Essie nodded. “That sounds right.”
“Good with me.” Maude pointed at the score sheet. “Write it down.”
Blaise filled in the first answer.
“Question number two is a tough one, so put your thinking caps on,” Dan said. “What does HTTP stand for in a website address?”
There were a couple of groans from the audience, but Maude laughed. “I’ve got this one.” She leaned in, voice low. “HyperText Transfer Protocol.”
Essie shook her head in amazement. “If I were a betting person, I’d bet everything in my wallet that you’re the only one in this room that got that.”
Maude grinned. “Computersarekind of my thing.”
Dan lifted the mic to his mouth. “Here comes question number three. I hope you went to church this week; if not, you’d better go tomorrow. In the Bible, which of the apostles was a tax collector?”
Essie flattened her hand on the table. “That’s easy. Matthew.”
Blaise’s brows went up. “You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
Blaise wrote it down then hovered over the paper like she was trying to protect anyone from seeing their answers. “You guys. We’re doing pretty good so far, don’t you think?”
“Maybe,” Maude said. “But we’re only three answers in. We have seven more to go.”
“True.” Blaise looked up at the stage as Dan read the fourth question.
“Here’s one for the ladies. What French designer is credited with introducing the world to the ‘little black dress’?”
Both Essie and Maude looked at Blaise, who wore a big smile. She laughed. “Yes, I know that one.”
They watched as she wrote Coco Chanel for number four.
As a team, they were able to answer the next five questions without taxing their brains too much.
Then came the last question of the round. Dan looked at the card in his hand. “Again, you better have gone to church on Sunday because we’re going back to the Bible for our final question and it’s a tough one. Here we go. Which book of the Bible doesnotmention God by name?”
The crowd went silent. Someone yelled out, “That’s a trick question.”
Dan shook his head. “Someone needs to go to church more, I see.”
That got a laugh, but all the faces Essie could see were full of confusion. She put her hand on the scoresheet, then held her other hand out for the pencil. “May I?”
“You know this?” Blaise asked.
Essie nodded as she pulled the scoresheet closer. “It’s one of my favorite books. A wonderful, courageous story that all women should read. Esther.” She wrote it down.
“All right, that’s it for round one. Let’s get those scores tallied,” Dan said. He read off the questions and the answers one by one.
“You guys,” Blaise whispered. “We got them all right.”
Dan took a sip of his water, then called out, “If your team got six right, put your hands up.”
Hands went up all over the room.
“Lots of you,” Dan said. “Fantastic. How about seven right?”
That lowered some hands.
