Walking down the street, I was as bored as ever.  The only thing I had done today is buy an apple from the local market.  I was dressed simply because I wasn’t very wealthy, and I am very unhappy with that; I want to be rich!  I am a simple beggar that hopes something anything might go my way.  I live in a small, unfurnished apartment in the suburbs on the outer edges of New York.  I don’t even have my own bed to sleep in.  Everyday I have to walk the streets, begging for spare change or food.  Today, the wind whistles and everyone seems at ease.  It was an uneventful life, and everyday I woke up thinking something might change, or I might start enjoying life.  But today was different, today was special.  I don’t know why but something in my brain is tingling, telling me something was going to happen. 

I decide to take a different route than usual on the way to the subway, passing streets packed with cars and huge skyscrapers as high as you can see.  As I turn the corner, I begin window shopping, thinking of all the things I wish I could buy.  After I little while, I notice that many people are running past me, as if afraid.  I ran farther down the street, and realized that there was someone trying to rob the bank.  I am amazed and horrified as I think of how desperate or clever someone must be to try this.  Determined to see what really happened, I ran inside and found myself face-to-face with a man holding a gun.  I knew my situation was precarious, so I quickly raised my hands and told him that I had only come to see if I could get some of the money.  This was mostly true I thought, as I realized that this was a chance to get the money I so badly wanted!  While this could get me money I could also get arrested, or worse.  I considered all the possibilities and still can’t seem to make a decision.  Meanwhile, all of the man’s henchman were looting the bank, taking anything and everything of value.  Finally I made my decision and asked the man if I could join them. 
He accepted, and introduced himself as John.  He understood that I had struggled with my decision and told me that the worst thing that could happen was if we got arrested.  As soon as we had made our deal, I looked around and realized that I could get enough money to never work another day in my life.  It made me glad I had made this decision, and as I grew more confident I walked up and opened up the top drawer in the main desk, taking some of the money and stuffing it in my pockets.  As I reached down to grab another handful, I felt my hand hit something solid at the bottom of the drawer.  As soon as I did, an alarm went off alerting the police that we were here.  I heard John swear and all the henchman got up and ran out the door with all the money they could hold. 
I followed their example, stopping to pick up an expensive gold necklace on my way out.  I could just make out the silhouettes of John and his crew running down an empty alley, so I took off after them.  After I caught up, we spent another hour running until we reached an abandoned warehouse that looked like it was ready to collapse on itself.  When John saw my dismayed face, he told me that it was safer than it looked from the outside.  Every instinct in my body told me not to go inside, but I steeled myself and walked through the front doors.  As soon as I did, I realized that this was not just a rickety old building.  It was a secret hideout!  As everyone files in, John reaches over and engages about a dozen locks to protect anybody from getting in.  He explains to me that while this may be overkill, he’d rather be safe than sorry. 
We continue on through the building until we reach the dining room.  As we get there he has one of his henchman pull up an extra chair for me.  Then, many of servants came through a side door delivering us platters of food and extravagant drinks.  I lean over to John and ask him how he does all this, but all he replies is exclaiming how crime pays for everything.  This makes me uneasy, as this all seemed too easy, too good of a life to even imagine.  And then in the back of my mind I realized why.  I continued my conversation with John, and asked him whether he was wanted, or had ever been caught.  He hesitated, then admitted that while he lived a life of comfort inside, he rarely ventured outside for fear of being caught.  I was disappointed at this prospect, but this life was still better than anything I’d ever had. 
As we finished our dinner, John had one of his men show me to my room where I would spend the night.  It was a dusty old bedroom with only a bed and a closet, but I was still excited because at home I slept on the floor.  I gave my thanks and decided to turn in for the night.  But no matter how comfortable I got, I could not fall asleep.  At the back of my mind something was nagging, like I’d forgotten something.  As I lay awake all night I began to realize it was because I was discontent with my decision to join John and his men.  I knew in my mind I was doing the wrong thing, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t better for me.  I put some thought into it and came to the conclusion that men like John had to be kept behind bars and not able to harm the rest of us.  Through all of this, I decided to escape tomorrow and alert the authorities to where John was and what he had done.  As soon as I realized that I made peace with my decision and fell asleep. 
The next day I woke up with a feeling of foreboding, dreading what may go wrong over the course of the day.  My plan was to sneak off after lunch and alert the police before anyone realized that I was missing.  Of course, this depended on many different things and I might have to just wing it and go.  I get ready for the day and walk down to breakfast and meet John and one of his men in the dining room having a serious conversation.  I know I shouldn’t, but I wait just outside the doorway and eavesdrop on them.  They are speaking in hushed tones and I can barely make out what they are talking about.  As far as I can tell, they are explaining how they are going to split the money between the two of them and run away.  I realize that I need to leave now and alert the authorities, before they get a chance to sneak off.  Before I can walk quietly away, both of them walk out and see me.  They’ve got no reason to be suspicious so I act normally as they walk past me and back up the stairs to their rooms. 
As my heartbeat slows down again, I hurry in and wolf down my breakfast as fast as I can.  Then I hurry out the front door and sprint down the street, trying to get away as fast as possible.  As soon as I turn the corner I slow to a jog, not daring to stop if they found out I had left.  Soon after, I reach the police station and race inside and tell them what I know.  As I spill my guts, I begin to feel guilty that I even considered going along with John in the first place.  The officers act quickly and within 10 minutes 25 of them are dispatched to catch and arrest the group.  They tell me that I’m safe where I am and will be alerted when anything happens, so I doze off on a couch in their waiting room.
As soon as I wake up, I know that something is wrong.  As I try to sit up, I am restrained by handcuffs holding my hands and legs to a table.  That’s when an officer walks up to me and tells me to be calm.  Then he explains that when John had been captured, he had told the police that I had stolen also.  I feel relief as this confirms that they were captured, but also uneasy because I had done nothing wrong.  I sense of horror came over me as I realized I still had the handful of money from the bank.  They tell me that while I did the right thing, there were still consequences for my actions and that I would face 5-10 years in prison.  They escort me to my cell and introduce me to where I will spend the next decade of my life.  But I know I did the right thing and that lets me be at ease.gtd