Wednesday, October 21, 2009

"Hope Vibrates"

The auditorium fell silent as the two teams set to work. On the left, the “Spring Dodgers” were quietly discussing the question. On the right, members of the “Babbleshop Quartet” were staring at each other in silence, sometimes looking around the room hoping to find inspiration in the familiar curtains of the high school stage.

Robbie, a Dodger, glanced up from the team’s chatter and was hopeful, seeing the expressions of their opponents. She returned her attention to the team’s planning, hoping to come up with an answer to the question posed to the teams by the moderator of the competition. When she looked up again, however, her mouth gaped, her eyes opened wide, and she began to pressure her teammates in a panic to hurry.

“Come on, we have to hurry. They’re going to get the answer first!”

“I thought they were spacing out!”

“They were, but now they know what they’re doing.”

“How do you know?”

“When Hope knows the answer, she vibrates. I can just about feel it from here!”

The team returned to the question, but were too late. They jumped when they heard the bell from the other side of the stage, rung by Hope, the Quartet leader. The moderator prompted the team to respond.

“Is it 107x squared?”

The moderator checked his card. “Yes, it is. You are correct and you win this round! Congratulations!”

(This writing prompt took 5 minutes to conceptualize and write. 233 words = about 46 wpm)

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