"Step right up and claim your prize! If you can win this game, then you can win big!"
The man behind the stand set up a simple game, if you can guess the card he chose, you win the prize money. The catch was, the game was highly rigged. The more people that kept paying to lose, the more and more prize money was being stacked up.
"I want to try."
The crowd moved aside, then started to laugh at him.
"You're just a kid!" They mocked.
"Even if you did win, which you won't, you can't even get the money! You have to be an adult to use the bank!"
He slapped down a singular coin onto the counter. "This is all I have, but I was hoping I could try your game."
The man laughed. "You think you can gamble with the big boys? Oh, alright then." He shuffled the deck and held out a few. "Alright kiddo, I'm gonna pick a card now."
He watched the man pick a card and examine it. He paid careful attention to where he replaced it. The man then combined the piles and shuffled them again. He still kept careful watch on the card. The man held them out again.
"Alright, kiddo. Where's my card at, huh?"
He pointed at one. "It is that one. I know it."
He pulled it out, looked at it, and flipped it over. "Sorry, kid!" He grabbed the card right next to it. "This one was my card."
It was the Queen of Diamonds.
"But...I watched it."
"Sorry kid! You're just as bad as everybody else who's tried this. Maybe if you got some money, you can try again."
A lady nudged him from behind. "Yeah, run along and play."
He walked off, then went down a path and popped up behind the stand. He tiptoed to the chest and began picking the lock as the man loudly proclaimed to the foolish people about how they could win the game. He quickly opened the chest when the man turned around.
"You dumb brat!"
He tried to run, but the man grabbed him by the wrist.
"You know what happens when people steal, right? Imagine your punishment."
He kicked the man in the face and ran when he dropped him. He went back to his hideaway and huddled into the darkness of the corner as the man ran past.
"I do not want to be a thief anymore...I just want money to get out of here."
He looked around, tears in his eyes.
"Grambi, if you exist...Please help me get out of here. I do not want to be a criminal." He sniffled and wiped the tears off his face.
"Today we celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of Jumpman's heroic action of saving our beloved Mayor, Pauline."
He poked his head out the alleyway and started walking towards the screen.
"He's now known as a savior. Today, we've come to finally pay him for his rightful deed."
The screen cut from a man in a suit to another man with a red turtleneck sweater and dusty blue overalls.
"How do you react to this sudden donation?"
The man in red laughed. "I will use it in my retirement, no doubt! It's about time Remy took over the family business!"
"Heroic act?" He stopped walking. "And you get...money from it?"
"What do you want to tell your viewers, Jumpman?" The man asked.
Jumpman smiled at the screen. "You can be a hero too! Even if it's something small, like helping somebody cross the street. You don't need to do big things to be a hero. If you believe in yourself, anything is possible."
"Even if it is...something small?" He took one more step.
"Kid, look out! Move!"
"Huh?" He turned around, then looked to his right.
A green truck was charging right at him. A firm hand grabbed his chest and shoved him backwards. A loud crunch sounded as the truck continued speeding off.
He slowly opened his eyes to people screaming and shouting. His foot touched something wet. He looked at it.
It was blood.
He looked down a bit more and saw an arm, hand clenching tightly to his stolen olive jacket. He began breathing quickly, feeling sick and lightheaded. A woman hurried over to him as he tried to pry the arm off his chest.
"Are you okay? I saw what happened and I wanted to make sure you were okay!"
He tore it off, tearing his jacket in the process, and tossed it into the road. He backed away from the woman, panicking.
"Hey, hey...It's okay. If you need to cry, I'm here for you."
"St-stay away from me! I did this! It was me!"
"No, no! It's not your fault! The bus driver had apparently been controlled. You can't do that. You can't use magic, you're just a kid."
"Stay away! J-just stay away!"
Something appeared in front of him. It was black and purple, and it seemed to be calling out to him. The woman flinched away. He stood up and looked around. Nobody else noticed him. He saw no other option and walked into the beckoning call of the portal.