28
Mr. Tudball seemed relatively pleased with everyone’s reaction to the first item. Now, it was time for number two.
“Leon, would you like to bring over that next box, please?” requested Mr. Tudball.
“Certainly,” Mr. Draisaitl responded, as he went over and picked up a box off the floor. This box was slightly smaller than the previous one. He set it down on the desk.
This time, Mr. Tudball had a clever query all planned out that he thought would be amusing and pertinent.
“Now— how many of you have heard of Jane Fonda?” he asked, flashing a smug grin on his round, cherubic face.
Belinda was the first one to take advantage of this opening and respond accordingly.
“Who?” she asked, jokingly, looking all confused.
“You know, Belinda, she played a space nymph… and a whore,” Kathy informed her. “Her dad is Hank Fonda.”
“Ohhh, now I know who you’re talking about,” Belinda returned, nodding her head sarcastically. “I thought that name sounded familiar.”
“Well, now she is the exercise queen of the nation,” Mr. Tudball informed everyone. “She’s got the whole country working out and getting in shape,” he added. “And we are gonna follow right behind her.”
“Yeah, well, I hate to steal from John Lennon, Mr. Tudball, but we are more popular than Jane Fonda.”
That remark from Jane lead to a round of ‘high-fives’ from the band.
“That’s true, Jane, you are… Good call,” praised Mr. Tudball. “But, that doesn’t mean we can’t get on board with what’s hot around the country. Am I right?” he asked.
The girls all grudgingly agreed, instead preferring to bask in Jane’s comment about how popular they were.
“And so, with that in mind,” announced Abel, reaching into the box and pulling out the item. “I give you this sleek, fashionable, bike helmet, for all the bicycle enthusiasts around the country to enjoy.”
In the same manner in which it happened with the bath towels, there was a genuine, hesitant lack of total confidence about the product within the group. In fact, some of the girls had a hard time keeping the smirks off their faces. Nobody could say a word.
“How.. exactly, does this associate us with exercising?” asked Charlotte.
“Oh, come on, Charlotte, I shouldn’t have to explain this,” said Abel. “When people ride their bicycles, they’re exercising… And they’ll be wearing this helmet with the Go-Go’s name on it,” he informed.
“Yeeeah, I get that part,” understood Charlotte. “But, isn’t that just pandering to the American public? We’re not known as exercising gurus. You’re just slapping our name on a product and hoping it links us to people getting in shape. You might as well just put our name on anything. You might as well just put our name on a lampshade.”
“Yeah, and then Gina could wear it on her head at parties,” suggested Belinda.
“Yeah, definitely,” agreed Gina. “Hey, speaking of wearing things on my head,” she continued. “Do you think I could have that prototype to take home with me? When I ride my bike tomorrow, I wanna get my ass kicked by some cool people.”
“There. You see there? That’s just what I’m talking about,” informed Charlotte. “Nobody’s going to take something like this seriously… And it just runs the risk that we’re gonna end up looking foolish. Am I right, guys?”
“Exactly,” stated Jane.
“I agree,” said Kathy.
“Pandering,” said Belinda, who was more concerned that everyone was aware that she knew what “pandering” meant.
Mr. Tudball sat on the edge of his desk with a sheepish look on his face.
“Well… if everyone is in agreement that this one is a loser… I guess we can move on to the last item,” he said. “Leon, would you hand me that last box, please?” Mr. Tudball seemed to be taking that last rejection a little bit harder than everyone expected.
“Now… This last item might be a liiitle bit more on the personal side, but I think you’re going to like it because it’s stylish… and I think it’s going to be a big seller,” Abel calculated.
After that last dud, the girls were slightly less than enthusiastic about the next item.
Mr. Tudball reached into the box and pulled out what he thought was his next prized possession.
“Tah- Dah!” cheered Abel. “Is that cool, or what?” he asked.
The silence amongst the group was completely justified.
With a broad smile on his face, Mr. Tudball was holding up a pair of men’s boxer shorts.