And the Lucky Winner Is

Name: ______

And the Lucky Winner Is...

Monica Hughes

Summary of Events

Jon is on the ground looking at the people in their heliolites. One of the people in the heliolite is his older sister Peri. He wishes to be free like Peri, but his “gift” of telekinesis and telepathy makes him nauseous when he soars. Jon feels like his “gift” of telekinesis is a burden and wants to get rid of it. Peri on the other hand, soars throughout the air without worry.

Peri thinks about her brother, and wonders if Nev really loves her. As the sun beats down and the clouds pass, her heliolite gains more power, and she soars higher. As she climbs higher, she sees that Nev’s heliolite seemed to hesitate at the thermal interface, and was crashing towards the ground. Medics come to take Nev away and Jon and Peri stand together outside of the heliolite rental agency.

Take a moment to look at this picture. It is a faint picture of Jon looking up at the heliolites. Is this what you pictured the heliolites to look like?

Peri tries to explain to Mrs. Wright that Nev crashed while trying a new manoeuvre. Mrs. Wright blames Peri for his fall because she is always so reckless, and asks why she cannot be more like her brother, Jon. She also wants the heliolites banned. Nev has spinal cord injuries and the Doctor says it will be “a quarter of a million dollars” in order to help Nev. Mrs. Wright blames Peri again.

Peri and Jon think about how they are going to save Nev. Peri visits Nev and he explains that a strut snapped and that is why he fell. He tells Peri about the “Hi-med Lottery Fund” that helps patients win Name: ______money, and will be able to pay for him to get his legs back. They agree the odds of him winning are good.

The doctor explains the lottery to Peri Stanley in detail. He also suggests fundraising. Peri gets the idea to ask Jon to move the numbers in the lottery in order to help Nev win.

Jon’s telekinesis powers were helpless when he tried to stop Nev’s falling heliolite, and now he feels like he may be able to do something good for Nev by changing the lottery numbers. He still feels that it is wrong and he hates Peri for having the idea. When Nev is released to his mom’s apartment, Peri bursts out that she is going to change the numbers in the lottery through telekinesis so Nev wins and gains use of his legs.

Nev and Peri convince Jon to use telekinesis during the lottery. Peri is very pushy, but Nev says it is up to Jon.

Jon, Peri and Nev attend the lotto. They listen to the prizes and try to find their seats.

The draw is about to begin and the process by which the numbers are drawn for the lottery is different than what Jon and Peri anticipated. They also notice the Dregs.

Stop and pause to take a look at the picture. What are they looking at? Why are they on the edge of their seats?

Name: ______

During the draw of the lottery, it seems that someone else is using similar powers to Jon in order to win. Then, it is announced that Mr. James Rierdon , and Daisy Jones are the first two winners.

Before the third name was drawn, Jon stopped his telekinesis, grabbed Peri’s arm and led her out on the building. The third winner is baby Alison Temple. Jon saw the mother of the baby’s thoughts and felt that the baby needed the treatment and that it was only fair. Peri is angry with him. Then, Jon gets an idea on how to help Nev.

Nev and Jon share their new idea with Peri. Nev is getting better. Name: ______

Questions

Please answer the following questions in COMPLETE SENTENCES.

1. I gave you a summary of each page that you were to read AFTER each page. Did this help you better understand the story? Did you like it? Why or why not?

2. In detail, explain what the lottery is and how it works.

3. What are the odds of Nev winning the lottery?

4. What tells Jon that changing the numbers in the lottery is wrong?

5. Why does Jon decide to push the guilt and worry to the back of his mind and concentrate on using his telekinetic powers to change the lottery? Name: ______

6. When the three attend the lottery, the place is full of people waiting for different lotteries to take place. Do you think that the people there are simply wasting their time? Or do they have valid reason to be waiting for their chance to win the lottery?

7. At the lottery, the prizes are a home computer, a home fusion unit, a Mazda hovercraft, living tax-free for a year, and three places for hospital beds in the rehab unit of the City Hospital. Do you think holding a lottery for health benefits is right? Explain your answer.

8. Peri notices that during the lottery she has been waiting for, other people had “left the stands for a drink of low-alcohol beer and a sushi snack. To them, this was the boring interlude before the main event” (282). Why is this sentence disturbing and what does it show about the people in this story?

9. Why did Jon choose not to go through with his telekinetic powers during the lottery draw? Name: ______

10. Do you think Jon made the right choice? Explain.

11. What is Jon’s new plan to help out Nev?