You sit in class with fifteen other students. The teacher enters. He slaps a manila folder down on the podium and says "Rumpled" Everyone laughs. You don't get it. What do you do? [[Laugh with them and pretend you are amused |You laugh]] [[Sit confused, glancing over your shoulders to see if you're alone. |Anyone Else?]] [[Raise your hand and ask what "Rumpled" means |Cabbage Head]]You force a smile and a laugh until the class calms down. The teacher turns on the nearby computer and begins to speak. "Rumplr rumple rumple. Rumple rumple rumple rumple rum rum rummy rumpled." The kids around you take notes. You blather a moment, confused and upset, then take out your notebook. The nametag on the front says "Rumpled." Yesterday's notes are nothing but "Rumpled"s. Every written word in the English language is now "Rumpled." You raise your hand. "Rumpled!" The rest of the room turns. You clap your hands over your mouth. Your thoughts are becoming Rumpleds. Rumple rumple. Rumple Rumple Rumple. Rumlped Rumpled Rumpled. The roof peels off the building revealing an alien spacecraft. You feel weightless. What do you do? [[Rumple?]] [[Rumple!]] You search over both shoulders. The three and five students seated around you are in TEARS. What is so funny about the word "Rumpled?" You finally spot a girl in the uppermost corner who is not laughing. She is staring at her notebook. What do you do? [[Move seats to sit near her |Approach]] [[Call to her across the room |Engage]] [[Write a note and toss it at her |Stealth]]You raise your hand. "What's so funny about the word 'rumpled'?" The teacher stops short and stares at you. "You mean you don't know?" "No, I don't get it." He lowers his voice. "It's a funny word." "It's not THAT funny." "Okay, well, I thought it was." The teacher shrugs. "Everyone open your books to page ten." You go to your advisor at lunch and switch classes. You and that teacher just didn't click. End. You bundle your things into your arms and move rows to sit next to her. She looks up as you approach and looks baffled when you sit down. What do you do. [[Start with your name. Names are always good.| Name]] [[Ask her if she "got it." |Did you get it?]] [[Ask if she knows what "Rumpled" means|Rumpled?]]Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.You say your name. She stares at you. The students are STILL laughing about Rumpled, you try again louder and ask her's. The girl reaches in her backpack and pulls out a paper and pen. "I'm deaf" she writes. "Stop mumbling so much." Embarrased, you take the pen from her and write your name and "Yours?" "Mary," she writes back. "Do you know where my interpreter is?" You don't. What will you do? [[Help her find them. |Help]] [[Apologize and return to your seat. |Don't help]] [[Press the issue on this Rumpled thing because seriously |Pressing issue]]"Do you get it?" You ask the girl. She looks up with a start and becomes very serious. "Is the mossen rabbit bitter?" Your mind goes blank. "I'm sorry?" "Are the tumbleweeds dry?" "I don't understand -- " You're cut short by a sudden pain, lancing like an icepick through your head. Your eyesight is blurring. What do you do? [[Call for help]] [[Go to the nurse |nurse]] [[Sit quietly until it goes away| Wait]] You offer to help. The interpreter is nowhere in the room, perhaps they were lost on their way to class and move to check outside. "Excuse me," the teacher calls to you from the front. "Where do you think you're going?" "Mary's interpreter is lost," you reply. The teacher frowns. "Who?" "Mary." I gesture to the corner. "Here." The laughing students go silent. The entire row is empty. Your things are still at your original seat. The teacher is still holding the manila envelope. He slaps his manila folder down on the podium. "Take your seat, Mr. Rumpled." The rest of the class laughs. End "Sorry," you say and return to your seat. The rest of class continues without issue. You'll never know what was so funny. End "Do you know what 'Rumpled' means?" She squints at you, reading your lips, then scribbles someting on her pad. "It means untidy." "I know that." "Then why did you ask?" "Because everyone's laughing." "No they're not." You survey your fellow students. The classroom is quiet. They are staring at you. The word "rumpled" is now on the chalkboard along with a list of seven synonymns. Mary writes on her pad. "Did you not do the homework?" "Homework?" You fold open your planner to see it's Tuesday not Monday. You swallow a knot in your throat. You're in the wrong class. "Are you all right?" Mary asks. You shake your head, gather your things and go home, never knowing why everyone thought "rumpled" was so funny. EndYou raise your hands to rumple. The air in the room shifts. You feel yourself rising from the rumple with the rest of the rumples. The rumple overhead spins. Your teacher rumples the rumple but is rumpled as a result. The rumple on the underside of the rumple rumlpes and you rumple inside. The rumples around you rumple with a rumlpe over your bed. You rumple but cannot escape. Rumlpling is useless. In moments your rumple rumple will be outside of yoru skin. You rumple uselessly and rumple. The rumple rumlples rumple rum. You're rumpled. The end. You rumple for the door. The rest of campus is on fire. The further you get from the ship, the clearer your mind becomes. An alien creature appears before you. "We are the rumples." It lowers again. "Your rumple is now ours." He shoots you in the face and you die. The end. You open your mouth to speak but your voice catches in your throat. Your ears fill with white noise as the pain hits again. Your blurred eyes see black and you loose feeling in your hands. You stagger up, fall, and your head hits the desk. You wake on an examination table. Your mother is there, crying. She takes hold of your hand. "Oh, honey, you're awake! I can't believe it." "What happened?" You push up to a sitting position but are stopped by a nurse. Your gurney is covered in criss-crossing wires and iv tubes. "You had an aneurism." Your mother says. Your teacher walks in, looking haggard. He sighs. "You scared us pretty bad today. Are you feeling better?" "Yeah." You touch your head. Everything's swimming. "Why did you say "rumpled"?" "Excuse me?" "Why did you say "Rumpled?"" "I... I don't think I did." Your teacher and mother exchange a concerned glance. "When do you remember me saying that?" "When you got to class this morning. It was the first thing you said." "I think you're confused." "You said it!" You yell. "You said it, I remember! You said the word 'rumpled' and everyone laughed! What's so funny about the word Rumpled!?" "Now, now. Calm down." "WHAT'S SO FUNNY ABOUT RUMPLED!" "Nurse!" Your mother cries. You tear at the covers, trying to get up. Your teacher grabs your arms. The nurse runs in with a hypodermic need. She uncaps it and empties the contents into your arm. "Take deep breaths now. You'll be all right. Just breathe in and out." "I just..." You feel lightheaded. "I just wanted to know..." "The doctor said something about brain damage." Your teacher says. "I just wanted to know what..." Your head fogs, beckoning you to sleep, "what was so funny..." EndYou rise and head to the door. Your teacher calls your name but his voice initiates antoher stabbing pain. You stumble up the hall. The nurse's office is in the next building. You stumble toward the street but your balance is faltering. The world spins. Road sounds reverberate like a gong in your skull. You've lost peripheral vision by the time you reach the crosswalk. The light is green, so you go, but cannot see the car coming until moments before it hits. You smash against the hood and sail into oncoming traffic where you ricochet like a pinball and land, rumpled, on the ground. End. You clutch your head. Mary leans closer. "Rumpled?" The word stabs again. "Rumpled?" You smash your eyes shut and wait. You can barely hear her through the palms of your hands saying "rumpled" again and again. When you open your eyes you are in an office sitting room. A nurse stands nearby laughing herself to tears. Mary stands beside you, dressed in a doctor's scrubs and labcoat. She smiles. "Works like a charm." "What just happened?" You ask. "You've been under deep hypnosis." You stare at the laughing nurse and fix your frown on Mary. "What's wrong with her?" "Don't mind her, she's easily amused." Mary says. "I like to use silly words to bring patients in and out of hypnosis." You grimace. "You mean "rumpled"?" The nurse laughs harder. You recognize the voice from the classroom, and realize you heard her laughing in your dream. She is nearly doubled over now. Mary presses her lips into a line. "Honestly, control yourself." The nurse wipes her eyes. "Sorry." You pout. "What's so funny about the word 'rumpled'?" She snorts and laughs again. "It's just funny, I don't know." "What about it is funny?" "I don't know, the 'p'?" "Nurse Chambers, you're fired," Mary says. The nurse leaves, laughing hysterically. The End.