Read Online The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jody Feldman
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wherever you are. If you guess wrong, you need to talk it out at least five more minutes before you guess again.”
“What if we’re smart?” said Bianca. “What if we can figure it out in five seconds? Do we sit around for five minutes anyway?”
“No, no,” said Carol. “Each puzzle has a logical answer. And when you find it, you’ll know it’s right. Our distinguished panel of judges will be able to hear everything you say. If your reasoning is solid and you’ve legitimately come up with the answer in less than five minutes, move forward as fast as youcan. If you try to fool them, they’ll know. And they’ll stop you.
“Don’t try to take any shortcuts. Any infraction of the rules, any failure to follow directions might cost you much more than a minute. It could cost you…your hair.” Carol’s lips crawled to a huge grin. “Just kidding! Your hair’s safe. Mine’s still at risk.”
She paused and studied her paper again. “That’s it. Any questions?”
Gil wondered if she could repeat all that, maybe after she’d taken a tranquilizer.
“Of course you have questions. Those directions made no sense to you. But we have to make sure you’ve heard them. It’s the law. Or not. But it is our law.” She smiled. “It’s not as complicated as it sounds. Really. It’s as easy as Puzzle-Stunt, Puzzle-Stunt and so on, five times. The whole process will start flowing once you get in there.
“Oh, and the other team? You’ll never see them or hear them. You will, however, hear about them. They’ll be in a duplicate area, performing the same puzzles and stunts in the exact order. All fair and square. Each time they successfully move to the nextpuzzle, we’ll let you know. And we’ll let them know about you.
“If you’re wondering about the people who brought you here, they’re all safely tucked away upstairs in a sort of stadium luxury box that encircles the entire action area. They’ll be able to get up and move around and see and hear everything that happens on both teams. When you get into the room, look up and wave, then forget about them.
“Also forget about the cameras. Dozens of them are camouflaged, but each side will have ten people running around with handheld cameras, capturing everything. We have microphones planted everywhere to pick up every single whisper. At first you may feel self-conscious, but I promise you’ll be so focused on the task at hand, they’ll soon fade into the sunset.”
Carol handed a stapled set of papers to each person. “We do a lot of research at Golly, especially in the Fairview office, where Bill and I work, and we know some people absorb more by listening and some by reading. So everything I’ve explained is on these sheets. For the next fifteen minutes, all cameras andmikes are off. Take that time to relax and get comfortable with the procedures. Please give one another a chance to read through these. Then you can schmooze all you want. I’ll be right back.” Carol gave a wink and left, the green door closing behind her.
Gil read through the instructions twice, then looked at the clock on the wall. Carol would be back in about seven minutes.
Bianca was twirling her paper around on the table. Lavinia was still studying. Rocky was sitting on the gorilla, folding his sheets into paper footballs, and Thorn had drifted to the far wall, looking bored.
If Gil was going to do anything about the cheating, it would have to be now. He moved toward Thorn. “We haven’t really talked,” Gil said, sticking out his hand. “Gil Goodson.”
Thorn shook it. “Thorn Dewitt-Formey.”
“Is there anything I need to know about you?” asked Gil.
“I don’t believe so.”
“I’m not trying to be rude, but I mean, is there something about your hearing we should know? Something we could help you with?”
“Oh.” Thorn pointed to his ear. “You mean this. Good eyes, Gil.”
“Thanks. It’s just that I knew a girl,” Gil lied, “who was hearing
“What if we’re smart?” said Bianca. “What if we can figure it out in five seconds? Do we sit around for five minutes anyway?”
“No, no,” said Carol. “Each puzzle has a logical answer. And when you find it, you’ll know it’s right. Our distinguished panel of judges will be able to hear everything you say. If your reasoning is solid and you’ve legitimately come up with the answer in less than five minutes, move forward as fast as youcan. If you try to fool them, they’ll know. And they’ll stop you.
“Don’t try to take any shortcuts. Any infraction of the rules, any failure to follow directions might cost you much more than a minute. It could cost you…your hair.” Carol’s lips crawled to a huge grin. “Just kidding! Your hair’s safe. Mine’s still at risk.”
She paused and studied her paper again. “That’s it. Any questions?”
Gil wondered if she could repeat all that, maybe after she’d taken a tranquilizer.
“Of course you have questions. Those directions made no sense to you. But we have to make sure you’ve heard them. It’s the law. Or not. But it is our law.” She smiled. “It’s not as complicated as it sounds. Really. It’s as easy as Puzzle-Stunt, Puzzle-Stunt and so on, five times. The whole process will start flowing once you get in there.
“Oh, and the other team? You’ll never see them or hear them. You will, however, hear about them. They’ll be in a duplicate area, performing the same puzzles and stunts in the exact order. All fair and square. Each time they successfully move to the nextpuzzle, we’ll let you know. And we’ll let them know about you.
“If you’re wondering about the people who brought you here, they’re all safely tucked away upstairs in a sort of stadium luxury box that encircles the entire action area. They’ll be able to get up and move around and see and hear everything that happens on both teams. When you get into the room, look up and wave, then forget about them.
“Also forget about the cameras. Dozens of them are camouflaged, but each side will have ten people running around with handheld cameras, capturing everything. We have microphones planted everywhere to pick up every single whisper. At first you may feel self-conscious, but I promise you’ll be so focused on the task at hand, they’ll soon fade into the sunset.”
Carol handed a stapled set of papers to each person. “We do a lot of research at Golly, especially in the Fairview office, where Bill and I work, and we know some people absorb more by listening and some by reading. So everything I’ve explained is on these sheets. For the next fifteen minutes, all cameras andmikes are off. Take that time to relax and get comfortable with the procedures. Please give one another a chance to read through these. Then you can schmooze all you want. I’ll be right back.” Carol gave a wink and left, the green door closing behind her.
Gil read through the instructions twice, then looked at the clock on the wall. Carol would be back in about seven minutes.
Bianca was twirling her paper around on the table. Lavinia was still studying. Rocky was sitting on the gorilla, folding his sheets into paper footballs, and Thorn had drifted to the far wall, looking bored.
If Gil was going to do anything about the cheating, it would have to be now. He moved toward Thorn. “We haven’t really talked,” Gil said, sticking out his hand. “Gil Goodson.”
Thorn shook it. “Thorn Dewitt-Formey.”
“Is there anything I need to know about you?” asked Gil.
“I don’t believe so.”
“I’m not trying to be rude, but I mean, is there something about your hearing we should know? Something we could help you with?”
“Oh.” Thorn pointed to his ear. “You mean this. Good eyes, Gil.”
“Thanks. It’s just that I knew a girl,” Gil lied, “who was hearing
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