Outside Bets
As the five children standing around the homemade roulette table placed sweet treats down on the construction paper betting layout, Sam smiled to himself because he figured he’d be getting most of that candy. One of his friends had bet on evens, the rest took way long shots.
A crow awwked and Sam looked up. He binoculared his hands to keep the sun from his eyes. That bird again, thought Sam. Thing follows my wheel around the neighborhood.
Now he spun the wobbly hubcap and dropped the red gumball and it skipped and clicked while Sam’s buddies watched with greedy hands. Sam snuck a look at them and thought the house always wins.
The wheel slowed and the gumball tired. Sam licked his lips. But just as the gumball took its last hop, the crow swooped down in a wild flutter and snatched it up just like it did last weekend.
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Thanks again to Susie for inspiring me to try my hand at this stuff (150-word flash fiction). It’s pretty hard, actually, but fun.
