1.0.0. | Teen Ink

1.0.0.

May 18, 2018
By David_Veliaj SILVER, Tirana, Other
David_Veliaj SILVER, Tirana, Other
8 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Thick, grey smoke floats out of the the car as the windows rolled down, a cigarette flies out. A beggar, with a vibrant red shirt, covered in filth reaches to the open window, his hands full of scars. The driver pulls out what seems to be a dollar bill. Wait it's a one hundred dollar bill. He sticks it out in front of the beggar, and hesitantly, puts it near his hands. The beggars fingers start to close, almost instantly the man in the driver's seat pulls the hundred away, grabs the cup of water from his water cupboard. SPLASH. Car cuts the corner, as the beggar is now not only broke and homeless, but also soaking wet.


Beep, beep, beep.

 
“F**k its not working,” he exclaimed, as he punches the ATM. A hundred dollar bill fell out, slowly making its way to the ground. The man steps on it, grabs the bill and starts walking at a fast pace.
“I know you got some bud, I need that with some pills,” he whispers on the phone. The man gets in his old Corolla, slams the door behind him. “Meet me outside Park Ave, I'll be waiting.” He pulls up at a gas station, parked right outside. He opens the window, as a gust of cold wind ran down his back and almost made him flinch. He's about to light a cigarette when he hears a bang on his hood, it was his plug. The man opens his glove compartment, dapped up his plug, and left. The plug looks at the bill for authenticity, a 100 dollar bill it is. He crinkled it up, walked off and put it in his pocket.


...


1 hour later the plug sat down at the club, ordered some drinks. He took the hundred dollar bill out his pocket, unwrinkled the corners. Stageside, he saw this girl shaking and turning. She got quiet near him, keeping her eyes on the bill. He got near her ear and whispered,
“How long are you here?” She tells him, “I'm sorry I’ve got a man.”
She starts to get up, slowing leaving his side. The man turned around quickly, looked at another table and grabs a red marker. He opens the red marker, puts the cap in his mouth. (774) 707 2639.


...


The girl gets home and opens her purse. She sits on her couch, and starts to think about her life. She doesn't like how working at the club makes her feel, yet she has to do what’s required when it comes time for paying bills. She puts her hand in her purses, clutches the bill. She needs to go buy groceries and some gas for the car.
Ding
She got inside the store, shuffled around the rows of things to buy. The store is open 24 hours and it's very late, so there isn't anyone there at the moment. She makes her way to the register. Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep.
“That will be 43.35 please,” sighed the man behind the counter in frustration. The women pulls out the 100 dollar bill and hands it to him.
“Hey you, what's this red number on the bill?” The man asked, just as the door to the store opened again
Ding
“Aye dont make one mother-f***ing move,” shouted a man with a black mask over his head, as he got in the store pointing a gun right at the store keepers head.
“Empty that register, I know you don't need my help,” he commanded. “Gimme the cash, follow instructions, don't move, because I would hate to kill you over something stupid.”


...


The robber walks up to the collection plate on a sunday, puts the bill with the red number on it in the collection plate. Maybe it will take away his sins, as he is a human too. Dressed in a polo shirt and khakis, he looks like an average guy no one knows that he steals for a living.


...


After church, the pastor sits down and starts to stare at the collection plate as if it were going to talk back. He grabs the hundred on top of the stack and prays that god would forgive him, then he hit the streets to find himself a prostituted. He pulls up on a dark alley, found a women on the street.
“Get in,” he blurted out quickly. She opens the door and sits. He drove in a deserted area where no one was at. He gave her the 100 dollar bill with the red number on it, then he got his service. Transaction complete.


 

The prostituted heads back to the streets, finally finished for the day. She wants to retire soon, she doesn't like her job it makes her feel dehumanized and sub-human. She is heading home, when SMACK. She fell to the cold, hard ground. She thought maybe she could have avoided her pimp but he had been searching for her for days. As she lay on the cement floor, he snatched the 100 dollar bill from her hand and took off.


 

The pimp finishes for the day, he goes back home. One of his friends is calling as he's  about to get in his shower full of steam.
“Hey yo man lets go, I’m right outside we have some gambling to do.” The pimp left the shower and got dressed. He goes inside his friends car and they take off. They arrive at the gambling place, they were playing with dice. The pimp reaches in his pocket and grabs the 100 dollar bill, unwrinkles the corners. He calls odds for dice, but even is rolled. He knows the game is rigged but gives up his bill.


 

The man who won the bill puts it in his wallet. He goes out of the small, dirty casino that was in an alleyway. He starts to run around, skip and turn. He does so, so much that the wallet falls out of his pocket, with bill sticking out. The wallet stayed in an alley nearby the casino that was filthy with trash, for weeks. Until one day, a beggar, with what should have been a vibrant red shirt but was now dirty, walks by. He picks up the wallet, opens it carefully and to his delight there was a 100 dollar bill with a red number on it. He needs some food its been days, and a pack of cigarettes would relieve some of his stress. So he walks to the nearest store to him, and gets inside. This store, happened to be the same store that got robbed, and the same cashier was working his shift. He picks out everything he needs, including a Marlboro. He walks to the cashier and carefully puts everything down, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep. The final price was 32 dollars 29 cents. The beggar pulls the bill from his side pocket, and hands it to the cashier. The cashier grabs it as he saw something written on it. A red number. His eyes open wide. And then everything stops.



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