Jasir, the youngest Moin sibling, is taking his family to the awards ceremony for the reality TV competition....
COVER STORY
Jasir, the youngest Moin sibling, is taking his family to the awards ceremony for the reality TV competition he participated in, Student Super Star. The winner will be announced at the ceremony. Let’s see what happens.
“This is so cool!” Jasir bounced around in the backseat of the car as it sped along the road to the filming studio.
“We haven’t even gotten there yet.” His elder sister Inaya poked him with her elbow as accurately as she could with all his squirming around in his seat.
“What I mean is, it’s so cool for the whole family to come out to see me win Student Super Star!” Jasir rubbed his hands together with glee.
“You’re not a first-place contender, remember,” Leena, the eldest Moin sibling, hissed in a low tone. “Second place. Laptop prize.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jasir said loudly. “Win the laptop. Be the star of the show. All that jazz.”
“I thought the prize for first place was a college scholarship?” Papa said without taking his eyes off the road.
“Yes,” Jasir said, his enthusiasm level lowering a bit. “But second place gets a motorcyle and a year’s supply of stationery, too.”
“What would you do with a motorcycle and a stack of pencils?” Mama smoothed out her dress and looked back at the children, her expression thoughtful. “I hope you win first place, and that scholarship.”
“How boring,” Jasir muttered, loud enough for his sisters to hear.
“Boring, not to mention, we need that laptop,” Inaya muttered back.
“We’re here!” Papa swung a hand out to indicate the studio, which had come into view. “Let’s get in there quickly so we get good seats.”
“Don’t be silly, Papa,” Jasir said grandly. “You all have reserved seats because you’re my family. You’re going to be in full view of the camera.”
Mama immediately opened her purse to bring out her pocket mirror and check her makeup. Jasir and Inaya laughed. Leena quietly patted her face and swept back any stray strands of hair back into place.
The studio was bright and hot, packed with people and buzzing with chatter. The cameras were set up and rolling, filming the participants as they entered with their families.
“What do you think about your chances of winning?” The overly cheerful host thrust his microphone into Jasir’s face. Jasir stuck out his chest and answered, “I’m not going to lose!”
“What about the fan favourite, the heartthrob of the masses, predicted to win by a landslide, your competitor Sameer?” The host insisted.
Whatever Jasir was about to say, Papa cut it short. He stepped up, put a hand firmly on Jasir’s shoulder, and said in a loud voice, “In a healthy competition, everything is fair and square. I am sure your competition is set up on the basis of merit. May the best participant win.” With that, he steered his family away from the host, who was still flitting about like a mosquito trying to find a good place to land.
“Papa.” Jasir let out a long breath.
“I won’t hear another word about it,” Papa said. “Show us where we’re supposed to sit. At this rate, they wouldn’t have a second thought about making a show out of your mo—” He was interrupted by the entry of a second host, who swept across the set to greet them with, “Here is Sameer’s top competition, Jasir! With all of his family, no less! Will you tell us who you are wearing today?” The question was aimed at the female side of the group. Mama, Inaya and Leena looked at each other with startled glances.
“I hardly see how that is relevant,” Papa said loudly. “Will you be kind enough to show us where the family seats are?”
“Oh, but you must answer some of our questions!” The host batted her eyelashes and flashed a camera-ready smile. “What do you think of everyone saying that your son Jasir is going to propose to the hottest girl among the competitors, Mahi? Don’t you think he’s a little too young for that?”
By the thunderstruck look on Jasir’s face, his family judged that this little piece of information was news even to him. Papa spread out his arms in a gesture meant to throw a cover over his family as a whole, and shepherded them out of the host’s firing range.
“Tell us where we sit or I’m taking us all back home this instant,” Papa said forcefully.
Jasir let out a gasp of alarm. “There, there!” He pointed. Papa led the family through to the spot and kept standing until every last family member was seated before taking a seat himself.
“All of this showbiz hullabaloo is more trouble than it’s worth,” Papa said to himself, but loud enough for his children to hear. Jasir pursed his lips. Inaya and Leena looked at each other. Mama was busy striking the most flattering pose for taking a selfie with her smartphone.
“Mama!” Inaya nudged her mother in the arm. “Stop that! The cameras are rolling! We’re just supposed to sit and watch!”
“Don’t forget to smile,” Mama replied, putting her phone away in her purse and sitting up straight, facing the direction of the nearest camera and waving energetically.
“When is it going to start?” Leena looked around.
“It’s already started,” Jasir said. “They’re filming.”
“Really?” Leena looked surprised. “When are they going to announce the winner?” She asked, then added, “And the runners up?”
Jasir grinned. “They’re going to show clips featuring each contestant first. Shush, the hosts are onstage.”
The hosts, showing no sign of fatigue after a morning spent prying into the personal affairs of each contestant and their families, were shouting something. Leena concentrated. “Welcome to Student Super Star!” They were saying. “The awards ceremony is about to start, but first, let us look back at the participants’ journey as our Student Super Stars.” There followed a montage of photos and videos from the competition. Whenever Jasir appeared, he was doing his best to pull off some mischief or other. His sisters could tell why he was so popular among the viewers. His parents were more interested in his appearance.
“He could at least have brushed his hair,” Mama said, shaking her head.
“Or matched his shirt to his shoes,” Papa added.
“I can’t believe we let him participate looking like that,” Mama went on.
“I don’t know why we let him take part at all.” Papa sighed.
“And now,” one of the hosts drowned out any further attempts at commentary from the parents by squealing into the microphone, “it’s time! You know what time it is! It’s time to...” Dramatic sound effects blasted from the speakers all around the set. “Announce the winner!”
“They need to work on making more complete sentences and less noise,” Papa observed.
“But not yet!” Host number two was dancing around on the spot. “Let’s first take a look at the votes from our viewers! Then we’ll show you the final verdict from our judges!” The scoreboard appeared on the gigantic display behind the stage. “In third place, we have the belle of the ball, Mahi!” The audience erupted in cheers. “With the second highest number of votes, we have our mischief maker, Jasir!” The noise from the audience was a mix of yells and hoots. “Raking in the maximum votes is our favourite for first place ... Sameer!” The crowd went wild, waving hands and screaming their lungs out. “Let’s see what the judges have to say.”
The spotlight focused on the judges’ panel. The judge sitting in the centre of the table took the microphone and said, “While everyone enjoyed the spirit and adventure of the competition, we must say that we value fair play above everything else. After a careful evaluation of all the scoring material we have on hand, we have come to the conclusion that Sameer was manipulating the system for his own benefit. With great regret we have to announce that he is disqualified.” A split-second silence fell, followed by a roar of protest from the spectators. The ushers had to physically restrain some of the more diehard Sameer fans from storming onto the stage. The judge waited for the tidal wave of sound to subside, but when it showed no signs of stopping, he shouted into the microphone, “That means, by default, the first prize goes to ... Jasir! Let’s give him a round of applause!”
The reaction to this was mixed, to say the least. Some girls in the audience were crying with frustration. Other spectators booed and hissed to express their disappointment. Many of them, however, remembered their manners and clapped along to the applause soundtrack being played in the background. Jasir himself was engulfed in the hysterical embrace of his parents. His sisters were struck dumb with shock. Leena began to cry. Inaya gaped at her.
“We knew you could do it.” Papa beamed with pride.
“Jasir ... Jasir, go onstage. Go onstage!” Mama finally let him go and gave him a push in the right direction. Jasir walked in a daze to the stage, shook hands, held up the giant card pushed into his hands, and was about to walk off with it when they stopped him. They wanted to take more photographs, to film him from every angle, to get him to make an acceptance speech.
“I ...” Jasir faltered, then he recovered and said, “Thank you, I guess.” Everyone looked at him expectantly. The hosts flashed their toothy smiles in his direction. Jasir stared out into the crowd. “Yeah, that’s about it.” He beckoned to his family. “Let’s go home.” He grinned. “Let’s celebrate!”
After a lot of time in the spotlight and in front of the camera, Jasir was delirious with exhaustion and excitement. When they got home, Mama took him to his room to quiet him down. Papa happily went through Jasir’s college scholarship paperwork for the tenth time. Inaya, her ears still throbbing from the noise in the studio, slipped into Leena’s room to check on her. “Leena,” she said, “I didn’t know you wanted the laptop that much. You haven’t stopped crying since the studio. I know Mama and Papa think you’re extra happy for Jasir, but-”
“I have to tell you.” Leena gulped. “There was a reason I wanted the laptop so much. It’s because our original laptop was stolen.”
The story doesn’t end with the conclusion of Student Super Star. Catch Jasir, Inaya and Leena in next month’s Hackschool Project.