At Javier's birthday party, Dylan brought Scrabble. They competed and Akeelah was very close to beating him but failed eventually. That day, she witnessed how much expectation and pressure Dylan's dad had on him.
Akeelah went to Dr. Larabee since she realized how intense the competition would be and she really needed help. Dr. Larabee found out her secret to spelling- rythm. He gave her a jump rope and trained her to constantly focus on jumping rope while a lot of noise disturbing. Akeelah got better and better under Larabee's special training. Instead of just memorizing big words, they started with essay-reading.
When they were on the stage of state spelling bee, Akeelah's mother showed up yelling. She was angry because Akeelah went behind her back. The principal and Dr. Larabee explained for Akeelah; and they made up after Akeelah promised to do double chore for the next three months. Javier also take part in helping Akeelah back to the stage in time.
To our surprise, Dr. Larabee refused to help Akeelah prepare for the national bee. Akeelah was confused; what made it worst is the increasing fame and popularity of Akeelah. Her best friend even stopped hanging out with her, which to her was devastating. Her wise mother encouraged her to continue; and with the help of the community, Akeelah was well-prepared. For some reason, Dr. Larabee decided to come back after talking to Akeelah about his daughter, who died.
The national bee was held in D.C. Akeelah fought to the last few. When Dylan and her were at the final round, she deliberately spelled a word wrong. She did that because she wanted Dylan to win so that his father would be satisfied. But Dylan said he didn't want to win unless she did it seriously. They competed to the last champion word and co-champed.


"Akeelah and the bee" is the kind of movie which makes you smile and feel good after watching. It's a inspiring and encouraging story, depicting some quite realistic issues like a black single mother raising four kids, the gap between the poor and the rich and the fact that success has some drawbacks, etc. But it also gives hope and tells story of people uniting for one goal and the infinite possibility of a person.