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Sunday, May 10, 2020

Max Downstairs: Episode 3

Dad slowly opened the door. Arty and Keisha both squeezed their eyes shut.

"Oh, what a relief, it's you," Mom said.

Arty opened his left eye. Keisha opened her right. Mrs. Patterson stood in the doorway. Both kids breathed a sigh of relief. Mrs. Patterson was the grandmotherly woman who lived next door. She wore her moon white hair in a bun that somehow made her HUGE glasses seem even bigger. Tonight, she had on both her gardening hat and an apron, as if she'd been baking in her garden, or didn't want to be recognized.

"I hope now isn't a bad time, dears, but I have something that might help." She held out a plate covered with a tea towel. The smell of gooey chocolate chip cookies filled the air.

Arty licked his lips. Dad did too. But Mom and Keisha both wrinkled their noses. How could the boys think that smelled good? Didn't they smell that dark, earthy smell, like nightcrawlers?

"Thanks, Mrs. Patterson," Mom said. "But we were just sitting down for a special dinner."

Keisha nodded, moving in front of Arty, whose hand was already moving toward the plate. Keisha pushed it back down.

"Of course. Of course. I should come back later." Except Mrs. Patterson didn't move. She looked at the mop in Keisha's hands, then the bucket in Max's, and, finally, at a flap of an empty sack of Max's food Dad had stashed behind the open door. She leaned forward ever so slightly and in a voice as quiet as a cave said, "I've come to help. I know what Tilley did."

Keisha shuddered. Tilley Tartmore was their other neighbor. Mom and Dad said they should never judge a book by its cover, but Tilley Tartmore was a book with the scariest cover. Her lips pursed in a permanent scowl, her nose was so pointy, it once jabbed Keisha in the eye when Tilly scolded her for stepping on her grass (Tilley cut each blade by hand with a pair of scissors). And she called the police once when Arty put his hand on her freshly washed window. She was scary!

"What did Tilley do?" Dad said.

Mrs. Patterson looked toward the eerie old mansion at the top of the hill. "Do you have some milk to go with the cookies?" she said loudly. Then, in that quiet cave-like voice whispered, "The letter was only a distraction. They're coming, and they called in Edward King and his bloodhound. These cookies will hide your guest's scent for only so long."

Then she did something very unlike Mrs. Patterson. She stepped into the house without being asked and closed the door. Before anyone could say anything, she pulled at the base of her neck, and her whole face came off. It was a mask! Underneath was the most wizened, ancient creature Mom, Dad, Keisha or Arty had ever seen. And her voice was as gravelly as the bottom of a cave.

"Does he have a stone garden, this troll of yours? If he does, we might still be able to get him to the Underside, but we must hurry. I can hear them coming!"

—Stacy (with help from story ingredients provided by Parker, Kylie, and a couple of very clever Anonymous helpers.... thank you!) 

Ingredients needed for the next scene: Who is Mrs. Patterson really, and why did she bring those cookies? What will the stone garden do? And, what is the Underside? 


The Recipe: In the comment to THIS EPISODE, give us your best ideas to answer our questions. We’ll collect your answers Tuesday at 11 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time), and will use as many as we can to write the next scene. If you want to, sign your first name to your idea so we can give you credit.

Come back Thursday to see what we wrote!

If we don’t take your suggestion this time, be sure to keep playing—we need your help to cook up a good story!

11 comments:

  1. Mrs. Patterson is a voodoo momma who brought cookies that will disguise the troll and make him look/smell like a human temporarily, so they can take him to the underside which is an invisible cave where trolls use to live/hide.

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  2. Mrs.Patterson is the other troll and the cookies are a sign for a group ninjas that are boys that why they smell so good for boys and the ninjas are there to bring him to underside. by Alexander

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  3. the cops are looking for them. They get so worried that one of the kids start to screem.

    Londyn sager

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  4. I think that Mrs.Patterson wanted to tack to the police and greet them so the everyone ells could get away.

    Londyn

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  5. Mrs Patterson is another troll and the cookies are for to hide some guest's scent for only so long.They can take him to the underside which is a cave that trolls or any other animals used to live or hide

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  6. Mrs.Patterson is another troll that came back from a planet and she brought the cookies to make the FBI think that they are at the wrong house and the stone farm is a signal to other trolls instinct to come get max and take him to the underside. Jonathon G.

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  7. Mrs. Patterson is a troll that got trapped in the prison when she was trying to save max

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  8. Mrs. Patterson is a police officer in disguise (as a troll), and she will tell the police and King Edward if the troll is actually there. Mrs. Patterson lied about the cookies too.She gave them those cookies because they will actually lead the dogs and the people to the house. When Max comes home, he remembers, Oh yeah! I have to tend my stone garden! Mrs.Patterson put a deadly poison in the air and it will (almost) kill him.

    -Kylie

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  9. Mrs.patterson is really not a human she brought the cookies to drain out the small of the food for max. Take them to the underside I think is a different world of trolls like him mabye his world was destroyed and he had to go to earth to be safe but his world has recovered and they need to send him back but he decides to stay.
    I bet that's what will happen malcolm

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  10. These are all REALLY good ideas. Ooh, we can cook up something very very exciting with this!

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  11. Mrs. Patterson is the troll that escaped from prison and is the mother of Max. She brought those cookies to distract the inspectors from the smell of the slop but only females can actually sense what they really are which would explain why Dad and Arty thought they were cookies while Mom and Keisha smelled the "dark, earthy smell". The stone garden will tell the location on Max or will tell his health. Maybe only a troll can read what the stones say depending on their position or maybe they have magical properties. The Underside might be where Max actually goes when he goes to the forest: a dimension where all the trolls live.

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