April 2021

Tom Green is very spoiled and lazy—until an accident forces him to change his life Tom Green was very proud to say that he had the best life any human could wish for. He would wake up in his cushiony white bed and then head down his marble staircase, where a delicious breakfast was waiting for him, prepared earlier that morning by his personal chef. If he were to have something involving chocolate, the chocolate would be from Switzerland, where, he believed, the best chocolate came from. If he were to eat something involving berries, the berries would have been freshly picked that morning. Everything had to taste amazing in Tom’s house. If there was ever something that didn’t meet his taste buds’ expectations, it would instantly hit the bottom of his trash can with a small thud, and the chef would be off to prepare a new and better dish. However, this morning was different. When Tom went downstairs to eat his breakfast, there wasn’t anything there, except for a note. If he were like his other wealthy friends, he wouldn’t have known how to read the note because he and his friends all knew that reading was just a waste of time. There were far more important things to do out in the world, like making people do what he wanted them to do. But no, he wasn’t like his friends. He knew how to read. The reason for this was because his parents (whom he had banned from his life) had made him go to school when he was young. That being said, it would have been possible for him to get a job earlier because he had an education, but he had forgotten all his math and facts years ago, and the only thing he remembered how to do was read. Now you may be thinking, “If he didn’t do any work, where did he get all of his money?” and here is the answer: he threatened his parents by saying that if they didn’t give him money, he would reveal to the world that they had killed their last servant, but he wouldn’t tell everyone that it was in self-defense. So every month, they would send him an envelope with huge amounts of money in it (they made their money from their jobs; his mom was a scientist, and his dad was a successful lawyer). Anyway, back to the note. Tom picked up the note and began to read. Here’s what the note said: Hello Tom. Right now you’re probably wondering, “Where is my chef?” and, “Where is my breakfast?” And I bet you’re also thinking, “When I find that chef, he is going to be fired!” Well, I hate to break it to you, but there is NO WAY I am going to work for you for free. Now that you’ve read that part of the note, you are probably thinking, “How is that possible?” I will tell you. You know how you let me swipe your card at the ATM? Well, this morning, I went to get my money, but it said, “Tom Green has no money left to spend.” That’s when I started to investigate further. I knew you got all of your money from your parents, so I went to their house to see if I could get some answers from them, but I learned something very shocking when I arrived at the house. I also saw a note that said, “Dear Tom. Your parents are dead.” At that point, Tom did a small happy dance and then continued reading. “They died in a fire that also burnt all of their money. I hope that doesn’t affect you at all.” That was all the note said. Sorry Tom, your parents are dead. People are already making plans for what to do with your house. Since they were paying for all of “your” stuff, your things are actually their things, and they said in their will that all of their money and houses will go to your younger sister, Emily. You’ve just lost everything. You have nothing left at all. Nothing at all. Tom didn’t know what to do. This can’t really be, can it? This can be solved simply. I just have to go see if my parents are still alive. If they are, everything is fine, but if they aren’t . . . well, they can’t be dead! Everything is perfectly fine, and this note from the chef is probably fake, just to get me to work more, he thought to himself. But deep down inside, he knew there was a big chance he had lost everything. In fact, he was so worried about this that he went into his safe to grab all of his remaining fortune that he hadn’t yet spent on luxury items! He grabbed his most prized possessions and stuffed them all in the trunk of his shiny white car. Then he drove off to see the people he was praying were still alive. He parked his car and prepared himself for whatever he was destined to see. He looked up. It seemed as though his heart had stopped beating. When his eyes met the ground, he could see nothing except for ashes. There must have been a fire, which destroyed his parents’ house, and his parents must have been in it. He realized that this could only mean one thing: if he wanted to stay alive, he would have to get a job. *          *          * Tom woke up. He was sleeping in his new home, a small shed he had bought yesterday, the day he’d found out he had lost everything. He hated everything about this shed. It had the smell of rotten food, the bed was rock hard, there was no personal chef, and so worst of all, he would have to cook his own meals. Tom didn’t have that much money left after