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WASHINGTON -- After slowly and deliberately working his way
through a mountain of words, a Colorado seventh-grader spelled
"prospicience" -- meaning foresight -- to win the
75th Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and secure his future
as a further outcast among his peers.
Pratyush Buddiga, 13, survived 11 rounds, outlasting 249
other contestants over the course of the competition. Surviving
Monday's beating by neighborhood bullies will be an entirely
other matter, admits Buddiga.
"I would say that I'm not scared, but my "prospicience"
says that it's going to be very, very painful and involve
either the broom stick handle or fire ants or both."
Pratyush attends Mountain Ridge Middle School, a public school
in Colorado Springs where he is teased almost daily for his
dark skin, Indian heritage and uncircumcised penis. Even so,
he remains philosophical about the impending abuse.
"I really believe that phrase, 'sticks and stones may
break my bones but names will never hurt me,' but the kids
realize that now, so they just use the sticks and the stones."
According to classmate Billy Gruber, Pratyush is sure to
get a hero's welcome by all of his friends and townspeople,
until he makes the mistake of attending gym class on Monday.
"I'm not even going to lubricate the broomstick handle
the way I've done in the past," Gruber said. "I'll
probably warm up by pointing out his really small wiener to
the rest of the guys in the lockerroom. Then, afterwards,
I'll explain to everyone how Indian boys have sex with cows
and then their parents. Then a couple of my buddies will restrain
him as I go look for the broomstick handle. Let's just see
if he can spell 'cornhole exam' under those conditions."
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Photo:
Spelling Bee winner Pratyush Buddiga looks forward to spending
his $12,000 prize winnings on bandages and salve.
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