Post by Feather on Mar 7, 2009 22:23:53 GMT -7
I had to write this for my creative writing class last year. It's called Gullible.
“There’s no way anyone will ever believe those are worth two hundred dollars.”
Jack looked up from what he was doing; changing a watch price tag so instead of reading $20 it read $200. The women in front of him looked around nervously, shifting uncomfortably and occasionally brushing her dark brown hair out of her eyes. He sighed impatiently, reminding himself that this was her first time. Car alarms were sounding a few lots over, and the traffic noises practically devoured her words. These were common noises in Chicago.
“You give them too much credit, Janet. People are gullible. They will believe whatever we tell them.” He assured her with a smile.
“But what if we get caught?!? We could get in a lot of trouble, Jack.” Janet’s words cracked with distress. Her eyes were beginning to water from a combination of nervous fear and pollution.
“Hey, come on!” Jack gave her a caring smile. “Everything will be okay! Don’t you trust me?”
“Of course!” she answered instantly. “I’ve trusted you since the moment we met.” Jack’s eyes were distant. He too remembered that day. The memory was sharp in his mind. He couldn’t help but go back to that moment…
“Excuse me miss,” Jack said politely. His eyes shone with confidence and he held a drink in his hand. “I noticed your drink was getting low, so I thought I’d take the liberty of getting you another.” His smile was alluring. He was at the top of his game tonight.
“Thank you.” replied the woman, taken in by his charm and good looks, enchanting green eyes and blond hair. “Please, sit!” He took his seat beside her and winked at the bartender, hinting for privacy. The bartender took the hint and moved down the counter to serve some more customers.
“My name’s Jack.”
“Janet.” She couldn’t help but smile as she stated her name. She brushed some dark hair out of her sapphire eyes.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance.” He said with smoldering eyes.
“So what do you do for a living?” Janet asked, completely entranced by his gaze.
“Oh, just some business mumbo-jumbo that even I barely understand. May I enquire as to your profession?” His voice was as smooth as honey. He had her.
“Oh, I’m just an accountant.” She said blushing. “Nothing too exciting I’m afraid.” Then she leaned closer, “I could go for some excitement actually. Maybe a movie or something?”
“That I can do.” Said Jack with a smile. “Let me pay our good bartender over there, and then we can leave.” He reached for his wallet. As he did so, a large wad of cash fell out of his pocket. He pretended to wince at his “mistake”.
Janet gasped in astonishment. She picked it up and leafed through each bill. The wad was mainly compiled of twenties, and a lot of them.
“Is it real?” Jack nodded.
“Every bill.”
“What business are you in exactly?” she asked hesitantly.
“I’m a con man. I move around, scamming people. I just moved from San Diego actually. But now I’m going to have to move back, or go somewhere else…” he trailed off, eyeing the wad in her hand.
“You don’t have to.” Janet replied. “I won’t bust you.” Jack breathed a sigh of relief. Before he could open his mouth, she added, “but I want in.” He blinked in fake confusion. This was going better than planned.
“In on what?”
“Scamming people.” She replied. “I want you to teach me everything. I want to be apart of your con.”
You will be, Jack thought.
“Alright, you’ve got a deal! We start tomorrow. After the excitement I promised…
“Hey man, wanna buy a watch?” Jack casually asked two guys, flashing the watches out of the gas station’s camera’s sight. “Only two hundred dollars.”
“Two hundred bucks for that piece of crap?” a young blond asked. “No way man!!”
“Come on! This is a real bargain!” Jack insisted. “They’re top of the line.
“No way dude.”
“Excuse me,” it was Janet. “May I see one of those?” Jack handed her one of the watches. “this is the perfect watch! The one my boyfriend’s been dying to get! But it’s so expensive in stores! At least four hundred dollars!!!” she exclaimed excitedly. She fished out ten twenties. “I’ll take it!”
“Thank you for your business.” Jack replied with a smile. She winks and walks away. “Well, if you fellows aren’t interested-”
“Hold on a sec! I’ll take one of those!!”
“Yeah, me too, they’re a real bargain!!” Jack smirked as the two young men forked out their money. Everything was going as planned…
The phone rang. Jack’s eyes shot open, and he sat up in his bed. Glaring, he picked up the phone.
“Yeah, what!?” he asked, still pissed.
“Where’s my money?” a deep voice said, causing Jack to shudder.
“Hey boss.” Jack instantly regretted in rough tone. “Don’t worry, you’ll get it soon enough.”
“When are you gonna get it?”
“Take it easy!!!” Jack said. “I just need to find a new sucker.”
“I think I have a good target.” The deep voice said. “She’s an accountant, but her boyfriend is the son of a wealthy business man. He’s incredibly rich!! Get close to her and scam her boyfriend.”
Jack picked up a pen and paper. “Got a name and city? Hopefully somewhere close by…”
“I’m tired of doing this.” Janet said one day. “We keep doing the same cons over and over. We’ve pulled the watch scam at least ten times.”
“Hey, those scams have made us some good money!” Jack protested.
“But they’re boring.” She complained.
“Well, what do you want to do?” This was exactly what he had been waiting for!
“I wanna do something big.”
“Okay. I think I have an idea…it’ll involve your boyfriend though.”
“What the con?”
“We convince your boy to invest in our fake business. Make him think it’ll make him even richer. Then we take off with this investment.”
“Will it work?” Janet asked.
“I think so.” Jack stated firmly.
“Okay, let’s do it then.”
“I’m confused Janet. How will this make me richer?”
“I’ve already told you Dave. Jack business is already a success, but he hasn’t sold any stock yet. So you can buy a lot of shares for dirt cheap, and reap the benefits.” Janet’s voice was convincingly good. “With your investment money, he can make is business the most popular thing since Wal-mart.” Dave scratched his head, still unsure.
“What’s the motivation?” Jack opened his brief case. Dave’s eyes widened and he gasped greedily.
“So we got a deal?” Jack prompted.
“Cash or check?”
“You were brilliant!” Janet exclaimed.
“Not as brilliant as you!” Jack said. “The fake hundreds was a great idea.”
“Well, I learned from the best!”
“Why don’t you wait at the room, and I’ll go cash this beautiful check. Then we can celebrate!!” Jack offered.
“Sounds perfect.” She said excitedly. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and smiled as he made his way out the door.
As Jack neared the border of Illinois, he couldn’t help feeling the regret of not staying. He liked her a lot, possibly even slightly bordering on love. However, money is everything.
Gullible
“There’s no way anyone will ever believe those are worth two hundred dollars.”
Jack looked up from what he was doing; changing a watch price tag so instead of reading $20 it read $200. The women in front of him looked around nervously, shifting uncomfortably and occasionally brushing her dark brown hair out of her eyes. He sighed impatiently, reminding himself that this was her first time. Car alarms were sounding a few lots over, and the traffic noises practically devoured her words. These were common noises in Chicago.
“You give them too much credit, Janet. People are gullible. They will believe whatever we tell them.” He assured her with a smile.
“But what if we get caught?!? We could get in a lot of trouble, Jack.” Janet’s words cracked with distress. Her eyes were beginning to water from a combination of nervous fear and pollution.
“Hey, come on!” Jack gave her a caring smile. “Everything will be okay! Don’t you trust me?”
“Of course!” she answered instantly. “I’ve trusted you since the moment we met.” Jack’s eyes were distant. He too remembered that day. The memory was sharp in his mind. He couldn’t help but go back to that moment…
~*~
“Excuse me miss,” Jack said politely. His eyes shone with confidence and he held a drink in his hand. “I noticed your drink was getting low, so I thought I’d take the liberty of getting you another.” His smile was alluring. He was at the top of his game tonight.
“Thank you.” replied the woman, taken in by his charm and good looks, enchanting green eyes and blond hair. “Please, sit!” He took his seat beside her and winked at the bartender, hinting for privacy. The bartender took the hint and moved down the counter to serve some more customers.
“My name’s Jack.”
“Janet.” She couldn’t help but smile as she stated her name. She brushed some dark hair out of her sapphire eyes.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance.” He said with smoldering eyes.
“So what do you do for a living?” Janet asked, completely entranced by his gaze.
“Oh, just some business mumbo-jumbo that even I barely understand. May I enquire as to your profession?” His voice was as smooth as honey. He had her.
“Oh, I’m just an accountant.” She said blushing. “Nothing too exciting I’m afraid.” Then she leaned closer, “I could go for some excitement actually. Maybe a movie or something?”
“That I can do.” Said Jack with a smile. “Let me pay our good bartender over there, and then we can leave.” He reached for his wallet. As he did so, a large wad of cash fell out of his pocket. He pretended to wince at his “mistake”.
Janet gasped in astonishment. She picked it up and leafed through each bill. The wad was mainly compiled of twenties, and a lot of them.
“Is it real?” Jack nodded.
“Every bill.”
“What business are you in exactly?” she asked hesitantly.
“I’m a con man. I move around, scamming people. I just moved from San Diego actually. But now I’m going to have to move back, or go somewhere else…” he trailed off, eyeing the wad in her hand.
“You don’t have to.” Janet replied. “I won’t bust you.” Jack breathed a sigh of relief. Before he could open his mouth, she added, “but I want in.” He blinked in fake confusion. This was going better than planned.
“In on what?”
“Scamming people.” She replied. “I want you to teach me everything. I want to be apart of your con.”
You will be, Jack thought.
“Alright, you’ve got a deal! We start tomorrow. After the excitement I promised…
~*~
“Hey man, wanna buy a watch?” Jack casually asked two guys, flashing the watches out of the gas station’s camera’s sight. “Only two hundred dollars.”
“Two hundred bucks for that piece of crap?” a young blond asked. “No way man!!”
“Come on! This is a real bargain!” Jack insisted. “They’re top of the line.
“No way dude.”
“Excuse me,” it was Janet. “May I see one of those?” Jack handed her one of the watches. “this is the perfect watch! The one my boyfriend’s been dying to get! But it’s so expensive in stores! At least four hundred dollars!!!” she exclaimed excitedly. She fished out ten twenties. “I’ll take it!”
“Thank you for your business.” Jack replied with a smile. She winks and walks away. “Well, if you fellows aren’t interested-”
“Hold on a sec! I’ll take one of those!!”
“Yeah, me too, they’re a real bargain!!” Jack smirked as the two young men forked out their money. Everything was going as planned…
~*~
The phone rang. Jack’s eyes shot open, and he sat up in his bed. Glaring, he picked up the phone.
“Yeah, what!?” he asked, still pissed.
“Where’s my money?” a deep voice said, causing Jack to shudder.
“Hey boss.” Jack instantly regretted in rough tone. “Don’t worry, you’ll get it soon enough.”
“When are you gonna get it?”
“Take it easy!!!” Jack said. “I just need to find a new sucker.”
“I think I have a good target.” The deep voice said. “She’s an accountant, but her boyfriend is the son of a wealthy business man. He’s incredibly rich!! Get close to her and scam her boyfriend.”
Jack picked up a pen and paper. “Got a name and city? Hopefully somewhere close by…”
~*~
“I’m tired of doing this.” Janet said one day. “We keep doing the same cons over and over. We’ve pulled the watch scam at least ten times.”
“Hey, those scams have made us some good money!” Jack protested.
“But they’re boring.” She complained.
“Well, what do you want to do?” This was exactly what he had been waiting for!
“I wanna do something big.”
“Okay. I think I have an idea…it’ll involve your boyfriend though.”
“What the con?”
“We convince your boy to invest in our fake business. Make him think it’ll make him even richer. Then we take off with this investment.”
“Will it work?” Janet asked.
“I think so.” Jack stated firmly.
“Okay, let’s do it then.”
~*~
“I’m confused Janet. How will this make me richer?”
“I’ve already told you Dave. Jack business is already a success, but he hasn’t sold any stock yet. So you can buy a lot of shares for dirt cheap, and reap the benefits.” Janet’s voice was convincingly good. “With your investment money, he can make is business the most popular thing since Wal-mart.” Dave scratched his head, still unsure.
“What’s the motivation?” Jack opened his brief case. Dave’s eyes widened and he gasped greedily.
“So we got a deal?” Jack prompted.
“Cash or check?”
~*~
“You were brilliant!” Janet exclaimed.
“Not as brilliant as you!” Jack said. “The fake hundreds was a great idea.”
“Well, I learned from the best!”
“Why don’t you wait at the room, and I’ll go cash this beautiful check. Then we can celebrate!!” Jack offered.
“Sounds perfect.” She said excitedly. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and smiled as he made his way out the door.
As Jack neared the border of Illinois, he couldn’t help feeling the regret of not staying. He liked her a lot, possibly even slightly bordering on love. However, money is everything.
