"GET OUT!" Screamed Mr.Gramer, the principle of lakeshore high school.  His bony fingers shook as he pointed towards the door, exiting his office.  He is standing, glaring down with his cold blue eyes, with his chair rolling in the opposite direction.  I climb out of my student desk that is across from his and quickly swoop up my backpack, i begin heading towards the exit.   "If i see you in my office again, you are expelled from lakeshore high school!" He states.  I scowl at him as i aggressively shut the door, finding satisfaction in the loud slam that followed after.  My fingers linger on the doorknob for a short period of time, my knuckles are white from balling my fists so hard.  I was furious, my face still red in anger.  I gently let go of the doorknob, brushing off the emotions, and head down the garbage filled hallway. I spot a can of soda and angrily kick it at open locker, causing the locker to resonate and shake.  Most of the lockers are grey, but some are different colors from being replaced, with only a couple of ceiling lights that aren't flickering.  "If only this town had enough money to fix this crappy school" i cursed under my breath.  I glance at the classrooms as i walk, trying to spot a friend, forgetting that i don't have any in this new town.   I spot a drinking fountain and stop to quench my newfound thirst, "i can't go back to class" i say in between drinks, attempting to brush my long hair out of the way.  I dry my chin off with my sleeve, and throw my bookbag back over my shoulder.  Not after all that.

"I should've brought a jacket" i think to myself.  The wind is heavy and there are leaves and trash blowing everywhere around me.  As i walk down the sidewalk, i see a colorful piece of paper that grabs my attention.  I start heading towards the paper, for no other reason than curiosity.  I snatch it out of the air and begin examining it.  I see in bold black letters at the top of the paper “Lottery Ticket”, my heart sinks as i realized that it's already been scratched.  “It must be a losing ticket” i think,  I pocket it anyways just out of habit.

I finally reach my front door, exhausted from the long walk across the island.  I live on the opposite side of the island where the school is, and it's quite inconvenient considering that i have to walk home.  My home is not exactly the worst in town, but the standards are low.   The white paint is chipping on all sides of the house, revealing the wood underneath.  Some of the tiles on the roof are missing, leaves and junk filling in the spots where they aren't.  The windows are foggy, and warped, the cheap outdoor blinds opening and closing from the wind.  Home sweet home.  I open the door, no need for a lock, we have nothing valuable to steal.  “Hi jack” said Laurie, my mom.  “How was your day?”  My mother is quite beautiful, her long brown hair and green eyes matching my own.  A lot of people comment on how much i look like my mother, although she's shorter.   “Fine” I reply, knowing that the school called her about the incident that happened today.  This happens frequently, as i have a short temper.   “I got a call from the school you know” she replied, “you need to stop getting in trouble Jack”.  I nod my head and let her go on her usual rant on “responsibility” and something about “keeping the peace”.  The guy had it coming to him, always bragging about how he's the richest in town, and that that somehow makes him better than the rest of us. 

Greg Brandy is who i'm talking about, no one likes him.  He's a short chubby dude, and he's always boasting the latest clothes and electronics.  He was on his usual chime about how successful his father is, but this time he had a target.  Evan Rodriguez, by far the poorest kid in the class, if not the school.  Evans parents gave him up as a child, likely due to low funds for raising a child, so they put him up for adoption.  His foster parents are nasty and cruel, and make a living off of adopted children from the state checks.  He never has a lunch to bring to school, and his clothes barely fit him.  Greg was all in evans face, laughing at his lack of “real” parents, and that his clothes are dirty, and so on and so on.  I couldn't take it anymore, so i tapped him on the shoulder.  He looked around saying “What?” in an annoying tone.  I reel back and hit him as hard as i can right in the chest, not wanting to injure him too much.  He falls back, wheezing from the air being knocked right out.  The whole class erupted in cheer while Greg is on all fours, gasping to catch his breath.  I feel on top of the world for a while, feeling like a hero.  But then, like always, i am sent down to the office immediately.  As i walk out the door, i hear him squeal “You're gonna get it Jack!  Youll get yours!”.  Whatever i think to myself, everyone wanted to do it, i was just the only one who had the courage to put him in his place. 

When my mother finally finished her rant, i excused myself to my room.  The only place where i can think and get my head straight.  I sit in my favourite chair that sits in the corner, and stare out the window.  Watching all the passing cars drive, oblivious to the fact that I'm staring at them.  I look through my pockets to grab my phone, and the ticket I found earlier falls out.  I pick it up, ready to throw it in the garbage, when I spot the number at the top.  25,000 dollars.  There's so much I could do with 25,000, I could finally by all the stuff I wanted.  My mom could stress less about her job, 25,000 sounds like a miracle at this point then anything.  I quickly read the rules on the back and decide to give it a shot.  After school tomorrow, I'll get one myself.  If there's a time for a stroke of luck, it's now.

School the next day blurred by, daydreaming of me showering in all that cash.  I could make my mom so proud, plus I would be the coolest kid in school.  The teachers had to snap me back to reality multiple times, I couldn't focus.  8th hour rolled by very slowly, probably because Greg was in the class.  Today he was even more talky and annoying than usual, so decided to tune in to what he was saying.  What he was complaining about made my heart drop, he was talking about a lost lottery ticket.

Apparently he was getting a ride to school from his father, and his dad showed him a winning lottery ticket for 25,000 dollars and let him keep it.  "Early birthday present". Said greg's father.  Greg said that he swore he put it in his shirt pocket, and that he continually checked his pockets throughout the day.  "I didn't tell no one I had it" exclaimed Greg.  But when he got home, it was no longer their.  Beads of sweat began to go down my forehead, was the lottery ticket I found Greg's lottery ticket?  Did it somehow fall out of his pocket?  Did I have a 25,000 winning lottery ticket?  Greg noticed my red sweaty face, he calmly approached me.  "Jack, you didn't steal my lottery ticket?  Did you?"  He said in a quiet, aggressive tone.  I shook my head back and forth, a little too abruptly, and he squinted his eyes.  "If I find out you stole that from me, you and your whole family will regret it." He said.  The bell rang and I rushed out of the school and to my house.

I tear through my door like paper, ignoring the greeting from my mother.  I run up the stairs and stop at the door to my room.  After a short pause, I yank the door open.  There it is, sitting on my desk.  Right where I left it.  I slowly approach it, as if it was a explosive that could go off at any moment, and pick the ticket up.  Scratch the 5 marks to reveal 5 symbols, if they match the symbols at the top, you win the grand prize. I look at each symbol and I begin to feel dizzy.  This is it.  I double check it, triple check it, over and over.  This is the winning ticket, 25,000 bucks.  I sit down, stunned, clutching the ticket to my chest.  Now, what do I do?

I go over my options.  I only have two, really.  Option one is I give the ticket back to Greg, the rightful owner of the ticket.  But if I give it back he's sure to contact the authorities, because to anyone else it looks obvious that I stole it.  I can't let myself or my family get hurt.  Option two is keep the ticket, and in one way or another use it myself.  Someone like Greg doesn't need 25,000 dollars, I could use It for college, and to help my mom pay off some of the debt she owes.  But how do I do this?  If I cash it in, Greg is sure to call a investigation.  And I'm not 18 yet, so I would need my mom to do it for me.  But how would I explain how I got the ticket in the first place?  It's illegal for minors to buy lottery tickets.  Either way, I need to come up with a plan.  And fast.

I decided to keep the ticket, screw Greg, he's a jerk that doesn't deserve it.  But how do I show this to my mother without her questioning where I got the ticket.  And then it hit me, my birthday is tomorrow.  I wasn't planning on asking for anything, but I think I might just have too.  I approach my mom before I head out for school, and explain to her how I would like a specific lottery ticket from the store, as a early birthday present.  She looks confused, but agrees to it.  I hide the lottery ticket underneath my mattress, making sure my mom doesn't see it and somehow figures out what's happening.  I head out the door, and head to school.

The day whizzes by, I ignore the accusing looks from Greg the whole time, and finally the bell rings.  I rush home, and the moment I enter the house my mother hands me my lottery ticket.  "Wow, 25,000 dollars.  If only you would win, we could finally be comfortable.  I agree with a nervous smile, and excuse myself to my room.  I switch the two tickets, not bothering to scratch the one I have, and start practicing my "winning face".  I feel I got it down, and I head down the stairs fast.  "I WON MOM" I yelled.  "What did you win?" She said, looking as flabbergasted as me.  "The grand prize!  25,000 dollars!  We won!".  We both hug and cry in joy.  Things were finally going to work out.

News spread fast around town.  My mom didn't listen to me when I said to keep it on the downlow, and decided to tell everyone she knew about the ticket.  Eventually news reached Greg, and he was furious.  He approaches me that day with a note, and hands it to me.  I unwrap the note and read the message.  "Give me the lottery ticket, or my dad will find a way to use you for everything you have.  He's done it before, and you assaulted me.   Don't think I won't"

I realize what I have to do.  His dad is a lawyer, there's no way I could get away with this. I knew I had to give it back. When I get home, I explain the whole situation to my mom.  She gets very upset and sends me to my room.  My mom gives the ticket back to the father, apologizing for my actions, he's perfectly understanding.  Greg is not so understanding, and is upset when he finds out the ticket is now being donated to fix the town up.  I guess as long as Greg doesn't have it, I'm happy.

The next day at school is a weird one.  Everyone is unsure about me now, on one hand I'm a hero for making Greg finally shut up once and for all, humiliated about what happened.  But on the other hand, everyone thinks that I essentially stole 25,000 dollars.  Little did we all know, the ticket was forged.  It was given to Greg's father as a gift, from his brother that hates him.  The whole thing was essentially a joke.  Greg is humiliated, people finally start talking to me, interested about how I got the ticket, and everything just works out.

I come home late that day, after hanging with some newfound friends.  My mom is upset, she finally had the money to get by.  Now it's gone.  I give my mom a hug and head into my room, wishing some kind of miracle would happen.  I lay down in my bed, throwing a ball of crumpled piece of paper up and down towards the ceiling.  I suddenly remember the lottery ticket that's still underneath my bed.  I hop up and lift my mattress up, and pick the ticket out from around the springs.  I grab a quarter and start scratching.  I freeze, I can't believe it.  I just won the jackpot!  Just like deja vu, i run down the stairs screaming that i won!  She's confused at first, but then she realized what i was saying and we dance and danced around the house.  With a smile on my face, i realized that everything will be alright.