My “fifteen minutes of fame” occurred when I was in the 5th grade. That’s when I became the 5th grade Spelling Bee champion of Washington Elementary School - 1987. Yes, I was first place in my school and I went on for several rounds before finally getting knocked out in the district Semi-Finals. But for a few short weeks, I was the talk of the school. I had gone farther than anybody in the school’s history. The principal proudly announced my name on the speaker each morning before a big round. Everybody wished me “good luck,” with my goofy glasses and all. My parents went to every round of competition. My mom wrote down every word in a notebook so I could practice them later. She put a little star next to all of my words.
As the 6th grade Spelling Bee approached the next year, I was a sure bet to win. I was excited. I was nervous. I was ready. The grueling match came down to me – the reigning spelling bee champion of Washington Elementary School - and Maureen, the first girl I ever had a major crush on. For Bee day, Maureen wore a soft pink button-up shirt and blue jeans - my favorite outfit on her. Back then though, I was too shy to tell her stuff like that. The best I could do was walk her halfway home everyday because we went the same way (it was a little out of my way, but she didn’t know that). I used to check out joke books from the library and memorize a few jokes each night to tell her on the walk home. That was the only way I could think of things to say to her without getting tongue-tied.
But now I was competing against her in front of the entire school. She was not only my crush, but also my nemesis. It was just me and her…her and me. Should I let her win? Would she like me if I did? Girls only like guys who are smarter then they are. If I let her win, she’s smarter and would not like me. We went back and forth for several words, spelling all of them correctly. We gave the school a dazzling exhibition of spelling greatness which is still talked about to this day – The great spelling bee of ‘88.
It was my turn again. My word – “article.” I looked at the eyes of the school staring at me with envious confidence. I felt Maureen’s beautiful blue eyes peering at me from behind. “A-R-T-I-C-A-L…artical,” I shouted with undeniable confidence. The sound of crickets filled the room. The eyes of everybody in the gymnasium turned to the moderator in synced unison. "I'm sorry, that's incorrect," I heard the woman with a bun in her hair coldly announce with a tone that indicated she had it in for me from the start. The entire 6th grade gasped in horror.
Maureen swaggered to the microphone with a smile of shy cockiness. Did my subconscious screw me? My mind wandered as she spelled “article” plus the next word that was necessary to destroy my legacy - the very same legacy I had worked so hard to maintain since the glory days of my 5th grade championship. She ended my reign as spelling bee champion of Washington Elementary School in a matter of mere seconds.
In the days following my defeat, I was teased for letting her win. Nobody believed that I forgot how to spell “article.” I wasn’t even sure how it happened. I wasn't even sure if I spelled it wrong on purpose. The only Thing I was sure of was that I was no longer the Spelling Bee Champion of Washington Elementary School. I was just the sucker that let the pretty girl win.
Maureen got knocked out in the next round of competition, hardly living up to the recognition I had received the year before. It was like she didn’t even care about the importance of the Spelling Bee or the effect it would have on her life for decades to follow. Our relationship had not changed, either. She was still just the girl whose house I rode by on my bike, hoping she wouldn’t see me, but still hoping she would notice me.
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