55.03-My ball slid in between your legs

 Previously on the Smole,

The veterans' first season is something they would be familiar with if they were from Season 51. 

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Flora: "I didn't manage to do a proper description of my items within the time frame. Fortunately on the back of one of my cards, it is said that Belinda knows the order of the second group and will stay silent if it's correct."

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Flora: "We shouldn't be running amok. We're veterans. We know better than that."

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Cole: "You have something written on the back of your card too?"

Quinn: "Damn. Let the cat out of the bag. Yeah I do. Flora will be selfish if she gets the surprise."

Flora: "I don't even know what the surprise is."

Belinda: "Quinn does."

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Ella: "I decree that I am the last, followed by the bard, then the fool, then the sorcerer."

Sylvester: "Why are we listening to you?"

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Sylvester: "We spent too much time on the first group that we neglected the second group. It was a complete disaster and I had a feeling we weren't gonna get it right unless by luck."

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Cole: "Maybe now's the time for me to say that Shawn has an exemption. If we block him we can prevent him from getting it."

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Flora: "The fairest way is that nobody gets an exemption. We need to pick someone who is most likely to take up the points."

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Flora: "Sylvester. You are the only one left."

Sylvester: "Why are we just trusting Belinda? No offence but I don't get good vibes from you."

Flora: "We are down to a minute. If you truly do not care either way about going for the room, you would change your vote to Belinda."

Sylvester: "Fine. Belinda it is. I don't want to be the one that cost the group 50 points."

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Belinda: "Sorry. I chose an exemption."

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Quinn: "Thanks for taking one for the team Flora."

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Davian: "I'm just glad to be given another chance. I'm going to make good use of it."

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"...Flora Flowerina. Please pack your bags and leave."

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The veterans ended up with nothing to show for their hard work in the first mission, leaving the pot empty when it could have been at 100 points. While Belinda did not walk away empty-handed, Flora went home first. Did the exemption save Belinda or did she have no use for it ultimately? Is she the Mole? Who is the Mole?

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Shawn: "Yay! I managed to survive the first execution. Davian did too. He must be really proud of himself. But I know that my time is coming soon. I won't be that lucky to have found the Mole and win the season."

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Cole: "God save the Queen~"

Ella: "A passable attempt, bard. You fared much better than the last bard in the Smole house. But your costume is absolutely downright disgusting. Don't you dare show your face around me wearing this again or I will have you executed."

Cole: "Smole executed?"

Ella: "Real executed."

Cole: "You can't do that."

Ella: "I can and I will. Don't forget I'm the queen of this house."

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Ella: "That foul bard suddenly approached me this morning asking if I wanted a morning performance. As the bard, it was his job so I merely let him perform his role. But I am not a fool. His sudden attitude change towards me means he has something plotted. He thinks he can cause harm to me? Ha! Not if I can do anything about it."

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World Cup season has ended but the Smole is still riding on the high of the tournament. For this mission, the contestants will get to test their soccer skills and knowledge. One of them would be a goalkeeper while the rest would be given trivia questions. Each question has 2 correct answers and 1 wrong answer, except the last question which has 2 wrong answers. The contestants start off with 100 points. The goalkeeper has to block the corresponding incorrect soccer ball while allowing those that are correct to pass through. Each incorrect ball would lose 10 points from the pot.

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Davian: "We decided that the goalkeeper needed to be someone athletic. As the only professional athlete, that task was given to me. I have to admit I'm not the best at trivia, especially soccer trivia, but that's where the others will come in to help me."

Belinda: "We decided to divide ourselves into two groups and take alternate questions. We also designated one of us per group to always kick the incorrect ball so that Davian would figure out the pattern and know whose ball to consistently block. For my group, that would be mine while for the other group, it is Her Highness's."

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Play along!

Shawn: "The first question is: How many players can there be on a field in soccer?

A: 6

B: 7

C: 11"

Sylvester: "I'm not too sure but I know there are a lot."

Belinda: "As a teacher, I recognise some of these question-setting tactics. The answer is likely to be A or B. I recommend we pick the smallest number because soccer is a big sport."

Sylvester: "Davian, always block Belinda."

Davian: "Got it!"

Davian: "Woah!"

Davian: "That moved much slower than expected."

Sylvester: "Shawn's too. You need to kick with more force. Yours actually needs to enter the goal too for it to count."

"Davian blocked Ball A. That is indeed the penalty ball."

Davian: "Sweet."

Cole: "Question 2: Which of the following are soccer players?

A: Cristiano Ronaldo

B: Michael Jordan

C: Lionel Messi"

Quinn: "It's A and C. Even I know this. MJ is a basketballer."

Cole: "Then let's go."

Ella: "Put on a proper outfit first bard. I warned you this morning."

Cole: "No time for that. And looks like there aren't any spare clothes. Live with it, Queen biatch."

Ella: "What did you call me?"

Quinn: "It's just a modern way of saying 'Your Highness'."

Ella: "It better be."

Davian: "So who do I block?"

Quinn: "Ell...Her Highness. She has Michael Jordan who is a basketballer and not a soccer player."

Davian: "Gotcha."

"Davian blocked Ball B. That is the right ball to block once again."

Sylvester: "Question 3: Which of the following has at least 25 red cards to date?

A: Gerardo Bedoya

B: Sergio Ramos

C: Vinnie Jones"

Shawn: "I don't think any of us has a clue. I want to say it's A but I'm always wrong so we should not pick A."

Sylvester: "Then let's pick B. Sergio sounds like a good boy's name."

Davian: "What's the question?"

Sylvester: "Who has the most red cards. We think it's not this Sergio guy which is Belinda's ball."

Davian: "I don't really know either so I have to trust you."

"Davian blocked Ball B once again. However, Ball B was one of the correct answers. It was Ball C that had the penalty. Gerardo Bedoya has at least 46 red cards, Sergio Bedoya has at least 26 and Vinnie Jones has at least 12 red cards."

Sylvester: "Shit. -10."

Shawn: "What? Oh what bad luck."

Ella: "Question 4: Which quotes are by Pelé?

A: "The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning"

B: "To see the ball, to run after it, makes me the happiest man in the world" 

C: "A penalty is a cowardly way to score"

Ella: "It is obvious it is the first option. It is the only non soccer-related quote."

Quinn: "Is it really that simple?"

Cole: "Sometimes it's that simple. I take Ball B and you take Ball C?"

Quinn: "Okay."

Davian: "What's the question?"

Ella: "You don't need to worry about that. All you need to worry about is to capture my soccer ball."

Cole: "Hey, you should dive to the left! I mean, my left! You're lucky my ball slid in between your legs."

"Davian let Ball B in which had -10 points. The second quote was by Diego Maradona."

Cole: "Who now?"

Quinn: "Only one of the most legendary soccer players in the world."

Ella: "And you did not think of this before now?"

Quinn: "Pele's legendary too. It's not like I would know what the correct quote is anyway."

Shawn: "Question 5: Which of the following clubs has soccer player Kylian Mbappe played for

A: Real Madrid

B: Paris Saint Germain

C: AS Monaco"

Sylvester: "We think B is clearly a correct answer and C is the wrong one."

Belinda: "Huh? Shawn! Your ball knocked into mine."

Shawn: "Oh no! Sorry! I just have bad luck with aiming."

Davian: "Crap. In the moment of confusion I took the wrong one."

"Actually, Davian had it right...or wrong. Ball A was the incorrect answer. Mbappe has only trained with Real Madrid but never played for them."

Davian: "Phew. Guess I got lucky."

Quinn: "Question 6: Which of the following are married to soccer players?

A: Elin Nordegren

B: Sofia Calzetti

C: Victoria Adams"

Cole: "C is the Spice Girl. David Beckham's wife. The penalty ball is either A or B."

Quinn: "Davian, we aren't quite sure of this one. We know you should either block A or B: Elin or Sofia."

Davian: "What's the question?"

Quinn: "The wives of soccer players."

Davian: "Okay I'll just pick a random one."

"Ball A has been blocked from the goal. That is indeed the wrong one. Elin Nordegren is Tiger Woods's wife. Tiger is a golf player. Sofia Calzetti is married to Sergio Arguero while Victoria Adams is married to David Beckham. The latter two men are soccer players."

Cole: "Nice save Davian!"

Ella: "My ankle hurts. What a horrible sport. I will outlaw it when I get back to my own kingdom."

Belinda: "Question 7: Which of the following has never held a World Cup to date?

A: Turkey

B: Uruguay

C: Canada"

Shawn: "I would guess C is not correct."

Sylvester: "He's right. They're going to be hosting the World Cup along with the US. Belinda, you take Canada. I'll take Uruguay and Shawn takes Turkey."

Belinda: "Who has never hosted a World Cup? We think the answer is Canada."

Davian: "Right or wrong answer?"

Sylvester: "Wrong, I mean right, I mean right to you. Right as in correct."

Shawn: "Just block Belinda."

Sylvester: "You're standing too close to me Shawn."

Shawn: "Oh sorry. I'll kick further to the left then."

Davian: "Why are all the balls criss-crossing?"

Davian: "Which ball did I take?"

"You blocked Ball C, which is unfortunately a ball you should have let through. Uruguay is the one that has hosted a World Cup before."

Sylvester: "Everything is going haywire. Shawn, you kick like a girl. That ball nearly didn't roll into the goalpost."

Shawn: "I'll try harder."

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Sylvester: "Everything's going haywire. Belinda and Shawn can't control the ball well and as a result the balls flew in the wrong direction many times. Shawn likes to stand really close to the middle and restrict others while Belinda likes to stand far away and as a result overcompensates in the angle she kicks."

Quinn: "It's very difficult to think in negatives. The wrong answer is the correct answer as it is the answer that Davian must take but it is actually a wrong answer. It's just so confusing and a moment of confusion will result in a penalty for the pot. I think if we could do it over, we should tell Davian what the correct answers are and let him block the one we didn't say. The two halves should also work together in deciding the correct answers before sending players off to the field."

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Quinn: "Question 8: Which of the following international bodies govern soccer?

A: RFU

B: FIFA

C: UEFA"

Cole: "FIFA is definitely right. UEFA too. See? We have everything settled for you, Queen Biatch."

Quinn: "I'll take FIFA since it's the most correct answer. Cole, you take UEFA as you are the best kicker and can control the ball."

Davian: "Question!"

Cole: "Dude, just trust us. Block Ball A."

Davian: "I want to be able to make my own judgement too."

Quinn: "Which of the following are governing bodies for soccer? RFU..."
Cole: "Quinn just kick!"

Davian: "Never heard of RFU before so it's probably that one."

"RFU is the Rugby Football Union. That ball had a penalty which Davian successfully blocked."

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Quinn: "We're down to our final question which has four correct answers and two wrong answers. Which country made it to the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup 2022?

A: France

B: Argentina

C: Brazil

D: Portugal

E: Croatia

F: Morocco"

Belinda: "I am inclined to think the first four made it to the semifinals. They are historically good at soccer."

Shawn: "Davian, Cole and I were watching the finals last night on TV and made bets which I of course lost. France and Argentina were definitely in the finals."

Ella: "No. Portugal is incorrect. Do you even read the news? I remember seeing Croatia there and I don't follow soccer."

Cole: "Then you can take Portugal and Belinda takes Morocco."

Shawn: "Can I take Argentina? It won so maybe its good luck can rub onto me."

Sylvester: "No. Cole, maybe you should take Argentina since you're so confident it's right. Shawn can't kick to save his life."

Cole: "Davian, this last question is a two-parter. All the wrong answers are in the next part. D and E. So let all of us through."

Davian: "Really? What's the question?"

Shawn: "The semifinalists of the World Cup."

Shawn: "I'm Brazil, Cole is Argentina and Sylvester is France."

Davian: "Shawn, what the hell? You missed the ball!"

Shawn: "Oh no! Do I have a do over?"

"No. Please call over the other contestants for their final shot."

Shawn: "I can't believe I screwed up."

Davian: "Who do you represent?"

Belinda: "Morocco."

Quinn: "Croatia."

Ella: "Portugal."

Belinda: "It's me and Her Highness you need to stop."

Davian: "I can only stop one penalty!"

Quinn: "Belinda! You were supposed to kick to the left too!"

Cole: "Damn you guys really suck."

Ella: "My feet are sore. I need a royal massage stat."

"Two balls did not make it to the final goal: Ball C and Ball D. Fortunately, those are the two wrong answers. Therefore, 70/100 points have been earned in this mission."

Shawn: "Luckily Belinda aimed poorly."

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Davian: "Man I'm all pumped up after the mission this afternoon."

Sylvester: "I wonder if I can rewatch the World Cup. Shawn said you and him and Cole were watching it together last night."

Davian: "Yeah. It was on so why not?"

Sylvester: "But somehow none of you realised that Morocco was a semifinalist and Brazil wasn't."

Davian: "We watched the finals, not the semifinals. Besides, we're here during the World Cup season. It's not like we had all the time in the world to catch up on each match."

Davian: "Now excuse me. I'm going to take a bath."

Sylvester: "Those jingly-jangly trinkets are right there...nobody's here right now."

Sylvester: "No. I can't do it. The whole world knows I'm together with Bertha now. I can't embarrass her."

Sylvester: "Hey someone dropped a keychain on the floor...should I take it? I could keep it safe with me for now until I find out who it belongs to."

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Quinn: "Ugh, did Cole just throw his dirty clothes in between our beds?"

Cole: "Hey, what's up my room buddy?"

Quinn: "Perfect timing. Can't you clean up after yourself for once?"

Quinn: "Those clothes are going to fester with germs and bacteria and make everyone sick. Do you want to start a global pandemic?"

Cole: "You're overreacting."

Quinn: "Me? I'm overreacting? I'm having so much difficulty sleeping at night because of the mess you make."

Cole: "I didn't realise you were a neat freak."

Quinn: "I'm not a neat freak but I'm not a pig either."

Cole: "Hey there. Low blow. Look, I'll clean up now, okay?"

Quinn: "Don't miss a spot."

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Cole: "Quinn is such a chatterbox. She makes late nights fun when we're in our rooms chatting and she's telling me all these stories, but sometimes she complains too much too. Like earlier, she complained I was being messy. Okay but 5 minutes won't kill you. I was going to clean up eventually. She also likes to butt into other conversations whenever she can. Sometimes I think she's just doing it for the attention."

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Shawn: "Oh sorry. I didn't know anyone was in here."

Ella: "Did nobody teach you how to knock, fool?"

Shawn: "That's not very nice, Your Highness."

Ella: "Are you talking back to me?"

Shawn: "No Your Highness."

Ella: "Tell me. Why are you here?"

Shawn: "I wanted to find somewhere quiet to revise."

Ella: "No. I mean, why are you here on the Smole? Why did you choose to return?"

Shawn: "Oh. To be honest, I don't really know myself. But I already lost my family and my house and pretty much everything. What else do I have to lose by not coming back?"

Ella: "Hm. It seems I need to find something else I can use to make you do my bidding."

Shawn: "Pardon?"

Ella: "Nothing. Now unless you know how to do a foot massage, scram."

Shawn: "Okay. I'll get going now Your Highness. Oh hi Belinda."

Belinda: "Hello. It appears we all had the same idea."

Ella: "Sage, tell me why you're here."

Belinda: "Pardon?"

Shawn: "She means why you joined the Smole."

Belinda: "Oh. Can I not share, Your Highness?"

Ella: "No. Fool, do me a favour and lock the door."

Belinda: "You're just doing her bidding?"

Shawn: "I don't want to get on her bad side."

Ella: "Speak, sage."

Belinda: "Oh. Okay. I came here to try to be more trendy and connect better with my students. Their feedback for me is that I live under a rock."

Ella: "I need a new slave to do my chores for me. If you are willing, I can teach you how to connect better with children."

Belinda: "With all due respect Your Highness, I don't think you could teach me more than I already know."

Belinda: "Now please excuse me. I have a quiz to prepare for and I need to find somewhere else to study."

Ella: "Hm. The sage is an unpredictable one. And you?"

Shawn: "Err...I really rather not be a slave."

Ella: "I insist."

Shawn: "Oh okay then. What do I have to do?"

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It is time for the quiz. 10 questions about the Mole's identity. The lowest scorer will be executed.

Q1: Is the Mole male or female?

A: Male

B: Female

Q2: How old was the Mole when the Mole first joined?

A: 73

B: 38

C: 34

D: 31

E: 30

F: 28

G: 26

Q3: What colour is the quilt the Mole currently uses?

A: Blue

B: Yellow

C: Grey

D: Brown

Q4: Is the Mole bespectacled?

A: Yes

B: No

Q5: In Mission 2, what was the Mole's role?

A: Kicker

B: Goalkeeper

Q6: In Mission 2, which of the following questions was the Mole involved in?

A: Which of the following has never held a World Cup to date?

B: Which of the following are soccer players?

C: All of the above

Q7: In Mission 2, how many wrong-answer balls did the Mole kick?

A: 0

B: 1

C: 2

D: 4

Q8: How many question did the Mole's group get wrong in Mission 2?

A: 1

B: 2

C: Not applicable

Q9: In Mission 2, who was the Mole grouped with?

A: Belinda Hunny and Shawn Munk

B: Ella Marie Tremble and Quinn Harley

C: The Mole is one of the above

D: The Mole was a goalkeeper

Q10: Who is the Mole?

A: Belinda Hunny

B: Ella Marie Tremble

C: Shawn Munk

D: Sylvester Roscoe

E: Quinn Harley

F: Cole Mirani

G: Davian Lemming

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"Contestants, all of you have played this game before, but tonight the game will play another one of you. One of you will be executed a second or even a third time. Who will it be?"

"Shawn Munk, unfortunately you have been executed. Please pack your bags and leave."

Shawn: "I saw that coming."

Belinda: "Shawn was innocent and guileless. He was such an open book. It was easy to get along with him and trust him."

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Shawn: "I...well...actually I got a clue. We can get bonus points if we put one of Her Highness's items first."

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Sylvester: "Shawn was clumsy as hell but he would always put in the effort in whatever he did."

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Sylvester: "Shawn, you kick like a girl. That ball nearly didn't roll into the goalpost."

Shawn: "I'll try harder."

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Ella: "He was a fool, but fools have nothing else to fear. His response to his execution is as natural as expected. It irks me that he is executed as he was my slave in the house."

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Shawn: "Oh. To be honest, I don't really know myself. But I already lost my family and my house and pretty much everything. What else do I have to lose by not coming back?"

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Shawn: "I answered on everyone because I wasn't sure and choosing everyone would mean I was guaranteed to have the Mole somewhere in my quizzes. It must be my bad luck that I still lost despite suspecting the Mole. Oh well. I saw this coming sooner or later."

"Thank you for joining Shawn. We hope to see you soon."

The unlucky monk has been executed! Was it really bad luck?