hope I don’t get one.”
“And that’s what we’re hoping too, aren’t we, folks? Hear that applause, Lennie? They’re all with you. Now the three zonk trips, as we call them, are here, here, and here. Try not to land on them.”
“I will, sir.”
“All right, put up your hand now, Lennie, right here on the Vacation Wheel, and, Lennie, give it a spin! ”
“Here goes!”
“Good boy! Lennie really gave it a good spin, didn’t he, folks? Where do you want to go, Lennie?”
“Any of those places is all right with me.”
“Except the zonk places, right?”
“Right.”
“It’s still spinning, and now it’s beginning to slow down. Watch the wheel, folks. Where is Lennie going? To Paris? Rome? London? It’s almost stopped. It looks like Egypt! No! Rio! No! Oh, no! Look at that! Lennie, you have landed on Number Thirteen. One of our zonk trips, and I don’t have to tell you what that means.”
“It means I’m going to have to take a zonk trip.”
“Right.”
“Where?”
“Well, let me look in my zonk envelope. Oh, Lennie.”
“What?”
“ Oh, Lennie.”
“What? What is it?”
“Oh, Lennie!”
“What? I want to know. What is it?”
“Lennie, you are going to have to spend one full night—are you ready for this?—in a haunted house! ”
“A what?”
“Yes, Lennie, you heard correctly, you are going to Haunted House Number Thirteen, located right on the outskirts—that’s the dark, scary outskirts, I might add—of beautiful downtown—”
“But I don’t want to spend the night in any haunted house.”
“Of course you don’t, but you take your chances, Lennie, just like all the other contestants. Remember that paper you signed when you came on the show?”
“Yes, but I didn’t—I mean I couldn’t—I mean—”
“Oh, all right, Lennie, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. You go to the haunted house, spend one night there, and if you survive—I say, if you survive—then you come back next week and we’ll let you spin the Vacation Wheel again. How about that?”
“But, sir, couldn’t I just take my three thousand in cash and merchandise and—”
“How many want to see him take the cash and merchandise and go home?”
Silence.
“How many want to see him go to the haunted house? ”
Wild applause.
“But, sir—”
“See, the audience is with you. Hear that applause? Well, it’s time for a commercial break now, but stay with us, folks, for the second half of Give It a Spin, the show where you pick your prizes and we see that you take them....”
Chapter Three
“L ennie?”
His eyes snapped open as quickly as a puppet’s. He said, “Yes’m.”
“Have you finished your Science?” His mother was standing in the doorway, her hands in her jeans pockets.
“Practically.”
“You know all the parts of the leaf?”
“I think so.”
“And the stem?”
“I think so. I get mixed up on some of them.”
“Which ones?”
“These.” He made a circular motion that took in the entire page.
“Well, as soon as you’re sure of them, Lennie, you bring your book in the office and let me call out the questions.” She sighed. “I wish that man was still in three-fourteen—the one from Decatur, remember? Now, that was a smart man. He could have helped you with your Science.”
Lennie didn’t answer.
“And that man was a slow starter just like you, Lennie. He told me he didn’t learn a thing until he was eleven years old. He said people thought there was something wrong with him.”
Lennie didn’t answer.
His mom paused. Then she said, “I don’t want you getting another bad grade on your test tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to get one either,” he said.
His last Science grade had been 23 out of a possible 100. Staring down at that 23—it had been written in red pencil and circled—Lennie had for the first time felt the real meaning of numbers. His arithmetic teachers had been trying to get that across for years—numbers mean
“And that’s what we’re hoping too, aren’t we, folks? Hear that applause, Lennie? They’re all with you. Now the three zonk trips, as we call them, are here, here, and here. Try not to land on them.”
“I will, sir.”
“All right, put up your hand now, Lennie, right here on the Vacation Wheel, and, Lennie, give it a spin! ”
“Here goes!”
“Good boy! Lennie really gave it a good spin, didn’t he, folks? Where do you want to go, Lennie?”
“Any of those places is all right with me.”
“Except the zonk places, right?”
“Right.”
“It’s still spinning, and now it’s beginning to slow down. Watch the wheel, folks. Where is Lennie going? To Paris? Rome? London? It’s almost stopped. It looks like Egypt! No! Rio! No! Oh, no! Look at that! Lennie, you have landed on Number Thirteen. One of our zonk trips, and I don’t have to tell you what that means.”
“It means I’m going to have to take a zonk trip.”
“Right.”
“Where?”
“Well, let me look in my zonk envelope. Oh, Lennie.”
“What?”
“ Oh, Lennie.”
“What? What is it?”
“Oh, Lennie!”
“What? I want to know. What is it?”
“Lennie, you are going to have to spend one full night—are you ready for this?—in a haunted house! ”
“A what?”
“Yes, Lennie, you heard correctly, you are going to Haunted House Number Thirteen, located right on the outskirts—that’s the dark, scary outskirts, I might add—of beautiful downtown—”
“But I don’t want to spend the night in any haunted house.”
“Of course you don’t, but you take your chances, Lennie, just like all the other contestants. Remember that paper you signed when you came on the show?”
“Yes, but I didn’t—I mean I couldn’t—I mean—”
“Oh, all right, Lennie, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. You go to the haunted house, spend one night there, and if you survive—I say, if you survive—then you come back next week and we’ll let you spin the Vacation Wheel again. How about that?”
“But, sir, couldn’t I just take my three thousand in cash and merchandise and—”
“How many want to see him take the cash and merchandise and go home?”
Silence.
“How many want to see him go to the haunted house? ”
Wild applause.
“But, sir—”
“See, the audience is with you. Hear that applause? Well, it’s time for a commercial break now, but stay with us, folks, for the second half of Give It a Spin, the show where you pick your prizes and we see that you take them....”
Chapter Three
“L ennie?”
His eyes snapped open as quickly as a puppet’s. He said, “Yes’m.”
“Have you finished your Science?” His mother was standing in the doorway, her hands in her jeans pockets.
“Practically.”
“You know all the parts of the leaf?”
“I think so.”
“And the stem?”
“I think so. I get mixed up on some of them.”
“Which ones?”
“These.” He made a circular motion that took in the entire page.
“Well, as soon as you’re sure of them, Lennie, you bring your book in the office and let me call out the questions.” She sighed. “I wish that man was still in three-fourteen—the one from Decatur, remember? Now, that was a smart man. He could have helped you with your Science.”
Lennie didn’t answer.
“And that man was a slow starter just like you, Lennie. He told me he didn’t learn a thing until he was eleven years old. He said people thought there was something wrong with him.”
Lennie didn’t answer.
His mom paused. Then she said, “I don’t want you getting another bad grade on your test tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to get one either,” he said.
His last Science grade had been 23 out of a possible 100. Staring down at that 23—it had been written in red pencil and circled—Lennie had for the first time felt the real meaning of numbers. His arithmetic teachers had been trying to get that across for years—numbers mean
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