Montpelier Portfolio Program (Mathematics)
Magic Rings Problem
It is your birthday. You have just turned 9 years old. Your present is three boxes of magic rings.
The instruction book that goes with the rings says:
You can wear no more than TEN RINGS at a time.
Once a ring is worn, it loses its power.
10 B L U E - R I N G S
10 G R E E N - R I N G S
10 Y E L L O W - RI N G S
Each Blue Ring doubles your age
Each green ring adds 5 years to your age
Each Yellow Ring subtracts 2 years from your age
You put some rings on your fingers and start to grow at once. Within seconds, the magic works and you are 40 years old. Your two friends, also fourth graders, do the same thing. All of you are now 40 years old.
Which rings are you wearing?
Des felt herself growing older, her body changing from the inside.
She was changing too fast. Growing older too quickly. She looked down, noticing her body becoming fuller and taller under her clothes. She let out a squeal of delight.
Des stood up. Her purple layered top and long skirt were getting too small and showed her flat belly and legs. Des spun around and raced to the mirror. She was older, almost twelve by the looks of it. A ring popped off her finger. Still growing taller, Des raced outside and up to Jim. "Jim, look I'm older!" She said, spinning around in front of him, her toes pushing through her shoes as the soles separated.
He looked down at himself, pulling his pants up to his waist again. They had begun slipping. His clothes didn't fit anymore. He couldn't be much older than eleven. Though Des was happy and that was all that mattered. He held his pants up with his now loose-fitting shirt, his collar falling to his shoulders and resting. How long would this last? He wondered.
Des looked down at him, her new curves breaking through the straining layers of her outfit.
The Morning That I Woke Up As An Adult !!
One morning I woke up in my bed and went into the bathroom and when I peered into the mirror I screamed, like the world was coming to an end. I bet everyone in my neighborhood heard me !!
I was 5' 4" and I looked like an adult. "Is this ME?" I asked myself, then I slapped my cheek. "OOUCH!"
I yelled, "Yah! It's me alright!"
I went downstairs to the kitchen and as always my bagel was on the counter. Suddenly for some idiotic reason I looked at my watch and said, "Eech! I'm late for work!" and my hand just picked up the keys to my mom's car!
I walked out the front door and to my astonishment there was a dark green Cabrio in the driveway! "COOL!" I guess I knew where I worked cause I just started driving to the Executive Council building on the other side of town. When I got there I seemed to know exactly what to do.
At 5:30, when work ended I drove to my best friend Neb's house. Unfortunately when I got there and rang the door bell her mom answered the door. She said comely, "Hello, can I help you with something?"
"Yes. May I please speak with Nebula Milton? " Hoping that she would say yes.
"Sure, let me call her down."
She said it like she knew it was me Kimberly Clark Noel, or Kimmy. "Neb, honey. Come down here for a second."
"Sure mom." answered Neb, "What do u need?"
"There's someone here to see you." "Ok! Be down in a sec."
"She'll be down in a minute." said Neb's mom, "Here she is. I'll let you two alone so that you can talk."
When Neb's mom left the room I told her it was me and the whole story. She took me to her fort in the backyard so we can have more privacy.
"Neb" I told her, "on my way here I thought of three ideas about how I can become 4' 11" 11 year old Kimmy Noel. My first idea is a pinch, I know it might hurt but it might be the only way."
So she pinched me! It didn't work.
"My next idea is a good scare." And 5 minutes later I screamed. She scared me alright, but it didn't work.
Suddenly I heard a familiar sound and this is what it said
"I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO ASK YOU TO GET UP AGAIN!"
IT WAS ALL A DREAM!
THE END!
...suddenly every human being on earth fell into a catatonic state for 16 years. people who were outside when this happened soon succumbed to the elements or where munched by animals, but some people who were inside shelters that didn't fall apart or burned down survived.
everyone woke up 16 years older, but not with beards or crazy nails and shit. the event did however create a group of young adults with the social/intellectual skills of toddlers, and of course a complete absence of any children under 16.
it was unclear if this was the result of a plague, or a military experiment gone awry, or some matrix-like scenario.
i remember thinking that this was a great premise for a sci-fi novel but then i couldn't come up with a sci-fi-reasonable explanation for how people survived (let alone grew from toddlers to adults) without nutrients.
Dylan almost immediately asked if he could try some. Foolishly thinking that I knew the effects, I said he could, but that he should consume even less than I had--which he did. I do not know whether he experienced any of the mind-expanding effects I had. I do know that he suddenly began to age and grow, right in front of me! Within five minutes, he had aged two years, growing about six inches--his clothes looked tight and silly, despite the fact that he didn't gain an ounce. It seems he consumed all of his body fat in the rapid growth spurt. Anyway, he was extremely hungry, even more exhausted, and aching all over from the pain of the sudden change. He's more like a twelve year old now (and he's eating well, so he's putting some weight back), and he'll be better off most places because of that.
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