~ Elwin took his place behind the clear podium in the middle of the stage and gestured up at the board.
"Team 6, play starts with you. For ten points Takyle, you're word is... Reprobate." The word appeared in large, red letters on the screen. "Please define it."
Takyle cleared her throat and spoke with certainty. "Reprobate can be used in three ways. As a noun it means a person who is morally reprehensible. As a verb it means to condemn something or someone. As an adjective, like the noun, it describes something as being morally objectionable."
"Well that was very thorough. Team 5, time for you to judge. John, this one is for you to decide. If you reject the definition, press your red button, if you accept it, the green one," directed Elwin. John considered his options for just a moment and then pressed his green button.
"Team 5 has accepted Takyle's definition and that is... Correct! Team 6 has taken first blood with this ten points. Team 5 of course hasn't earned any points from this, but they've not lost any either. And now it is their turn, and they have a chance to get even.
"Team 5; Vin, your word to define is: Clandestine, also worth ten points." Vin cleared his throat.
"Uh, clandestine. It means like if something is under the table, or in secret."
"Well isn't he just terribly clever and articulate," thought Jaden to himself. Andrew accepted Vin's brief definition and Team 5 gained ten points. Jaden set his teeth and tuned out everything in the studio except for the host and the opposing team. He stared across the expanse of the stage at Cal, sizing him up.
The man's broken nose was swollen and red from the fight earlier that day and he looked nothing short of determined. Elwin gave Jaden his word: Dendrite. In the split second before Jaden opened his mouth to answer, he decided that Cal didn't seem the type that would know technical or anatomical terms that well.
"A dendrite is a kind of stone structure that you see in caves. That's what you call it when a stalactite from the ceiling meets a stalagmite on the floor and it makes kind of a pillar. It's a dendrite." Jaden nodded casually at Elwin, hoping to God that Andrew and Takyle had kept their wits about them and not given his bluff away with a glance or facial expression. He didn't dare look at them now.
Cal seemed to be caught. Jaden watched him closely. Inside he felt like cheering. It was immediately obvious that, even if he didn't believe the one Jaden had given, Cal wasn't sure of the correct definition himself. At this point he could call Jaden's bluff if he wanted to, but if he did that he'd have to give the true definition himself. Rock and a hard place.
Slowly Cal reached forward, closed his eyes, and pressed the green button on the console in front of him. Elwin gave a theatrical gasp and wince as a loud buzzer went off and red lights flashed.
"Oooh, I'm sorry Team 5, but you've been had! Congratulations Jaden, that did sound about right, and the score is now 30 to nothing!"
Now Jaden felt it was safe to look at his teammates while the crowd cheered. He grinned and Andrew returned it. He mouthed the words "well done" to Jaden before turning back to face the host. Elwin gave the real definition of dendrite for the edification of the audience, and the show went on.
One more round of Define It was played, so that each member of either team had a chance to both judge a definition and give one. Team 5 rallied, putting up a good fight, and in the end the score was 30 to 20 but still in favor of Team 6.
"That first game was nothing short of rousing!" exclaimed Elwin, with insufferable cheerfulness. Jaden gritted his teeth. Apparently Team 5 wasn't going to go down easily, but there were going down. He'd see to that. ~
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