By now, I'm sure you all have heard of this year's wishing well: HcWell! It is located right smack in the middle of the Meadow, and it's here for a limited time only. Personally, I love the well. Not the just the competition on the Top Ten list, or competition between everybody (including City Workers), but just the thrill of it. It is something for me to do on Whyville that never gets boring, and I'd like to explain why.
Throughout the days of the week, I get up in the morning (or afternoon) and go straight to the computer. If I have to work or if I have somewhere to go, then I log on and off really quickly, with hope to log back on later. If I don't have to work or don't have to go anywhere immediately, then I head straight for the Meadow.
When I appear in the Meadow, I get some different reactions. 9 times out of 10 I have a friend or somebody there that has a positive attitude towards my appearance. Sometimes, though, there are people who complain. I see things like "Go away! Go to a different server or something!" or "Now I won't get any points. :(" And then there are people who couldn't care less that I'm there. That's fine with me; I don't strive to have everybody like and appreciate me. It's nice to have people that do, but if people don't, I don't make a big deal about it. Everybody has their own opinion.
I have learned a few new words or phrases throughout the time I have spent at the well; such as "party frock" "brambles" or "bear bowl." I've been trying to figure out what those mean, but I've come up empty-handed. I'll just ask someone next time it crosses my mind, or next time I speak with a City Worker.
I've also made a number of new friends, or semi-friends. People that appreciate me. People that don't tell me to go away as soon as I enter the room. People that say "Good job!" when I get a puzzle correct. People that introduce themselves, and are kind to me. People that just say "Hi." All of those examples are of people that I respect. I've also been able to get to know the friends I had before even better. I'm not saying I haven't made any enemies, though, but I'd like to leave that topic alone.
The Top Ten list has been eye-opening, too. I started out just watching people get the answers correct. That's the first step for everybody; learning the words. Once I got a good grip on that, I started to try. The words that I've never seen before I just tried to unscramble. Most of the time, though, that doesn't work. I'm not the brightest crayon in the box when it comes to unscrambling words. When I made my way to tenth place, I was ecstatic. I decided that I would try even harder to make my way up the list. I reached second place! Then I started to get busy with my job, with friends, and with family, and I couldn't really juggle all that and leave hours upon hours to spend at well. Right now as I write this, I'm in eighth place. HcWell isn't my whole life, so I'm not all too upset about that, but I have been trying to work my way back up again.
One of the lowest points of the well is that you get tons of random face parts. You get tons of clams, too, and they add up eventually, especially with the new "double the clams" hour every Wednesday! I was a little mad about how slow my computer was, resulting in a slow process of giving unwanted face parts to Grandma. There was also the issue where you couldn't give away the cloaks you earned. Then, one day, something in the satchel changed. It was a little trash can button that makes deleting parts go so much faster! It's safe to say that it brightened my day. (I had no intention on making that rhyme.)
Overall, HcWell has surely been a memorable experience for me and everybody else that's tried, just like previous wells. I'm looking forward to the well next year, and this well hasn't even left yet! I hope other people are just as eager as I am. Don't hesitate to give this year's well a chance.
Author's Note: Remember, HcWell is only here for a limited time! Hurry on down to the Meadow to give it your best shot, and show us what you got. (Again, no intention of rhyming.) Sponsored by HarperCollins, the well is a great experience for everybody. There is also a new twist this year: four books! The participating books are: "Septimus Heap", "The Last Apprentice", "Baseball Great", and "Seekers". You can read parts of the book, too! Have fun!
