For the rules of the game, and for more stories, go to Raven's Nest.The words this week were:
Ten Word Challenge: sober, spoilage, knight, laugh and the world laughs with you, peak, blueberries, owl, drugstore, lampshade, keyboard
Mini challenge: economy, Michael Jackson, ladder, clue, structure
Together, they make a
Mega Challenge.
The Slumber Party Mystery
Chapter 18 - Upstairs
Lt Skittles decided to end the interview with Diana for now. Before he went to find Adam Challenge, however, he felt in need of a short break. He also had a sudden urge to see a bit more of the house. Not that there was much point in looking for clues as he didn't even know whether there was any real mystery to be solved. He just had a feeling that perhaps a tour of the house might provide hime with some sense of structure. Since he couldn't think of a better excuse, he asked Diana for directions to the bathroom.
"Follow me upstairs, then!" she said, and led the way. Skittles was glad to get out of the dark library with all its strange objects; but he soon found the rest of the house to be just as museumlike. In the hall right next to the library there was a knight in shining armour standing guard – or rather, Skittles corrected himself, a shining armour presumably without any knight inside. On a small table beside it stood a big ceramic owl crowned with a hideous lampshade with a pattern of blueberries. At the peak of the stairs there was a gallery with a collection of paintings, but Skittles did not get a chance to get a closer look at them. Diana pointed to a door on the right, saying "There's the guest bathroom, just opposite my room."
The bathroom had a suprisingly sober atmosphere of economy with all white tiles and no extraordinary decorations at all. The only object that did not quite seem to belong there was a ladder leaning against one wall.
He could not resist opening the little cabinet over the washbasin, but to his disappointment, this turned out to contain nothing but an unused toothbrush in a clean glass. "I'll probably have to go to the drugstore to get my own aspirins," he thought sulkily.
Leaving the bathroom, he found that Diana had left the door to her room open. She was sitting at her computer, her hands resting on the keyboard. On the wall he could see a poster of Michael Jackson and the text "Laugh and the worlds laughs with you". Under the desk a big box marked "spoilage paper".
"Good luck with the rest of the interviews, lieutenant," she said, without looking up. This left Skittles with no alternative but to go straight downstairs again, feeling that he had been wasting time, while being laughed at behind his back.
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Author's PS: Raven says she thinks "this was a really tough set of words" this week, and I'm inclined to agree... Looking back now at what I came up with, and especially comparing it to another blog post from this week – In The Margin – I had to laugh at myself, because I realized that I'd been transferring my own frustrations onto Skittles… When I'm not getting anywhere, neither is he!
8 comments:
Even frustrated, Skittles flows well! I agree with your PS -- its why Dr. Hill is on vacation! I can't figure out how to get him to the next installment!
I agree the words were difficult this week but you did a fantastic job with them! :)
The words were nigh unto impossible but you came through. You made us feel sorry for poor Skittles.
I just love Skittles... I hope he finally get s his asperin. I thought you worked the words in seamlessly and so cleverly. An owl lamp with blueberry decorations on the lampshade! Brilliant. And I lived the part about the shining armor. So wonderfully witty. Well done as always.
You are all very kind readers! :)
The brigadier general's collection mania has proven very useful in this Wordzzle game, but I was starting to feel that the library was getting rather crammed and that it was time to get Skittles out of there.
I'd better start making lists, like in interactive fiction games...
In the library, I now have: a polar bear rug, a papyrus plant, an Indian totem pole, a picture of two blue jays on a motorcycle, and a ginger jar with a pattern of sunflowers, containing a blackmail letter that Diana sent to herself.
On the terrace outside the library (overlooking the garden and the swimmingpool at the back of the house) there are pillars reminding of a Greek temple, and a marble statue.
In the hall, we have a suit of armour and an owl lamp. Upstairs, a portrait gallery with paintings of Greek gods, all resembling the brigadier general himself. Somewhere in the house, a collection of weapons including a bow and arrow. The existence of stuffed birds and other animals is also indicated.
In Diana's room there is a computer, a poster of Michael Jackson and a box of spoilage paper. Her window overlooks the front yard; and so does the kitchen on the ground floor.
In the guest bathroom opposite Diana's room there is a ladder.
Very well done. Poor Skittles
I've grown quite fond of Skittles. Well done with a difficult set of words!
Skittles may be a little frustrated, but at least he's getting to see some interesting things. I enjoyed reading the story, and enjoyed last week's story, too.
Stephen from Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
http://stephen-has-spoken.blogspot.com/
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