Miss Scissors: Reading is the Key Part Six

ModMouse was up the next morning. Sometime after breakfast the TV turned on, with who else but Molly the Doll.

Molly: Good morning, ModMouse.

ModMouse: Okay, what's up this time?

Molly: Remember that talk we had on Friday about how if you want something done you should ask a busy person?

ModMouse: Don't tell me. I'm going to have some business calling me into the other realm today.

Molly: Good to see that we're on the same page. By the wall, you will find two bags. One will have some items that need to be recycled. Another consists of the two books that you have thus far finished since you had started on the read-a-thon. On the coffee table, you will find a list of things that need to be done before you will be able to resume your reading. I'd get the tasks over with if I were you. Good luck to you, and unless unforseen circumstances dictate otherwise, I will speak to you again closer to midnight Thursday night or whenever you have fulifilled the 24 hour reading goal, whichever comes first. (TV turns off.)

ModMouse: O-kay. Let's see what the list says. (Picks up list from coffee table.) The first thing it says to do is to put on the outfit that is folded on the table before proceeding with anything else. (Goes to bedroom to dress.) Okay, now it says I need to take the cans and bottles to a couple of recycling bins, put the two books somewhere out in a public place, check on an application that I turned in last month, and pick up another.

ModMouse ran these errands and was back from the other realm at 1:35 in the afternoon. After eating lunch and doing a few other things, she began with the next book available to her to read, The Winter Widow. She read the first chapter, which took her five minutes. She wasn't able to get any more reading until later in the evening. She read the 54 minutes needed to disable the next lock. Now, 15 locks remain, 14 of which the timers have yet to be activated. How far along will she get the next day? Tune in tomorrow for part seven to find out.

Miss Scissors: Reading is the Key Part 5

[This is another part where Miss Scissors does not make an appearance. Don't worry, though. She'll be back in part 6. As I did in part three, I decided to try to cut to the chase, so there's only one spoken line. Click here for parts one, two, three, and four.]

In the morning, ModMouse was able to read for 30 minutes until the wall to the other realm glowed, this time summoning her to her volunteer work at a local thrift store, which she usually did three times a week. She returned after six hours but had so much to do that she hadn't gotten any more reading done yet. She finally did twenty more minutes of reading while waiting for time to feed her cat on Facebook's Petville. This left her with nine minutes before she would be able to disable the sixth lock. After having fed her Petville cat and playing a bit of Frontierville, ModMouse looked at how far along she was on the book that she had been reading and saw that she had roughly 125 pages left to read.

ModMouse: I wonder how long it'll take for me to finish the book.

It took her 2 hours and 10 minutes to finish the book, after which it disappeared. This was enough time to disable the sixth and seventh locks. She would need to read for another 59 minutes in order to disable the next lock, but as it was getting late, she decided that she had done enough reading for the night, and she would get to the next lock the next day. Will ModMouse get past the eighth lock? Tune in tomorrow for Part Six to find out. 

Miss Scissors: Reading Is The Key Part 4

[Due to various obligations that I had today, I wasn't able to get this posted as soon as I would have liked. Click here for parts one, two, and three.]

Today would be the final day for ModMouse in her overnight stay within the realm. She got in 16 minutes of reading before it was time to return to that house she had been kept in since late Thursday night. When it was time to go, she managed to get in 31 more minutes of reading while she was in transit. When she was finally out of the realm, the TV turned back on with none other than Molly the Doll through whom Miss Scissors had been speaking.

Molly: Welcome back ModMouse. I see you have made a safe return.

ModMouse: Uh, thanks. So, what's up this time?

Molly: Though I was unable to communicate with you while you were in the other realm, I must say that I am quite impressed by the fact that you got in some reading time while you were away. If you will look at the door, you will see that two of the locks have been opened as a result of the time you have put in so far and that the timer on a third lock has been activated.

[ModMouse walks up to the door. Two of the locks are opened. The timer on the third lock has :52 on it, the amount of time that she would need to read before she could disable the lock and activate the timer on another.]

ModMouse: Sweet. Making some progress here.

Molly: Some people would be ungrateful for time they have on their hands when they are a passenger in transit or when they are or when they are staying with someone else overnight. But not you, ModMouse.

ModMouse: Well, thanks, I guess. But I have to tell you, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

Molly: It never is. But now, you are back in your temporary residence. I'd make good use of the time there if I were you, especially given that there will be more instances where the wall will glow again. And besides, you never know when you might receive a phone call that you will need to accept. Remember, you have until midnight Thursday night to fulfill the remaining 21 hours and 52 minutes left of reading if you wish to make it out alive. Good luck. [TV turns off.]

ModMouse: O-kay. That was a bit strange, but maybe after I finish unpacking and take care of a few more things, I can get some more reading done.

While waiting for something to be ready on Facebook's Cafe World, ModMouse managed to get in eight minutes of reading. At some point after having eaten dinner, she got in 46 more minutes of reading, which disabled the third lock and activated the timer on the fourth one.  Later, she did some more stuff on Facebook and saw that, in Cafe World, she had an hour and ten minutes left before some angel fruit cake was ready. So she took that time to read some more.  This disabled the fourth lock and activated the timer on the fifth one. She saw that there were 50 minutes left on the timer on that fifth lock. The 20 minutes of reading left her with 30 minutes before that fifth lock could be disabled. She was partway into a chapter and decided that she would finish the chapter and that would be all of the reading that she would do for the night. She read for 25 minutes until she started on a writing project that she had to wait until midnight to start. After she finished thr chapter she was on, which took her six minutes. Thus, the fifth lock was disabled, leaving her with 59 minutes before she could disable the sixth lock. But she decided that she had done enough reading for the night and went to sleep. Will she get the sixth lock disabled. Tune in tomorrow for part 5.

Miss Scissors: Reading is the Key Part 3

[I hadn't planned on this at first, but I decided that, as this part takes place stictly in the realm representing ModMouse's outside commitments and that there'd be no contact from Miss Scissors/Molly, it'd be easier to basically cut to the chase and have this part be strictly narrated. This will probably be the shortest part out of all of them. Click here for parts one and two.]

ModMouse was unable to get any reading done during the day as she was busy with her nephew...not that she didn't enjoy it. However, while he was playing a video game, she was able to sneak in some reading time. She read chapter 2 of The Passing Bells. That took 23 minutes, which means she had done enough reading time to disable one lock and would have 43 more minutes of reading left to do in order to undo the next one. Later, after watching an episode of Samurai Jack with him, she managed to get in four more minutes of reading. She had thought of putting in even more reading time, but she didn't get around to it. Will she get in any more reading in the morning before she leaves the realm? Will she do any more reading after having exited the realm? Tune in tomorrow for Part four.

Miss Scissors: Reading is the Key Part 2

[Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was unable to get this finished and posted as soon as I would have liked to. Click here for part one.]

ModMouse: Well, if I'm going to be here for a while, I might as well get some read to pass the time.
(Opens up copy of The Promise.) Maybe I can just get the 24 hours over with. (Reads remainder of a chapter.) I'm so tired. Maybe I'll get the rest of the time in tomorrow.

(The next morning. ModMouse wakes up.)

ModMouse: Isn't that something? I had this dream last night where I'm held hostage in some empty house, but it's still has furniture and everything in it and that I had to do 24 hours worth of reading in a week if I wanted to make it out alive. (Looks around her.) Apparently it wasn't a dream. (Finds a shirt and pants to wear, dresses then heads downstairs. TV turns on and Molly appears.)

Molly: Good. I see you're awake and that you have fulfilled four minutes of reading.

ModMouse: How would you know?

Molly: I have cameras installed, and if you will recall, the locks on the door have timers and any minute of reading that you do is taken off the timer until you have fulfilled a whole hour.

ModMouse: (walks up to door and sees that the timer on one lock says :56) Oh, right.

Molly: Anyway, there's something I should tell you about.

ModMouse: Another rule I don't know about?

Molly: Not exactly. Surely you have heard the saying that if you want something done, you should ask a busy person.

ModMouse: Yeah, so?

Molly: If you thought you had every minute available to you until the end of Friday, it could be very tempting to blow off the reading until the last minute. Therefore, I'm going to make you appreciate the time you do have on your hands. Throughout this game, there will be times when a wall will glow, which will take you to a realm indicating some outside business that you have. Whatever book you are on will be sealed unless you enter the realm to fulifill said business. Only after you have accomplished said business will you be able to exit the realm and continue reading. Be careful, though. Even when you are in said realm, if you have not fulfilled the 24 hours, the red gas from remaining locks will still be released and come to you and only affect you.

ModMouse: Nice.

Molly: Your first piece of business in the realm will be this afternoon when your sister needs you to come get her child. You should expect it roughly around 1:30 or 2. Unlike most of the other instances during the week, you should be able to take the books with you and read a bit when and if you have the time. You will be able to exit the realm on Sunday, though that time will depend your sister. I'd take time to prepare accordingly prepare for the weekend away if I were you.

ModMouse: Okay, so I'll pack and then fill the rest of the time by reading.

Molly: There's one more thing ModMouse. While you were sleeping, I also had a chip installed in you so that if you should attempt to mention the read-a-thon to your sister or anyone else, it will send a mild shock.

ModMouse: Okay, so I won't mention this to anyone.

Molly: I wish you the best of luck. Oh yes, I will be checking in once in a while.

(TV shuts off.)

ModMouse: Okay, so I'll take care of some stuff here and then the wall will glow at 1:30.

(1:30 in the afternoon.)

ModMouse: It's not glowing.

(2:00 in the afternoon.)

ModMouse: Okay, I don't know what is taking so long, but then maybe that doll was bluffing.

(2:15. Wall glows. In comes sister.)

Sister: Are you ready to go?

(ModMouse and Sister enter realm.)

While on the way to Sister's house, ModMouse managed to get 37 minutes of reading done on her book The Promise when she had to pause in order to get something out of the glove compartment.  After that, she managed to get the remainder of the book read, which took another 12 minutes, after which time the book vanished. As she was busy with her nephew that night, she was unable to get in any more reading until far later in the night. When she was able to read some more, she began the first chapter of The Passing Bells, and according to the clock on her cell phone, she only got in one more minute of reading. This would leave her with six minutes of reading that she needed to still do before the first lock could be disabled. Will she get enough reading time in to get that first lock undone? Tune in for another part of Miss Scissors: Reading is the Key.

Miss Scissors: Reading Is The Key Part 1

[The following will be based upon my real-life participation in Bookcrossing' Oct.-Nov. read-a-thon. It is inspired somewhat by, but not affiliated with, the Saw movie series. There will be multiple parts to this, one for each day of the read-a-thon until November 5 or until I fulfill the 24-hour reading goal whichever comes first. In the comments, I will be sure to post the "real-life" version of the story.]


(It's a late Thursday night. ModMouse wakes up in an unfamiliar but well-furnished house.)

Modmouse: Where am I?  (Hears a laugh.) What was that? Who's there? (She looks around and sees nobody, then shrugs.) Well, I don't remember coming here, so I better get out. (Walks up to door only for it to turn out that she can't open it.) What the-? (Sees that the door is surrounded by 24 locks.)

(The TV in the living room turns on, showing Molly the Doll, voiced by Miss Scissors. Molly the doll is in a black dress and has black hair.)

Molly: Hello, ModMouse. I see that you're awake.

ModMouse: What are you? One of those talking dolls?

Voice:You don't know me, but I know you. I want to play a game.

ModMouse: Why does that phrase sound so familiar?

Molly: Earlier this year, you have started taking part in Bookcrossing's read-a-thons, but you never fulfilled the read-a-thon goal of 24 hours of reading in a week. Though some of this has been justified, much of the time that could have been spent on the read-a-thon has been spent on frivolous activities. By allowing this to happen, you have done an injustice not only to your conscience but to anybody who visits your reading blog as the only final report they receive from you regarding your read-a-thon participation is that of failure. If you are not careful, you could very well lose readership as a result. I am going to teach you the importance of meeting goals if not for your own sake then for the sake of those to whom you are accountable.

ModMouse: I know I keep messing that up, but it's not like my life depends on it.

Molly: In this case, it will. The object of the game is to disable all of the 24 locks on the door, but this can only be done with the stack of books available to you, which are on the dining room table.

ModMouse: Okay, so I have to hit the locks with the books. Sounds simple enough, not that I know what this has to do with read-a-thons. (Modmouse picks up a book and bangs one of the locks with it several times.) Okay, this doesn't seem to work.

Molly: I knew you would try to physically undo the locks with the books. However, that is not how you disable the locks.

ModMouse: But if I'm not supposed to hit the locks with the books, then how AM I supposed to use the books to get out of here?

Molly: Each lock on the door represents an hour of reading. When you begin to read, you activate the timer on a lock, which will indicate how many minutes you must read before the lock is disabled. After one lock has been disabled, it will open, and the timer on another lock will be activated. As you can see, all but one book has a lock on it. (ModMouse looks at the book in her hand that doesn't have a lock on it and looks up to see that the other books in the room have locks on them.) After you have completed said book, it will disappear and another book will be unlocked and so on and so forth. You may pause your reading at any time if necessary. However, pausing the reading will pause the timer as well, which will restart when you start reading again. Do you have the discipline to accumulate enough reading time to disable the locks before the clock strikes midnight on the next Thursday night? If you do not, any locks that remain active at that time will release a poisonous red gas, symbolizing your failure. If I were you, I wouldn't put it off at all. In fact, I'd do this as though my life depended on it. The game begins when the clock strikes midnight. Read or die. Make your choice. (TV turns off.)

ModMouse: O-kay. I'm getting a little freaked out here. (Attempts to open the door herself once again along with trying to destroy the locks with the books and other objects. She gives up and sits down.)

(Clock strikes midnight. The timer on one lock shows one hour.)



Will ModMouse fulfill the 24 hours of reading before it's too late, or will it be "game over"?

TO BE CONTINUED…

Reminder About Upcoming Miniseries

Tomorrow will be the premiere of my miniseries of posts Miss Scissors: Reading is the Key on this blog. I have the first part written and scheduled to appear around midnight. (If that ends up not happening for some reason, I'll publish it manually. I'm not used to pre-scheduling my posts.)  I plan to have one part posted per day from tomorrow until next Friday or until I have fulfilled Bookcrossing's read-a-thon goal of 24 hours within the week, whichever comes first. However, as I have an outside commitment from Friday night until sometime on Sunday, part 2 may not get posted until I return home on Sunday, but we'll see.