Page 9 of The Chemist

“Okay, if that’s your final guess.” Zero stepped forward and lifted the cup. The tiny white ball sat still, staring up at the cocky man declaring his victory over the simpleton cup man.

“Told you so. Now hand me my money.”

Saddened by his loss, Zero handed the man forty dollars.

“Hey, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Thanks for playin’, man.” Zero gave the man a wave as he walked off toward his wife.

“Told you that game was a cinch.”

Turning back to the eager crowd, he cheerfully asked who was next.

Two other players won, with a third failing to guess the correct cup. It was getting late and time to wrap up the game before the police stopped by and raided his gig. He didn’t exactly have a permit to be playing this little game out on the street. It was always a gamble. Some nights, he got caught and lost his earnings, and other nights, he made off with thousands of dollars.

He had played enough for tonight, and his take home was good enough.

“Okay, folks, it’s time to wrap up this gig. Thanks for playing, and I hope to see you out again tomorrow night!”

He was just about to start collecting his cups when a young girl, perhaps nine or ten, stepped up to the table and held out a twenty.

“Excuse me, sir, but can I give it a try?”

The tiny girl was so sweet and innocent-looking. Her big brown eyes were shy and bashful. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail with some red ribbon, no doubt saved from her mother’s sewing scraps.

Standing behind her, with a hand gently on the girl’s shoulder, was her mother. Her clothes were ratty and torn, and her hair was tied back in a messy bun.

Zero had seen families like these roaming about. Usually begging for money and trying to sell whatever homemade item they could to the tourists. It was folks like these who tugged at Zero’s heartstrings. They were the people who fell through the cracks of society, lost and abandoned. Not seen by those who had money and lives filled with busy schedules.

Glancing up at the young girl’s mother, Zero gave her a smile and a gentle nod.

“Sure thing, sweety. Do you know how to play the game?” Zero asked, bending down and looking at the girl eye to eye.

She nodded before placing her money down on the table.

“Well, it appears that we have another contender!” Zero shouted, standing up high and gathering as much attention as he could for the child. He wanted her to experience the laughter and joy of winning a game that was rigged from the beginning.

The young girl smiled, giving a jump as she waited for the game to begin.

Zero placed the ball under the center cup, then began moving the cups at a much slower speed than the games prior. Hey, she was a little girl, and he wanted to make sure that she won the game.

All around them, people cheered on the little girl. He tried not to involve children whenever possible, but tonight, there was no escaping the little girl’s request.

Slowing to a stop, Zero took a step back and motioned his hands over the cup.

“Now, brave child, can you tell me which of these cups is hiding the ball?”

Without hesitation, the girl pointed at the cup to the left. Zero smiled.

Slowly, he raised the cup and gasped in surprise.

“You won!” he cheered, glancing up at her mother with a bright smile. “I can’t believe you beat me at my own game!” He pulled forty dollars from his stack of twenties and gave the little girl her winnings.

The look on her face was worth the twenty-dollar loss. At least the money would go to good use. Even with the last-minute loss, he still made quite a bit of cash these past few hours.

Twenty minutes later, he was all packed up and on his way home when he decided to make a stop at a pub and grab a quick pint.

Halfway through his beer, a man stopped at his booth and stared.

“That was a pretty good show you put on earlier this evening.”

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