Chapter 5
After escaping from the Legacy's bridge, Senel's group took the duct to the Oresoren village. They walked the scooters through the village and entered Poppo's workshop.
"Everyone, I'm afraid I have some bad news," Poppo said. "I've discovered a fatal flaw in the brake design in the Poppo Scooters."
Everyone dropped their heads.
"So we noticed..." Senel lamented.
"Oh, you poor thing, Poppo," Grune said. "Better luck next time, okay?"
Why is Poppy the "poor thing?" Norma wondered. We're the ones who kept crashing on the scooters...
Jay sighed to himself. "I was so close to killing Solon..."
Grune turned to him and embraced him. "Cheer up, Jay. You'll get him next time."
Jay gasped as he felt all eyes on him. Grune stepped back and smiled her usual sweet smile.
"Ha ha, Jay's blushin'!" Moses taunted.
"N-No way!" Jay cried. "I am not!"
Moses ignored his protests. "Actually, I think he's turnin' a little red!"
"I...I..." Jay stepped back, covering his blushing face.
"Well, I say it's time to get back to the talent show!" Norma said. "Now that my song is finished, the grand prize is as good as mine!"
"Nah-uh, it's mine!" Harriet argued.
"Instead of arguing about it, we should head back to town," Will said.
The group nodded in agreement.
----------------
Later that evening, the talent show began in Werites Beacon. Norma had just finished singing her song to the audience. At the end, everyone applauded, and Norma took a bow.
"Oh, well done, Norma!" Curtis called. "Sing that song to reform the wayward souls!"
"Yeah, you should've seen how we sang that song to Vaclav and showed him who's boss!" Norma responded.
"You tell 'em, Bubbles!" Moses called.
"Next up is Harriet Campbell!" Curtis announced.
There was another round of applause as Harriet came up onstage with her canvas.
"So, what's your talent, miss?" Curtis asked.
"I made a painting," Harriet said. "Take a look!"
She held up the canvas for all to see. The painting had a row of houses sitting in front of a fine dirt road. The lawns were a brilliant green, and the sky had been colored with a clear blue.
"Ooh, very nice!" Curtis called. "Don't you think so, Isabella?"
"Yes, Curtis," Isabella responded.
The audience applauded once more.
"Thank you very much, Miss Campbell!" Curtis called. "Next up is...hmm, who's next, Isabella?"
"Next up is Moses Sandor!" Isabella called.
Moses stepped onstage with Giet tailing behind him.
"Giet and I are gonna strut our stuff!" Moses called. "You ready, Giet?"
"Woof!" Giet responded.
Moses pulled out a large hula hoop and held it out to the side. Giet ran and jumped through it.
"All right!" Moses called. "One more time!"
He held the hoop out again, and Giet jumped through it again. The citizens roared with applause.
"Thank you!" Moses called, bowing to the audience. "Now I'll show you just how strong our bond is!"
He got down on all fours, and Giet climbed onto his back. Moses addressed the audience again.
"Our bond is so strong, I can even let Giet ride on my back! Yeehaw!"
To demonstrate further, Moses began to crawl around the stage with Giet still on his back. The audience began to murmur nervously. Giet hopped down from Moses' back, and Moses stood up.
"All right, Giet! Fetch!" Moses threw three spears into the air. Giet leaped into the air, catching all three in a single bound. Upon landing, Giet delivered the spears back to Moses.
"Can your dog do that?" Moses asked.
The citizens glanced at each other.
"And now, our final trick!" Moses hopped onto Giet's back. Giet dashed back and forth across the stage several times. He then stopped in the center, and Moses hopped down. The audience applauded yet again.
"Let's hear it for Moses!" Curtis called. "I wish I had a pet who could do that."
"Hey, Giet ain't no pet!" Moses yelled. "He's my family!"
"Oh right." Curtis went on. "Now our final contestant, Shirley Fennes!"
Shirley stepped onstage with her canvas. "Um...thank you, everyone. My entry...isn't really an entry...but here's what I did."
She held up the canvas, displaying her colored message: "TALENT SHOULD NOT BE A COMPETITION!!!"
This caused more murmurs within the crowd. "Talent shouldn't be a competition? I don't understand..."
"I think this talent show was a great idea," Shirley said. "But somehow the fun went out of it. The pure joy of sharing talents is gone now that they're keeping score. The thing about winning and losing is...it's not always about winning and losing. Sometimes it's all about playing the game, and having fun."
The audience paused to reflect on her words.
"Thank you very much, Shirley!" Curtis said. "We'll definitely take your words to heart."
Shirley took a bow, then stepped off the stage.
"Now, we'll just be a moment while we add up the scores and determine the winner!" Curtis called.
The group turned to each other and began to converse.
"Y'know, maybe Shirl has a point about competition and all," Norma said.
"Yeah, it's no fun when there's winners and losers," Harriet agreed.
There was a momentary pause.
"But I'm still better than you," Harriet said.
Norma glared at her. "No, you're not."
"My painting's gonna win, not your stupid song!"
"Why not? My song is better than your painting!"
"Y'all don't have to keep bickerin' like that!" Moses cut in. "It's just a medal, right?"
Then Curtis and Isabella returned to the stage along with Madame Musette.
"All right, friends, it's time to announce the winner!" Curtis called. "Your Excellency, if you would, please?"
"Of course," Musette said. "And the winner is..."
There was a steady drumroll as Musette opened her envelope. Everyone waited with sheer anticipation.
Come on, Norma thought. Norma Beatty, Norma Beatty, Norma Beatty!
Harriet was having similar hopes. Harriet Campbell, Harriet Campbell, Harriet Campbell!
Finally, Musette called out the name. "Moses Sandor!"
"What!?" Norma and Harriet exclaimed in unison.
"Yahoo!" Moses ran excitedly to the stage with Giet in tow.
Jay rolled his eyes. "Yeah...it's just a medal."
"Congratulations, Moses," Musette said.
Moses leaned forward, and Musette put the medal around his neck.
"Thank you, Madame," Moses said. "And thank you, audience!"
He paused as he pulled the medal off. "But I don't really deserve this medal. See, the real winner here is Giet. He's the one who did all the tricks."
He knelt down in front of Giet and placed the medal around his neck. "Here you go, Giet. This medal belongs to you."
Giet let out a prolonged howl.
"Come on, y'all!" Moses called. "Let's hear it for Giet!"
The audience roared with applause yet again.
---------------------
Later that evening, Will sat in his living room reading one of his books when Harriet came in excited with an orange ribbon.
"Hey Dad, guess what!" she called. "While you were in your lab all day, I got an honorable mention!"
"Hey, congratulations," Will said. "So who won the talent show?"
"Moses...but he gave his medal to Giet, so that was pretty cool."
Then Norma came in and sat down beside Will.
"Hey Norma, I got an honorable mention!" Harriet taunted.
Norma rolled her eyes as she held up her ribbon. "Big deal. So did I."
"Ah, phooie."
Next, Shirley entered the house.
"Shirley, how did your protest go?" Will asked.
"It went well," Shirley said. "Madame Musette said that they'll continue the annual talent show, but it won't be a contest anymore."
"That's great."
"Hey Dad, aren't you the same person who pressured Shirley to win?" Harriet asked.
"Well, I thought about it and realized that I was wrong. Some games just aren't fun with competition."
"Yeah..." Shirley looked at her ribbon.
"I see you got an honorable mention as well," Will pointed out. "So it all worked out in the end."
"It's no big deal. Everyone who enters the talent show gets one of those."
Harriet sighed. "Oh. They call it an 'honorable mention,' but we're really just losers!"
"You are not losers!" Will insisted.
"If you're not the winner, you're a loser."
"No, you're just artists whose work is unappreciated. Just like Vincent Van Gogh. He never sold a painting in his entire lifetime. He was completely unappreciated until after his death."
"So that means that my painting will be famous after I'm dead?" Harriet asked.
"Absolutely," Will said.
"Ooh, ooh! Then my song will be famous after I die too, right?" Norma asked.
"Of course."
Harriet gave her father an odd look. "Dad, do you even know what you're saying?"
"He's probably had his nose in the books for too long," Norma said.
Will stood up and bonked her on the head.
"Ow! Well, I'm going back to the inn now. Goodnight." Norma turned and left the house.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go to bed, too." Harriet went upstairs to her room.
Will and Shirley sat on the sofa.
"Will, you really understand my protest?" Shirley asked.
"Yes. I'm sorry I behaved badly before. I only wanted Harriet to have the success that I never had."
"But you're successful, Will. You've got a great job and a daughter to be proud of."
"Still, I think I pushed her too hard. In the beginning, she didn't even want to enter the talent show. So I think you did the right thing by submitting your protest painting."
Shirley stood up and looked up at the ceiling. "I can help change things...in sports and other contests, too! If I could make you understand, Will...then maybe I can change the whole world!"
Her siloquoy was interrupted by a soft snoring sound. She turned to find that Will had fallen asleep right there on the sofa. And in the middle of her speech, too. The nerve!
Shirley just smiled and shook her head. She took the blanket from the sofa and placed over Will, then gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Finally, she quietly left the house.
-----------------------
Harriet received the title of Future Famous Dead Artist!
Norma received the title of Future Famous Dead Pop Star!