I stuttered a moment. “I... um, I think I’m going to need a little time to come up with a different topic,” I said.
“Nonsense!” He exclaimed. “I hear you are speaking at the comic convention next Saturday. Why not give it another go then?” He asked.
Hmmm… He had a point. I really didn’t want to put my audience to sleep at the event. And a lot of the information I'd used in my lecture had originally been intended to be shared at the convention.
“Um, I can’t promise anything…” I said, but hurried on when his face started to fall, “…but I’ll try.”
“Good! Good. Then when you give your new lecture next Saturday, I will offer these sluggards an opportunity at extra credit if they attend,” he said.
We said our goodbyes and Lee helped me wrestle my ever-lighter trunk out to his car. The excitement of Professor White’s words zinged through my body and ways that I could use what he suggested to re-do my presentation percolated in my brain.
“You look like you have a million ideas rushing around in that hot brain of yours,” Lee said as we pulled out of the parking lot.
“He made a lot of sense. Idon’treally care about comic art history, much,” I said. “But now, I have to figure out what I’m going to talk about at the event.”
“I have faith you’ll figure it out,” Lee said, still smiling at me. The look grew heated and I squirmed in my seat looking for a change in topic.
“You have a lot of faith in me,” I said, shaking my head at Lee. “So, are you going to tell me where we’re going now?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood.
“Nope,” he said, grinning at me like the Cheshire cat.
“That’s cold, Lee!” I exclaimed. “C’mon! What about a hint? It’s only just 3 o’clock. Where could we be going?” I demanded.
“You want a hint? Hmmm…” he said teasingly.
“Yes, dammit. I want a damn hint,” I pouted.
“Okay… How about this?” he began. “It’s been around for thousands of years, and scientists still don’t know for sure how it was made, or what it was for. It goes on and on, never stopping for long. And it’s a great place to go when you want to hit something.”
I was baffled. “Is it the ocean?” I asked.
“No, but that’s a great guess,” Lee said. “Unfortunately, no oceans near Ohio,” he teased.
“Hmmm… How about… A boxing ring?”
“Nope. I’m pretty sure scientists know what boxing rings are for,” he teased.
I punched him lightly in the shoulder.
“Careful! Driving here!” he exclaimed.
“Shut up,” I said. I sat there for a while as we drove, struggling to come up with some answer that would apply to all three clues, but failing.”
“…An appendix?” I asked, finally giving up.
“No… Not sure how exactly we would ‘visit’ one of those, anyway…” He said, his eyes twinkling at me. “Close your eyes, we’re almost there.”
I put my hands over my eyes and grumbled about people who made their riddles too hard to solve.
“…If the answer to your goddamn riddle is ‘A Ring’, I promise you, I will end you before the first Dark Rider shows up,” I threatened.
Lee laughed. “Nope, no Gollum here, I promise. You can open your eyes. We’re here.”
I pulled my hands away from my eyes and looked around, blinking owlishly in the bright sunlight. Several large stone pillars framed the entrance to a building with a large sign overhead.
“Stonehenge?!” I read in disbelief. “Seriously? What the fuck, dude?”
Lee laughed. “NottheStonehenge, obviously. Stonehenge Bowling Alley and racetrack,” he winked at me.
