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“ Six.”“ I couldn’ t play six games in one day if my life depended on it,” Eddie admitted.“ We will be playing three games of two-on-two,” she began to warm slightly.“ We?”“ Miss Adams the girl’ s physical education teacher and myself,” Kate said. Eddie thought for a moment.“ Didn’ t she go to school on a gymnastics scholarship?” he asked, walking toward the parked cars.“ She plays great defense, dribbles well and her passing is impeccable. She claims not to shoot well, but I think I have that handled.”“ You played in college?”“ Basketball and volleyball,” she said, walking with him across the asphalt lot.“ How badly are you planning to beat them?”“ Teenage boys have fragile egos, but tend to lack humility when it comes to competing against females. I always keep the score close.”
“ I thought you said you lacked acting ability?” Eddie said, putting on his most charming smile. He decided when he first laid eyes on Kate Jorgensen, she was the perfect person for the part.“ I’ m here to teach. May I ask exactly what you wanted to speak with me about?”“ After talking with you, I’ m sure you would be perfect for the part,” he said, leading her toward his truck.
The heat from the blacktop cast rippling waves further down the lot as Eddie opened the door of his truck and removed the headpiece. He put on the bathing cap covered with rubber snakes that jiggled and swayed with the slightest head movement.“ Strobe and black lights make them come alive,” he said, and watched her smile for the first time. He realized how ridiculous he looked, but knew she could see the effect.“ Medusa,” she smiled. Eddie thought he heard a touch of excitement creep into her voice and continued to lay out the scene.
Removing the headpiece, he explained the volunteers were in the process of creating a forest in the empty classroom.“ I need someone who knows how far to push the fear factor. When to keep some distance and when to apply some pressure. For some of these kids, this will be their first haunted house experience and we are not sure how young some of the children might be. They are expecting to be frightened.”“ But nightmares are not fun,” she said.“ Exactly.”“ What else do I need?” she asked, taking the ugly wig and examining the grotesque object.“ You’ re accepting the part?”“ I think so,” Kate said, putting on the cap. She looked at her reflection in Eddie’ s truck window, laughed self- consciously and quickly removed the wig, ruffling her perfectly quaffed hair.“ My wife is putting together a dress made from some thrift store wedding gowns. She is in the process of cutting strips of cloth to attach all over the dress.”“ And I have a near-silent, bladeless, tower fan at home that might be perfect,” she added.“ That’ s the spirit. By all means, bring it along. Nice touch. Call Tanya and she will get you fitted,” Eddie said, writing the phone number in his notebook and tearing off the sheet. She folded the paper and placed it in the blazer pocket.
Kate tried to give him the wig. Eddie told her to hold on to the piece and he would make sure she had a strobe and ultra-violet light so she could see how the costume looked.“ Are you going to be there?” she asked.“ In the coffin in the next room. The Mad Scientist warms up the crowd. The crazed prisoner is next, then Medusa. I get to chase them out of the place. We will do a little rehearsal Saturday before the doors open to make sure everything runs smoothly.” Shaking his hand firmly, Kate nodded and turned toward her vehicle. A few long strides put her in her car. She smiled, waved and left the parking lot. Eddie climbed into his truck envisioning the amazon Medusa. He sped home to inform Tanya about the meeting.