Creativity and Tentativeness Now at 3.3 Torres_P03

“We’ll see,” said Mary. “We won’t know for sure until we open the boxes on our birthday.”

Sherry placed the box on the balance as Mary read the results. “Its mass is 820 grams,” said Mary. Sherry ran to the computer and turned it on. “What are you doing?” asked Mary.

“Looking up how much tablets weigh. Here it is—1.5 pounds,” told Sherry.

She was the daughter of a PhD physicist. So, she knew how these words sounded as she spoke. “Don’t even say it, Mary. Don’t even say it,” remarked Sherry. She worked the math in her head to make the conversion, “… half of 454 is 227… so 227 plus 454… give me a minute.”

“Give me a break!” Mary chanted, “Really? You need a math tutor more than a tablet. The answer is 681 grams,” Mary answered while rolling her eyes. “Our box is heavier than that,” said Sherry. Mary quickly shared, “Our box is heavier because 1.5 lbs. is the weight of the tablet. That does not include the box.”

The girls continued to bicker. Then, the door to the basement opened. “What are you girls doing?” a voice from the top of the stairs shouted out. The two sisters tried their best to look innocent. The wrapped present in the middle of the workbench dispelled their attempts.

“I see! There is a little investigation going on here,” their mother said. “Looks like they take after you,” their mother chuckled.The girls’ father poked his head around the corner.

“We’re getting tablets for our birthday,” Sherry shouted out. She hopped up and down. “It is the right size. It is the right shape. And it is the right weight. We checked! And I know we asked for them. And even looked at them in the store. It must be tablets!”

“We don’t know that,” Mary said in her firm voice.
Mary knew that even with all the evidence pointing to their gifts being tablets, there was no guarantee. There was also no guarantee that both boxes held the same items, despite their shared properties.