RANDOM SCENE 6
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wrote this scene (not a complete story) as part of a writing exercise in response to a survey. The goal was to show a character's emotions when they win the lottery. Here are some of the characters from the unwritten novel Magic City--Kristeva, Reichert, Bev D'Arca, and Sammy D'Arca are all detectives, while Christine DelBora is an officer. Apparently Bev has talked DelBora into purchasing her first lottery ticket, and Sammy D'Arca isn't too pleased. :)
"She didn't even want to buy it," D'Arca grumbled, stubbing out his cigarette. "Bev practically forced her to. For God's sake, forcing gambling on some poor helpless soul. Everybody knows gambling's just a voluntary tax on the stupid." "You stole that one from TV," Reichert murmured. D'Arca snorted at him. "Would you idiots shut up?" Bev snapped. She stood beside DelBora, who held a small piece of paper in her hand, glancing between it and the TV. "We can hardly think, much less hear this." D'Arca stuck out his tongue. "Serves you right, corrupting an innocent soul with that garbage." The announcer on TV started listing some numbers for the second time, and DelBora gave a little jump and a gasp, her mouth forming an O and her eyes growing as big as marbles. She kept glancing from the piece of paper to the screen, her eyes getting bigger with each look. Bev leaned over her shoulder and did the same. "I heard you like gambling once every so often," Kristeva said to D'Arca. D'Arca scowled. "Cards don't count." "Since when?" "Since I said so. Cards ain't a girly thing like the lotto." "Whatever you say. I'll keep that in mind next time I envision you sitting at tea with your little cards folded in your hand. Lace tablecloth and crumpets and all." Reichert stifled a laugh. D'Arca's scowl grew darker. He started to retort when DelBora jumped again and gave a tiny shriek. "I--I won the lotto," she said in a small voice. Everybody turned to look at her. She stared at the ticket and her eyes moved over the numbers repeatedly, back and forth. "I won the lotto," she parroted, then squinted at the piece of paper, and back at the screen. "I think I won the lotto...did I read it wrong...?" "Oh for God's sake," D'Arca groused. "Nobody ever wins those things!" Reichert and Kristeva got up and went over to the two women, both of them looking over her shoulder and comparing the numbers. They started nodding and murmuring and DelBora screamed and began jumping up and down, hands waving, but still holding tightly onto the ticket. "I WON THE LOTTO! AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, I WON THE LOTTO!!" she screamed, and started laughing and bouncing around as if on a pogo stick. Bev caught her just long enough to give her a hug. Reichert took the ticket from her hand and he and Kristeva looked it over. The detective held it up and waved it at D'Arca. "All numbers matched. Twenty-five mil. Hey Sammy, maybe you should be nicer to your sister, and she'll convince Christine to share with you." "Likely story," Kristeva smirked. D'Arca's lip curled and he dug in his pocket for another cigarette. "Yeah, and she's gonna have to split it twenty-five ways, the tax guys'll take the rest, and she'll be lucky to be left with ten bucks. There's your likely story, dipshit." Bev flipped her brother the finger. DelBora was still too busy jumping up and down and laughing and screaming to bother insulting him. END |
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