Story 3
Six high school seniors play a game while on a spring break ski trip, and one of them gets a lead on a summer job.
Two Winners
“Hey Little One, we are ready to start playing. Are you coming?” Kyle Cortez called out to Nina. Kyle always called Nina “Little One.” Sitting in his wheelchair, he was taller than her. Nina Pye didn’t look 17. In fact, she looked more like a jr. high kid than a 12th grader.
Nina came into the room and said, “I’m here, Wheels. I was propping my ski boots up so they would dry. I’m hoping to ski one more time today. So, let’s play.” Every time he called her “Little One,” she called him “Wheels.” It was a little cat and mouse game they played. Wheels, Little One, and four of their friends were on a spring break ski trip. Nina sat down between Tess Wilson and Mitch Milton. She looked at her friends. “Who goes first?” she asked.
“We decided to go in ABC order by last name. So, we’ll have to change seats a little,” Tess said. They stood up and changed places. Then Todd Bome grabbed the game chips and gave each person 15 of them.
Jade Ming said, “I haven’t ever played this game. How does it go?”
“I’ve played before,” Mitch said, “but I don’t remember all the rules. Let’s go over the rules before we start.”
“That’s a good idea,” Tess said. “I’ve only played once before, so I could use a brush up, too. Todd, you know the rules.”
Todd said, “You start with your game markers in the plains. You move into the valleys and the foothills. Then you go to the plateau on the way to the top of the mountain. To move to a different land type, you need to roll enough spaces on the dice. You also need to have the right clothes. Each chip can buy one piece of clothing. If you don’t have enough money, you have to get a job. You can write phone messages to throw others off. If you get a phone message, you can choose to ignore it. But, if you ignore an important message, you could lose your job. You could also get sent back to lower ground. Mistreating the animals or land will also send you back to the plains.” Todd looked around. “Do you all remember it now? Are you ready to play?”
“I remember it,” Mitch and Tess said at once. “Coke ya,” they also said at once. Then they both laughed.
“I sort of remember it,” Kyle said. “But, how do we make sure not to mistreat the animals or land?”
Todd said, “Roll the right numbers so you don’t land on a park ranger square.”
“I’m not sure I can remember all these rules,” Jade said.
“The rest of us have all played, so we’ll help you,” Nina said. “Todd starts. Let’s go!”
Todd took the two dice. He rolled them back and forth between his large hands. He said, “Bow down, boys and girls, a winner is at work!” He threw the dice and moved.
About 20 minutes later, Todd and Jade were still in the plains. Nina, Mitch, and Tess were in valleys. Kyle was just entering the foothills. It was Todd’s turn. Kyle said, “Todd, where’s that winner at work? I see that you are still in the plains. In fact, you are so far away that I can hardly see you.”
Todd laughed, “Don’t gloat just yet, Kyle, my boy. I’m about to roll a 12, and race right through the valley.” To every one’s surprise, he did just that! Two rounds later, Todd took the lead. About 30 minutes later, he was smiling from the top of the mountain. He stood up and said, “Bow down, boys and girls, a winner is in front of you!”Kyle said, “You are so lucky. If you hadn’t given me that bad phone message, I’d have won.”
Todd laughed, “True, my valley friend, but I did give you that bad message. That’s what winners do. And, you fell for it. That’s what losers do.”
“You are such a good sport, Todd,” Mitch said.
“Oh, I know,” Todd said as he strutted across the room.
“Is anyone up for going out on the slopes one more time today?” Nina asked.
“I am,” Tess said. No one else said anything. “I guess it is just you and me, Nina. Let’s go.”
Out on the slope, Nina and Tess met three women and started talking. They found out that the three women worked together. They said they were the CEO, COO, and CFO. They explained that all the people in the company worked for them. Tess asked if they needed summer help. Carol, the COO, said, “We might have some spots. I’ll check. Give me a call next week.” Tess put Carol’s phone number in her cell phone.
When Nina and Tess were done skiing, they went back inside. The others were watching a movie. Tess said, “Todd, we were talking with some women on the slope. I might have just found a summer job.”
“Whoa,” Todd said, “Sounds like you are a winner, too!”
What do you think?
- Todd said he was going to win and bragged about winning. His friends laughed with him. Can you think of a situation where it would not work out for Todd to act that way. Explain.
- Nina calls Kyle “Wheels.” When do you think it is and is not OK to call a person in a wheelchair “Wheels”?
What would you do?
- Would you have joined Nina to snow ski one more time. If yes, why? If no, what would you have done instead?
