those furry little animals on
Star Trek
called Tribbles, which reproduced every few minutes until the
Enterprise
was overrun with them. They were everywhere.
They finally made it back to the lobby. Amazingly, the area around the front desk was quiet. Susan Carol chose a middle-aged man with a small black mustache as her next victim.
“May I help you, young lady?” he said as the two of them walked up.
“Oh yes, I hope so,” she said. “We’re in room 1607 and our key isn’t working.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” he said. She had been holding the key out, and he took it and slid it across the counter and into some kind of garbage can beneath the desk. Seeing the key disappear unnerved Stevie. What if he didn’t give them a new one?
“Last name?” he asked
“Ventura,” she said. “My dad’s name is Jerry.” She leaned forward and spoke in a whisper as if she didn’t want anyone to hear what she was about to tell the man, whose name tag said he was Vincent DeFriest—Brooklyn, N.Y. “We’re with the Minnesota State team. I think we’re listed separately from the other guests.”
“You are,” Mr. DeFriest said. “Here you are.”
He went over to a key machine, punched some buttons, and produced a new key card. He handed it toSusan Carol, and Stevie felt his heart start up again.
“Anything else I can help you with, Miss Ventura?” he asked.
“Won’t I need a new card for my dad?” she asked.
“Oh yes, of course you will. New code and all. I’m sorry.” He punched buttons on the machine again and produced a second key.
“Thank you so much,” she said with her best Southern manners.
Stevie thought he saw Mr. DeFriest turn just a tad pink. “You are very welcome,” he said.
They headed back to the escalator. Stevie had come up with an excuse for Jerry. “Let’s tell Jerry we just saw our dad and he wants us to go with him to Bible study class,” he said.
She gave him a look to see if he was being sarcastic.
He wasn’t. “He can’t question something like that,” he said.
“You’re right,” she said.
The two hosts were at the table, wearing headsets, when they got back to the KFPT broadcast position. Susan Carol handed Jerry the key, held up her soda, and said, “Thanks, Jerry, you saved us from a long wait in line.”
Jerry gave her a big smile, then swept his hand in the direction of the two hosts, tapping one on the shoulder to get his attention. The guy glanced up with an annoyed look on his face. When he saw Susan Carol standing in front of him, the look was replaced by a smile and he pulled off his headset.
“Mike, this is the girl, um, I mean, these are the kids I was telling you about,” Jerry said.
Mike put out a hand to Susan Carol. “Mike Lombardo, voice of the Purple Tide, young lady, nice to meet you.” He turned to his partner, who had also pulled off his headset. “This is my color commentator, Trey Woods.”
Stevie recognized the name. Trey Woods had played for Minnesota State in the eighties. The reason he knew that was because Chip Graber had broken his all-time scoring record at the school earlier in the season. Woods also shook hands with Susan Carol. She turned to Stevie, who was beginning to feel invisible, and said, “This is my brother, Steve.”
“Nice to meet you, kid,” Mike Lombardo said as Stevie came close enough so they could shake hands. Trey Woods also offered his hand—which was huge—but couldn’t seem to find anything to say to him.
“So, Jerry tells me you kids are big Purple Tide fans,” Lombardo said.
“Absolutely,” Susan Carol said. “We can’t wait for tonight.”
She was doing the big-smile bit again.
“Well, that’s great. Jerry said you wanted to hang around and watch us do the show. We’re on in about ten minutes and …”
Susan Carol was now shaking her head as if a truly awful thing had just happened. “We really would
love
to watch you do the show, but our dad just reminded us that we promised
Star Trek
called Tribbles, which reproduced every few minutes until the
Enterprise
was overrun with them. They were everywhere.
They finally made it back to the lobby. Amazingly, the area around the front desk was quiet. Susan Carol chose a middle-aged man with a small black mustache as her next victim.
“May I help you, young lady?” he said as the two of them walked up.
“Oh yes, I hope so,” she said. “We’re in room 1607 and our key isn’t working.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” he said. She had been holding the key out, and he took it and slid it across the counter and into some kind of garbage can beneath the desk. Seeing the key disappear unnerved Stevie. What if he didn’t give them a new one?
“Last name?” he asked
“Ventura,” she said. “My dad’s name is Jerry.” She leaned forward and spoke in a whisper as if she didn’t want anyone to hear what she was about to tell the man, whose name tag said he was Vincent DeFriest—Brooklyn, N.Y. “We’re with the Minnesota State team. I think we’re listed separately from the other guests.”
“You are,” Mr. DeFriest said. “Here you are.”
He went over to a key machine, punched some buttons, and produced a new key card. He handed it toSusan Carol, and Stevie felt his heart start up again.
“Anything else I can help you with, Miss Ventura?” he asked.
“Won’t I need a new card for my dad?” she asked.
“Oh yes, of course you will. New code and all. I’m sorry.” He punched buttons on the machine again and produced a second key.
“Thank you so much,” she said with her best Southern manners.
Stevie thought he saw Mr. DeFriest turn just a tad pink. “You are very welcome,” he said.
They headed back to the escalator. Stevie had come up with an excuse for Jerry. “Let’s tell Jerry we just saw our dad and he wants us to go with him to Bible study class,” he said.
She gave him a look to see if he was being sarcastic.
He wasn’t. “He can’t question something like that,” he said.
“You’re right,” she said.
The two hosts were at the table, wearing headsets, when they got back to the KFPT broadcast position. Susan Carol handed Jerry the key, held up her soda, and said, “Thanks, Jerry, you saved us from a long wait in line.”
Jerry gave her a big smile, then swept his hand in the direction of the two hosts, tapping one on the shoulder to get his attention. The guy glanced up with an annoyed look on his face. When he saw Susan Carol standing in front of him, the look was replaced by a smile and he pulled off his headset.
“Mike, this is the girl, um, I mean, these are the kids I was telling you about,” Jerry said.
Mike put out a hand to Susan Carol. “Mike Lombardo, voice of the Purple Tide, young lady, nice to meet you.” He turned to his partner, who had also pulled off his headset. “This is my color commentator, Trey Woods.”
Stevie recognized the name. Trey Woods had played for Minnesota State in the eighties. The reason he knew that was because Chip Graber had broken his all-time scoring record at the school earlier in the season. Woods also shook hands with Susan Carol. She turned to Stevie, who was beginning to feel invisible, and said, “This is my brother, Steve.”
“Nice to meet you, kid,” Mike Lombardo said as Stevie came close enough so they could shake hands. Trey Woods also offered his hand—which was huge—but couldn’t seem to find anything to say to him.
“So, Jerry tells me you kids are big Purple Tide fans,” Lombardo said.
“Absolutely,” Susan Carol said. “We can’t wait for tonight.”
She was doing the big-smile bit again.
“Well, that’s great. Jerry said you wanted to hang around and watch us do the show. We’re on in about ten minutes and …”
Susan Carol was now shaking her head as if a truly awful thing had just happened. “We really would
love
to watch you do the show, but our dad just reminded us that we promised
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