Chuck's breath caught in his throat suddenly as he stared at the small slip of paper he had in a white-knuckle grip in his hand. He blinked quickly, squinted at the paper, and shook his head as he realized that it was indeed true. Stumbling back to the counter he'd been standing in front of, he numbly put the paper on the hard surface and slid it across the counter, almost not wanting to touch it.
"Um…" his voice cracked and he cleared his throat quickly. "Excuse me…"
A rather irritated looking young woman with a nose ring turned around and gave him a sharp look. "Yeah?" she snapped, planting a hand on her hip.
"I won…" Chuck muttered weakly, glancing down at the lottery ticket in front of him. Three glittery jackpots dotted the game space, each twinkling under the harsh, florescent lights of the convenience store. Below them, a small space that outlined the prize amount was scratched away, revealing the numbers: $100,000.
The clerk studied the ticket carefully and stared at him wide-eyed. "Take it next door to the bank." She mumbled, not quite believing what she saw. Before he left, she snapped a picture of Chuck and taped it to the window, taping another piece of paper beneath it that proclaimed him a winner, the prize amount and the date.
Chuck slipped into the bank and passed the teller the ticket, silently accepting the money that was passed to him. Staring at the deep green bills, the young man changed his mind and wrote a deposit slip, putting it back into his account and hiding the slip of paper he received the documented the transaction. One thing about being an asset to the government, don't let them know you have money.
OooooooooooooO
Work sped by in a blur, the customers, his co-workers; everything seemed to be in fast forward. A feeling of sudden excitement swelled inside of him and Chuck decided he would go Christmas shopping tonight. He knew exactly what to get and now that he had the money for it, tonight seemed to be the perfect night.
When the customers started to slow and the store began to empty, Chuck slipped into the game aisle and picked up a GameBoy for Morgan and a laptop for Captain Awesome. Making sure his best friend wasn't watching, Chuck quickly paid for the gifts and ducked outside to put them in his car.
He helped Lester switch the computers over to the other shift and waved goodbye to Morgan and Anna on his way out. Tucking his wallet into his pocket, Chuck started the car and headed off to the mall, a small yet satisfied smile resting on his face.
The stores were obscenely crowded, as was to be expected this time of year, and Chuck found himself being pushed and shoved into more stores than he actually intended to be inside. Still, despite the Christmas crowd, Chuck managed to find the watch Ellie had wanted for years, tucked away in the back corner of the jewelry store. He made the purchase quickly and left the store, attempting to avoid as many crowds as he could.
Chuck placed Ellie's watch in the backseat with the other gifts and started up the car from the passenger seat. Closing the door, he grabbed a newspaper from one of the machines and tucked it under his arm as he got back in the car, flipping through the pages until he came upon the one he was searching for. Smiling, he circled an ad and dropped the newspaper in the passenger seat, shifting the car into drive and pulling out of the parking lot. He made a quick stop by a spa on his way home and bought Sarah a gift certificate for a full day's worth of services, knowing she needed it more than she would admit.
Picking up his phone, Chuck dialed the number from the ad and listened carefully for the other line to pick up. After a few seconds, there was a soft click followed by a cough. "Hello?" a deep male voice answered.
"Uh, hi! My name is Chuck Bartowski. I was calling about your ad in the paper."
"Ah, I see." The man replied, sounding a little more interested in the conversation now. "Were you interested?"
"Yes, actually." Chuck answered quickly. "Would it be possible for me to come by tomorrow?"
"Sure." The man said, laughing lightly on the other line. "Come by tomorrow around noon." He gave Chuck directions along with another phone number he could use if he needed.
Thanking him, Chuck hung up and placed both his phone and the newspaper back in the seat, smiling happily as he pulled into his driveway.
Okay, I'm not entirely sure how the whole lottery ticket thing works becuase I've never won a huge amount of money with one so I just guessed. Aside from that, I hope you liked it! Let me know!!