The Final Prize

"So, back to you Charlotte... If you can price one more item correctly, you win that lovely Girdle and whatever's behind it... and keep the Rice-A-Roni. Heck, I think... do we have a years supply back there for her, Jay? We DO! Oh, so it wasn't just my imagination that I was supposed to do something with the Rice-A-Roni! Sorry, dear, you do over Four Thousand of these and you lose track occasionally."

The crowd laughed appropriately.

"Ok, what's the last item we have Jay?"

"It's Corporate Takeover! Who needs wisdom, luck, talent, will, or any other virtue? Corporate legacy lets you easily maintain your power even while functionally reduced to the intellectual level of a cabbage! Manufactured exclusively by the Cabbage People of Audrey II! Audrey II, reminds you to always feed the plants and the plant will take care of you. Forever."

"Oooh, that's a real labor saver, isn't it? And not too expensive either, a great way to really take care of your needs around the house... What do you think... within a Year."

"Gonna guess.... Thirty Five Years!" Charlotte nodded confidently, running her thumb along the corner of the small rectangular box in her hand.

Monty nodded thoughtfully.

"So... Thirty Five Years... you have to be within a Year mind you. Charlotte. Course... If you're off by more than a dollar you only get a hundred years and a years supply of Rice-a-Roni. Tell you what I'll do... I'll just give you two thousand years right now... to forget about it. "

Charlotte shook her head with a confident smile.

"Three Thousand? Four Thousand years!" Monty offered again. "Ok... she's sticking with it..."

He reached down to the tag that proudly displayed a smiling plant and flipped it over revealing a price of Thirty Four Years, Eleven Months. The crowd cheered as Charlotte merely smiled broadly, fanning herself with the box that Monty had given her.

"I gotta tell you... I've never seen somebody so calm about this before. Did you do some time in the war, there sweetheart?"

The crowd laughed again as Monty smiled.

"But I have to say, that girdle is gorgeous, but I have to tell you... you're not really going to like what's behind it."

The jaunty tune again played as the display was wheeled back to reveal Stacks and stacks of looseleaf binders, flash drives, cheap tawdry romance novels and horrible, horrible choose your own adventure games.

"Oh... It's... Terrible Advice. Oh dear. Terrible advice about love and romance, and it's everywhere. Yes, you too can think that the first time doesn't count, girls really like it when you are mean to them, and that petty **** is cool and awesome. Terrible advice... confusing fantasy and reality for generations. Oooh... that's... that's just... bad there."

Charlotte groaned, smacking her forehead with the box as she looked at the huge piles of pink and red, festooned with glistening flesh, and flowing hair.

"Now, I know that... you know... it wouldn't have been very nice of me just to do that... so why don't... you look a little hungry, why don't you just open up that box of Rice-A-Roni... Because sometimes we put things in there... maybe there is something in there after all."

Charlotte's hands eagerly ripped open the box, and her hand immediately pulled out a small blue rolled piece of paper.

"What do we have there, Charlotte... speak up..."

"...it's... ten thousand years..." She gasped into the microphone, her eyes growing wide with shock.

"TEN THOUSAND YEARS!" Monty cheered, and the crowd roared with approval as Charlotte's calm broke. Her face lit up and hugged Monty desperately, jumping up and down wildly as the celebration continued.

"Ok, Ok... Ok! Cool... Wow... Did not expect that..." Monty laughed, stepping away from her and smoothing his sportcoat. "But yes! Ten Thousand, One Hundred years... and we're not to the big deal yet! So..."

Monty moved around the front of the audience towards me. His eyes were still on the apple in my hand, but his smile and demeanor had not ceased to be pleasant.

"So... We've got Brent down here, who's been hanging onto that Apple with the Envelope the whole show. Stand up, stand up... there we go."

I stood next to Monty as he sidled up to me, the little silver microphone never leaving its position in front of his lips.

"So... we're to the Big Deal. And you've been Patient. Really patient, so... I'm going to give you the chance to have a choice I don't think I've ever given here on Let's Make A Deal. I'm going to let you swap your apple, for any one of our winners prizes, and give them a guaranteed shot at the big deal... Or... it's time to open up that envelope, and see what you've won!"

[Note To the Reader: Thanks for enjoying the ending. This decision represents the branch point, which leads to all of the alternate choices. These are EXTREMELY SHORT endings, and you can look forward to one sex scene if you are LUCKY! As well as a no revelations about Any of the character's pasts. However, while all endings I plan to write are awful some are worse than others.)