Fortune's Trip

                                    

                                          
This is a sample only. The story is available in its entirety at Amazon for $2.99.
                          
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Have you ever noticed how some people have all the luck? No matter what they are doing, they always beat the odds. They find a twenty dollar bill while they are walking down the street. They win the largest stuffed animals at the carnival. Not only are they found by the talent scouts, but they are additionally made into stars. For some reason, they had enough luck to be chosen by lady luck as one of her favorites. Whenever there is an opportunity to get ahead or get more, they get it. Poor Ayla Milandri.
                          
She had the opposite problem. She had the unfortunate luck of being chosen by Mr. Bad Luck himself. If the weatherman promised clear blue skies and warm air, she would go out to be caught in a downpour of chilly rain, while wearing a white top, of course. If she sat on a curb hoping to rest her leg, a car would hit the only puddle in a 10-foot radius to spray her with the smelliest mud and grime. If a distracting delinquent that cheated off the smart students came into class and needed a seat, of course there would be a free one right beside her. She never found money, but always lost it. In fact, she had a tendency to lose everything. Or maybe she simply lost when it came to life. For the past seventeen years of her existence, her bad luck streak had never failed, but on one, fateful day, it seemed like that was all about to change.
                          
Ayla casually strolled along the half-mile trek that connected her house to her school. Along the way, she felt an itch on her right thigh. Reaching down inside her pocket to scratch it, her fingers graced something that felt a little off. Instead of the roughness of her jeans, this material felt more like thin, crumpled paper. Intrigued, she pulled out the matter to find a few dollars bundled together. No doubt they had accompanied the pants through the previous week's laundry, but somehow they had survived and looked . . . usable? Yes, they looked good enough. In a surprise twist of luck, not only had she found the money, but she happened to find it as she passed the local grocery store. For once, her timing was just what she needed.
                          
The day had been burning hot under the scorching sun. It was one of the first of the many that would soon follow in what some called the glorious weeks of summer. Ayla was not one of those people. She always ended up doing summer school during those heated days. If you thought participating in gym class was bad, just you try it during the middle of summer in the southern desert. The high temperature literally eats away at your body leaving you drenched in sweat as thick as a dog's dirty slobber. Gross, huh? Just you wait until you smell it. Yuck. The only thing worse than that scent was the one inside the men's locker room. Ayla was unfortunate enough to be in the girl's locker room when some eroded piping decided to explode. It was bad enough being covered in crap, but in her attempt to escape the mess, she was forced to run outside in front of everybody while being covered in the waste. Since that fateful day, the school forced the two sexes to share one locker room until everything was fixed. Either the football team did not know how badly the smelled or they didn't care. She swore some of them even took pride in how gross they could get. Apparently they though it was "manly." Ha.
                          
Anyway, this had been one of those disgusting days, and Ayla's body was fighting for any and all resources of water. Her mouth was left parch dry like sandpaper. Her innocently-sized, pink lips were forced to become chapped and soon-to-be-cracked. Clutching the few dollars to her heart, she walked into the store and sought out the liquids section. Opting for flavor over nutrition, she reached for a sweet bottle of soda. The particular brand was having some big marking event. You know, one of those "Check-under-the-cap-and-you-could-win-a-trip-to-wherever!" contests. Ayla did not bother looking at the location. She knew she was not going to win.
                          
She rolled the frosty bottle against her lightly tanned forehead as she walked to the cashier. Her head swung in a different direction as she heard that laugh. That giggle. She grimaced. Malisha Cummings had entered the store with two of her friends. They were laughing loudly about some dumb joke, no doubt . . . if you could call that a laugh. It sounded more like a train's wheels screeching against the railroad tracks as the locomotive comes to a sudden and unexpected stop. At least, Ayla thought it did.
                          
As soon as she paid for her drink, she smiled at the cashier and said her thanks. Before she exited the air-conditioned building, she popped off the cap and took a swig of the sweet, cold, and burning carbonated beverage. She did not even try to contain her grateful sigh. A bead of sweat had accumulated at the top of her head and slowly began to make its journey down. She lifted her arm and used the side of her hand to wipe the fluid away. As she did, her eyes involuntarily rose to the lid being held in her hand.
                          
"You're a Winner!" it proclaimed. Stunned, she unblinkingly brought the lid directly in front of her prominent, hazel eyes. Everything seemed to have frozen except for the thoughts racing through her mind at an undoubtedly unlawful speed.
                          
"Oh my God. I won. I, I, I think I actually won," she thought. Yes, indeed. Her luck appeared to have finally turned around.
                          
"OH MY GOD!" a loud voice screeched. Abruptly broken away from her shock-induced trance, Ayla turned to see Malisha holding a similar bottle in one of her dainty hands, with a similar looking cap held before her eyes in the other. "I WON! OH MY GOD! I WON!" she yelled aloud. And then came the screaming.
                          
First, it was just Malisha, but then her friends joined in with her. Again, time seemed to stand still for everything except the sound waves of the screams that crashed against Ayla's eardrums like a tsunami. Before any more damage could be done, she hustled out through the grocery door. Her long, dark brown hair was waving out behind her like a sarcastic goodbye. Instead of winning a trip to some place where she could finally get away, Ayla had won a trip that would more than likely be shared with Miss Malisha Cummings herself.
                          
Maybe nothing had changed after all.
                          

                          
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Remember, only about half of Fortune's Trip is uploaded on wattpad! If you want the full version, it is available for $0.99 (99 cents) at amazon.com.