The English Billionaire

Chapter 2

The next day
Emma's POV

The next day... It was a bit crowded in the library......?

UNDERSTATEMENT!!!!

You could barley breathe. (Okay, that's an exaggeration, but seriously!)

You could probably guess why it was so crowded.

Yeah, the sign-up sheet was in the library.

I barely fought my way up there and signed up when people started pushing, and the pad of paper almost got pushed off the table.

Then I had to fight my way out of the crowd and back into the hallways. Everywhere I walked I heard something about the signing up and if some people had done it yet or not and who they think is going to make it and 'OMG no way he is way to dumb to be in the finals!' By the time I got to my locker I had heard enough gossip to last me a month. I opened my locker, threw my backpack in and grabbed my math books, I know right? Math first hour, it sucks but whatever.

Again I took off quickly down the hallways and tried to ignore the gossiping and the ever growing crowds of people talking about the sign ups. When I reach the math class the minute bell rings and everyone scatters. My math class is right next to the library and through the door we see tons of people coming out of the library doors and swarming through the halls to their classes.

When the final bell rings the math teacher, Mrs. Pate begins to talk about some terms and hands out a bunch of papers.

This is going to be a long day.

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When it was finally lunch I already had homework in three classes. *insert loud mind groan* I love school, hate the homework...

So when I went into the lunchroom, I joined the line and grabbed a caesar salad then went to go sit at my lunch table with my friends, Grace, Rebecca, and Jennifer.

"So have you guys signed up?" Jennifer asks.

"Yeah," I say, "I now know what the Hunger Games feels like."

"Ditto," Grace says, then we all crack a smile.

"Rebecca...?" Jennifer starts

"I'm not doing it," Rebecca says then smiles, "besides I wouldn't have any chance. We are going against the whole state of Kansas and only one person gets to go! There is a 1 in 2000 chance that one of us will win."

"One person from each section, you mean,"Grace says

"Same thing."

"Any way, I heard that Peyton signed up," Jennifer starts and the rest of lunch we talk about the competition.

After lunch I had computers, we had to finish our power point on social media and then when we were done had to make a slide show on Forest Johnston. I had never heard of him before yesterday and now, he's everywhere!

I made a slide show about people's different views on his 'America Project' and just when I finished the bell rang. I logged off and went to my locker to grab stuff for Language Arts.

After Language Arts, where we worked on author's purpose, I went to Science. We were working on the Periodic Table and had to name the elements. After that we had a discussion over if Forest's motives were good in creating this project, and if the government was smart in accepting it. We had to write a paper over it and use facts. Blah, facts. Then it was study hall. I was working on my math when Mrs. Brack stopped us and told us that we had to watch another video.

This time it was a young man who looked about my age.

"Hello," he said in a British accent, "My name is Chris, I'm good friends with Forest and will be working with you all as you journey along in this competition. If you aren't signing up then you can totally ignore me and work on whatever you were working on before.

"The people who have signed up should be handed a form about now," as he said this, Mrs. Brack handed me a form and moved over to the next person who had signed up. "These are the forms that you will have to fill out by next week Thursday and turned into your school office. They will then be looked over and the top 50 students from each school will be able to move on into the next round of the competition." He smiles which makes his whole face light up. "Good luck!" Then the screen goes blank.

Almost everyone starts to work one their forms. I look through it and read everything. When I get to the last page there is a line of fine print at the very bottom, I almost missed it. It said:

"If you read this congrats! You just saved yourself a lot of writing. Put a star next to this and only answer questions: 1,4,10,17,22,29,30,55,61,79 and 99. You have automatically been put into the first round of the competition."

What? But I did as it said, (I'm weird like that... Okay?) and the weird thing was, I messed up on one of my answers, I tried to erase it and it didn't work, even though I wrote with pencil. Something tricky is going on.

'Something tricky or something completely clever!' I think.

After the bell rings I turn in the form into the office on my way out. The ladies at the front desk glance at my paper and smile.

"The fine print is helpful right?" They say, and I nod.

When I get home I work on my homework then watch TV. Guess who's on. That's right Forest.

I turn it off and my parents come home.

That night I toss and turn, hoping that I make it and the fine print was actually real and I didn't just forfeit my chance. When I finally do fall asleep I dream of being on TV and famous because of Forest.