specialist at the university observe them. His name is Professor Perry and he’s taken an interest. We don’t see any downside to his involvement, do you?
Love to you both from
Irma and Mal
TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION
A bell chimed in the front office of the Wagon Wheel Motel as the road-weary Poe family entered. It had been eight hours since their lunch at the Chinese restaurant and three hours since dinner at a greasy spoon this side of the Kansas border. Now they were only a hundred and ten miles from the Gale Farm and OZitorium. But Edgar and Allan didn’t press to go any farther—the hour was late and Uncle Jack was bleary-eyed despite all the coffee he’d been drinking to stay awake.
Roderick would be OK with the professor for one more night.
The motel office was packed tight: a wall of brochures for local tourist attractions, a spinning rack of postcards, two armchairs arranged around an end table with a coffee maker, porcelain coffee mugs, and a pinkbox of doughnuts (left over from that morning’s free continental breakfast). More surprising was a handwritten sign at the tall front desk. It read:
The night clerk, a sleepy man in his early twenties with bad teeth and a ponytail, emerged from the back room carrying a book of Sudoku puzzles. “Can I help you?”
“Hey, we’re Poes,” Uncle Jack said, pointing to the sign. “Does that mean we get a discount?”
“Twenty percent,” the night clerk said, setting the book on the counter.
“How thoughtful,” Aunt Judith remarked. “But why for Poes?”
Uncle Jack didn’t wait for the answer. “Doesn’t matter why,” he said, reaching for his wallet. “A discount’s a discount. Right? It’s a great deal. We’ll take it.”
“How’d you know we were coming?” Allan asked the clerk.
“Oh, our discount is always available. We value education.”
“What does education have to do with it?” the boys asked.
The man looked at them. “You two are good students, right?”
“Depends on what you mean by ‘good,’” Allan answered.
“We know plenty of things,” Edgar added. “More than our teachers, generally.”
The clerk turned to Uncle Jack. “You’ll have to show documentation to prove you’re a POE.”
“No problem.” He displayed his driver’s license.
“Your
name’s
Poe?”
“Sure is.”
The man laughed. “I hate to disappoint you, but the discount isn’t for people
named
Poe. It’s for members of the organization Parents of Exemplary Students. Get it? P-O-E-S. So unless you’ve got a copy of their current report cards, along with two letters of recommendation from teachers, I’m afraid I can’t give you the discount.”
Jack balked. “What?”
“But they
are
exemplary students,” Aunt Judith said.
“That’s true,” Allan added, “if by ‘exemplary’ you not only mean smart but also ‘expelled.’”
The night clerk shook his head, a smile still playing on his face.
“Fine, then we’ll take our business elsewhere,” Uncle Jack snapped, glancing around the cramped office. “This place isn’t exactly the Ritz.”
The man shrugged. “There’s not another motel open for sixty miles.”
Aunt Judith tapped her index finger on the counter. “I think this POES organization is a bad idea. My goodness, parents of exemplary students already get many advantages. What about having an organization for parents of
ordinary
students?”
“We tried that,” the night clerk said, fighting off a yawn. “We called it Parents of Ordinary Students. But nobody wanted to join, even for the discount.”
“Why not?”
“Who wants to be in an organization called the POOS?”
Uncle Jack didn’t want to hear any more. “Enough. We’ll take two adjoining rooms.”
Allan and Edgar turned away and walked over tothe postcard rack. They started to spin it, attempting to identify the greatest possible velocity at which centrifugal force would not send the cards flying off into every corner of the
Love to you both from
Irma and Mal
TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION
A bell chimed in the front office of the Wagon Wheel Motel as the road-weary Poe family entered. It had been eight hours since their lunch at the Chinese restaurant and three hours since dinner at a greasy spoon this side of the Kansas border. Now they were only a hundred and ten miles from the Gale Farm and OZitorium. But Edgar and Allan didn’t press to go any farther—the hour was late and Uncle Jack was bleary-eyed despite all the coffee he’d been drinking to stay awake.
Roderick would be OK with the professor for one more night.
The motel office was packed tight: a wall of brochures for local tourist attractions, a spinning rack of postcards, two armchairs arranged around an end table with a coffee maker, porcelain coffee mugs, and a pinkbox of doughnuts (left over from that morning’s free continental breakfast). More surprising was a handwritten sign at the tall front desk. It read:
The night clerk, a sleepy man in his early twenties with bad teeth and a ponytail, emerged from the back room carrying a book of Sudoku puzzles. “Can I help you?”
“Hey, we’re Poes,” Uncle Jack said, pointing to the sign. “Does that mean we get a discount?”
“Twenty percent,” the night clerk said, setting the book on the counter.
“How thoughtful,” Aunt Judith remarked. “But why for Poes?”
Uncle Jack didn’t wait for the answer. “Doesn’t matter why,” he said, reaching for his wallet. “A discount’s a discount. Right? It’s a great deal. We’ll take it.”
“How’d you know we were coming?” Allan asked the clerk.
“Oh, our discount is always available. We value education.”
“What does education have to do with it?” the boys asked.
The man looked at them. “You two are good students, right?”
“Depends on what you mean by ‘good,’” Allan answered.
“We know plenty of things,” Edgar added. “More than our teachers, generally.”
The clerk turned to Uncle Jack. “You’ll have to show documentation to prove you’re a POE.”
“No problem.” He displayed his driver’s license.
“Your
name’s
Poe?”
“Sure is.”
The man laughed. “I hate to disappoint you, but the discount isn’t for people
named
Poe. It’s for members of the organization Parents of Exemplary Students. Get it? P-O-E-S. So unless you’ve got a copy of their current report cards, along with two letters of recommendation from teachers, I’m afraid I can’t give you the discount.”
Jack balked. “What?”
“But they
are
exemplary students,” Aunt Judith said.
“That’s true,” Allan added, “if by ‘exemplary’ you not only mean smart but also ‘expelled.’”
The night clerk shook his head, a smile still playing on his face.
“Fine, then we’ll take our business elsewhere,” Uncle Jack snapped, glancing around the cramped office. “This place isn’t exactly the Ritz.”
The man shrugged. “There’s not another motel open for sixty miles.”
Aunt Judith tapped her index finger on the counter. “I think this POES organization is a bad idea. My goodness, parents of exemplary students already get many advantages. What about having an organization for parents of
ordinary
students?”
“We tried that,” the night clerk said, fighting off a yawn. “We called it Parents of Ordinary Students. But nobody wanted to join, even for the discount.”
“Why not?”
“Who wants to be in an organization called the POOS?”
Uncle Jack didn’t want to hear any more. “Enough. We’ll take two adjoining rooms.”
Allan and Edgar turned away and walked over tothe postcard rack. They started to spin it, attempting to identify the greatest possible velocity at which centrifugal force would not send the cards flying off into every corner of the
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