I wait. There is no clock on the computer or in the room. The only thing I can see are the live streams that I’m able to click on.

I get up, and begin pacing back and forth in the small room, occasionally glancing toward the window and the unchanging black sky.

Then, a sound from the computer catches my attention. I sit down. Tim is now home, looking at something on his phone. I figured out I can move the ‘camera’ angle by moving the mouse. I see he’s watching the live stream of the lottery drawing.

I hope this works.

“Tim put that phone down. You know the odds of winning are slim to none.” Oh no, Marcus is there. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? My palms begin to sweat; I quickly wipe them dry on my jeans. I may be regretting my decision.

I look over Tim’s shoulder as the numbers start coming up. After the first number, I notice Tim’s posture change. The next number appears, and he goes very still—the third number and then the fourth. His shoulders drop when the fifth number comes up. He sits back in his chair.

“Come on, Tim, figure it out,” I whisper.

Tim stands, putting his phone in his back pocket. I let out a breath. I see Marcus talking to someone whom I don’t recognize. My plan isn’t working. But suddenly, Tim sits back down, pulls his phone out, and goes to the lottery website. I see Tim sit straight up in his chair.

Tim didn’t win the jackpot, but he did win $200,000 for four winning numbers.

I wonder what he’s going to do now.

“Tim quit staring at that phone and get over here,” Marcus calls. Tim doesn’t move, and Marcus stomps over, “What’s...”

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“I just won $200,000,” Tim says in a whisper. Marcus freezes. Then Tim looks up at him with a big smile on his face and shouts in jubilation, “I just won $200,000.”

He stands up and pushes past Marcus, hugging the girl behind him. Marcus stares after him in shocked disbelief.

“Congratulations, Tim!” says the girl, and Tim turns back to Marcus. “Hey man, what do you think? I can go to college.” This breaks Marcus out of his trance.

“That’s great.” But Marcus doesn’t sound sincere.

A smile comes over my face. My plan worked. The only thing I could think of to get back at Marcus was someone else getting what he so badly wanted.

I sit back in my chair. Although this doesn’t get me out of this bizarre dark room, seeing Tim win the lottery at least makes me feel a little better. I start to stand up but stop.

Marcus whips around to face Tim. “You know you could share that money.” I freeze, sitting back down. I guess the show isn’t over yet. I see Tim frowning.

“What are you talking about? College is expensive. Life is expensive; you know that. This money isn’t enough to retire on.” Marcus curls his hands into fists.

“After everything we’ve been through, you want to hoard money that wouldn’t just change your life but your best friend’s, too?” I hear the anger in Marcus’s voice, and I feel my anxiety rising.

Tim shrugs, “I won, you didn’t.” in a matter-of-fact voice. Marcus approaches Tim.

“Well, you can’t collect that money without the ticket. Where’s the ticket?” Marcus shoves his hands in Tim’s pockets. With a hefty shove from Tim, Marcus falls to the ground.

“Get a hold of yourself.” Tim turns his back on Marcus, and something changes in Marcus’s eyes. He quickly gets to his feet, pulls a small handgun out of his back pocket, and points it at Tim.

“I’ll take that ticket by force if I have to.” Before Tim can turn around, Marcus pulls the trigger and shoots five times. The girl screams. Tim slowly falls to the floor.

“What have you done, Marcus?” the girl cries. Marcus doesn’t look at her but goes straight to Tim’s body and starts rooting through his pockets.

He pulls out the lottery ticket and whispers something in his friend’s ear before bolting out the front door.

The girl is crying. She tries to push Tim onto his side but can’t; he’s too heavy. The screen starts to go fuzzy, and the last thing I see is the girl pulling out her phone to dial 911.

The screen goes black. It was only then that I realized tears were streaming down my face.

I try to bring the image back up, but I can’t. I guess I’m only allowed to see the outcomes of someone winning the lottery, and it breaks my heart to see Tim’s.