Joe: Sally's not going to the cove with the rest of you?
Rayshawn: She opted out since she can't ride anything. That's gonna work against her come time to tally the points, but I'm not going to force her.
Joe: Yeah, with that attitude, she'll ruin the whole day for the rest of you by complaining. I made that mistake once with a cousin... expected everyone else to not ride because he couldn't.
*****
Witch's Cove entrance gate
Doreen: Let me get a picture of you two!
Seven: This coaster looks wild.
Doreen: I've not had the chance to ride it. It was put in since the last time I was here.
Gwen: I can't wait to check out the Haunted Railway. (to Seven) It was a wild west train, but there was a fire in the Haunted House and the train was changed to house the salvaged ghouls and ghosts. I bet some of those costumed characters Tierra talked about will be there.
Marty: Hey, Anakin! I didn't know they made you work here!
Anakin: They don't. Someone called in sick and Mommy offered to fill in since she was off work today, so I'm just hanging out with her. Where's the cowboy lady?
Marty: She can't ride so she ain't coming. She's not much fun, anyway.
****
Back at The Point....
Sally: Why are you making girls do men's work? I should report you to the Better Business Bureau!
Joe: Both Jessie and Gabriella are legally employed. In fact, Gabriella may well run the business someday. She's a Montez.
Sally: That's your daughter?! Good lord, I might have to report you to CPS as well!
Joe: You report me to whoever you feel the need. Just get out of our way and let us do our job, please.
*****
At Witch's Cove
Marty: Thanks for watching all our stuff while we rode, Gwen. That was really nice of you!
Gwen: You're welcome. Before my accident, we always waited until the end of the day to play games or buy things. Too much risk of losing things on the ride or having them stolen if we left them with the attendants.
Doreen: We always wait til the end of the day, too. Even when I was pregnant with Tommy, we did it that way out of habit. It's so much easier than lugging giant stuffed animals all day!
Seven: With so many of us, we couldn't afford to go except for Dad and Mom's company picnics, so we enjoyed the rides while we had the chance. We never bothered with the games or shops much!
Doreen: I might be getting too old for this.
Seven: I just love the old fashioned wooden coasters! Rattle my bones!
****
The group gathers in the office for this week's tally.
Marty: Why is the zombie pirate so big and his ship so small? It's dumb.
Gwen: I don't think you're supposed to play with them together. The ship might have smaller figures that go with it. Unless he became a giant when he got zombified?
Rayshawn: Look at this. Three way tie, at least for this round.
Charlotte: Especially after you saw that e-mail from Joe.
Rayshawn: What e-mail from Joe? Why are you looking at my e-mail?
Charlotte: He's my brother-in-law, remember? I was visiting with Batgirl, Joe came home livid, and she told him to e-mail you right way. (She waits while he checks his e-mail.) By the way, I do not read the private correspondence of adults.
Rayshawn (reading the email): Yeah, just kids, cuz they got no rights.
Rayshawn: Gwen, I gave you four points for gallantly tagging along despite your limitations. Marty gave you two, mostly because you couldn't ride. So you get six, bringing your score to 33.
Gwen: Fair enough.
Rayshawn: Doreen, you get the opposite - four from Marty and two from me. He was impressed with your riding despite being - in his words - pretty old. I had to dock you because you got a little snippy at the end of the day. Six points brings you also to 33.
Doreen (laughs): Probably because I'm pretty old.
Rayshawn: Seven scored three from each of us. Your riding wasn't impressive because of your youth, and you didn't get snippy.
Seven: Again, because of my youth. (elbows Doreen playfully)
Rayshawn: Sally, you scored two. One from each of us. Your refusal to even attempt a day at the park worked against you big time, and the harassment of my contractor did not help. That brings your score to 18. You're going home.
Sally: I didn't harass anyone. I called him out for poor business practices, that's all.
Rayshawn: Here's your four thousand dollars prize money and air fare home. I've enclosed a list of agencies that can help you find employment or training to that end.
Sally: Thank you. Best of luck to all of you.
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