Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: PUZZLE (11/24/16)
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TITLE: Violets Are Blue | Previous Challenge Entry
By Raymond Bouchoc
12/01/16 -
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Violets are blue,
Time’s running out,
And so must you!
With a start, Tom looked up at the tower clock across the town square from where he stood, and bolted towards it, the piece of paper with the poem fluttering to the ground behind him. He bound over the hedge surrounding the green in the center of the square, and dodged around some kids playing on the green, with their cries of “hey” falling flat behind him.
Tom ran into the door of the tower with a thud. He bent over and grabbed the should he rammed the door with. With his free hand, he turned the door knob to the tower. It was locked. He straightened and rammed the door with his shoulder again.
“Owww.” He bobbed up and down holding his shoulder and turned in circles, his face scrunched with pain. “That wasn’t very smart!” Then he noticed the writing on the door.
- are red,
Violets are blue,
Don’t prick yourself,
Or I’ll feel it, too!
Tom turned and scanned the street. “Roses. Roses. Where are the roses?” He edged away from the door towards the curb. He looked at the center green, but there were no roses there. He glanced off to his left and saw the florist and ran.
As he sprinted towards it, he spotted some motion off to his right. He turned his head while he ran and saw someone. “Janet? Boy, can she run!” He said to himself and stumbled off the sidewalk, nearly falling to the ground.
Tom barreled through the front door and quickly surveyed the room. In the center of the store stood a display of red roses as big as a kitchen table. The sign in front of the table read, “Rose sale. Half Off.” Tom scuttled to the display and rummaged through the roses.
The clerk looked up at Tom from behind the counter. “Careful with those! You damage any of them and you pay for them!”
Tom could not find anything. He took a step back and glanced around the display. Then he looked at the sign. He sprang at it, picked it up, and flung it around to see every side. There it was.
“Hey!” The clerk yelled, as he made his way towards Tom.
Roses are red,
Violets are -,
Better hurry,
Or they’ll be two.
Tom ran out of the store and back to the street. “Blue. Blue.” He looked back and forth. There was Janet again, leaping across the hedge of the green. “Ugh!”
Tom saw a blue car. That must be it. He took off. On his way there, he saw another blue car parked several cars behind the first one. He thought he saw a ticket or something underneath the wiper. He veered from the first car and ran straight to the second. He hit the car running, his hand slapping the hood with a “thwack.” He grabbed the paper and read it.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Time to finish,
This last of clues.
Tom read it again. He looked up. He looked back at the paper. He didn’t know what it meant. He heard some commotion. He looked up. It was Janet. He looked where she was headed. A crowd had gathered on a side road at the edge of the center square. “Finish!” he yelled and ran towards the crowd.
He was closer than Janet was, but she was faster. He pushed himself as fast as he could go. His feet pounded the pavement. He pumped his arms. He was close, but Janet was right there, and just as he reached the finish line, she edged passed him.
They both fell to the ground. Tom lay sprawled on his back. His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath. He could hear the applause of the crowd. Other runners crossed the finish line.
When Tom finally caught his breath, he stood up and looked for Janet. She was already making her way towards him. They hugged briefly. “Congratulations,” Tom said, with a big smile on his face. He didn’t win, but it was a great time. “We’ll have to share each other’s clues. It was a close one!”
“Thanks. Sounds like a plan,” Janet said. “Until next year!”
“Until next year, then.” Tom followed Janet to claim his second-place prize.
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