he could even open his mouth to utter the word, someone from their seat spoke, making the class turn their attention to the speaker.

"Anaphora," Haobin said with a calm look on his face.

Kai's eyebrows raised in surprise since Haobin didn't even give him the opportunity to answer.

"Oh," Sir Dao said in pleasant surprise. "As expected from one of my smartest students. This isn't in the textbook, but he was still able to answer it! You should all follow Haobin's footsteps."

Haobin looked down at his table to suppress the smile that was forming on his face.

Meanwhile, Kai shook his head at the ridiculousness of the situation. It was obvious from the start that Sir Dao didn't want him to get the correct answer.

"Since Haobin already answered Kai's question, I won't be asking him his own question anymore," Sir Dao said. Then, he glanced once again at Kai and smirked in satisfaction.

The old man believed that he definitely showed the kid where his place should be.

The graded recitation continued, and it became increasingly obvious that Kai had the most difficult question out of all of them.

Still, there were some people who got their questions wrong, so Kai wasn't the only one standing in the room.

"Ah," Sir Dai sighed as the last person sat back down. "So, these are the people who didn't answer their questions right, huh?" he said, his gaze particularly lingering on Kai.

"Well, as you all know, I'm not a fan of second chances. However, I will make an exception today," he said with an excited smile.

"I will be asking you a question about English Literature—a topic that even the third-years struggle to grasp," he started off.

The class groaned and started to complain, but with one harsh look from Sir Dao, they all turned quiet.

"If one of you answers the question correctly, then I'm going to give that person five extra points for the class standing. Aside from that, all the other students who are standing right now will receive one point as a bonus."

"I'll be your guys' savior!" Zeren said, making the class chuckle.

The others, too, nodded in determination.

"Finish the quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet: To be, or not to be, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune..."

The class violently reacted as soon as the question was asked.

"Sir Dao definitely doesn't want them to get any points."

"What did he say? Ham? I'm hungry now."

"It's Hamlet, you idiot."

"I can't even search for it on the internet since I don't remember what he said."

"Just accept your loss, buddies. The sooner you accept it, the sooner you'll move on."

Kai cleared his throat amidst the chaos in the room. However, even then, the class continued murmuring among themselves.

Kai glanced at Bao, who was looking at him apologetically. Then, he glanced down at the note that Bao had written on his paper.

'Sorry, I don't know the answer either.'

Kai shook his head and turned his attention to the front before speaking.

"...Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing, end them."