Participants:
| Scene Title | The Cash Cab |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Raeven and Brand take a mutual cab trip and find themselves $1100 richer. |
| Date | September 23, 2010 |
In a cab!
This is one of the times in which Brands ability may have done him some good, maybe not. Raeven's sheer luck is also what's bringing about the desire for a cab ride. From either side of the yellown van with it's black checkers, the doors open and the two teenagers slid in, the cab driver at the front with his hat pulled low and waited for the two teenagers to sort their stuff out. An agreement struck that they would share the cab and the destination - They were both going to the same place wonder of wonders - the yellow vehicle pulls out, the sun going down, they're only just pulled into the street when the inside roof of the vehicle lights up in bricks of many colors and chimes ring in the vehicle.
It's not very often she finds the need to take a taxi. But she's been out drinking tonight, and while it hasn't been a lot, might as well play it safe and not mess up a perfectly fine vehicle. She takes a seat in the cab, buckles in her seatbelt, and waits for Brand to step on in after her. Just as the door closes the lights flicker, giving off the very look of a carnival. "What the fuck?" Raeven asks while looking around for answers to what exactly is going on.
Brand slumps against the side of the cab. After being defeated in his attempts to monopolize the cab, he eventually surrendered to sharing the cab with a slightly drinky person. "Well, if you've got the cash to split then it'll be…" Holy crap! Lights! For a split second, everything is so distracting that Brand is practically invisible. For just a few seconds while he recovers from the surprise. "W-what the hell?"
"this is cash cab" The driver turns around exhaulting. "It's a Tee vee game show that takes place right here in my taxi. Wow, you should have seen your faces. What do you say you guys, do you wanna play? You want to take a ride in the cash cab and wina bit of money?" The driver in the vehicle looks estatic and happy for the folks in the back.
Raeven looks baffled and unsure of what to think here. But hey! It's for TV! Can't ever go wrong with that! And was there something mentioned about money? Her eyes flit to Brand, looking him over as though she suspected this kid to have something to do with what's going on here. Her nerves calm down a bit, the flashy lights and music no longer in effect helping out a bit here. With an amused smile the teen girl nods her head a couple of times. "I'm down."
Brand adjusts his letterman's jacket, trying to get his breathing and heartrate back down to an acceptable level. He looks at Raeven, and shrugs his broad, beefy shoulders. "I…well yeah. I could use some cash." He nods his head. "My name is Brand. Lets uh…get some cash."
It's all good, both have given their consent. The host in the driving seat smiles in the rear view mirror at them. "Lets get started. What are your names?" Letting them introduce themselves before he launches into the first question. "24 blocks to go, first questions are worth 25 dollars a piece." HE keeps an eye on the road. "Able to charge at 40 miles per hour, what large herbivore derives it's name from the greek horn-nosed"
"Raeven." She announces to finalize the introductions before the cab, and the game, starts. Sitting back in her seat the young lass removes her sunglasses and waits for the first question to come. Even repeating it for the sake of getting the question perfectly imprinted in her head. "Able to charge at 40 miles an hour, what large herbiivore derives it's name from the greek horn-nosed…" Turning to Brand she kinda waits for a minute, looking to see if he has an answer that she might not. "Is it a rhino?"
Brand frowns slightly, putting a serious look on his face as he thinks for a moment, considering it seriously. "A rhinoceros, yeah. Medical words have greek roots, and nose surgery is rhinoplasty. Rhino is nose, so…yes. I agree. Final answer." He looks to her. "Is that how it works?"
Raeven also nods her head, thinking this is the best answer she can come up with. "Yes, Rhinoceros would be our final answer." Brand's logic clearly being enough to settle in her own thoughts on the matter. She then looks back to the driver, waiting to see if this is a win, or a fail.
Ben smiles widely. "Rhinoceros is right, you have twenty five dollars. Next question! Collectively, Pavarotti, Domingo, and Carreras are better known as what singing trio?" He asks, looking back at the pair behind him, unsure of whether they'll get the question or not, even as a car cuts in front of them.
Brand rubs his forehead, frowning. "Geez. They're those fat singers. The Three something, one of those singer types, like Sopranos, or Tenors, or Bass or one of them. They have commercials on the TV all the time for their CDs and stuff. God…what type are they?"
She waits for Brand to say his bit, just in case he has something completely different from what she was thinking. But he's on the right track of what's in her mind. "The Three Tenors, I think it is. That's the really deep basey sound of a voice. That sounds right to me."
Brand nodnods. AGREEMENT!
"That is correct! You both now have fifty dollars" Which in these days isn't much, but it's still something. "You both ready for the next question?" And regardless of their answer, he's moving forward even as the vehicle moves forward, hidden camera's filming their every move in the van. "In Bill Waterson's popular comic strip, what is the name of Calvin's stuffed tiger?"
Brand pffts. "Hobbes. Thats any easy one." He eye-rolls towards Raeven, to communicate how retarded he thinks the question is.
Raeven chuckles at that little gesture, nodding her head in definite agreement. "Hobbs it is, then."
"Right again, you guys are good. Hobbes was the name of the tiger, you won another twenty five dollars, bringing your total to seventy five. This is your last twenty five dollar question. From 1990 until they went to the Euro, the Deutsche Mark was the official currency of what country?" Who knows, like the tenors, this may pose a problem from the younger people in the back than the driver.
"Deutshe Mark?" She asks curiously. Sure, she's heard of it before, but from what country? Her eyes wander towards Brand once again, looking for some kind of hint. "What places speach Dutch? Belgium does…Same with the Netherlands…."
Brand frowns mildly, as if slightly confused. "Die Antwort ist einfach. Diese Währung wurde von Deutschland für einige Zeit verwendet. Obwohl Ihre Frage befasst sich nur mit der auf die Wiedervereinigung." Then again, in English. "Germany, of course. Though you just mention the period after the wall fell and East and West Germany rejoined."
Raeven laughs at that, not having the faintest idea what Brand just said in what she can only assume to be a european accent. "I guess we'll go with Germany."
"One hundred dollars, on the meter, you guys are on a roll. THe next questions are worth fifty dollars a piece. Are you ready for them? THey get harder from here on in." There's that smile again, slowing down for a yellow light. "Reportedly, Bill Clinton used what poet's "Leaves of Grass" to woo both Hillary and Monica?"
Brand snaps his fingers. "Walt Whitman. We read about him in English class. I don't know much about Bill Clinton, but I recognize the name of the book or whatever." He seems very confident, starting to get into the game!
It's been a while since Raeven has been in school. They may have mentioned the name once or twice. Good thing she's got a booksmart sidekick with her. "Walt Whitman it is, then. Final answer."
"Wow, those english classes sure pay off" There's laughter from Ben in the drivers seat, the pairof them halfway to their destination as $150 dollars is now on the meter. "Ready for the next one? What classic comedy film popularized the line "Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?"
Brand steeples his fingers, looking past the windshield ahead of him. "Airplane. Its on AMC because of its anniversary, and that line is in all the promos."
Once again Brand has stepped up to the plate, answering the question before she even really had much of a chance to look it over in her memory. "Yeah, that does sound about right, doesn't it. Alright, Airplane is our final answer."
"What are you guys, the genius's of your classes? You got that one right. Two hundred dollars on the meter." There's a turn, heading towards their destination. "From the latin for twice cooked, what crunchy coffee house cookie do Italians soften by dipping into wine?" He looks back at them, waiting for them to talk between themselves and answer.
"Biscotti." Raeven answers quickly, thinking of the only Italian cookie that's difficult to bite into. "That's the only thing that sounds right to me."
Brand frowns, and after a long moment shrugs his shoulders. "I've got no idea. So lets go with what you've got then, okay? Biscotti."
"Biiiiiscotti" He draws out. "That's two fifty. We've hit a red light, and this had triggered a red light challenge" He sounds far too enthusiastic about this. Far too enthusiastic. "here's how the redlight challenge works. It's a multiple answer question. You have to get all the parts of the answer correct in order to win the money, if you do, you win two hundred and fifty bucks. No penalty for wrongs answers on this one so all of you can call anything that you think might be part of the answers on this one until you get it right or time has run out. You'll have thirty seconds to answer and if you don't answer it in time or get it right you won't get the extra money but you won't loose any either. Ready?"
"Japanese auto makers Toyota and Honda had the top four selling sedans in the US in 2006. Name these four popular models"
Brand starts barking out models. "Uh, Corolla! Camry! Avalon! Uh, god, what are Honda models?"
Unfortunately Raeven's mind is only familiar with motorcycles, not knowing a thing about cars. But she does try out a couple words just for the sake of trying. "Hybrid. Sienna. Sunfire. Smart car. Ummm…Damn it, I don't know anything else."
"Ooooh" ben winces. "Two out of four, Corolla, Camry, the Civic and the accord. you are still at two fifty and you have no strike outs" Still going, ben launches into his next question. "Final 50 dollar question. d in 1972, what clothing line allows kids to mix and match their clothes using a system of hang tags"
Brand blinks. "Hang tags? What the hell?"
"I would say GAP. But I'm not too familiar with clothing lines, either, or their hang tags." Raeven confesses after a moment of thought in silence.
Brand shrugs. "If you say so."
Not so sure on her answer she shakes her head a couple of times. "GAP is the only thing that comes to mind. But that was more for sizes, I think. Still…I guess we'll have to go for GAP."
"Ohh, wrong answer. Garanimals. The clothing line is Garanimals" Garanimals. Even Ben himself the host is trying to figure that one out without needing to resort to the answer piping in through his earpiece. "One strike, you have two left. You have ten blocks to go and now come the hundred dollar questions. In 2006, what nations foreign minister was chosen to replace kofi annan as the UN secrtary General"
Ugh. Politics. Something she chooses to avoid at all costs. Just so happens that she needs that knowledge now. "I haven't a clue."
Brand rubs his temples. "Gosh, this has gotten awful hard. Isn't he a Korean or something? Something, something Fung Shui, sway no…." He curls his hands into fists and pushes them against his temples. "No, its some word thats English too. Hung, Fook, Foo….Moon? Yeah." He snaps. "Secretary Moon." Brand gahs. "Of South Korea. Cause North Korea is too crazy. Also communist and communism is not the american way. The more you know….." He swings his arm, fistpumping the air. "GI JOE!"
"South Korea is…."
"The right answer. You have three fifty" Ben hoots, the van still moving. "Nice job. Next question. Published in 2000, what malcom gladwell book is subtitled How little things make a big difference"
Brand frowns. "I don't know ancient books published two hundred years after the death of christ."
This question takes a few minutes, chewing on her lower lip and contemplating an answer that sounds familiar in her mind. "I want to call it the Edge. That's a movie, though. Something point…Is it the Tipping Point?"
Brand shrugs his shoulders again, and fiddles with his letterman jacket's zipper. "Sounds good by me. I've got no idea. The Tipping Point."
"the tipping point. it is" He's impressed, they can see it in his eyes. "Next hundred dollar question, five blocks to go. Currently on death row… serial killed Richard Ramirez was given which nickname during his 1985 crime spree"
Raeven has to laugh at this one. "That's years before my time. I haven't a single clue."
Brand turns his head to look at Raeven with a bit of a boggle. "You don't know? I would think you'd know all about him, I mean you…just with the….you know, and all." He makes gestures with his hands, trying to articulate. "Well I do. I read a lot about spree killers, and serial murders, and stuff. Ramirez was in LA, called the Night Stalker."
"Night Stalker it is, another hundred dollars, that brings you to five fifty" The vehicle is there, he's pulling over into a spot and when he's parked, it's over the seat he looks, turning as much as he can. "You have a choice now"
She looks at Brand with a lift in her brow, curious just what exactly he meant by all that last little bit. Pushing it aside for now she turns to the driver, just as curious about what he's offering now.
Brand shrugs his shoulders, and tries to look casual. "What?" He says to her, a mild challenge. Then he turns his attention to the driver. "Whats the choice?"
'Here's the deal. I've got the 550 here, right now, you can take it and leave right away or you can stick around, and potentially loose it all on a video question for double or nothing. HEre's how it works. I"m going to play a video for you guys. I'm going to ask you a single question about the video. You get it, it's double or nothing, but if you get it wrong, you loose it all"
Raeven straightens up in her chair, crossing her leg over the other, then looks to Brand once more. "Honestly, I'm good with the $550. More is always better, but none is almost heartbreaking. I haven't been much help to you so far, but if you think you can get it, then we might as well try."
Brand flexes a bit, leaning forward slightly. All but thrumming with teenage jocky aggression for the ultimate victory. "Lets do it. I'm not going to back down from this challenge."
"This is for 1100 dollars. "this thunderstorms is the result of turbulent air currents within a temperamental cloud. Latin for heaps of rain, what variety of cloud produces tempests like this one" He gestures towards the screen letting them watch it.
Brand strokes on his chin thoughtfully, staring at the screen. "Any ideas?"
Raeven stares at the screen, really focusing in on it and repeating the words over and over again. "I'm thinking…I know that name…I just can't remember it…"
Brand hrmmms. "I wonder…can we use our call for help or what ever it is on this video question, mysterious host?"
"Cumul…cumulnibs…cumulbus…cumulbins…Damn it, I know this word!" Raeven mutters out in the middle of trying to work the structure of the word around her tongue. "Cumulubis…cumulablus…cumulonibus…cumulonimbus…that sounds…right?"
Brand snaps. "Cumulonimbus! I think thats the word!"
"Yeah, that sounds about right…" Raeven starts, still not entirely sure if that is actually the right answer or not. "We might as well try. Those are the only options I can think of."
ben ducks his head down, shaking his head before popping his head up with a smile. "You just won eleven hundred dollars! in the cash cab" Effusing loudly for the benefit of the camera and for the two people in the back. The cash is spread out, fanned and handed back to them while he laughs. "Congratulations, here's your money. Thanks for playing guys, this was great, this is your stop"
Brand takes his half of the cash, counting it rapidly. The boy knows how to handle his cheddar. "Yeah, we did win! Thanks for letting us play." He folds his cash up, and stuffs it into a pocket somewhere. "Thanks for getting answers right and helping out, Raeven!" He grins. "Aren't you glad we took the challenge?"
Raeven takes her half of the money, utterly stoked at the fact that they just won all this money. Not too often you step into a taxi and not only manage to get away without paying, but get a shit ton of money instead. "Wow, I seriously can't believe this. We need to find you more often" She looks to Brand, tucking away her half of the money as well and chuckling, "We should take another challenge." Of course, that is just a joke. "Thank you so much." THe girl tells Ben once more.