The Joker's Hand | Teen Ink

The Joker's Hand

May 15, 2012
By AlexaNW PLATINUM, Ponte Vedra Bch, Florida
AlexaNW PLATINUM, Ponte Vedra Bch, Florida
34 articles 0 photos 5 comments

Life is a poker game. It can begin with all face cards, but a single flip of a card can change everything. We're going to focus on a specific player. We will call him Kevin. You could say Kevin is almost a "high roller." He was a rather handsome man. His health was in perfect condition and so was his life. He was a banker, buy he looked like a CEO. his hair was always cut perfect, his face baby smooth, and his suits pressed with the sharpest creases.


It was late fall of 1960 when Kevin walked into work one day, intrigued at the abnormal amount of clouds in the sky. He was not a superstitious man so he thought nothing of it. When he opened the door to his office, he noticed the note neatly placed on his desk.


"Meet me in my office.







-Boss"


Kevin almost jumped out of his skin with pride. The only time his boss ever needed to see him was to congratulate him on a promotion.


"Hmmmmm...I don't need anymore money, but like I always say, the more the merrier." He spoke in an arrogant tone. As he strode to his superior's office, in his head he was practicing his thank you. As he opened the door he suddenly felt a heavy atmosphere hit him. His boss's face showed no signs of happiness, only disappointment.


"You wanted to see me sir?" he asked like a small child.


"Yes. I'm sorry to say, but I'm demoting you and cutting your wages." His voice shook.


Kevin just stood there in awe as his jaw hung open like a freshly skinned cow. He was told his numbers weren't holding up to par and that he would be moved to a small cubicle on the lower floor. His heart sank. His coworkers watch in amazement as he moved his stuff to their new home.


On his drive home he couldn't look in the rear view mirrors, because he couldn't look himself in the eye. The clouds had turned gray and started to precipitate, worsening by the minute. As he pulled in his driveway, Kevin saw water leaking from his front door. He burst from his car and was ambushed by a wall of water trying to get in the house. He called the local service and they told him that animals had chewed through his roof and when the heavy rain came it flooded the house. They also said that the house was no longer stable and that it would have to be rebuilt.


Doing all he knew what to do, he gather what clothes were left and stayed at a hotel. Some water pipes were leaking so the showers and laundry didn't work. Kevin soon became exhausted and went to bed. Over the next few weeks this became harder as his status at work income gradually decreased until he was laid off. On that day when he returned to his hotel room, he lost it and cried waterfalls. He looked down at his hands and saw nothing but failure. Kevin cried and cried until he eventually drowned in his own sorrows.


He was handed a bad hand and just like in every casino, the deck is in the dealer's favor.



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