It's 9:30 PM, I left the supermarket after I bought the coffee and cookies.
As I walked alone through the quiet streets, a hand suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked me into a dark alley. I struggled instinctively, but the grip was too strong. My back hit the wall before I could see who it was.
Under the dim light, two figures came into focus—a man in his thirties with greasy green hair and sharp eyes, and a woman, perhaps in her twenties, dressed in clothes that screamed desperation more than style. Her short skirt and tight shirt told a story louder than her words ever could.
"Heh. Where you headed this late, kid?" the guy asked, sizing me up.
The girl leaned closer, eyeing me like a stray cat. "Aw, come on, Carl. He's just a kid. Let him go."
Carl scoffed. "He looks like he sleeps on a bed of gold, Dala. I bet he's got a fat wallet to match."
Dala rested her head on Carl's shoulder, giving me a sleazy smile and whispering seductively, "He's cute... but a little too young for me."
Carl chuckled darkly. "Don't worry, sis. I've got something that'll turn him into a stallion for you. Right, kid? You ready to be a man tonight?"
I stayed silent. Fear crept in, but not enough to dull my disgust.
Dala giggled, tracing circles on my chest with her finger. "He's cute. Look at him tremble. Like a puppy."
I shoved her hand off me and spoke coldly, clearly "Sorry, I don't like whores."
Carl slammed his hand beside my head, his jaw tightening. "Who the hell are you calling a whore?"
I looked him in the eye. "I wasn't talking to you."
Dala burst out laughing. "Bro chill, getting worked up isn't good for your health. he's not wrong by the way. Should I call Ralph? Maybe he'll like this one."
Carl gave a nod.
She blew me a kiss and vanished into a building across the Alley.
How pathetic. Surrounded by men who aren't even related to her, like some low-budget goddess of desire. As if her revealing outfit would arouse me. Trash belongs in the bin.
People lose themselves for money. For status. For power. When the soul is for sale, nothing's sacred. Money's the sweetest poison. A mirror that shows you people true colors.
Ralph showed up moments later. Tall, bald, dark-skinned, and built like a tank, with a gold watch glinting on his wrist. He was the kind of man history once feared and enslaved.
"What's going on here?" he asked, eyeing me.
Carl growled, "This little punk won't hand over the goods."
Ralph cracked his knuckles and stepped closer, his breath reeking of fish. "Give us your stuff, quietly. Or you'll regret it."
I looked at both of them, calm. "Tell me something. If you take my money, what do I get in return?"
Ralph laughed. "Nothing. This isn't a win win deal. We're robbing you."
I smiled. "Isn't it bad? to gain money without effort. Doesn't that make money worthless?"
Carl frowned. Ralph blinked. I kept going.
"Do you feel proud doing this? Satisfied? Happy? Or your conscience does bother you? Really, what will your dead feel after seeing you steal a weak boy like me?"
Carl flicked my forehead. "Enough games. Give us the cash."
I shrugged. "You want the money? Fine. But what if I told you there's a game that could triple it?"
They hesitated.
"A simple guessing game," I explained. "We each play five rounds. one of you guess numbers between 1 and 10 against me. and the other will be the arbiter. Wining or losing? The whole money will yours in the two cases"
Carl narrowed his eyes. "What? Are you serious?"
I smiled the innocent sheep smile "Of course, you can stop stealing in the traditional way and deceiving people with this game."
The two fools looked at each other with a glimpse of hesitation in their eyes.
Ralph opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted as I said, "It's a child's game, you just have to convince the fool in front of you that he will win 90%. Essentially, your victory in the game comes after you convince someone to play the game with you; then congratulations on stealing him with his smile on his smile in a game you are the winner before it even starts."
Ralph looked at Karl with an expression of uncertainty, and Karl sighed and said, "You're not deceiving us, are you?"
I also sighed and calmly said, "Do I look like I'm trying to deceive you?"
Ralph placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Maybe he's just trying to help us, then he will beg us to let him go, and even if he wanted to escape, he wouldn't get away from us."
Karl confidently looked at Ralph and then at me for a few seconds, then said in surrender, "Okay, show us your game then, kid."
I clapped my hands together and said with a wide smile "Let's start, choose the arbiter between you and the player who will play against me. The basis of the game is that when I win a point, the point goes to the arbiter, while if I lose, the point goes to the player against me, and each point has a certain monetary value."
Karl held his chin, looking down at the ground with a distant, complicated gaze. No matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't find what he was looking for.
In the end, Karl gave Ralph a look of surrender. "I will play against him; you be the arbiter, that way I'll be sure everything is alright."
Ralph let out a light laugh, "Alright, king of gambling."
I looked at them and clapped gently, which surprised them. I said with a faint smile, "I'm sorry but I forgot to mention three important rules in the game. One, if someone loses four rounds but wins the last, he wins the whole pot. Two, no repeating previously guessed numbers. Three, any interference means an automatic draw. I kave 100 dollars right now on my pockets, so give me 100 dollars too please"
karl smirked. "Alright, alright."
Ralph nodded. "Let's play."
An important thing, will Ralph be a fair judge?
Considering his relationship with his friend, it seems that Karl is the controlling one in their relationship; the decisions are his, and the voice is his. It doesn't necessarily to control someone by force, it's enough and easier to control other by making them automatically submit to your great aura.
Humans love to walk in a herd, they fear individuality and social isolation, and because of that fear, they will appoint a leader to follow, a leader who makes them feel safe, makes them feel that they are not alone, and they will maintain this feeling by automatically following their leader and their herd.
On the other hand, ralph seems more eager than Karl, which means he really wants to learn the secret of stealing people's money, indicating he is greedy. This sweet sin may lead him to betray those closest to him, and in Ralph's case, he is in a worse state.
After considering both hypotheses, we find that Ralph will try to satisfy his desires and his conscience; Ralph will be a fair arbiter.
The game began.
Karl hid his fingers, 'five' finegrs opened. I guessed 'one'. wrong. 60 dollars to Karl.
My turn. I flashed 'seven' fingers. Karl guessed 'nine'. wrong. 60 dollars to Ralph.
Third round. Karl showed 'six'. I guessed 'two'. Wrong again. Another 60 dollars to Karl.
Dala had returned, leaning against a wall, eyes on me.
They noticed Dala, and a more serious faces appaered on their useless heads.
In a confrontation between males with a spectator female, male pride will rise, and each will become desperate to win to impress the girl. At that moment, friends will be insulted, wives will be betrayed, and all that will occupy the man's mind is that female, whether he sees her applauding him or laughing at him.
And here? We have Ralph puffing out his chest in front of his friend's sister, while Karl tries to muster what little strength he has left to push his friend's chest and defend his image in front of his sister. How enjoyable it is to be surrounded by idiots.
Fourth round. my 'four' fingers hidden, Karl guessed 'six', a number he already used.
I said, with a look of surprise occupying my face, "six? You've formed that number before, and now you've used it again."
Ralph shook his head in response, "That's right... the boy is correct... what does that mean?"
I said with a serious look, "30 dollars will be deducted from Karl, and the arbiter will win 60 dollars since your friend guessed wrong and lost this round."
Ralph laughed, wrapped his arm around Karl, and leaned on him while Karl tried to move away, "So are you saying I won $90 in this round?"
I said to Ralph, with a forced smile on my face, "No... whoever wins the next round between you two will win $90... which means either Karl will regain $30 defending his honor as the king of gambling and win an additional $60, bringing his total to $180 and yours to $120... or Karl loses and remains with his $90 while you will have $210... meaning Karl will lose $10 from the initial amount he participated with, which will become yours."
A look of understanding appeared on Ralph's face while Karl protested immediately, his expression filled with disbelief and rejection, "What?! How is that possible?! How did this turn against me?!"
I said in a serious tone while pointing my finger at Ralph, "Don't ask me... Ask your friend... he's the arbiter."
What a beautiful scene..
Fifth round. The tension was thick. I pulled an old trick—looked toward the alley's exit suddenly.
"What?" Carl asked, glancing behind him.
"Just a cat," I said, the I added in a cold tone "Oh, the arbiter looked far away, this means the game lacks fairness, which means the end of the table is a draw. You did it in propose?"
Karl looked at his friend with a deadly sharp gaze, but that was not all.
Dala frowned. "This is stupid. All these maths end up a draw? Also, why did you choose the number eight bro? You know it's an unlucky in our family."
"Exactly," I said. "A non-player interfered. The fifth round ended with a draw, means the game's over."
Karl exploded. "What?! Fuck you both, fools; whoever relies on you sleeps hungry."
I looked seriously at Dala and said, "We could have overlooked the disruption that happened if the other players had been in agreement.. but the game doesn't end until all the winning parties have received their winnings.. so after that girl's intervention, the last round ended in a draw and that's the end of the game."
After a person exhausts all their nerves with tension, that tension turns into anger, and with a small dash of pride, it transforms into blame directed at others as a way to escape the feeling of inadequacy caused by failure and loss.. Lose your dignity with everyone except yourself.
Karl kicked an empty box on the ground and shouted angrily, "Damn you, Ralph.. Couldn't you make me win?! I lost because of you and that idiot!"
Dala looked at her brother with a fierce look that carried her feeling of provocation and said in a tone of annoyance and superiority, "What's it to me? Don't stick your failure on me, you fool."
Then she entered the building after tossing her hair back with her hand as an expression of anger and discontent.
Ralph realized what Karl had said earlier, so he placed his hand over his chest defensively and said in a voice closer to shouting, "What do you mean by making you win? And me? I paid 100 dollars from my pocket, Karl.. Enough with your greed!"
Karl replied, and the flames of rage consumed his eyes, "That's not important because I was going to win, then we would share the money, you fool!"
Ralph sighed and said, "I hadn't thought of it that way... and if the money is what matters, then why the anger and shouting? We both won money, so we'll get back what we had and then share the rest between us."
Karl's pride weakened, then he looked down and let out an audible sigh before raising his eyes and said, "I am the fool who relied on you, Ralph, and allowed that crazy woman to be with us... Now let's split the money."
Ralph searched his pockets and asked, "Speaking of which... I really didn't realize this game and how we can deceiving fools.... Also, the money isn't with me... is it with you?"
Karl replied, surprised, "Wait... you don't have the money? You're the arbiter; the money should be with you, you fool! Don't tell me you lost it!... Or wait a moment... we gave it to him."
Ralph looked from his pockets at Karl, questioning, "Who do you mean by Him?"
I stood at the end of the alley, holding the 300 dollars and said with a light laugh, "Greed has tempted you and blinded you with false confidence, humans... That girl's impatience, that big guy's selfishness, and the king of gambling arrogance, are what led to the tie, which means my win!"
Karl replied, bewildered and angry, "What does the tie mean, huh? What do you mean by all this?"
I said with a wide smile, sarcastically, "If you score a point, you'll have 60 dollars... If I score a point, the arbiter will have 60 dollars... If the round ends in a tie between us, I will take the 60 dollars... And since I've lost the first four rounds and won the fifth round, that means I am the winner of the whole game... This means I've stolen your money without needing to threaten you, which is entirely legitimate for me... This is my game, winning before the game ever started"
Karl yelled as he clenched his fists, anger and hatred flooding his eyes, "But you didn't tell us that you could win!"
Seeing their childlike fury, I put my hands on my face and smiled arrogantly and mockingly while looking at them through the gap between my fingers. "Oh, do you really care if others win?... What a kind-hearted person you are, and what a sportsman's spirit... I thought all you cared about was yourself? Or am I perhaps right about that?"
Karl shouted loudly and charged towards me, "I'll kill you, son of bitch!"