Best Friends Forever
Chapter 4

 

While I waited, Mr. Knowles brought in Becky and we talked for a while.

“I am so proud of you, Ricky,” Becky said to me giving me a light kiss in front of her father.

“Ricky, you certainly are worth every penny I am paying you. I have never seen Mr. Minsky so gratified. You seem to be a very smart young man.”

Just then, Mr. Minsky brought back in the laptop, and set it down in front of me.

“There was nothing wrong with the program, you are that good! I have ramped this up to the equivalent of a level 9, please proceed?”

He ushered everyone out, and I began to play. This time the computer was taking almost two minutes to put out a move, while I usually responded in less than fifteen seconds. This quickness seemed to rattle ‘Light Blue,’ as I beat him in forty-nine moves.

Mr. Minsky came back in, put out his hand and said, “Thank you, Mr. Summers. May I request that you take an IQ test?”

“Exactly what does that entail, Sir?” I asked.

“About half a day, can we schedule it for this week?” he asked.

“If you wouldn’t mind, Sir – I need to spend some quality time with my girlfriend, can we schedule it first thing, next week?”

“Certainly, my boy. See you all then. Goodbye.” He left.

Skipping into the room, Becky grinned and said, “Your girlfriend, do I know her?”

“You are her,” I said as her father had followed her into the room.

“Ricky,” Mr. Knowles said. “You won’t let him take you from here, I hope?”

“Absolutely not, Sir, I have too much keeping me here,” I said giving Becky another kiss.

****

The following Monday, after settling in at work, Mr. Minsky came in with a twelve-page typed pamphlet.

“Mr. Summers, this is one hundred seventeen questions, using the multiple guess concept. Better to guess than not answer. Time is a factor as is your age. BEGIN!”

He stepped out, and I started. It was amazing, the way my brain was just opening up. I did guess for a few, but common sense and logic ruled the day. Less than three minutes later, I put my pencil down, and said, “Finished!”

Worried that I may have skipped part of the test, Mr. Minsky came in and carefully looked it over, seeing that I had indeed answered every question.

“I’ll be right back,” he said.

Becky came in and said, “I never saw anybody go through a test like that, Ricky. How do you think you did?”

“There were only three questions, I am not sure of – the rest I answered correctly,” I said as she got up on my lap.

Her father and Mr. Minsky came in together. The test was dropped on my desk in front of me. I got one hundred sixteen correct.

“Mr. Summers, you answered all but one question accurately. The only one you missed dealt with Konstatin Tsiolkovsky, he was a Russian -- excellent job. That result along with your age easily converts to an IQ estimate of 165, mid-range on the Genius scale. You are one of the smartest fourteen-year-olds I have ever encountered before. Congratulations, young man,” Mr. Minsky said.

“Thank you, Mr. Minsky – this has been fascinating, taking your tests, playing your computer chess game. Now I need to get back to working for Mr. Knowles. He is my employer and expects a certain amount of work product from yours truly,” I said.

Just then, Becky grabbed my face and gave me a whopper of a kiss, in front of everybody, causing me to blush deeply.

“Thank you, Marvin,” Mr. Knowles said. “As Ricky just said, he has a lot of responsibilities as Google’s new Head of People Operations, here at Council Bluffs. Nice to have seen you again, goodbye?”

“But...”

“Goodbye, Marvin!” he said as Mr. Minsky turned and left.


Mr. Knowles looked at me and said, “While that particular job doesn’t exist here at Council Bluffs, I would like to offer you a full-time job here, as a Consultant and my Assistant for $50,000 a year?”

“Sir, I’m flattered, but you seem to have forgotten, I’m only fourteen-years-old,” I responded. Becky giggled being up on my lap.

“No, I haven’t Ricky. This would be a Full Time Position during the summer and Saturdays and twelve to twenty hours a week, during the school year. Talk to your parents tonight and I expect an answer by tomorrow, OK?” he said.

“Wow!” said Becky, landing a nice kiss on my cheek, still on my lap through all of this.

He reiterated, “Tomorrow night Ricky, if your answer is what I hope it will be, I would love to have both of our families, go out to dinner someplace nice – paid for by Google, of course!”


As had been the case since I started working for him at Google this summer, he took me home. I asked if Becky could stay for dinner, to which he agreed with a sly smile on his face.

“Well, hello you two?” my dad said. “Lately, I have been seeing you two more together than apart. Stay for dinner, Becky – my wife is making her specialty, Spaghetti with meatballs - homemade meatballs - mind you.”

“I would love to, Mr. Summers – thank you,” she said, oozing with charm.

“Ricky, with that Eidetic Memory you have, does that mean you can read anything and remember it, perfectly?” Becky said as we sat on the sofa together.

“I think so, don’t tell me you want to quiz me too. I have had a lot of that lately,” I replied.

“What’s that about Eidetic Memory, Ricky?” my father said.

“They have determined I have Eidetic Memory, popularly known as Photographic Memory, although there is a clear distinction between the two terms.”

“And you were going to tell us, when?” he remarked.

“I guess now is a good time, Dad,” I responded.

Just then mom walked in and saw Becky. “Hello dear, I hope you can stay for dinner, I’m making my specialty, Spaghetti with meatballs. Please stay?”

 
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