Young Writers Society

"The next step..." Meyer said, like someone who had definitely not read the instructions beforehand. "Is part two of step one, which... will be the next piece... of labeling your flaws."

Emily started tapping away at a keyboard. "We will be running you and Sadie Lovett through a series of scenarios, step into the blue square."

Alex hesitantly stepped onto the platform, tripping on the step. In an instant, they grabbed Sadie's shoulder to steady xemself. "Oh! Sorry."

Sadie tensed at the physical contact -- she'd never gotten much of that in a positive context -- but nodded to them as she followed them onto the platform. "All good."

"Oh, right, this one!" Meyer said, composing himself. He had read the instructions, regardless of appearances. He just forgot. It really was so much to keep track of. These Trials seemed to be attempting to be as complicated as humanly possible. "Okay, so, we've got various situations we're going to put you through, okay? Just wanna see how you respond when the stakes go up a bit."

Sadie looked at him skeptically. "What kind of stakes?"

"In this particular situation?" Meyer looked down at the folder in his arms, then looked back at her. "For this one, we're going to be playing a memory game. You'll be given an increasingly difficult matching game that carries with it both the capacity for a cash reward as well as an electric shock punishment."

Sadie narrowed her eyes, not sure that she liked the sound of that.

"If you do well; you get money," Meyer said. "If you do poorly; you get shocked. It will get increasingly more difficult -- but the money will increase exponentially at each step, although the shock will also increase. You may play as much or as little as you wish. Do you understand?"

Oh, shock therapy because who cares about ethics, right? What have they gotten themselves into? Alex looked at Sadie for a bit of courage. Seeing the determination and grit on her face replaced the butterflies in their stomach with warmth. They could do this; they were a team.

"I understand."

Sadie looked at Alex, then back at Meyer. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Bring it on."

The wall behind them opened up and the floor moved forward to bring two chairs and a desk to the center of the platform they stood on.

Meyer gestured at it. "Sit."

Sadie strode towards the chair on the left and sat down. The table in front of them had a rectangular depression and on it was a strip of lights flashing with different colors and shapes.

Alex sat on the other chair, flashing what xe hoped was an encouraging smile.

"So, uh, what do we do?"

Emily pulled out her notes, readying everything. She was ignoring them in favor of her task.

"Right, so." Meyer grabbed some supplies out of a cubby on the wall, then walked back over and set a clear tray in front of either of them. "This is where your money will accumulate -- kind of a visual incentive if you will. We'll stack more money here and if you win it, then we will then add it to your tray at that point. Once it's in your tray it's yours, no takebacks."

With that, Meyer pulled out an envelope of money from his folder. He put a fifty dollar bill on each side of the table, behind the trays but not in them. "Your first incentive. A series of lights and shapes will flash here. You'll then have 20 seconds to recreate what you just saw on the screens before you."

At that, the table opened and an iPad appeared before each of them.

"So, watch the lights -- copy them on the iPad -- then get the money?" Sadie asked.

"Yep. If you get it right. If you don't..." Meyer pulled out a machine that looked like a car battery. He wiggled his finger towards her. "Give me your hand."

Sadie looked at him suspiciously for a long moment.

"I mean... if you don't want the money..." Meyer shrugged, glancing back at the cash. "I guess $50 doesn't go very far anyway, what when you've got to account for gas and food and such. I mean, there will be bigger rewards, but if you've got better things to do..."

She glared at him. But he had a point. Even $50 would be helpful in her current situation. Who cared about a little shock? She held her hand out to him. He clamped down what looked to be a bracelet on her right wrist, connected to the battery pack by a very, very fine wire. He turned towards Alex with a second bracelet, gesturing for Alex to give him their arm.

Alex held out xer arm, their head getting that dizzy feeling when they knew something wasn't going to be pleasant. However, xe had plenty of experience with pain, so they'd be able to handle some shocks should they mess up.

"Let me guess, it gets progressively faster?"

Emily finally stepped back from the keyboard. "Progressively faster and more complicated. More lights to remember, less time to remember them."

"Yep." Meyer clamped the bracelet around Alex's wrist then gave them a pat on the back. "You'll be okay, kid. Just focus."

At that, the lights in the room dimmed and the screen went dark. A holograph appeared before them counting down 3 - 2 - 1 and with that there was a red circle, then a green triangle, then a red triangle, then a blue square, then a blue circle.

Sadie quickly copied it onto her iPad accurately.

Alex copied it as quickly as they could, typing it correctly as well.

The iPads flashed, then the screen turned to a solid green. Meyer nodded approvingly and threw one of the $50 in each of their trays. "See? Easy as that. Next one's up a hund-er."

He threw down two $100 bills.

"Things are gonna be faster this time and there will be more lights. You in or you out?"

"I'm in," Sadie said without hesitation. That'd been the easiest $50 of her life."

"I'm in." $100 or some slight shock? Of course, they were taking that chance.

The same countdown flashed then the screen.

This time there were 8 flashes, adding in yellow as an option as well as a diamond.

This one was significantly harder to keep up with, and she faltered on the last square, but guessed correctly.

Alex faltered with two squares left; they guessed correctly for the first one then ran out of time.

The shock that came made xem flinch, their teeth clenched in surprise, but they showed no other signs of receiving it.

“Nice.” Meyer threw Sadie’s money in her tray. Then he piled 5 $100 bills in front of each of them — turning Alex’s stack into $600. “You may not choose to sit out then come back in a later round — but if you get shocked you get a chance to come back for the full amount in the next round. You in or you out?”

Was that even a question? “In!”