The VAs' postseason in quiz bowl appears to be sweet revenge for the state championship, starting with middle school. Whereas Golden Meadow was content to stick to MSNCT-level sets, the VAs' middle school team is fed a steady diet of HSNCT-level questions. Which led to the VAs earning eighth place, their highest MSNCT finish.
As for the HSNCT, after being fed collegiate questions for practicing after the MSNCT ended, the VAs defeated their biggest historical inter-state quiz bowl rivals, Boston Latin and DCC, in that order, before falling by a twenty-point margin to a hitherto unknown quiz bowl school, Cottonwood in Utah, good for tenth place. Hathaway, however, barely finished in the top one hundred, losing to St. Croix Prep in the first playoff round.
And then comes the debate team at Nats, with Nick not making it into the DX elims and Stella finishing forty-sixth.
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August 2039. This year's foreign exchange students are set to arrive before the tryouts for sports begin, which take place weeks before the actual start of classes. I guess, this is now that we will find out whether Norman really acts differently from Marianne around foreign exchange students. Marianne wanted to fill academic gaps with FES, and probably even for quiz bowl, and I have been left in the dark last year about this year's FES intake, Flo's worries over Norman's handling of international student exchange markets resurface.
But this year, only new staff members parish-wide would wind up getting cultural sensitivity training, since all other school staff got it in past years. Once the new employees return to their respective schools, preparations begin in earnest.
Once they arrive, Ena and Norman both show FES around the school, with Ena doing it with the girls and Norman for the boys. And, since at least one of each gender has expressed interest in playing sports while at VA, they are also shown the athletic facilities in use.
As per usual, Norman hosts a night where all the foreign exchange students for the year are introduced to the public, as well as local foods from both Louisiana and the FES' host countries. Such as chicken Kyiv (which, while associated with Ukraine today, is actually a pre-Soviet Russian dish). Or gumbo. The locals treat this partially like a buffet, especially the poorest of them who couldn't pass up an opportunity to eat free food.
When the meet-and-greet session begins in the auditorium, Ena and Norman both take up positions on stage in front of the FES, and the flags of the FES' countries of origin are hoisted behind them. Norman steps forward:
"I am Norman Hall, principal of Venomous Agendas High. On behalf of the VA staff, I am pleased to introduce you the foreign exchange students for the year, in alphabetical order of last names!"
"One more thing that the organization may not have told you, exchange students, is that rural areas, like our corner of southwest Louisiana, tend to have a stronger communal attachment to their schools. So don't be surprised if people around you, including but not limited to, your host families, will talk about various school sports teams, such as football, regularly" Ena warns the FES.
The foreign exchange students briefly talk about how youth sports are handled by out-of-school clubs in their home countries, before the signal is given to step up to the podium and introduce themselves.
"I'm Leila Abdul, originally attending the Al-Bassel High School for Outstanding Students in Homs, Syria" she introduces herself to the townsfolk with an Arabic accent.
I really hope that Leila isn't a practicing Muslim; from what I heard in other schools, the practice of Islam can be problematic in a region like ours, Ena makes her prayers, knowing that schools can't reject foreign exchange students on the basis of religion.
So, while the first student has finished, and the second exchange student is just as brief as Leila was, the third student takes a little longer to do so:
"I'm Oleg Nikitin, from Bryansk number three in Russia, I play free safety for the Spartak Bryansk's U-sixteen team" he speaks with a Russian accent.
The crowd yelps upon hearing about Oleg playing football in his home country. He then receives some questions about Russian youth football from VA's football coaches. Which would be answered a bit later, after all four of VA's FES for the year would be introduced to the public.
"When does your football season take place?" the defensive coordinator asks him.
"How many games do you play per season?" the offensive coordinator follows up.
"Our football season takes place from April to June, six regular-season games, and possibly two playoff games" Oleg answers the coaches' questions.
If I'm not mistaken, if Oleg makes the team, playing to much larger crowds might take a bit to get used to, since I know that, outside of the US, youth football teams just don't play to crowds nearly as large as even VA's, and 4260, while it's a lot for Division 3A high school football, is not the largest for high school football by any means, the head coach makes a mental note of his concerns over Oleg playing.
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But, the following day, Flo starts setting up the room for the new quiz bowl players' meeting. There are three prospective players, two of whom are seventh graders and... Oleg. While quiz bowl doesn't usually interfere with football much, maybe in the early stages of the season, we rarely had footballers try their hands at quiz bowl, even though I know there are a handful of them who could play quiz bowl, Flo starts wondering whether Oleg picked quiz bowl on top of football, or as a substitute for the team. Because not even Flo would take for granted that his experience playing football would suffice to make it onto the team here, even with a depleted secondary defense.
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After the middle schoolers playing quiz bowl introduce themselves, Oleg also does the same, but Flo dreads that the other players will make fun of him.
"Please, I don't want you making fun of Oleg because he's playing football, or he's a foreign exchange student! Is that clear?" Flo warns her players about Oleg's origins.
"I started playing quiz bowl for Bryansk number three in sixth grade" Oleg declares, in hopes that Flo would notice that he isn't new to playing quiz bowl.
"All right, Oleg, you will be exempt from the introductory drills" Flo then turns to Cindy. "I'll be honest, we would never have made it that far at the HSNCT without you, so I trust you understand the responsibility that comes with captaining this team"
"Yes, I accept the mantle of high school quiz bowl captain" Cindy announces to the team.
But, rather than making fun of Oleg, the other players instead have questions about his experience playing quiz bowl for Bryansk #3. About how he played quiz bowl since Russia even started playing quiz bowl in the first place. About how quiz bowl was actually subordinate to another intellectual game, ChGK, in the Russian circuit. And Russian interscholastic quiz bowl teams tended to play both games. However, because of the combined effects of grade divisions and team sizes differing between the two games, they don't always play both games together.
Once these questions are answered, she then plans the entire season's schedule, as she did last year, well in advance, and with any concerns over other players' sports schedules being addressed.
Flo then reviews Oleg's past performance on NAQT questions, in middle school (as defined by NAQT) since the Chernozem Invitational in January 2036, and then at three consecutive MSNCTs, and finally in ninth grade for Bryansk #3 at the HSNCT. I'll probably put him on the B team for the season opener and then on the A team for the rest of the season so as to not make it look like I am showing favoritism. For now, however, only time will tell whether Norman has actually changed course with FES intake policy compared to what it was under Marianne, where grades and extracurricular potential ruled the day.
She then looks at the football schedule and all games are scheduled for Friday nights, so unlike cross-country, which a new player in middle school plays, football (aside from a thunderstorm or hurricane, but that's a risk she's willing to take) won't interfere with quiz bowl tournaments. Yet, at the same time, going to Tal Atkins is a four-hour drive from Jennings. And, this year, Tal Atkins takes place during homecoming week.
Speaking of homecoming week, Norman has already planned for an online LD debate round to be played between Stella and DCC's top player as the first part of the math game that week. However, it appears that negotiations over quiz bowl's role in that Thursday show have gone awry with Hathaway. Norman summons Flo after the players left the meeting to deal with the administration at Hathaway when the principal requests to talk specifically to the VAs' quiz bowl coach.
"Marianne, what is it now? You got your asses handed to you at the HSNCT, and now you want us to play additional quiz bowl games during homecoming?" Flo asks after picking up the phone, in a tone that leaves no room for her displeasure.
"Because we lost the parochial mathlete sweepstakes on the international student exchange markets, and one of our quiz bowlers graduated last year, we go all-in on quiz bowl!" Marianne pleads with Flo for the forthcoming plan. "I want to host a night with a card of three quiz bowl games against VA during homecoming in Hathaway's gym!"
"When is homecoming this year for you guys? I will accept only if it does not overlap with ours, and even then, at the condition that you also play an equivalent series of games at VA!" Flo imposes her own conditions, while not falling for the trap of discussing Norman's attitude towards FES selection.
We fought Lake Arthur and Welsh over that one mathlete, and, instead of that, we got a quiz bowler, and I sure hope that quiz bowler we got from Kherson #34, Arkady, will make us improve on our last HSNCT finish! And then Flo seems to be acting in bad faith! She embodies the worst things people associate with the name Venomous Agendas! Marianne's feelings seem to get the better of her, and she thinks of the money that show hopes to raise for the Hornets' quiz bowl team. She reluctantly gives the week of Hathaway's homecoming week.
"Ours is on the last week of September, just before Tal Atkins, and yours appears to be on the week LQBA Fall Invitational South is held! Do you accept there will be two sets of three exhibition games then?" Flo gives one last detail that could push Hathaway to accept her plan for homecoming.
"Fine, but it's only because we both benefit from this" Marianne sighs, not wanting a quiz bowl-based repeat of the fights over Last Chance three years prior.
And then she proceeds to both book the auditorium for 7PM on Thursday night during homecoming, as well as notify all parties involved: Norman, Marianne and the quiz bowl players being the main ones.
During the first football practice, where the new secondary defensive players are made to undergo some drills where it's not only about anticipating opposing WRs' routes, but also safe tackling for the new defensive players. When the defensive coordinator turns to Oleg...
"Oleg, I know you will only be here for one season, but remember that here, you represent not just the Venomous Agendas, but also the entirety of Russian youth football. On the flip side, if you play well here as a Venomous Agenda, you have a serious shot at making the national team" Frank attempts to crack a joke, directed to the secondary defensemen. "U-twenty most likely"
While the other secondary defensive players might have found it funny, Oleg, on the other hand, is about to snap.
"That's not funny, coach!" Oleg vehemently protests, while his face turns red, and he starts to scream. "I believe that Russia's U-twenty national team can defeat anything LHSAA three-A can throw at them!"
"Please forgive my lack of knowledge of Russian youth football, but where does the... Spartak Bryansk fit?" Seth asks Oleg, not having the faintest idea of whether Russian youth football even have skill divisions.
"I forgive you. Spartak Bryansk, in the U-sixteen world, is currently in the top bracket. However, my coaches in Bryansk wanted me to go on exchange for only half a year for football reasons!" Oleg answers, with remnants of his anger directed at the defensive coordinator still present in his voice.
"Let's hope that you're the real deal at the free safety position then..." the defensive coordinator sighs, not wanting this scuffle to degenerate.
I was reminded of the cold, hard truth of the options I might have had: my coaches in Bryansk insisted a lot on going to the US on exchange if I was going to keep playing football! Oleg starts having flashbacks of the whole process leading up to him playing for the VAs. My non-football-playing classmates at home say that football-playing American high schools are schools where football players take passing grades for granted.