Guilty Money | Teen Ink

Guilty Money

March 4, 2015
By Izinagi-no-Okami BRONZE, Miami Springs, Florida
Izinagi-no-Okami BRONZE, Miami Springs, Florida
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

It is the morning of May 20th, 2016. Normally, at this time, you would wake up, make breakfast, brush your teeth, take a shower, and then get in your car to drive to school. For the past month, you have been doing all of those things except going to school. The reason why is because some dumb seniors thought it would be hilarious if they screwed around with chemicals in the science lab. Actually, it was pretty funny when they ended up blowing up, except for the part when one girl got her face burned off. That was freaking hysterical. Oh, yeah, you are also a bit of a sociopath, but you had no involvement with the chemical explosion at all. That’s what you told the police anyway, because it’s true, you didn’t have anything to do with the chemical explosion. You were just one of the few people who were laughing. So, why aren’t you going to school then? Oh right, there was a second explosion that caused the school to catch on fire, and burn it to the ground. As it turns out, dangerous chemicals that can explode...well...explode. Thankfully, no one got seriously hurt with the exception of that girl who got her face burned off.
    The funny thing is that, after the burning of the school, many students, including you, went out to eat at the best place you can find that was nearby: Arby’s. Because Arby’s was the closest place, you figured out then that if there is a sort of divine spirit, it hates you. Seriously, Arby’s?
    “Please show me pity, divine lord,” you thought to yourself at the time.
    At least the worst has past, and you have until whenever to do whatever you want! Yay. It’s not like you are going to go to college. You have your entire life planned out ahead of you. As the heir to billions of dollars that your dying old grandfather who better freaking croak soon inexplicably has (you don’t have parents, because of course you don’t), you can expect to have a life of leisure! You don’t need to go to school to be successful! You already are. School might as well be cancelled forever for you! Yeah, that sounds just about right. The phrase plays in your head again, and you smile. You can go anywhere in the world, get the best tech, or, hell, amass an army of mercenaries and conquer the country of Zimbabwe! Yes, Zimbabwe really is the first country to come to mind.
    You cast the idea of being a dictator out of your mind. It’s too risky, and plus, really? Being any form of leader requires work. You don’t want to work. You just want to let loose and have fun! You can start a family when you are in your mid-thirties.
    You can only imagine the sorts of adventures that you will go on. Maybe the first place you will visit is Zimbabwe. What’s with you and that country?
    Your phone calls your attention by ringing its little life away. You ask yourself if your grandfather has finally died.
“Please, say that he is dead!” you shout to yourself before picking up the phone.
“Hello?” You ask with a hint of nervousness.
“Ah, [insert your name], how are you doing today?” It’s your grandfather. You remember that he calls at bizarre times like this.
“I’m fine. It’s still really surreal that I finished high school with the strangest event possible,” you answer honestly. It’s true that you have felt strange, but not in the way where you are sick.
“I guess that is understandable. I remember that my high school years were rather unremarkable. Then again, my teachers used to say that I was remarkable in the sense that I was never caught doing anything. Of course, I never did do anything bad.” You can’t be sure if he is telling the truth, or not.
“So, Grandpa, how are you holding up?” You hope that he says that he will die really soon.
“Not too well. Today might be my last day. Worry not, as I have already written out my will. You have always been a good [insert your gender], and I am sure that you will lead a life of virtue and success after I die. Well, I hope so at least,” he speaks very hoarsely. You admit to yourself that you feel really bad for your grandfather. He continues to speak, “I know that you are waiting for me to pass on so that you can collect your inheritance, and as my sole heir, I can only bequeath my money to you.” Your grandfather only says this because he doesn’t trust charities. All of his charity work came from directly helping out people himself. He continues on even more, “Just know this: while you may be going through a phase where you are greedy, I know that when you actually get this money, you will put it to good use. After we hang up, check your bank account.”
You are speechless. Not only are you shocked, but you have trouble holding in your tears. You then remember something that he told you when you were younger. He said, “All humans are inherently greedy in one way or another, but it’s the ones who manage to suppress their greed who come out as the good people.”
You remember thinking to yourself at the time, “Really Einstein? You didn’t think I knew that?”
Now, when you think about it, the same phrase comes up in your head, but with a hint of somberness and nostalgia.

After you hang up with your grandfather, you carry out his wish, and rush to an ATM. Once you reached one that was not in use, you put in your debit card, punch in your pin number, and with the tears finally rolling down your cheeks, read, “You currently have $10,000,004,763 in your account.”
You finally got your money. School really is cancelled forever for you, isn’t it?


The author's comments:

I wrote this piece as a school project to help me experiment with how I write my stories.


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