Chapter 18 — Pride And Scholarship

The day of the inter-school knowledge Olympiad has finally arrived, after many weeks of intense training. The Royal School team, consisting of five members including Hoai An and Bao Tran, gathered in the large hall of a prestigious university - the venue for the competition gathering dozens of the city's top high schools.

The atmosphere in the hall was extremely tense, with the participation of hundreds of the best students from all over. Hoai An clearly feels the pressure on her shoulders, not only because this is an opportunity to demonstrate her own abilities, but also because she carries the responsibility of representing the whole school that has given her the opportunity to change her life.

“Are you okay?” Bao Tran asked, suddenly standing next to Hoai An while waiting to enter the exam room, her voice had a rare level of concern.

“I'm a little nervous,” Hoai An admitted, trying to take a deep breath to calm down, “but I think I've prepared as much as possible.”

“Me too,” Bao Tran said, her eyes looking straight ahead, “but I believe, with what we have practiced together over the past time, our team will do well.”

The competition takes place through many rounds, including individual competition and team competition. In the individual Math competition, Hoai An performed excellently, smoothly solving the most difficult problems with high speed and accuracy, attracting the attention of both the judges and other teams.

Go to the team competition, requiring members to coordinate smoothly to solve complex general problems within a limited time. Hoai An and Bao Tran, although once archrivals, now show an amazing chemistry, each promoting their own strengths - Hoai An is sharp in logical thinking, Bao Tran is quick in calculating and presenting solutions.

“You solve this part,” Bao Tran said, pointing to a complex geometry problem, “I will handle the algebra part in parallel, I need to save as much time as possible.”

Hoai An nodded, both of them got to work with unprecedented coordination. What they had practiced for many weeks together was now clearly effective. The Royal School team completed the team test earlier than expected, with high accuracy, leaving the judges in awe.

When the results were announced at the end of the day, the whole hall burst into tears when Royal School's name was announced as first place in the group, with Hoai An achieving the highest individual score in Math, and Bao Tran excellently winning first prize in English.

“We did it!” Bao Tran exclaimed, unable to contain her joy, hugging Hoai An in a rare spontaneous moment.

Hoai An was stunned for a moment by this unexpectedly intimate gesture, but quickly responded with an equally warm hug. “We really did it,” she replied, her voice also filled with emotion.

That moment, although brief, marked an important turning point in the relationship between the two - from arch-rivals, they overcame challenges together to become true teammates, united by a common pride and mutual respect that had been built through many persistent efforts.

The award ceremony took place immediately afterward, with the presence of representatives of the attending schools, along with a large number of parents and teachers. When Hoai An's name was announced to receive the fish award For excelling in Mathematics, the applause of the Royal School group rang out the loudest, regardless of whether they were close classmates or had enmity with her.

Teacher Quang, standing in the row of delegates, could not hide his proud smile as he watched his student step up to the podium to receive the award. Next to him, the principal also nodded with satisfaction, thinking that this was the most vivid proof of the value of investing in talented students, regardless of rich or poor backgrounds.

After the ceremony, the whole team took souvenir photos together, everyone beaming with victorious smiles. Bao Tran, standing next to Hoai An in the photo, no longer kept a strange distance like before, but naturally put his arm around his teammate's shoulder, creating a warm, intimate frame that was completely different from the tense, confrontational image between the two just a few months before.

“Thank you for helping me create this victory,” Bao Tran said, as the two stood alone in a corner waiting for the car to pick them up, her voice a rare sincerity.

“I'm the one who should thank you,” Hoai An replied, smiling, “without your good coordination in the team competition, the results definitely wouldn't have been so good.”

They both laughed, a comfortable, natural laugh, without any of the awkwardness of the first days of tense confrontation, marking a completely new chapter in the relationship between the two girls who were once considered arch-rivals by the whole school.

On the bus back to school, Minh Khoi sat next to Hoai An, unable to hide his pride when looking at her. “You make me so proud,” he said, his voice filled with affection, “not only for your outstanding achievements, but for the way you always remain humble and sincere, even in your most glorious moments.”

“Thank you,” Hoai An replied, leaning her head back on the chair, feeling a pleasant tiredness after a long, stressful but meaningful day, “I don't think I could have achieved this without your encouragement and support all the time.”

"You can do it all by yourself with your own ability," Minh Khoi affirmed, gently holding her hand, "I'm just standing next to witness and cheering."

Returning to school, the whole team was warmly welcomed by teachers and friends. News of the resounding victory quickly spread throughout the classrooms. Hoai An, although exhausted, still felt her heart filled with an indescribable happiness at the recognition and sincere affection that everyone had for her.

That night, when recounting the entire events of the competition to her mother over the phone, Ms. Hanh could not hide her pride, her voice trembled with emotion. “I knew you could do it,” she said, “you are so talented and resilient, nothing can stop your progress.”

Hoai An smiled, clearly feeling that although the journey ahead still has many challenges, with the support of her mother, friends, lovers, and now even a surprising new friend like Bao Tran, she believes she is strong enough to overcome any storms that lie ahead.

At the same time, at her home, Bao Tran was also recounting the team's victory to her mother, her voice filled with rare excitement. Mrs. Kim Ngan, hearing the news, could not hide her proud smile. “You did very well,” she said, “first prize in English, truly worthy of the title of excellent student of the school.”

“I didn't do it alone, mom,” Bao Tran said, her voice somewhat serious, “Hoai An also contributed greatly to the team's overall victory. Without him, our team certainly could not achieve such good results."

Mrs. Kim Ngan frowned at the way her daughter mentioned Hoai An with a clear respect, completely different from the jealous attitude she had noticed before. “You and that girl seem closer than before,” she commented, her voice probing.

“Yes,” Bao Tran replied, no longer avoiding it like before, “I realize that Hoai An is a truly admirable person, not only because of her academic achievements, but because of her energy and personality. I think I was wrong to have prejudices against her just because of her background."

That frank admission made Mrs. Kim Ngan ponder for a long time, clearly realizing that her daughter was gradually maturing in a direction that she had never been mentally prepared to accept - a maturity not based on the material standards and status that she had always valued, but based on much deeper human values.

“So about the regulation on overtime,” Mrs. Kim Ngan said after a moment of silence, her voice probing, “do you still think I should withdraw that proposal?”

“I think so,” Bao Tran replied, without hesitation, “Hoai An has proven that difficult circumstances do not prevent her from achieving excellent results. I think that regulation is unfair, and not really necessary."

Mrs. Kim Ngan was silent, her eyes looked distant, seemingly reconsidering her entire decision from a completely new perspective. “I'll think about it some more,” she said finally, her voice softening considerably from its initial firmness, “thank you for sharing your thoughts so candidly.”

Bao Tran nodded, feeling somewhat relieved after this conversation, although she still wasn't sure whether her mother would really change her mind or not. But at least, she dared to speak up to defend what is right, something she had never had the courage to do before, especially when having to oppose the opinions of her powerful mother whom she always feared.