Zetsu now made a new friend from their hoop session. He met the all-time spelling bee champion. Zetsu was a fan instantly, but he also knew that he had to be cool about it, because he didn't want to be bragged about being a spelling bee champion.
7 years ago:
Zetsu paces the room back and forth, memorizing each word. Today was the day that he was most locked in. He had just beaten every student from his class in a spell-out, and now he was selected to compete against other classes at the overall-grade level. He was already super athletic, but now he wanted to show that he was also super intelligent. He then went to the other room to see how Zed was doing, but Zed had a slumped expression. It was clear that he didn't win the opportunity to compete. Suddenly, their dad came into the room to discuss the spelling bee. Zetsu said that he would compete clearly happy, while Zed started looking for excuses. A memory formed around Zed's mind. He had no shame back then. Every action he took got him yelled at. There was a time when he did something that was clearly not appropriate and showed his private part to his friends, thinking it was all a joke. What he didn't know was that the joke was on him, and when his dad found out, he got yelled at; this was a public area. Absolutely embarrassing. If he could go back and change what he did, he would.
Zed came up with the best excuse. He told his dad that only one of them could compete at this spelling bee. Now thinking about it, this was a terrible excuse, because Zetsu was from another class, and that meant no conflict. But luckily, Dad bought the excuse, so he only focused on teaching Zetsu how to spell. His goal was simple. To have Zetsu shaped to be one of the smartest spelling bee champions, but did he stand a chance? Would there be enough motivation? Their motivation came from the tablet that was far from reach. If Zetsu were to win the spelling bee, he would get like a few hours to play with the tablet. That is where motivation comes from. But who is to say that Zetsu couldn't sneak the tablet when Dad wasn't home? Being well-behaved at school didn't mean being well-behaved at home. Similarly, being at the top of the class is different than being at the top of the school, and no one knew that better than Ezio, who would continue to impress and win it all. If there was anything they knew about the spelling bee, the winning word was always the most defining.
Teacher: "Please spell Reaper."
Ezio: "Reaper. R-E-A-P-E-R. Reaper"
Ezio being a spelling bee champion that easily? I can't unsee it.
Zetsu wasn't too upset about losing the spelling bee, but he also said he would not compete next year because there was no hope of winning. There was a piece of paper that had all the words, but it's one thing to know each word; it was another to mess one up. Zed understood that next year was his time to compete, and if he didn't even win the opportunity to compete, the world would end.
Blonde friend: "So, I heard that your brother also competed for the spelling bee."
Zetsu: "He did."
Blonde friend: "What happened? Come on. Tell me."
It was the year after Zetsu competed that Zed would compete. The courts kept him focused. Think about hooping, and when you make a basket, then you are safe. Otherwise, you are doomed. He kept telling himself that. He needed to keep himself distracted. Suddenly, Cyrus approached Zed. Wow, perfect timing. Now he would ask Cyrus for advice to win the spelling bee.
"I don't think you need advice. You already have what it takes to win. That's why I've decided to send you to compete for the class." Cyrus said.
"What? Really?" Zed asked.
Cyrus nods.
"That way, you only have to think about winning the whole thing."
Zed knew there was no way that he was going to lose, and thus, the day came when Zed would compete for his class.
The nervousness started to creep in, but Zed was too distracted by Cyrus's words to notice. By the time a large group of students was gone, and it was only Zed and one other student, it became clear that this was coming down to sudden death. One would win, and one would lose.
Teacher: "Please spell motivation."
"M-O-T-E-V-A-T-I-O-N"
*ding*
Zed's heart started feel a sharp pain, but it wasn't a pain that would last, because now it was his turn to spell the word "motivation". Clearly, the student who came before didn't have enough motivation.
Zed: "M-O-T-I-V-A-T-I-O-N"
Teacher: "Correct."
[]
Blonde friend: "So he won? That's nothing special. I've won the spelling bee more than once."
Zetsu: "I don't think it's about winning the spelling bee more than once for him. It was about winning for the first time."
Blonde friend:" I see."
Zetsu: "yeah."
Blonde friend: "Alright."
Zetsu: "mhm."
Blonde friend: "Where is he?"
Zetsu: "Probably hooping again."
Blonde friend: "After your brother won, what did he get? A trophy?"
Zetsu: "Nah. The school wasn't that popular. He got copper."