Hit The Road, Jack
(Give me a break, I'm bad at titling)
The story behind the story: I used to meet with a tutor named Lynn twice a week to improve my social skills. One of the activities we went through involved a book called "The Reader as Detective." The book had dozens of stories in it. Near the end of each story, the book prompted the reader to stop and try to figure out what would happen next. Usually the stories were pretty funny, and I loved doing these "The Reader as Detective" activities. I'm trying to imitate the book's method the best I can in this story. I do hope you'll enjoy it.
Remember when reviewing: Be honest, even if you have to flame to do so.
--
Kaita Todoroki sat in his room, very bored. He didn't have any homework to do, and it was Saturday, so he didn't have to go to school. There was just nothing to do.
His mother urged Kaita to go outside and play, so Kaita left the house and sat on a bench. The sporting goods store across the street wouldn't open for another hour.
He had tried to visit Lan earlier in the day, as Kaita was Lan's #1 fan, but Lan could never play with Kaita. Lan was just too busy with who-knows-what.
Kaita wasn't one of Lan's top priorities, it turned out, and Kaita thought of what Lan's top priorities were. Homework. Surfing the Net. Stopping NetCriminals.
Stopping NetCriminals? Kaita stared at the sporting goods store right across the street. Nobody ever came out this way except for him at this time of day.
Any passersby would have noticed a slightly evil look in Kaita's eyes, but there were none. Kaita approached the sporting goods store, and headed for a nearby window.
The store was empty. Not even any guards. Carefully Kaita took a wrench out of his backpack and undid the bolts that held the window in place.
After the window was off, Kaita climbed in and replaced the window, even remembering to replace the bolts. He headed down the stairs to the basement.
The basement was where the store's main computer was kept. This computer kept track of all the transactions. All the cash registers and everything were connected to this computer.
Kaita sat down in front of the computer and jacked in TurboMan. "Let's see..." said Kaita. "What should I do first? Set the cash registers so they won't process the transactions?"
"Or maybe I should change the inventory data so that it gives ridiculous numbers, like maybe 500,000,000 basketballs? However I get started, I'll get started."
An hour and a half later, Lan was busy roller-blading around town. He had already finished his homework, and he was REALLY bored. The day just seemed so uneventful.
Lan stopped in front of the sporting goods store. He approached the door and knocked. An employee came and opened the door. "So sorry, but the store's closed."
"Everything in the store's going all goofy," the employee explained, "and we have to close down the store until we can make repairs. Oh! You're Lan Hikari, right?"
Lan nodded. "Well, you might want to check the main computer in the basement. The door to the stairs has been locked, so we can't do anything. Can you find a way to do something?"
"Don't worry about it," Lan said, "I've got it covered." Lan rushed over to a window at the base of the building. The basement was on the other side of the window.
Calmly Lan knocked on the window, and Kaita approached. "Kaita!?" Lan said, startled. "What are you doing here? What do you want me to do, autograph your PET or something?"
"I actually expect a lot more," Kaita said, "but that's a start." Kaita handed over his PET through the window, and Lan took it and returned it after a moment with his signature.
"Thanks," Kaita said. "Now, down to business. As you know, I'm your #1 fan. You don't appreciate me enough, and you're always ignoring me."
Lan tried to speak, but Kaita wouldn't let him. "One would think that you'd pay attention to your #1 fan, but no! That's why I did this, Lan; to show you just what I can do."
After a brief silence, Lan spoke up. "Well, you've shown me your might, and I'm convinced that you can do a lot. Tell you what, here's my phone number."
Lan wrote something on a sheet of paper, and gave it to Kaita. "Here. Call me anytime. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get going. See you!"
Kaita tried to protest, but Lan had already left. After another few minutes of silence, Kaita's PET phone rang. "Now who could that be at a time like this?" Kaita wondered.
"Kaita Todoroki, #1 fan of Lan Hikari. What's up?" Kaita said. The voice on the other end of the line sounded VERY angry. "Kaita! Get home immediately!"
Kaita was startled. "Mom!? What are you so mad about?" "Lan called me just a moment ago and told me what you were doing at the sporting goods store!"
A few hours later, Kaita was serving month-long detention in his room. His PET had a lock on it that prevented him from jacking in or NetBattling.
Nothing stopped Kaita from making phone calls and sending or getting E-mail, though. Kaita dialed up Lan's number using the piece of paper.
Lan's voice was absolutely calm, and he seemed to be expecting Kaita's call. "Hi, Kaita," Lan said. "You seem pretty down. Your mother get sore with you?"
"Sore is an understatement," Kaita replied, "and she said that you called her to notify her of what I did. Don't you usually take care of the NetCriminals yourself?"
"Usually I do," Lan said, "but since you're my age, I just let your parents take care of things. If I must say so myself, I think they did a pretty good job."
Needless to say, Kaita was very annoyed. "Lan, I'll get you for this, I swear!" Then he calmed down. "By the way, you aren't supposed to know my mother's number. How'd you find it out?"
--
Now it's time for YOU to be the Reader as Detective.
How did Lan find out Mrs. Todoroki's phone number? It helps if you think of who might know this info, where it might be stored, and how Lan could gain access to this info.
After you think you know, read on to see if you are right!
--
"Remember when I autographed your PET?" Lan said, smirking. "Yeah, I do," Kaita replied. "The signature is still there. I may never get a new PET."
"Well," Lan continued, "after I autographed it, I dialed up your PET's phone book function. You've got your mom's number programmed right in there."
Now Kaita was just about to burst with anger. "LAN! YOU TRAITOR! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS IF IT'S THE LAST THING I-" But Lan had already hung up.
(Give me a break, I'm bad at titling)
The story behind the story: I used to meet with a tutor named Lynn twice a week to improve my social skills. One of the activities we went through involved a book called "The Reader as Detective." The book had dozens of stories in it. Near the end of each story, the book prompted the reader to stop and try to figure out what would happen next. Usually the stories were pretty funny, and I loved doing these "The Reader as Detective" activities. I'm trying to imitate the book's method the best I can in this story. I do hope you'll enjoy it.
Remember when reviewing: Be honest, even if you have to flame to do so.
--
Kaita Todoroki sat in his room, very bored. He didn't have any homework to do, and it was Saturday, so he didn't have to go to school. There was just nothing to do.
His mother urged Kaita to go outside and play, so Kaita left the house and sat on a bench. The sporting goods store across the street wouldn't open for another hour.
He had tried to visit Lan earlier in the day, as Kaita was Lan's #1 fan, but Lan could never play with Kaita. Lan was just too busy with who-knows-what.
Kaita wasn't one of Lan's top priorities, it turned out, and Kaita thought of what Lan's top priorities were. Homework. Surfing the Net. Stopping NetCriminals.
Stopping NetCriminals? Kaita stared at the sporting goods store right across the street. Nobody ever came out this way except for him at this time of day.
Any passersby would have noticed a slightly evil look in Kaita's eyes, but there were none. Kaita approached the sporting goods store, and headed for a nearby window.
The store was empty. Not even any guards. Carefully Kaita took a wrench out of his backpack and undid the bolts that held the window in place.
After the window was off, Kaita climbed in and replaced the window, even remembering to replace the bolts. He headed down the stairs to the basement.
The basement was where the store's main computer was kept. This computer kept track of all the transactions. All the cash registers and everything were connected to this computer.
Kaita sat down in front of the computer and jacked in TurboMan. "Let's see..." said Kaita. "What should I do first? Set the cash registers so they won't process the transactions?"
"Or maybe I should change the inventory data so that it gives ridiculous numbers, like maybe 500,000,000 basketballs? However I get started, I'll get started."
An hour and a half later, Lan was busy roller-blading around town. He had already finished his homework, and he was REALLY bored. The day just seemed so uneventful.
Lan stopped in front of the sporting goods store. He approached the door and knocked. An employee came and opened the door. "So sorry, but the store's closed."
"Everything in the store's going all goofy," the employee explained, "and we have to close down the store until we can make repairs. Oh! You're Lan Hikari, right?"
Lan nodded. "Well, you might want to check the main computer in the basement. The door to the stairs has been locked, so we can't do anything. Can you find a way to do something?"
"Don't worry about it," Lan said, "I've got it covered." Lan rushed over to a window at the base of the building. The basement was on the other side of the window.
Calmly Lan knocked on the window, and Kaita approached. "Kaita!?" Lan said, startled. "What are you doing here? What do you want me to do, autograph your PET or something?"
"I actually expect a lot more," Kaita said, "but that's a start." Kaita handed over his PET through the window, and Lan took it and returned it after a moment with his signature.
"Thanks," Kaita said. "Now, down to business. As you know, I'm your #1 fan. You don't appreciate me enough, and you're always ignoring me."
Lan tried to speak, but Kaita wouldn't let him. "One would think that you'd pay attention to your #1 fan, but no! That's why I did this, Lan; to show you just what I can do."
After a brief silence, Lan spoke up. "Well, you've shown me your might, and I'm convinced that you can do a lot. Tell you what, here's my phone number."
Lan wrote something on a sheet of paper, and gave it to Kaita. "Here. Call me anytime. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get going. See you!"
Kaita tried to protest, but Lan had already left. After another few minutes of silence, Kaita's PET phone rang. "Now who could that be at a time like this?" Kaita wondered.
"Kaita Todoroki, #1 fan of Lan Hikari. What's up?" Kaita said. The voice on the other end of the line sounded VERY angry. "Kaita! Get home immediately!"
Kaita was startled. "Mom!? What are you so mad about?" "Lan called me just a moment ago and told me what you were doing at the sporting goods store!"
A few hours later, Kaita was serving month-long detention in his room. His PET had a lock on it that prevented him from jacking in or NetBattling.
Nothing stopped Kaita from making phone calls and sending or getting E-mail, though. Kaita dialed up Lan's number using the piece of paper.
Lan's voice was absolutely calm, and he seemed to be expecting Kaita's call. "Hi, Kaita," Lan said. "You seem pretty down. Your mother get sore with you?"
"Sore is an understatement," Kaita replied, "and she said that you called her to notify her of what I did. Don't you usually take care of the NetCriminals yourself?"
"Usually I do," Lan said, "but since you're my age, I just let your parents take care of things. If I must say so myself, I think they did a pretty good job."
Needless to say, Kaita was very annoyed. "Lan, I'll get you for this, I swear!" Then he calmed down. "By the way, you aren't supposed to know my mother's number. How'd you find it out?"
--
Now it's time for YOU to be the Reader as Detective.
How did Lan find out Mrs. Todoroki's phone number? It helps if you think of who might know this info, where it might be stored, and how Lan could gain access to this info.
After you think you know, read on to see if you are right!
--
"Remember when I autographed your PET?" Lan said, smirking. "Yeah, I do," Kaita replied. "The signature is still there. I may never get a new PET."
"Well," Lan continued, "after I autographed it, I dialed up your PET's phone book function. You've got your mom's number programmed right in there."
Now Kaita was just about to burst with anger. "LAN! YOU TRAITOR! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS IF IT'S THE LAST THING I-" But Lan had already hung up.