| General Fiction posted June 4, 2022 |
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two plus two is....
Simple Mathematics
by giraffmang
“Argh!” John Harris dug the heels of his hands into his temples, scrunching his eyes tight.
Jean, his wife, came toddling through from the kitchen, a cup of tea and several digestives in hand. “Whatever is the matter, John?”
He waggled a finger at the laptop screen in front of him. “Just look at it. Just look.”
Jean set the cup of tea onto a coaster and set the biscuits beside it. She raised her glasses to her eyes from their resting place hung around her neck. “Let’s see… oh my. Now what is the sense in that?”
“I know!” John spluttered.
Jean deftly covered her digestives with an open hand.
“What is wrong with these people, Jean? I mean, can’t they see the idiocy? It’s a competition piece, for crying out loud.”
“What competition is it for?”
John shot Jean an incredulous look. “It doesn’t matter, does it?”
“Well, I guess not.” She shook her head. “So much money for only…” Jean’s lips moved as she counted the wordage, “326 words. What reckless spending. I wish I had their money. John, you don’t--”
“Of course not, woman. I put on the basic certificate and a couple of pumps I earned through reviewing.”
“So, you spent $9.95 on the certificate, and $2.95 per pump. How many pumps?”
“Five I think it was… all earnt.”
Jean patted John on the shoulder. “I know, dear. So that’s the equivalent of $24.70?”
John nodded, stealing one of Jean’s digestives for good measure. “Yep. 77 cents pay-out. They’re paying out $1. 25. That’s… $127.95 dollars’ worth.”
Jean took a step back, clutching her chest above her heart. “That’s shocking.”
“Do you know what’s more shocking? The competition isn’t ‘winner takes all’. That means that they’ll only get the half the pot if they win. A full competition would pay out $45.”
“This is madness, John!”
“It gets better. There’s only five entrants and it’s going to the booth. That means a maximum pay-out of $12.50!”
Recovering herself, Jean replied, “But don’t forget they get a lovely little ribbon, too.”
John glared at Jean for a brief moment before they both burst out in a fit of giggles. Jean lifted her tea, leaving the remaining digestive for John. The bookshelf caught her eye on the way to her comfy chair and her knitting. “John?”
“Yes, dear?”
“Didn’t they pay you when you got published?”
“Stop changing the subject, woman!”
Jean giggled and shook her head. “Writers!”
“Argh!” John Harris dug the heels of his hands into his temples, scrunching his eyes tight.
Jean, his wife, came toddling through from the kitchen, a cup of tea and several digestives in hand. “Whatever is the matter, John?”
He waggled a finger at the laptop screen in front of him. “Just look at it. Just look.”
Jean set the cup of tea onto a coaster and set the biscuits beside it. She raised her glasses to her eyes from their resting place hung around her neck. “Let’s see… oh my. Now what is the sense in that?”
“I know!” John spluttered.
Jean deftly covered her digestives with an open hand.
“What is wrong with these people, Jean? I mean, can’t they see the idiocy? It’s a competition piece, for crying out loud.”
“What competition is it for?”
John shot Jean an incredulous look. “It doesn’t matter, does it?”
“Well, I guess not.” She shook her head. “So much money for only…” Jean’s lips moved as she counted the wordage, “326 words. What reckless spending. I wish I had their money. John, you don’t--”
“Of course not, woman. I put on the basic certificate and a couple of pumps I earned through reviewing.”
“So, you spent $9.95 on the certificate, and $2.95 per pump. How many pumps?”
“Five I think it was… all earnt.”
Jean patted John on the shoulder. “I know, dear. So that’s the equivalent of $24.70?”
John nodded, stealing one of Jean’s digestives for good measure. “Yep. 77 cents pay-out. They’re paying out $1. 25. That’s… $127.95 dollars’ worth.”
Jean took a step back, clutching her chest above her heart. “That’s shocking.”
“Do you know what’s more shocking? The competition isn’t ‘winner takes all’. That means that they’ll only get the half the pot if they win. A full competition would pay out $45.”
“This is madness, John!”
“It gets better. There’s only five entrants and it’s going to the booth. That means a maximum pay-out of $12.50!”
Recovering herself, Jean replied, “But don’t forget they get a lovely little ribbon, too.”
John glared at Jean for a brief moment before they both burst out in a fit of giggles. Jean lifted her tea, leaving the remaining digestive for John. The bookshelf caught her eye on the way to her comfy chair and her knitting. “John?”
“Yes, dear?”
“Didn’t they pay you when you got published?”
“Stop changing the subject, woman!”
Jean giggled and shook her head. “Writers!”
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