Becca Goldstein flips through pages in a comic book and steals glances at the man across the aisle and two booths down. Noah Kaufman sits behind a table surrounded by Johnny Clue paraphernalia, including a photo of the comic book’s creator, Abe Kaufman. Noah has his grandfather’s strong nose and penetrating eyes. The wiry frame and messy mop of dark hair are entirely his own.
His Sharpie hovers above a Johnny Clue game cartridge. “Who should I make this out to?”
A teenager shifts from foot to foot across the table. “Maybe… Detective Kyle?”
“Detective, huh?” Noah’s voice brims with a mid-twenty’s confidence Becca wishes she had. “How many secret puzzles did you solve?”
“Fourteen.”
She solved sixteen, but the gamer has her respect.
“Detective Kyle it is.” Noah signs with a flourish. “Thanks for being a fan.”
The kid departs, and the way is clear. Becca’s “shortest wait time” algorithm predicted as much, solving for t—the optimal arrival time.
for t in range(OpenTime+1, CloseTime):
LineLength.append((1-MainStageEventPopularity[t])*
(min(abs(LunchTime-t),abs(OpenTime-t),abs(CloseTime-t))/24))
Her boss expects a faster version of the new mesh shader for DirectX by Monday, so she can’t lose the day at Emerald City ComicCon. Like it’s her fault dudes twice her age code half as fast and twice as messy. Her thumb taps an invisible button on an imaginary game controller. She drops the comic on the table. Fifteen steps bring her to Noah’s booth and her brush with fame. Becca unslings her backpack and digs through it.
Noah flashes his Sharpie and a grin. “Who should I make this out to?”
“It’s whom, and I don’t want your autograph.” She holds out a memory stick with a reworked version of Johnny Clue played by only one person—Becca Goldstein. “I want to fix your game.”
Michael Rosenstein is a speculative fiction writer searching for the hero in all of us. Born in New York, he currently resides in the Pacific Northwest after spending two years in Tokyo. When not writing, his distractions include running, comic books, and Star Wars.
Great execution!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
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