The world is O

Yesterday, we had a coconut competition. It was called at the last minute. All thanks to Raffles, as usual, demanding one to be held on the day. I decided to go with him because of his arrogance. He seemed to have a secret recipe that guarantees a win. The competition was annouced to the public immediately. The news of the competition was spread like wildfire and the island is awakened, as it's the biggest competition of the island. All Temasekians will attend by hook or by crook.

The competitors are Haolian - my representative, Humble - Raffles's representative and Ham chee - Farquhar's.

The rule of the competition is to collect as many coconuts as possible within the given time, which is five minutes, in three rounds and put them in the allocated baskets. The coconuts will be spread throughout the field, and there are hundreds of them. The competitor with the most coconuts wins the competition.

Before the competition, each of the competitors is to make a speech to garner supports from Temasekians.

Haolian was the first. He walked up to the podium, and said,"Dear fellow Temasekians, I, humble servant of the Prince, would hope you will support me in this competition not because of my relation with the Prince but of my own ability. Please see me as an individual. I understand that i am the weakest, however i have a strong determination. I would fight till the very last amount of strength i could muster." Everyone cheered and I was proud of Haolian.

Then came Humble. He walked up confidently and said,"Hello Temasekians, I would like you all to support me because of my ability to win the competition. I have been training for months. As an unselfish person, I am willing to teach anyone who is interested to win by joining my school (However, everyone knows only the selected few will be admitted). Please give your support to me as i will defintely win." The cheering of the crowd was scattered and Raffles stood there beaming.

Lastly, it was Hum chee turn. Walking up nervously to the podium, he said softly,"My fellow Temaskians, i am Faruqhar's representative. My job is a coconut seller. I know nothing but coconuts. Thank you." Everyone knows his ability for he is definitely the best out of the three. Then Someone shouted,"Have a mind of your own!" and the other,"Don't be afraid!"

The first round will begin before the sunset as according to the custom of the competition. This is to signify optimism.

The empire went up to the small tower and this indicate for all competitors to get into position. Up at the tower, the empire hold out a coconut and drop it. All eyes were on the coconut. Immediately after it hit the ground, Humble dashed to collect the coconuts, followed by Haolian, then Hum chee. Humble was physically strong and was running explosively grabbing as many coconuts. When he saw Hum chee running pass him towards the basket, he kicked his leg, which caused it to hit the other leg and tripped. This served as a warning to him. Hum chee quietly pick himself up and walked towards the basket. Haolian saw it and ran up to the empire to complain about the incident. Sadly and coincidentally, he was distracted by some mob barking loudly behind him. Haolian continued and was determined to make sure he filled the baskets with coconuts to the brim.

First round ended with Humble having the most coconuts - 45, Haolian - 30, Hum chee - 22.

15 minutes later, all three of them went back to his position. Most of the people were supporting Humble after watching his raw performance.

Start of the Second round. This time, Haolian was out first followed by Hum chee. Humble was very confident that both of them won't be able to catch up knowing he is in the safety zone so he took his time. However, Haolian was determined and, Surprisingly, Hum chee began to increase his speed. Humble saw and waited for another chance to trip him. He signalled to his friends and they began barking at the empire. Then came the opportunity. He kicked his leg but Hum chee turned one round, balance himself and continue running. The crowd was delighted and cheered. Suddenly, everyone is supporting Hum chee and Haolian worked his ass off for this round.

At the end of round two, the score was: Humble - 55, Hao lian - 52, Hum chee - 48. This break lasted for half an hour.

Half an hour passed. All three of them were recharged, and charged up. Supporters started to chant their names. Humble supports decreased due to that tripping incident. Most of them switched to Haolian and Hum chee.

At the position, Hum chee said to himself,"My greatest enemy is myself. I have to overcome it!" Once the coconut hits the ground, off went Hum chee with the speed of a horse. Humble was struggling after 2 minutes. He knew he is going to lose if this continue. He signalled and one of his cronies began to throw rocks at Hum chee. The rest started barking as usual. The empire saw rock being thrown at Hum chee. He shouted for him to stop but his voice was drowned by the barkers. Hum chee wasnt intimidated by the rocks. He avoided the rocks with his agility and speed. The crowd saw the injustice and unfairness which would be an insult to their diginity if no action was taken. They surrounded the rock-thrower and hurl him back to the end of the crowd. He was totally blocked and his cronies didnt even rescue him. They simply continued barking like an obedient dog. So he decided to throw from afar, out of sight, the rocks fell onto Humble instead. One of them even hit his head. He fumed and signalled for the end of it. Hum chee saw the support given by the crowd and was highly motivated that he doubled his speed matching a cheetah. Humble also increased his speed. Haolian was as determined not to fall behind.

'Gong~'gong~'gong~'

End of round three. The empire went to the baskets and started counting. To ensure equity, he had three guards stationed at each competitor allocated baskets. By the way, the empire is none other than Justice Bao himself and the guards are ordinary Temasekians. The reason for hiring ordinary Temsekians because he trusted their integrity and ability and believed they are equally capable as the mercenaries even though they had not attended school.

Once the counting was completed, he walked to the podium. Up on the podium, with the competitors behind, Justice Bao announced,"The final result of the Coconut competition with the total number of coconuts by Humble is 66, followed by Haolian is 65, and Hum chee 78! Hence, i declare the winner is Hum chee!" Everyone jumped for joy. One shouted,"Humble is beaten into a pie!" Everyone laughed and jeered at him. This struck me that the crowd is actually supporting Hum chee deep in their hearts and truly believed of his ability. It was a beautiful moment for i have not seen such genuine joy of people of all ages.

Guru Jeya came beside and said,"Look at the night sky. The cresent moon is shining brightly together with six bright stars. Shall we make it the symbol of Temasek?" I smiled and agreed.