The past year has been the hardest year of my life. Sure, I was created only about a year and a half ago, but I can guarantee you that this year will be the hardest of them all. I have not had a single day where I can just rest in my case. He’s always going to the races, every day for the past year. How did I get stuck with this man who loves horse races and has really bad eye sight? He sits in the tenth row, and he still needs binoculars to see. I also never understood why he went to horse races so often- they seemed pretty boring to me. Thankfully, he always gets loads of money from these races, so there’s still hope that he’ll buy someone else who’s better than me sometime soon. It’s unlikely, but there’s always hope.
Before and after every race, he and his friend always walk down the dirt hallways around the outside of the stadium. They discuss the horses, the bets they made or planning to make, and the racers. Their conversations are always so dull and redundant, so I can never fully focus on what they’re saying. One day, before the races, a small man that I recognized as one of the racers approached the two men in matching suits. He seemed agitated, and his restlessness was obvious.
“I can’t do this anymore, it’s so wrong,” the small man said when the three finally all met up. “I can’t keep on going like this.”
“Just relax,” said my owner coolly. “You’ve been doing this for a while now, there’s no need to back out now.” He was clearly annoyed with this man, for reasons I didn’t understand.
“No, no, I can’t, it’s wrong, people depend on me, people trust me,” the small man stammered, slowly backing into the stadium.
“Look,” said the other man in the brown suit sharply. “We need you. We trust you to keep throwing races. We depend on you to do whatever you can to make whoever we bet on win. We don’t care how you do it or how awful it may be, we just care if you do it. Don’t forget our deal.”
“When I was racing, I was pretty much exactly like you. I thought it was wrong, but the men who were in business with me were so confident and so dependent on me that I couldn’t say no, and look where that got me! I’m one of the richest men in the city! Do you want to be like that when you’re my age?” explained my owner.
“I do, I really do, but why don’t you just bet on me? I can win races; it makes more sense, just bet on me. We don’t have to cheat anymore, just bet on me,” the small man pleaded.
The two men in the brown suits sat in silence for a small amount of time before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. My owner almost dropped me since his hands shake furiously when he laughs. Another one of the reasons this year has been so hard.
The small man looked furious. He crossed his arms and looks up to the other man in the brown suit. “I’m not cheating anymore,” he stated firmly.
The other man looked down at the small man and simply said, “I don’t think you realize how much power we have over you. If you stop, we can break you apart while everyone else just turns their heads. You will continue to cheat and you will continue to listen to us, or you’ll never race again. Do you understand?”
The small man’s head dropped. “Do I still get 15%?”
“I’ll answer that question after I see Gibbs cross the finish line before anyone else today.”
The small man turned around and headed back towards the stadium without saying another word. The two men in the brown suits watched him go. “Good thing he’s so weak,” said my owner. “I thought he was seriously going to stop for a minute.”
“Don’t worry, he depends on us and the money we give him, and we depend on him and the money he gives us. It’s a deal you can’t possibly break.” The two men started laughing again, but thankfully not as hard as before.
I really need to start paying attention to these conversations they have.
Before and after every race, he and his friend always walk down the dirt hallways around the outside of the stadium. They discuss the horses, the bets they made or planning to make, and the racers. Their conversations are always so dull and redundant, so I can never fully focus on what they’re saying. One day, before the races, a small man that I recognized as one of the racers approached the two men in matching suits. He seemed agitated, and his restlessness was obvious.
“I can’t do this anymore, it’s so wrong,” the small man said when the three finally all met up. “I can’t keep on going like this.”
“Just relax,” said my owner coolly. “You’ve been doing this for a while now, there’s no need to back out now.” He was clearly annoyed with this man, for reasons I didn’t understand.
“No, no, I can’t, it’s wrong, people depend on me, people trust me,” the small man stammered, slowly backing into the stadium.
“Look,” said the other man in the brown suit sharply. “We need you. We trust you to keep throwing races. We depend on you to do whatever you can to make whoever we bet on win. We don’t care how you do it or how awful it may be, we just care if you do it. Don’t forget our deal.”
“When I was racing, I was pretty much exactly like you. I thought it was wrong, but the men who were in business with me were so confident and so dependent on me that I couldn’t say no, and look where that got me! I’m one of the richest men in the city! Do you want to be like that when you’re my age?” explained my owner.
“I do, I really do, but why don’t you just bet on me? I can win races; it makes more sense, just bet on me. We don’t have to cheat anymore, just bet on me,” the small man pleaded.
The two men in the brown suits sat in silence for a small amount of time before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. My owner almost dropped me since his hands shake furiously when he laughs. Another one of the reasons this year has been so hard.
The small man looked furious. He crossed his arms and looks up to the other man in the brown suit. “I’m not cheating anymore,” he stated firmly.
The other man looked down at the small man and simply said, “I don’t think you realize how much power we have over you. If you stop, we can break you apart while everyone else just turns their heads. You will continue to cheat and you will continue to listen to us, or you’ll never race again. Do you understand?”
The small man’s head dropped. “Do I still get 15%?”
“I’ll answer that question after I see Gibbs cross the finish line before anyone else today.”
The small man turned around and headed back towards the stadium without saying another word. The two men in the brown suits watched him go. “Good thing he’s so weak,” said my owner. “I thought he was seriously going to stop for a minute.”
“Don’t worry, he depends on us and the money we give him, and we depend on him and the money he gives us. It’s a deal you can’t possibly break.” The two men started laughing again, but thankfully not as hard as before.
I really need to start paying attention to these conversations they have.
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