Welcome to Students Incorporated. I'm your host,
Mr. Jason. Join me weekly as my team and I produce
content that's informative, positive, fun, and
uplifting. This podcast is created and produced
with the help of students from the International
Community School of Bangkok. Hello and welcome
back to the show. We've got another exciting
episode for you. I'm joined by co -hosts Mia
and Frank. In our first segment, we'll be talking
with several student athletes about their high
school sports career and the difficulties of
balancing both academics and sports. Then in
segment two, we'll continue part three of our
adventure story titled Legends of the Yucatan.
So stick around. But before we get started, let's
hear our quote of the day and get some headline
news. Our quote of the day comes from Haywood
Brown, an American sports writer, journalist,
and social commentator. He's quoted to have said,
Sports did not build character, they revealed
it. The quote means that sports won't magically
give you character. Whatever you're born with
just shows up when you play. In the heat of competition,
your real traits, whether it's teamwork, integrity,
or even selfishness and competitiveness, taken
too far. Become clear. So rather than sports
making you a better person, they're more like
a mirror that reflects who you truly are on the
field and gives you a reality check on who you
are. And that's our quote of the day. Now, on
to some headline news with Mia. For the news,
let's look at some recent headlines in sports.
First off, the 2025 Major League Baseball season
kicked off with the Tokyo Series, which featured
the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Clubs
at the Tokyo Dome. This event marked the 25th
anniversary of MLB's regular season games in
Japan. This is a little special because our very
own Toto went to Japan and watched the preseason
game. Next up, the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball
Tournament, known as March Madness, is officially
underway, kicking off with the first four matchups
in Dayton, Ohio. The action ramps up with the
first round, featuring powerhouse programs like
Duke, Florida, and Houston aiming for deep tournament
runs. Meanwhile, red -hot teams like Texas Tech
and St. John's are making waves as potential
bracket busters. With the final four set for
April 5th in San Antonio, the stage is set for
a another thrilling march filled with upsets,
Cinderella stories, and buzzer beaters. Finally,
get ready for some massive football clashes.
From June 15th to July 13th this year, the FIFA
Club World Cup will be held in 32 stadiums across
the U .S. The competition will be in a tournament
format, with group stages and knockout rounds,
and concluding with a championship in the MetLife
Stadium in New York. So, if you want to see famous
players like Messi and Mbappe compete, you should
definitely go. And that ends our headline news
for this episode. Thank you for the quote and
the headline news. We welcome several student
athletes to the studio for this segment, and
Mia will start us off. Hello, everyone. So could
you all introduce yourself and tell us what sport
you play? Micah, you can go first. Hello, I'm
Micah. I'm a senior and I play football. I'm
Asa. I'm also a senior and I also play football.
I'm Mimi. I'm a senior too and I play volleyball.
I'm Ingrid and I'm also a senior and I play basketball
and football. Very good sports from everyone.
So how long have you guys been involved in this
sport and what initially got you guys started?
So I've been playing basketball since I was probably
in fifth grade. And I started playing basketball
because my parents made me do taekwondo, but
I didn't want to do it anymore. So they said
if I quit, I had to pick up another sport. So
that was basketball. And I stuck with it ever
since. I played volleyball since eighth grade.
And I think my friends just invited me to a tryouts.
That's just how I got started with the sport.
I started. Playing football when I was five.
My parents signed me up for like a little league
thing in America and I really enjoyed it. And
so I played all through elementary and got really
into it. I also started when I was five and my
friend brought me to this club. And ever since
then, I've been playing for that same club. All
right. Thank you. So how do you guys think that
your sport has shaped your high school experience
so far? I think it's made it much more enjoyable
and I think I've gotten to know a lot more people
through the team. Yeah, kind of like Micah said,
it's been probably my favorite part or one of
my favorite parts of high school here. And a
lot of my teammates are my really good friends
because of that. Same as Asa and Micah, I think
sports has gotten me the opportunity to meet
new people. Sports. made me like take my mind
off of academics, which really helped. And I
also met a lot of people who I normally wouldn't
talk to at school and also hang out with friends
outside of school is also really nice. Definitely.
Sports can change your experience inside and
outside of high school. So how has participating
in your sport affect your time management and
schoolwork? Actually, I don't think it really
affects my time management much because, but
I think that playing sports after school does
make me more motivated during guided studies
since I will not just sit around and do nothing
I'll actually try to finish my work but if I
don't go to practice and I go home I won't be
doing work anyways I'll just be probably taking
a nap so yeah I mean I kind of did struggle with
time management the first few years joining varsity
but then later on I kind of adapt to it it really
helped me develop and understand my priorities
more because when I spent so much time practicing
after school I had to really focus and be diligent
to get my schoolwork done. Yeah, for me, the
same as Asa, especially like when we had away
games, I would have to do all of my work like
a lot faster than I would normally have to do.
And it taught me to be more diligent. All right.
Thank you. I mean, like kudos to you guys. I
don't think I could ever do like what you guys
do, especially with a lot of like away games
and ACSC as well. So good job, guys. All right.
So. After high school, do you see yourself continuing
the sport? Or what's your future goal in the
sport, if you have any? My future goal is just
to become the best player I can and get to the
highest level I can. And I hope that I don't
get injuries that will stunt that growth. I would
say my goal is to play for as long as I can and
at the highest level I can. And next year I'll
be playing in college, which is something I'm
very excited about. And then I'll just see where
that takes me. I'll probably play like club volleyball
in my university. So yeah, I'll just have fun
in my sport in the future. I would say that my
basketball career will probably end in high school
because I'm just too small of a fish and too
big of a pawn in college to be able to amount
to much in basketball. So I'm going to start
picking up golf and start being a golfer instead.
Definitely. But like, you know, like some people
like you shouldn't just give up on your dreams,
even if it's just small or big, you know, just
keep going. But yeah, so what advice would you
give to younger athletes who are just starting
their high school sports careers? The most important
advice I would give is as a younger athlete,
you might not get as much playing time as the
other people. And I think that should not discourage
you from like trying to work harder. Instead,
like take, use that. use like not having enough
playing time to motivate yourself to improve
so you can eventually get more playing time yeah
yeah I agree with Ingrid but most importantly
just try to have fun with your friends and then
use that opportunity to bond with other people
too yeah I would say do your best work really
hard to win but don't forget your reason for
playing the sport which is because you enjoy
it so don't put too much pressure on yourself
to perform and win all the time I think you should
just try your hardest because you might be really
talented at it and you should take it as far
as you can. All right. Thank you very much for
being here in the studio today. We appreciate
the sacrifice and all the time that goes into
being a student athlete. It's a lot of work.
And on top of that, you have to do the same amount
of homework that all of your. friends and other
students have to do so thank you for that all
right we'll be right back after this short psa
announcement when we bring you part three of
the legends of the yucatan we'll be right back
let's talk about tri sports this unique tournament
blends basketball volleyball and soccer over
three action -packed days it's also the final
competition for senior student athletes making
a meaningful and memorable way to close out their
high school sports journey. Players compete in
soccer, then volleyball, and finally basketball,
creating an unforgettable experience filled with
teamwork, competition, and camaraderie. For many
seniors, Tri Sports holds a special place in
their hearts. making it a highly recommended
event to cap off their high school athletic careers.
Then we have the Varsity Badminton Tournament,
hosted as an ISB invitational event. This prestigious
international competition will welcome schools
from across Asia for two days of high -level
badminton play. The tournament will be held this
Friday and Saturday at ISB. Don't miss the chance
to cheer on our teams for both tournaments this
weekend. Go team! And we are back with our second
segment and we'll continue with part three of
our story, Legends of the Yucatan. Part three
is titled The Incident. If you missed parts one
and two, you can get caught up by listening to
episodes 87 through 88. Legends of the Yucatan
is a sequel to our season two story, The Secrets
of El Dorado. We released last year during episodes
55 through 64 in audio narration. It's also available
in book form as a downloadable PDF from our website
or in paperback version on Amazon .com. Just
visit studentsincorporated .com to find out more.
Now moving on, Camden will give us a quick recap
before we jump into part three. Recapping part
two, the interview. The students and chaperones
from El Dorado College arrive safely at UNOM.
Ava interviews Miranda and David about the artifact
while Professor Hawthorne guests lectures. There
is a book signing event in the student union,
and the group meets museum curator Anthony Garcia.
And without further ado, let's jump back into
our story where we join our eclectic group of
characters and their continuing adventure. Prof.
Amanda Chase has been back at the college in
Coloma, California, while Professor Hawthorne,
Ava, Lily, and the students have been enjoying
their first couple days on the ground at UNAM
in Mexico City. As she finishes one of her classes
and while walking out of the lecture hall, her
phone gets a notification with a not -so -familiar
ding. It catches her attention because it's a
very different sound from the usual notification
ding she receives from her other messaging apps.
Hmm. She thinks to herself and then looks more
closely at the screen on her phone as she's walking
down the hall toward her office. The message
reads, the U .S. Embassy has issued a level three
travel warning for parts of Mexico. Amanda clicks
on the notification and a longer message then
appears and reads, Level 3. Reconsider travel.
Avoid travel due to serious risks to safety and
security. The Department of State provides additional
advice for travelers in these areas in the travel
advisory. Conditions in any country may change
at any time. Oh my, Amanda thinks to herself
as she gets situated at her desk in her office.
She sends a quick text. to Professor Hawthorne
asking if he has seen the same message or has
heard of anything. It reads, Hello, hope things
are going well for you all down there. It's been
really quiet here for the last few days. Anyway,
quick question, did you happen to receive a notification
from the U .S. Embassy about a travel alert?
Just wondering, asking as a concerned friend
and colleague. Amanda impatiently stares down
at her phone screen, waiting for a reply from
the professor, hoping he sees it immediately.
All of a sudden, it hadn't been but a few seconds.
Amanda sees the small dots in the messaging app
bounce, which indicates that the professor is
in the middle of replying. So she waits. Professor
Hawthorne stopped mid -stride as he was walking
back to his temporary dorm room on the UNAM campus
after a long day of being with students, signing
books and talking a lot. His phone had dinged
with a familiar message, which indicated he had
received a text message. He noticed it was from
Amanda Chase, who was back at El Dorado College
in Coloma. He was thankful to have her join as
a faculty member this past year. She had helped
make this trip possible for him and his students.
helping with logistics, planning, and taking
some of his classes while he was away. Zoe felt
he owed it to her to keep all communication lines
open while he was away from the school, especially
if she had any questions about one of his classes
she was covering. He looked down at his phone
and read her message. He then clicked a few other
messaging apps open and saw nothing. There was
no notifications or messages from the U .S. Embassy
about a travel alert. He thought to himself as
he was messaging Amanda back, hmm, maybe a false
alarm or just formality the U .S. sends out pre
-summer travel season. He proceeds to text her
back letting her know that they are all fine
and have not heard any news like that from anybody
they've met. He texts back and it reads, Thanks
for the message. We're doing good. Did not get
any notifications on this end. Maybe a false
alarm or just a pre -summer travel precaution.
BTW, thanks for holding down the fort while I'm
gone. I really appreciate it. And with that,
he opens the door to his temporary dorm room
and plops down on the uncomfortable small bed
and zones out. Amanda reads Professor Hawthorne's
message and feels a sense of relief and texts
back. Okay, sounds good. Take care, and if I
get any more messages, I'll text you back. And
with that... A thought comes to mind. She then
remembers that when she was helping set up all
the travel plans for the team several months
prior, she actually entered her phone number
as one of the main contacts for the team and
forgot to add Professor Hawthorne's number. She
thinks to herself, well, if I get any more notifications,
I'll just pass them along as well. I'm hoping
Hawthorne's assessment is correct, that this
U .S. Embassy travel alert notification is just
a formality for tourists ahead of the heavy summer
travel season that's just around the corner.
Anthony Garcia is still with anxious pride. He
can't believe that he has the honor of helping
emcee the museum fundraising gala. In a little
more than eight hours, he'll be mingling with
prominent politicians, famous Mexican actors,
and a lot of very wealthy in this very own museum.
Well, let's just say the city's museum, but he
likes to call it his museum since the shows and
items he has been able to curate over the years
have helped propel this unknown old building
into an international destination. Not to mention
the world -renowned stuff he's been able to recruit
and keep. He thinks to himself, tonight is the
accumulation of many, many years of hard work,
and I'm going to enjoy myself. After all, I deserve
it. Mexico City, this district, and the community
owes me a great deal of gratitude for the past
many years. And deep down, Anthony also knows
that the artifacts that will be unveiled at the
gala and be displayed in the museum also come
with some territorial and cultural baggage he
hopes does not ruin the excitement everyone will
be feeling. He's got plenty to do in the next
eight hours before the event begins, so he gets
busy. He's focused and determined to make this
one of the best evenings of his career. It's
mid -morning and the El Dorado College students
who came on the trip have the day off. There
are no scheduled events all day until the evening
gala at the museum. Yesterday had been a long
and fun day, but they were all glad to get to
sleep in a bit, relax, and get some free time.
Max, Danny, and Joe were sharing a four -person
dorm room and were only a few doors down from
the room Professor Hawthorne was staying in.
Each night, Professor Hawthorne had come down
to the room, checked in on them, shouted, and
hung out before turning in for the night. He
even played a few hands of five -card draw. The
guys mentioned more than once that getting to
hang out with the professor outside the classroom
was actually quite fun and that it was quite
entertaining to see another side to him. Max
gets up and starts rummaging through his suitcase.
Hey, Danny, Joe, so are your clothes as wrinkled
as mine? Max asks his two roommates as he sifts
through his suitcase that's been laying on the
floor of the Yunam dorm room. He and his El Dorado
classmates have been staying in for the last
few days. Max continues. My mom would be so disappointed
in me right now. I mean, I totally forgot to
set out the outfit I packed for the gala event
and now it's full of wrinkles. It looks so unprofessional
and juvenile. Danny jumps in. Well, you can do
what I've had to do before. Hang your wrinkled
clothes in the bathroom and turn on the hot shower
water and shut the door for a few minutes. The
steam from the hot water should help get rid
of the wrinkles. Really? That works? Joe turns
and looks at Danny and then over at Max as he
and Danny watch Max unfold and hang up the one
formal outfit he had brought up on the trip.
This is my formal outfit for tonight, Max says
as he holds it up to show the other two guys
who are still lounging around on their beds.
I'm going to try the bathroom steam trick and
see if it works. Max continues, guys, how often
do we get dressed up this fancy back home? Hardly
ever, right? So we need to look classy and sharp
tonight. Besides, we need to match the girls
and styles. I'm sure they'll be dressed to the
nines. We can't have them outclassed us. Joe
cracks a smile, looks directly at Max, and then
says, Sounds like there's a certain someone you're
trying to impress tonight. It's okay to admit
you have a thing for Olivia. Danny jumps in again.
Well, the question you need to be asking yourself
and then finding out the answer to is, does Olivia
have a thing for you too? Until you figure that
out, I think you'll just be another dude in a
nice suit this evening. Meanwhile, an across
-the -small -campus street that separated several
of the boys' dorm from some of the girls' dorm,
the four college girls, who are also part of
the El Dorado college group, were essentially
doing the same exact thing boys were doing. That
is, they were looking through their suitcases
and prepping their formal clothes for that evening's
gala event at the museum. It was still mid -morning
and they were happy to have some downtime as
well. The past few days have been quite busy,
enjoyable but busy. Hey Olivia, did you end up
packing that one outfit you were talking about
last week after class? Vivian asks as she holds
up her formal dress to make sure the wrinkles
are not noticeable. No, I didn't. Olivia responds.
My parents gave me some trip money at the last
minute, so I was able to actually buy a new outfit
a few days before we left. Oh, let's see it.
Isabel remarks as she is in the middle of reorganizing
her own suitcase and her clothes she had just
been stuffing back in the suitcase after she
had worn them. Yeah, let's see it, Liv. Vivian
chimes in. Okay, guys, here it is. Olivia says
as she reluctantly holds up the new dress she
had just purchased a few days prior to them leaving
California to go on this trip. She continues,
okay, what do you think? Be honest now. Isabel
jumps in and immediately says, oh wow, that's
awesome and it's totally you. Yeah, not bad.
Vivian says as she looks over at Emily who hadn't
really said anything yet. What do you think of
Emily? Well, it's not my style and it probably
won't fit me, but it'd look really pretty on
you, Olivia, Emily says as she puts down her
phone after scrolling through her social media
accounts. Well, thank you. And you could totally
pull this look off if you had to, Olivia says
as she proceeds to hang up the dress, making
sure it stays nice and wrinkle -free before having
to put it on later that day. Just then, there's
a knock on the girl's door. Lily knocks on the
girl's door and it opens immediately. There stands
Olivia with a big smile on her face. Lily then
says, you all seem to be enjoying some downtime.
How's it going? Great. We were just hanging up
our formal outfits for tonight's event. We can't
go looking like we just pulled our outfits out
of our messy suitcases. Olivia responds. Oh,
right. Thanks for the reminder. I need to do
that too. Lady says as she steps halfway into
the room to look at the other outfits hanging
up. Isabel then asks, what's Mrs. Turner doing?
Miss Turner? Oh, right. You can totally count
her by her first name, Ava. She would probably
laugh if she heard you being that formal, Lady
responds. She's just hanging out in our room
and trying to catch up on work. Well, I just
wanted to come down and check on you and see
how things are going. Remember, we need to be
out front. Hawthorner spent the better part of
the morning scouring the internet looking for
information about why the United States had put
out the travel warning. Of course, the information
was not specific and there was nothing online
that he could find that would justify any type
of heightened anxiety on his part. He did feel
a lot of responsibility for the students who
had come but also knew that this trip offered
them a great experience that many of them would
not be able to get anywhere else. Professor Hawthorne,
noticing that it's a little past noon, leaves
the room and makes his way down to the dorm room
where the boys are staying. He knocks on the
door. No answer. After a few more unanswered
knocks, the professor decides to head over to
one of the small student unions located on the
other side of campus and grab a bite to eat for
lunch. The professor enters the student union
building and immediately sees Max, Danny, and
Joe sitting at a table eating and notices they
had just gotten started. He walks over to them
and then says, hey guys, glad you found some
food. Do you mind if the teacher joins you? Of
course not. We just got started. They're actually
serving American -style hamburgers today. And
well, you can tell that we're pretty excited
about that. Max responds as he looks down at
his two plates full of food. All right. Sounds
good, Hawthorne replies. Let me get my tray of
food and I'll be right back. Oh, and by the way,
if you have any questions about the gala tonight,
we can talk about it over lunch. The professor
then turns around and walks off to get his food,
which is served cafeteria style. As Hawthorne
walks off and is out of earshot, Joe makes a
comment to the other two guys. I don't know about
you, but it's kind of fun coming a trip with
the professor. Getting to see him outside the
classroom and realizing he's just a normal person.
Well, besides the fact that he's somewhat famous.
Yeah, well, I don't really think about the whole
Gold Rush scandal thing. He was involved in a
couple years back. Well, Miss Turner and Lily
too. And there he is, well, Max responds. Danny
then says as they watch Hawthorne start walking
back to their table with his tray of food, I
wonder what kind of scandal we'll find ourselves
in on this trip. Professor Hawthorne sits down
with his tray of food, looks up at the guys and
then says, Alright guys, what questions do you
have about tonight's event? Meanwhile, and on
the same day, there was a scurry of activity
in an old abandoned two -story building just
a few blocks away from the museum. The museum
at which the night's activities would be happening.
The old abandoned building was known to local
residents as the Old Broom Factory and had been
sitting empty for the past few years. When the
business had been operational, they produced
all kinds of brooms, which were sold and distributed
all over Mexico. However, many of the locals
knew... that the business was used for more than
just making brooms. Rumor has it the old broom
factory had also been a money laundering tool
for one of the local gangs that had ties to the
cartel. Is everything in place? Maria asked her
niece and nephew, who were sitting a few feet
away from her on old half -broken wooden chairs.
Si, senora. Everyone is prepped and ready for
this evening. Carlos responds as he looks at
his older sister, Renata, sitting next to him.
It's an easy in and out. No problem. We've done
much more difficult jobs than this one, Renanta
says. Well, don't get too cocky. There's a lot
more at stake with this job. Maria snaps back
and then continues. There will be a lot of people
there, so just follow the plan and see that it
gets done and done right. Speed and coordination
is the key to grabbing both of the items tonight.
I'll be here waiting. Don't deviate from that
plan. Get back here as quickly as you can. And
remember to connect with our guy on the inside
when you get in there. Professor Hawthorne and
the three young college guys walk out of their
dorm building and toward the white van that's
parked out front. He notices his friend Prof.
Tommy is standing outside next to the van already
talking with Ava. He then notices the college
girls and Lily walking toward the van from the
other side, having just exited the girls' dorm
building. As everyone stands around the van,
Hawthorne says, Thanks for being on time, everyone,
and you all look great. We clean up real well.
All right, everybody, let's load up and get going.
We'll probably hit some traffic on the way there,
Palmer says as he jumps in the front passenger
seat. A few minutes later, the van is moving
and on its way to the museum for a night that
no one will forget. About 30 minutes later, the
van arrives at the museum's front entrance, which
was a drop -off only. The American college students,
along with Hawthorne and Ava, exit the van and
take in the surroundings. The evening was starting
to settle in, and the day's light was dimming.
I guess you could say it was dusk. There was
a mariachi band consisting of about 12 members
playing close to the foot of the main stone staircase
leading up to the main entrance of the museum.
Photographers, along with reporters and news
agencies, were scurrying around as guests and
spectators started arriving. Upon getting out
of the van and after taking a headcount to make
sure everyone was accounted for, Professor Hawthorne
looks over at Ava and says, Looks like quite
the media event. Did you know this evening's
event would be so popular among the major news
outlets? Ava responds, I knew it was going to
be popular, but I didn't know it would be this
popular. I mean, I see another Reuters reporter
here. Probably to make sure they get the whole
story from different angles, I suppose. Tommy
puts his arm around Hawthorne's shoulders and
says, You all ready to go inside? It'll be much
quieter and more calm once we go inside the museum.
There's a reception area with snacks and beverage
you can enjoy while waiting for the planned agenda
to begin. As the group makes their way through
the crowded outdoor area in front of the museum
and then up the main stone. steps towards the
large wooden entrance doors. Ava looks back down
toward the road and spots both David Silva and
Miranda Martinez getting mauled by reporters
and cameras as they were trying to make their
way toward the steps and entrance. Prof Tommy
notices Ava's reaction and shouts over the noise
back at Ava. Yup, they're like local celebrities
now. And I think secretly the public would love
to see them become a couple. Six months ago,
no one knew them and they didn't know each other.
Now they're more famous than the cartel. Ava
cracked a half smile and nodded her head back
at Prof Tommy and thought to herself, being more
famous than the cartel is not necessarily a good
thing either. After entering the main entrance
of the museum and then walking through the large
museum atrium, Professor Hawthorne and the group
make their way to the main reception area, which
was already packed with guests. Everyone was
dressed to the T and standing around talking
or leaning on one of the many tall cocktail tables
with wine glasses in hand while talking about
the things ruling class elites talk about at
these sort of events. Hawthorne thought to himself,
but said out loud, these two artifacts must have
some significant historical and cultural relevance
to attract all these people here tonight. The
crowd of guests who had gathered in the reception
area included some of Mexico's most rich and
famous, along with prominent politicians from
Mexico and other influential Latin American countries.
Tommy leans over to Hawthorne and says loudly,
I'll leave you all here to mingle. Have fun tonight
and enjoy the spectacle. you have your own seat
assignments so i'll meet you back in the atrium
by the front entrance later after the fundraising
auction and the artifact unveiling they aren't
auctioning the two artifacts though stays in
museum permanently however anthony and his team
have chosen some rare items from the museum we
auctioned off for the fundraiser i'm sure your
student will get a kick out of watching all the
rich people here tonight trying to outbid and
outspend each other. I'm sure they will, Hawthorne
replied, and then watched Tommy snake his way
back through the crowd and toward the atrium
of the museum. Professor Hawthorne felt a bit
out of place among this crowd and knew that the
rest of his group probably felt the same way.
He recognized several different celebrities and
politicians. He thought to himself, it's quite
funny, the celebrities and even the politicians
he recognized all look shorter in person than
they do on TV. He was glad to be able to just
blend in with the crowd and not have anyone recognize
him. However, he wondered about Ava since she
had been on a lot of news segments over the past
year telling their story. As he was thinking
this, he looked over to see her standing several
tables over with two people he did not recognize.
Ava was laughing and having a good time with
the two old reporter acquaintances from a different
network she had met earlier in the year while
doing an interview with the governor of California.
They were reminiscing about the fun and awkward
moments that typically come with meeting and
then interviewing a prominent politician, and
all the weird and special requests from the politician's
office and the amount of concessions the reporters
usually have to make just to get the interview.
Ava looks down at her watch mid -sentence, then
says, Hey, it was so fun running into you both
here and a guest to see on the TV. I've got to
go find my group and then find our seats. And
with that, she walks over to where Lily and the
students were standing and says to Lily, We should
probably make our way to our seats now. I think
the event is starting soon. She continues, Have
you seen the professor? He's over there. Lily
responds as she points in the direction she saw
Professor Hawthorne stop at when they had first
arrived in the reception area. Lily and Ava notice
that he's a short distance away and leaning on
one of the tall standing tables. He's by himself
and just standing there casually looking around
at the crowd. Hawthorne notices the large group
walking toward him through the crowd. He sees
Ava and Lily leading the way and then says to
them as they get close to where he's standing,
man, some of the best form of entertainment is
people watching. He then snaps out of his people
watching gaze and then says, it must be time
to go find our seats now. Yeah, it's time. Aver
responds and then continues. I think the MC will
take the stage in about 10 minutes or so to officially
kick off this evening's events. As the group
makes their way out of the crowded reception
area, Lady looks down at her ticket, then at
several of the students' tickets and says, Looks
like we're on the left side and tower the back.
As the group walks back towards the main atrium
and then down a long corridor in the opposite
direction of the reception area, they enter into
another large space that looks similar to the
atrium. This large space is located in one of
the museum's wings and has the capacity to hold
up to 500 people. At least, that's what the sign
up there on the wall says. I see where we are
sitting, Ava says as she points in the direction
Lily had mentioned. That's cute. There's little
welcome bags on each chair and it looks like
the chairs are cushioned. As Hawthorne finds
a seat next to Ava, who is sitting on the end,
he nods his head in agreement to Ava's previous
comment about cushioned seats and says, Wow,
these are nice and comfortable. Well, if you're
a paying celebrity guest, there are certain expectations
that come with this event, like having a comfortable
place to sit. I like it. He says this as he looks
down the row where the students have all gotten
seated and are now rummaging through their gift
bags that were left on the seats for each guest.
The crowd that had been in the reception area
just moments ago were now all finding and taking
seats as well. Even though the room had a capacity
of 500, by the looks of it, there were only about
maybe 300 -350 seats set up. The stage itself
looked like it took up about a fourth of the
area, and there were several dozen more standing
cocktail tables in the back of the room for those
who might want to get up and stretch their legs
during the ceremony. Just at that moment, Hawthorne
felt someone touch his shoulder. Prof. Tommy
looks down at Professor Hawthorne and Ava as
he stops and stands next to the row. He then
says, Hey guys, glad you found your seats. Pretty
cool, right? Some of these guests here tonight
have dropped a fortune to be here, so I'm glad
we were able to get you all complimentary tickets.
He then looks up and over the crowd and says,
Alright, the show is about to start and I'm about
to go find my seat, which is towards the front.
Anthony owes me a favor and sent me up front
closer to the stage. Okay, I'll see you later
when it's all over. And with that, Tommy makes
his way towards the front, just as the light
starts dimming and the music begins. Ava watches
and observes as the entire room goes silent with
the dimming of the lights and the music. She
looks over at Professor Hawthorne and down the
row at all students who are staring at the stage
now. She then says under her breath to Hawthorne,
Never thought we'd be sitting here doing this.
Hawthorne replies, Well, the surprises just keep
coming, don't they? It's fun to be witnessing
in person what a lot of times goes on behind
the scenes when something like this happens.
These artifacts must be pretty significant to
demand such a spectacle. Just as he finished
saying this, the music jumps in in volume and
intensity. Lights start flashing and numerous
dancers come onto the stage wearing traditional
Mayan cultural dress and mask. It appears the
celebrations have begun. After an exciting and
loud kickoff dance and light show, which lasted
several minutes, Anthony Garcia, the museum's
director, made his way onto the stage, which
was elevated about four feet from the main floor
level. This was so that everyone in attendance
could see the stage from where they were seated.
Even the back row seats where Hawthorne and his
group were sitting. Anthony grabs the microphone
and says, Welcome to this grand gala event. It's
a one -of -a -kind event and we're so happy you
could join us. I hope you enjoyed your pre -gala
cocktail party and you're able to network with
each other for a bit. Let's give a big round
of applause to our excellent dancers as they
exit the stage. Don't worry, you'll see them
again later. While Anthony continues talking,
introducing himself, and thanking several sponsors,
the dancers make their way off the stage and
then begin exiting the main hall through a side
door, making sure not to interrupt Anthony as
he was still speaking. There was still lingering
smoke on the stage and around the sides of the
stage from the smoke machine that was used during
the opening performance. The smoke, which was
actually from several dry ice machines, still
obscured the sides of the stage. One of the dancers
who left the stage paused by the exit door, waiting
until all the other dancers had exited through
the door first. This dancer, one of the male
dancers, wanted to be the last one through the
door. Finally, as he walked through the side
door, he pulled a small but wide piece of clear
tape out from under his left arm and quickly
placed it over the inside door latch. He then
glanced back out at the audience sitting in the
darkened room whose attention was still directed
towards the stage, making sure no one saw him.
He then closed the door softly and quietly behind
him as to not make any sound. The tape held tight
and the door latch and lock did not engage. This
side security door was such that one could leave
the hall through this door but could not enter
back into the hall through this door. Lily looked
down at her phone to check the time, looked back
up, and then glanced over at the Professor Hawthorne
and Ava and said, This is going so quickly. I
didn't realize how fast auctions like this went.
I've never seen this before in real life. It
had already been 45 minutes since the dancers
left the stage. There were several other notable
guests introduced, a few short speeches from
politicians, and a live auction of other expensive
artifacts. and collector's pieces the museum
was selling to help raise money. Lily then held
up her program, pointed to the cover of it, and
asked quietly, When will they bring out these
two pieces? She was pointing to the photos of
the jade jar and the golden mask, which were
prominently pictured on the cover of the evening's
program. Hawthorne whispers back, I'm sure it's
coming next. They always save the best for last
at events like this. Plus, I think they're planning
to be done within an hour, and we've already
been sitting here for about 45 minutes or so.
Ava glances over and then says, in that case,
I'm going to get up and go stand over to that
side so I can get a better angle for my photos.
Ava then pulls out her press pass she was given
earlier in the evening, gets up, walks towards
the side wall and then moves up closer to the
stage. Her press pass allows her to roam around
the hall more freely, taking photos and even
try to interview guests. As Ava is maneuvering
closer and closer to the stage along the side
wall, she sees Anthony Garcia walk up on the
stage and then take his place behind the podium.
While he is doing this, she notices four museum
workers carry up two heavy vertical stands, assuming
that the two special artifacts will be brought
out and placed on the two stands so that the
guests can all see them. She gets her camera
ready. The music plays in the background again,
and the light dims. Anthony takes his place behind
the podium and waits for the music volume to
be lowered. Before he makes the announcement,
the music is lowered, which is his cue to make
the announcement. He grabs the mic and says,
And without further ado, something you have all
been waiting for this evening. Something that
has been hidden and buried for a long time. Something
that holds great cultural and spiritual significance
to all citizens of Mexico. I'd like to present
to you... At that moment, there were four loud
bangs, perfectly synced to detonate one after
another, followed by white, blinding flashes
of light. Guests were startled and screamed.
The bright flashes of light and the loud bangs
confused everyone in the room. It created chaos.
People were fighting to find the exits and running
around dazed and half -blind. Not only was there
chaos on the floor of the hall with hundreds
of people scattering for the exits, the fog machines
had also been turned on somehow and were pumping
out dry ice smoke at maximum levels. Moments
later, after getting his wits about him, Professor
Hawthorne, still seated on those comfortable
cushy chairs in the back row, and in some shock
from the loud noise and flashes of light, looks
down the row toward where Lily and all his students
are sitting. To his surprise, not one of them
had panicked or had gotten up out of their seat.
All Hawthorne saw was their scared faces staring
right back at him. Without thinking, he yells
out, lay down on the floor and don't move. Hawthorne
knew that if the students panicked and tried
to run out of the hall along with the rest of
the panicking guests, they may get trampled on
at worst or separated from each other at the
very least. His only thought was to keep the
group together if at all possible. And that ends
Part 3. Stay tuned for next week as we bring
you Part 4 of Legends of the Yucatan. As we end
this episode, I want to again thank our student
-athletes from Segment 1 for joining us. And
keep listening as our adventure story will continue
as our heroes are wading deeper and deeper into
the plot with a lot more tension to come. Stay
tuned for our next episode as we discuss the
topic of different shapes or styles of employees.
Are you an I -shaped, T -shaped, V -shaped, or
M -shaped employee? And as always, this podcast
would not be possible without the hard work and
support of our international student production
team. All music and sound effects are courtesy
of Pixabay .com, a vibrant community of creatives
sharing copyright -free images, videos, and music.
And we are signing off until next time. We are
Students Incorporated, because your voice matters.