Story 14
Five friends create humorous “self” characters for a computer game and then play the game.
Animal Games
“Hey!” Lori Bogans yelled. “My nose isn’t short. And, it isn’t wide. You made me look like a pig!”
“Well, if the shoe fits….” Cork Bulin laughed.
“How do you like that?” Lori laughed as she pushed a button. Cork’s ears grew from small to medium. She pushed the button again, and they grew to large.
“And, now I look like a rabbit,” Cork said.
“Yes, you do. I’ll add a little tail,” Cinda Brito giggled.
Keith Korly said, “I fixed your arms, Ben. Now you’ll be able to reach the floor without bending over.”
“Thanks, Keith, my friend. I always wanted my fingers to drag on the floor like a monkey!” Ben Ward said.
“I think Cinda is the best looking of all!” Cork said.
“Oh, yeah! Thanks a lot,” Cinda said. “I’m twice as wide as I am tall. I look like a hippo.”
“Check out Keith’s hair and beard,” Ben said. “He’s the king of the jungle! Hear him roar!”
Five friends were creating a “self” for each of them so they could play a computer game. Their game people could look a lot like the five of them. But, today the characters were going to be a little silly. Four of the friends were seniors in high school. Cork was also a friend from school, but he graduated in January. He was working to make some money for college.
Finally, the game people were all created. The game started. Keith Lion snuck out a door. He saw Lori Pig going for another door, so he blocked it. Ben Monkey climbed onto a roof and swung from roof to roof. Cinda Hippo rolled down the street. Cork Rabbit hopped around quietly. He didn’t want anyone to notice him. Cinda Hippo went to eat her hidden food. But, Cork Rabbit had already eaten it. Cinda said, “Hey, leave my food alone. Eat your own food.”
Cork said, “Too bad. I was hungry.”
“You’re a jerk. You are nasty when you don’t need to be. Now my hippo won’t have any food, and I’ll lose. I hate you,” Cinda said. Her voice was shaking.
Ben said, “Hey! Calm down. You don’t hate Cork. It’s just a game, Cinda.”
Cinda swallowed. Then she said, “I’m sorry, Cork. I don’t hate you. But, why do you always have to play to win? Can’t you just play for fun?”
“Well, let me see … NO! I’m always going to play to win. That’s the point of the game.”
While they were talking, Cinda Hippo plopped down on Cork Rabbit’s scooter. Cinda laughed. “Oops! Sorry if I ruined your scooter.”
Cork said, “Oh, I see how it goes! You can dish it out, but you can’t take it!”
“Yeah,” Cinda said, “I was overreacting. I’ll try to relax and have fun. I like playing games. It’s good, simple fun. I promise not to get upset again. But don’t take that to mean I’m going to let you win. That scooter is just the beginning. Cinda Hippo’s got other plans!”
Each player had a control with buttons. They used the buttons to move around and make choices. They were all moving their people and playing tricks on other players. Suddenly, Cork said. “What’s going on? I can’t move Cork Rabbit.”
“I bet your batteries died,” Ben said. “It almost always happens to one control during a game. I’ve got more batteries.” Ben left the room and came back with batteries. Soon Cork was back to his tricks.
Cork Rabbit was sneaking around a building. Lori Pig was sneaking up on Cork Rabbit. Keith Lion roared and scared Lori Pig. She plopped down on Cork Rabbit. At that same moment, the light bulb in the actual room blew out. Lori screamed in the darkness. Keith started laughing. He said, “That Keith Lion is powerful! Animals and light fear him!” Ben left the room and came back with a light bulb. He replaced the bulb and the game went on.
Three hours later, the game ended. Cinda Hippo won. Cork said, “Why do you have to play to win, Cinda? I guess we should all hate you.”
Cinda said, “Watch what you say, Cork. You know I can plop down on you whenever I want to.”
“I’m so scared. But, you do have a point. You look a lot like a hippo,” Cork said.
“At least I don’t have huge ears on the sides of my head. And, at least I know how to win!” Cinda said.
Ben came up behind Cinda doing a monkey walk. Keith got down on all fours and crept up behind Cinda. Ben scared Cinda by grabbing her arms. At the same time, Keith let out a huge roar. Cinda jumped about two feet into the air. Lori laughed, “Cork, you might think Cinda looks like a hippo. But, she jumps more like a kangaroo!”
What do you think?
- What do you think caused the light bulb to blow out in the room where the friends were playing the computer game?
- Do you think the computer game the friends were playing can be considered an inexpensive activity?
What would you do?
- Say you were playing a game with some friends. You make a move that sets one of your friends back in the game. She starts to cry. What would you do?
