As time entered November and Halloween arrived, Mike finally persuaded Mia to agree to cosplay as Gothic princesses with Lina.
Mike himself was dressed as a dark lord.
The three of them had a fierce "battle of good and evil" in Mia's large villa.
After Halloween, Mike's calm campus life resumed.
At noon that day, Ms. Sharon from the Math Olympiad team suddenly sought him out.
Soon after, Ms. Sharon stated her purpose: she hoped Mike could become the captain of this year's Math Olympiad team and represent Medford in the Math Olympiad competition at the end of the year.
"I know this request is sudden, but I really have no choice. I heard that Marymount School, in order to regain the Math Olympiad Champion title, has been specially training an Math Olympiad team since the beginning of this year. And Little Garden High also has several math geniuses this year…" Ms. Helen laid out all her worries.
For a school, winning the Math Olympiad Champion every year is a great honor.
Ms. Sharon was responsible for this aspect.
Last year, she led the Medford Math Olympiad team to win the Math Olympiad Champion title, and naturally hoped to maintain it this year.
"So, who is on the school's Math Olympiad team this year?" Since he had nothing else to do, Mike didn't mind picking up another honor.
"This… the Math Olympiad team currently only has Nell as a formal member." Ms. Helen had a somewhat embarrassed expression on her face.
According to normal procedures, the school's Math Olympiad team usually begins to form in June at the start of the new school year.
Counting the time, five months had passed, and Ms. Helen had only recruited one qualified member for the Math Olympiad team; this efficiency couldn't even be described as slow.
Of course, it was precisely because of this that she came to Mike for help.
It felt a bit like being forced into a role.
"In other words, I need to recruit three more members myself." Mike's reaction was surprisingly calm.
He knew this was the norm for public high schools; if nothing unexpected happened, there weren't that many talents among ordinary high school students.
People like Sheldon and Paige, and Mike himself, were all exceptions.
"Yes, this year's Math Olympiad team needs you to form it yourself." Ms. Helen nodded, then promised, "Of course, I know this is very difficult. So the school will, at its discretion, give you and the members you recruit some rewards. Those rewards are not limited to monetary aspects."
For twelfth grade students who were about to graduate, the school could provide a lot of help.
For example, students' daily credits, or students' in-school evaluations. These all affected whether they could apply to good universities after graduation.
"OK, I accept this task." Even for Cady's sake, Mike would help Ms. Sharon.
Moreover, he already had ideas for the remaining three members of the Math Olympiad team.
"That's great, you've really helped me solve a big problem." Ms. Sharon breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "If you need anything at school in the future, you can always come to me to discuss it."
Now, with Principal Tom nearing retirement at Medford High, Dean Tim's power was also growing.
After all, if nothing unexpected happened, the next principal of Medford would be Dean Tim.
With the rising tide, Ms. Sharon, who had a close relationship with Tim, now also held significant power in the school.
After bidding farewell to Ms. Sharon, Mike returned to the classroom, where Paige and Mia were still waiting.
"What did Ms. Sharon want you for?" Paige asked.
"It's about the Math Olympiad competition…" Mike briefly explained that he was taking on the role of Math Olympiad team captain, then looked at Paige and asked, "The Math Olympiad team is short on people right now, do you want to join?"
"Of course, I'd love to!" A smile appeared on little Paige's face.
Joining the Math Olympiad team meant more time to spend with Mike.
Speaking of which, girls in their teens do develop faster than boys.
Only a few months had passed, and Paige, who was in her developmental stage and lacked no nutrition, had gradually moved beyond the category of a little girl, gaining a bright, youthful aura.
"There's not much time for lunch break, let's go eat first." Mia reminded them from the side.
Thanks to this Genovian princess, Mike and the others' lunches during this period were provided by the maid Amy.
In other words, Mike hadn't eaten lunch at school for a long time.
"No rush, we won't go to the villa to eat today. Next, I still need to find two people." Since he had taken on the role of Math Olympiad team captain, Mike decided to resolve the matter of inviting team members first.
Yes, Mike planned to use the lunch break to invite Sheldon and Tam to join the Math Olympiad team.
"Lina, you take everyone to the cafeteria to get food first, I'll find you after I'm done." After arranging where Lina and the others would go, Mike himself walked towards the library.
If he remembered correctly, Sheldon and Tam usually had their lunch in the library.
However, to Mike's surprise, when he arrived at the library, he only saw a solitary Sheldon there.
"Sheldon, interested in joining the Math Olympiad team?" Mike asked directly.
"Math Olympiad team? Not interested," Sheldon, who was looking at physics materials while eating his packed sandwich, thought for a moment and then refused.
Last year, Sheldon, as an unofficial member, also participated in the school's Math Olympiad team activities.
And the problems in the Math Olympiad competition were as simple as playing house for Sheldon. Therefore, he, who was currently interested in physics, had little interest in joining the Math Olympiad team.
Yes, Sheldon, who had experienced the Nobel Physics research project, was now fascinated by profound physics.
"I think you can consider it more carefully." Mike ignored Sheldon's attitude and smiled as he analyzed, "Joining the Math Olympiad team will not restrict your freedom to study. On the contrary, it will give you more free time to study what you're interested in. At the same time, you can also earn physical education credits."
The outdoor exercise class in the afternoon was an elective for physical education credits.
Sheldon's physical education credits were very tight because he had skipped outdoor exercise classes for a period last year.
Mike really seized on this point.
"Very well, you have successfully persuaded me." As expected of a little genius, Sheldon quickly understood the key.
And he was currently self-studying Hawking's cosmology theory, which indeed required a lot of free time to learn.
Thus, Mike and Sheldon hit it off immediately.
"Oh right, where's Tam? Why isn't he with you." Mike hadn't forgotten the other person he needed to invite.
"I don't know either, in fact, I haven't seen him for several days." Sheldon shook his head, with not much expression on his face.
Here, one has to mention Sheldon's personality; whether you call him reclusive or not, at certain times, he truly enjoys the feeling of solitude.
"Alright."
The matter of Tam could be discussed later; Mike was now preparing to go to the cafeteria to have his lunch. As he left the library, he specifically reminded Sheldon, "Don't forget to gather at the Math Study Room this afternoon."
…
At the school cafeteria, the "territory" system was still maintained.
Even though Mike hadn't been there for a long time, the prime spot in the middle of the cafeteria was still reserved for him.
Lina and the others, who had arrived earlier, had already gotten their lunch and were sitting there.
"Tam, do you think Mike will come to the cafeteria to eat today?" At a table on the edge of the cafeteria, several students from other classes were gathered.
Tam was one of them.
"Probably… he'll come…" Tam replied uncertainly, with an awkward smile on his face.
Ever since the Summer League this year, Mike had become the absolute popular figure on the Medford campus.
Tam also took advantage of this momentum, claiming to be an acquaintance of Mike's, thereby making a large group of friends.
His favorite thing to do was to brag about his close relationship with Mike, the popular figure, to attract more attention.
"Aren't you friends with Mike? When he comes later, can you introduce him to us?" Someone asked expectantly.
"We'll see, if there's a chance… definitely…" Tam made a promise with a guilty conscience.