“Slam!”  Went the door as Akeelah angrily slammed it after making her way into her room, venting all her anger and sadness on it. She threw her bag on the floor with a loud thud, the sound of books, stationeries and other items crashing down, against each other. She slumped into her chair and, with hands crossed and head lowered, Akeelah cried softly to herself, so soft the crying was, that you had to lean so ever closely to her to hear a faint crying sound. As Akeelah thought more and more about her mother’s strong objection to her participating in the Spelling Bee, fury started building inside her and she cried harder and harder.

Lifting her head up, Akeelah glared hard at then computer keyboard. She had to find a way to participate in the Spelling bee. She had to. Her eyebrows furrowed into a V-shape. Her eyes darted around her room as Akeelah thought of ways and means to participate in it. Finally, her eyes rested on a photo of her Father, smiling  a lovely, warm smile that made Akeelah feel a lot better. “ You’ll let me do this.” She said. Just then, she had a brainwave. She grabbed hold on a black pen among the pens scattered all over her table. She held the pen firmly, hesitated for a moment, then took in a huge breath and let it out and signed her father’s name on the consent form for the Spelling bee on the line meant for parent’s signature, trying to make her handwriting look like her father’s. She was going to the Spelling bee and nothing could stand in her way, not even her mother.

Bao Hui :D