Saturday 20 February 2010

the potential millionaire story part 2

at work, james told everyone that he won the lottery but he said that it'll take time for him to claim the prize. his coleagues were initially of course amazed, but after hearing what the story was about they all laughed.
James was visibly angry. he decided to buy everyone's lunch to prove that he was not joking, he really did win the prize and he will claim it. with that, there were indeed a few silent converts. later on in the afternoon, james was found alone in the kitchen making a cup of coffee, rob took the oppotunity and went in for a chat. James showed him all the evidence he had taken, and told rob again the whole sequence of events that led
him to believe that he had won the prize, and Rob thought to himself "there's nothing to lose!" the two, have instantly become good friends. it was a gamble for rob, a gamble that didn't require any contribution, and it was a great comfort for james, for he had finally, at least so he thought, found someone who believed what he said.

Wednesday 10 February 2010

the potential millionaire: part 0 + 1

that night, james just couldn't sleep. he laid in bed with his eyes wide open, angry, furious, disappointed. he was angry that no one picked up the phone when he tried to buy the ticket over the phone, he was furious that there was no way for him to purchse a ticket right on the tv screen. he was disappointed, that he knew there was nothing he could do. he closed his eyes, and gave up thinking about it, but he could not. he imagined all sorts of things he'd buy, the circle of friends he would be in, the women, the center of attention, the admiration, the speeches he would make at various occasions, the workless life he would have. he sat up, imagined himself in court fighting for his 11 million pounds jackpot, he would say to the judge he wrote the numbers down before he picked up the phone and he could show the piece of scrap paper, he shouted so loudly that his neighbours must have heard him, he has always been a good law-abiding citizen that anyone knows him will know that he wouldn't lie about this, and he has always been a perfectly normal person he wouldn't invent such a stupid story to get 11 million pounds. "only...only if I had money then I can employ the best lawyer to fight in court for me!"

he got out of bed, it was half past two, everything was very quiet. he took his camera out and like a detective, he fully examined the crime scene and took pictures of all the evidence - the piece of scrap paper, the telephone, the open window, the neighbour's house that can be seen out of the window etc etc.

Monday 8 February 2010

the story of the potential millionaire. part 0

Every saturday, James goes through a routine. he gets up at 8, for no reason other than that the alarm clock has been set that way, he cooks his own breakfast, he sits in his little lounge if the weather is bad to read a newspaper, or he sits in his garden to enjoy it. his house is small but it is situated in such a peaceful area of town that he often leaves the door unlocked unless he is going out for a whole day.

in the afternoon, he spends his time working in a charity shop which he enjoys a lot - the people to talk to, the feeling of practically helping those who are in need and above all, a way of passing time. today is a little different. he has to stay at home because he is expecting an important delivery of his purchase of a top-of-the-range home cinema system yesterday. he waited excitedly, but it never came. the clock strikes 8 and he gave up hope.

he turns on the tele and he saw that the lottery is going to be drawn in 20 minutes. he day-dreams about winning the jackpot, he'll quit his job, he'll buy a new house, he can forget about the home cinema he bought, his life will change, in fact he will literally buy a new life. then he woke up. he picks up the phone and frantically try to buy a ticket but of course, it is too late. when he puts the receiver down, the balls have started rolling. "2" he shouted, number 2 comes up! "38!", ball number 38 comes up! "10, 13 20 49!!" and sure enough, they all have been rolled out.

he jumped up in joy, he just cannot believe his luck. until, he heard the woman saying in the tele that no one has won the jack pot.

the lottery, rather than giving James a chance to become a multi millionaire, has instead set him on a long and rough struggle.