Gwen wears the hodgepodge dress she and Becca spent three afternoons crafting. It is made from silk sheets, a neon construction safety vest, and aluminum foil for accessories. The ladies might be excellent seamstresses in another life. The dress is hideous, though. She has far too much makeup on with ruby red lipstick. A warped and filthy top hat coupled with a mic that has not seen electricity in years rounds out her game show attire. She is the host this afternoon for the highly anticipated game of Blind Mannequin.
"Contestants, take your places!" Gwen shouts into the useless mic. She is far louder than warranted.
LaTroy and Rose whistle at the beautiful host. Ellis and the twins are nearly rolling on the floor. They are laughing so hard.
Jake and Tanner push and tug at each other over the last of three front row mannequin stations. Jake is stronger. He wins. Tanner mumbles while taking his position in the second row. The laughter shifts and is aimed at him.
"QUIET CONTESTANTS! QUIET!" Gwen's inner thespian comes out in full force. The laughs only die down to an obvious giggling from the team.
Gwen overacts with unnecessary body language while basking in the host role. The bruised light from the sky works its way into the front of the thrift store. It sparkles and reflects off of Gwen's tin foil jewelry and accessories. She was born for the spotlight.
"Quiet, you rowdy bunch of ill-mannered contestants!" Gwen shouts. "I, as your remarkably famous and sought-after host, choose Becca as the first contestant. This is thanks for the marvelous dress."
The team laughs and claps at the same time. Becca bows to them all after taking her spot up front. She is ready for the blindfold.
Gwen holds up a long, shimmering scrap of leftover silk. It is the official blindfold of the afternoon. She waves it like a magician's silk before she continues her explanation.
"Now, for you simple-minded contestants, a reminder of the rules!" Gwen paces back and forth, her tin foil accessories rattling with every step. "Our lovely Becca will be blindfolded. I, the extraordinary and remarkably talented host, will be the only one allowed to touch the sacred silk. I will also be the sole judge and scorekeeper. My word is law!"
A few groans and playful boos erupt from the second row. Gwen ignores them with a regal toss of her head.
"While Becca is in the dark, the rest of you will become the Field of Mannequins. You must choose a pose and freeze! No breathing, no blinking, and absolutely no giggling!" She points her dead microphone at the twins. "Becca will then strike a random pose of her own. She will choose a head tilt and the position of her arms. When the blindfold comes off, she earns one point for every person in the field who managed to mirror her exactly. The first to twenty points moves to the next round!"
Gwen turns to Becca with a dramatic flourish of the silk. "Prepare yourself, contestant! The field is ready to be born."
The game's host steps behind Becca with the shimmering silk scrap. With a theatrical flourish, she wraps it around Becca's eyes and ties a firm knot. "No peeping, my dear! The integrity of the game is in my hands!"
Becca offers a mock salute, standing perfectly still while blindfolded. Gwen turns to the rest of the team. She brings the dead mic to her lips and her eyes dance with mischief.
"AAAAND GO!" Gwen points the mic at the group with a sharp, dramatic thrust.
The command is the starting gun for chaos. The team explodes into motion. They scramble to outdo each other with the most ridiculous postures possible. They cannot stop laughing. The sound of their joy bounces off the metal shelving and the dusty racks of old coats.
Tanner overreaches while trying to secure 'Best Pose'. He tries to plant his feet for a complex, twisting stance, but his boot catches on the edge of a stray rug. He stumbles. With a startled yelp, he falls into DeMarcus. The collision sends them both staggering. They finally collapse into a heap of limbs and mannequin laughter.
Becca giggles behind her blindfold. "What was that? Did we lose someone already?"
"PENALTY! UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT!" Gwen screams. She marches over to the pile, her aluminum foil earrings jangling like tiny silver bells. She looks down at the clumsy man with a look of mock disappointment. "Tanner, honey, I know you want to win, but you do not need to lift a leg while doing it! This is Blind Mannequin, not a dog park!"
Tanner stays on the floor for a second. He is clutching his stomach from laughing so hard. He finally manages to scramble back to his feet. He offers a sheepish grin and resets his 'statue' position.
"Everyone back to your marks!" Gwen commands. She raises a hand for silence. "The field is reset. No more tumbling! Becca is waiting for her moment of glory!"
Round after round passes. New contestant after new contestant takes the blindfold. So much laughter and banter has them all in stomach knots.
The finals are set. Once eliminated, the contestants must still pose each round. LaTroy, Becca, LaShawn, and Jake are the last four to compete.
With Ellis getting knocked out early, he motions to the host. "Marvelous Madam Gwen, may I please run back there and grab drinks for everyone?"
"Because you lost with such dignity, yes," Gwen replies with a regal nod. "You are officially the Blind Mannequin Hydrator. You are royalty to the game. Please, sir, retrieve refreshments for my court."
Ellis gives a mock bow. He begins to head toward the back of the store, his boots clicking on the linoleum.
"And grab the prizes too!" Gwen shouts after him, waving her dead microphone.
Ellis offers a wave over his shoulder without looking back. He disappears into the shadows of the hallway, leaving the bright, tinfoil-glimmer of the 'court' behind him.
The winded and sweaty leader rummages around back. "Prizes. Prizes. Where are the prizes?"
The final four play rock-paper-scissors to pick the order. LaTroy and Jake lose right away, leaving Becca and LaShawn to repeatedly play as they try to work out who goes first.
The hot and thirsty mannequins shake their sore limbs. They listen to Gwen tell everyone in the loudest possible voice how great of a host she is. The role has gone to her head. She is starting to believe that she could have been brilliant had she hosted her own televised game show.
BRRAAAHAAAAAMM!!
The earth shakes. The noise causes all to cup their ears for protection. Terror shoots through every fiber of the team. The walls rattle. A few ceiling tiles come loose and crash on the petrified team. Panic floods them all.
LaTroy grabs both of his sons' hands. He begins running back to Ellis. The ladies follow suit. They are screaming their lungs out. Butterflies with the force of a mountain hit Jake and Tanner. They rush to the back of the thrift store, too.
Ellis holds a prize. The shock of what he is hearing gut-punches him. He turns to the door frame of the locker room. All of the team tries to fly through it at once. This causes half of them to stumble and land on top of one another.
With half of the team on the floor and the other half still rushing through the doorway, all panicked eyes shift to their leader.
Ellis drops the prize he has been scrounging for. His voice cracks as he sees the look on his team that was laughing just seconds ago.
"Th... the trumpet."
BRRAAAHAAAAAMM!!