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AUTHOR'S NOTES
This was another contest entry for the same contest as the one I wrote "The Secrets of Sunnyside Morgue" for. The prompt for this one was creating a new invention that cures a mundane ailment.

Jase's 'Invention'
"Dude! Dude check this out!" Davis yelled, flipping his plastic guitar with the coloured buttons upside down and hammering away on it, his hazed eyes fixated upon the television screen where the notes were coming at him rapidly. Jase snorted in amusement.

"Dude, you're playing Guitar Hero Three on easy. A monkey could do that." he scoffed. "Give me that thing and learn first-hand how a rock legend gets his rock on!"

"Whatever, man." Davis exited "Rock You Like A Hurricane" and handed the guitar over to his friend. With a smug expression, Jase put the strap over his shoulder and selected Expert mode, then went into "Into The Fire and Flames" by Dragonforce. Davis cackled in hilarity and pulled up his sagging jeans.

"Are you for real?" he asked incredulously. "Dude, this song's gonna murder you!"

"Watch and learn." Jase chuckled, beginning the song. His fingers flew across the buttons on the guitar as his other hand repeatedly hammered on the strum and the whammy bar with almost inhuman speed. Davis dropped to his knees, his jaw gaping in stunned disbelief. This was insanity! The solo was coming up and Jase looked thoroughly confident. "Watch this!" he cried as the solo sprang up and he began jumping around with the guitar as if he were Slash himself.

"Man, that is--"

"AGH! CRAMP! CRAMP!" Jase suddenly shrieked, dropping the guitar to the carpet and falling down, clutching his wrist. His fingers were involuntarily twitching from almost every angle conceivable. Davis was doubled over in a fit of hysterics.

"I told you that song would murder you!" he howled. "Just stretch 'em out." he advised, grabbing a fistful of popcorn from the bowl on the side table and shoving it in his mouth.

"Man, I wish there was something to cure Guitar Hero Cramp. It should be labelled as a medical condition or something..." he grumbled.

"I heard yelling. What's going on?" Stacey asked from the doorway, walking down the basement steps with her teddy bear. Davis groaned and smacked his forehead. Now he'd never get his annoying seven year old sister to leave.

"Nothing Stace. Go watch The Big Comfy Couch." he snapped. Stacey pouted and stuck her tongue out at her brother.

"It's over. Major Bedhead found Snickelfritz and Lucy taught Molly how to do the clock exercise." she informed him.

"Fascinating." he sighed sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Stacey's blue eyes darted to Jase, who was still kneeling on the floor clutching his hand to the Guitar Hero game on the television.

"I don't like that silly guitar game. It's too hard. Did you hurt your hand?" she asked Jase.

"Yeah... it hurts like a bi-- uh... bug." he quickly corrected himself as Davis gave him a warning glare, reminding him that they were fifteen and Stacey was only seven. Stacey giggled and pointed upstairs.

"Mommy has ice in the freezer. That makes lots of things better." she told him and Davis ran upstairs, returning with a packet of ice which Jase put on his hand. Within a few moments, he was able to start moving his fingers voluntarily again. A wide grin spread across his face. Davis frowned. That usually meant his friend was getting some crazy scheme in his head.

"Dude, I just thought of something brilliant! If we sell this stuff to cure Guitar Hero Cramp, we can make enough money to buy Super Smash Brothers Brawl! We'll be like... the inventors of the cure for Guitar Hero Cramp!" he declared. Davis gaped. Out of all the ridiculous plans Jase had ever come up with since first grade, this was by far the most ludicrous. Stacey laughed.

"You're stupid." she told Jase and Davis pinched her ear.

"Hey! Don't say that. You want me to have mom take away Mr. Snuggles?" he threatened, pointing to the teddy bear. Stacey bit her lip and shook her head fervently as she clutched the teddy bear to her chest and scampered up the stairs.

***

"I can't believe you talked me into this." Davis grumbled the following weekend. They were sitting in Jase's driveway with a cooler full of plastic bags of ice that said "Guitar Hero Cramp Cure" on them. "I can't believe there are idiots falling for this." he added as some freckled twelve year old handed over a toonie in exchange for one of the bags.

"The world is full of idiots. You just gotta know how to use it to your advantage." Jase replied with a wink.

"You do realize we didn't invent anything, right? We just threw a few cubes of ice in plastic bags." Jase merely took out the can they were using for money and jangled it under Davis' nose. There was well over twenty-five dollars there... Super Smash Brothers Brawl would be theirs by the end of the weekend. "On second thought, maybe you're right." Davis grinned.

***

"I can't believe you, Davidson Ernest Wellington Peters!"

"Mom--"

"Don't 'mom' me, young man! Did you think this scam of yours would work? Thank heavens Stacey told me before you went out and bought another video game to rot your brain out! What kind of an example are you setting for her?" his mother shrieked.

"Ms. Peters, it was my idea. I'm really sorry." Jase interjected. Davis' mom shot him a nasty glare.

"Jase, go home before I call your mother. Davis, go to your room!" she snapped. Davis sighed and trudged up the stairs after giving his friend a furious stare.

"You and your stupid 'inventions'..." he muttered.