Nintendo Land
Chapter One
Tom and the Golden Passes
Ever since the Wii U had been released worldwide the famous gaming enterprise, Nintendo, had been unusually quiet. Representatives from Nintendo have not even bothered to attend to conventions such as E3 or Pax. Mr. Miyamoto had not been seen for many years. Many had begun to think that the company was going out of business.
One day, Tom had read in the newspaper that Nintendo was hosting a grand opening for Nintendo Land, an amusement park featuring the company's most famous franchises. "Not only that," Tom read to his friend Jack, "but Mr. Miyamoto hid four Golden Passes inside four video game cases. The four lucky kids who find the passes will be taken on an exclusive tour through Nintendo Land." Jack was astonished by this, "They could be anywhere. In any part of the world!" "I know," Tom sighed, "Do you know how lucky you'd have to be to find one of them?" Jack grabbed the newspaper and read on, "And the winners also get to take along one person of choice on the tour with them!" "We have to find a pass Jack," Tom plotted, "We're not rich enough to buy our own tickets for entrance." "True," Jack agreed, "Let's buy up as many games as we can and we'll meet up at my house next week!"
Over the course of the next week, Wii U sales had gone up drastically, people around the world were desperate to find a Golden Pass.
A few days later, Tom was reading a magazine and discovered that a young French athlete by the name of Mikayla had found the first Golden Pass. The whole article talked about how she bragged about her wide collection of trophies and medals. "I was born a winner," she had said, "It's no surprise that I, Mikayla, found the first pass." Tom, slightly annoyed by this, threw out the magazine.
Later in the afternoon,Tom was sitting at lunch with Jack and they were watching a talk show about the second pass finders on Jack's phone. It was a pair of British twins named Edward and Emily and they were both holding onto the pass whilst grinning mischievously at the cameras. "Don't you two feel very fortunate to find a pass?" the talk show host interviewed them. "The funny thing is," Emily explained, "was that we didn't even plan on finding one." "In fact," Edward chimed in, "We found it in our copy of Metroid after we stole it!" "What thieves!" Tom was disgusted. "I know!" Jack grunted between bites of his burger. "Did you buy any new games yet?" Tom asked. He had spent more than half of his hard-earned allowance and he was still not lucky. "I never got around to it," Jack said, "I'm just too lazy to do chores." Tom was annoyed that Jack wasn't doing his part in their deal but still had that small hope that one of them at least were lucky enough to find a pass.
The next day, Tom woke up to find his parents watching the news. Jack was onscreen waving around a Golden Pass in his hand. "Jack how do you feel about being a finder of one of four Golden Passes?" the reporter inquired. "I feel very lucky indeed!" Jack grinned from ear to ear. Right at that moment grabbed his coat and rode his bicycle all the way to Jack's house.
By the time he got there, all the reporters were gone and Jack, his sister and mother were having dinner. "Jack!" Tom called outside, "Jack!" Jack came out and yelled at Tom to pipe down, "My mom hates noise!" "Sorry," Tom quieted down, "But this is it! We're going to Nintendo Land!" Jack looked uncomfortable and began staring at the ground. Tom was concerned by this and dared to ask, "What's the matter?" Jack couldn't look Tom in the eyes but said, "My mom's making me take my sister Muffy. Sorry." With that, Jack closed the door, leaving Tom in a stupor and a loss.
What was he to do? There was only one Golden Pass left in the world and Tom simply didn't have the luck or the money to buy up the one game that held a pass.
That Thursday afternoon Tom was sitting, dejected in his room doing homework when his father walked in holding something behind his back. "Hey kiddo," his father began, "so your mother and I are very proud of how helpful you've been around the house lately. And to top it all off you're doing great in school. So we decided to give you thirty bucks so you can buy yourself something snazzy." Tom's father handed him the money and tousled his hair before leaving Tom with the small hope that he has a chance.
Tom had reminded himself at the store that it would be okay if he didn't find a pass, he had nothing to lose- he still gets a new video game in the process. He bought a copy of Legend of Zelda game and went straight home.
As Tom struggled to get the case open, he noticed a glint of gold. "What the…" He removed the rest of the wrapping and a Golden Pass fluttered to the floor. He held it up as if afraid and called to his parents, "Mom! Dad! I've found it! I've found it!" The mother and father rushed into the room, a mixture of emotions could be seen on their faces. "I can go on the tour to Nintendo Land!" "That's amazing sweetheart!" the mother said. "Now wait just a minute Tom," the father said cautiously as he examined the pass, "There's something written on the back." Tom read the Golden Pass out loud, "Greetings to you, lucky winner of this Golden Pass. My name is Monita and I am the curator of Nintendo Land, designated by Mr. Miyamoto to run the place. I am excited to inform you that wonderful things are in store for you here at Nintendo Land! Things beyond your wildest imagination! Not only will you be embarking on a tour around Nintendo Land conducted by me, Monita, you will also be participating in a competition between you and the other Golden Pass finders! Isn't that exciting? And not only that, the winner of this competition will receive a very special prize indeed! Now, here are your instructions:
The date you are to arrive at the gates of Nintendo Land is January twenty-fourth at nine o'clock sharp! Be sure not to be late, and you may bring only one friend to accompany you and experience the wondrous things we have here in Nintendo Land! Also, be sure to bring this Golden Pass along with you, otherwise you will not be allowed to enter. -Monita"
"Wait a minute,"Tom's mother realized, "January twenty-fourth is Friday! That's tomorrow! Tom, you'll have to be prepared tomorrow! Brush your teeth, gel your hair and wash your face! I'll prepare a sweater and iron your pants for you!" "And it's cold outside too," the father added, "bring your coat young man." Tom was overwhelmed by this, "Guys, I'll be fine, gee whiz." "Who are you taking on tour with you by the way?" Tom's mother asked, "Your father and I are both working tomorrow. Why don't you call up Jack?" Tom shook his head, "He's going with his little sister. I really don't mind going alone. I'm lucky to even go at all!"
At that moment a knock came at the door. As soon as Tom's father answered it, a mass of people with cameras flooded in demanding to have a talk with the fifth Golden Pass finder. The family was interviewed for hours and it was quite exhausting. By midnight, Tom's parents managed to kick them all out and the house was finally quiet and Tom could go to sleep.