James had a type-A personality. He was fierce, competitive,
and hated losing more than anything in the world. He loved watches, cars, and
anything that made him look more impressive to his friends than he actually
was. It was Christmastime, and as James was driving home in his brand new BMW
x5, he decided to stop by and spend a little bit of his Christmas bonus at the
Riverwind Casino in Norman, Oklahoma.
He used to have a little gambling problem, but he was over
that now. “I have more self control than ever,” he kept telling himself.
He entered into the casino and ordered a beer. He used to
have a little drinking problem, but he was over that now. “I have more self
control than ever,” he kept telling himself.
He tossed down ten one hundred dollar bills on the roulette
table, and the man held each one up to the light. He gathered a thousand
dollars worth of chips and slid them in front of James.
It was getting a little late, and he might be late for
dinner with his family, “I’ll just play a couple of games,” he told himself.
He placed his chips, and increased his chip count. He won,
and won, and won. After only an hour he had already obtained close to ten
thousand dollars! However, he went on, late into the night, and finally he was
invited upstairs with the owner of the casino.
They began to play blackjack.
James won at first, but then came the end of his hot streak.
He lost. Then, he lost again. Then, he lost another time,
and another, and another. Finally, his ten thousand dollars worth of chips were
gone. He placed his watch on the table.
“Double of nothing?” he asked.
He lost his watch.
Then, he placed his shoes, Then. he placed his blazer on the
table. Then, he placed his car keys.
He lost everything.
He began to sweat. James was embarrassed, and he felt as
though he had been stripped of his manhood.
He called his wife, who was asleep. It was 2:00 a.m. by now.
She picked him up, brought him home, and they went to sleep without a word.
Author’s Note: I chose to retell the story of Yudhishthira’s
game of dice in a more modern sense. I hoped to convey the danger of such a
risky game. Also, I stopped at Riverwind yesterday on my way home from Dallas
and lost 20 dollars playing roulette, so I thought it was fitting.
Image Information:
Roulette Table
Source: Gallery Hip
Narayan, R. K. The Mahabharata. New Delhi: Vision, 1987. Print.
Hey Skyler, I really enjoyed reading your storytelling post. I wrote one that was more leading up to the game than anything and so it was interesting to continue that part by reading this. I think gambling can be very addicting and you show that through James losing everything down to his shoes and blazer. I also like how you had his wife come pick him up, since Yudhisthira's wife was mentioned in this part of the book as well. I always lose money when going to that casino as well, but I limit myself to about 20$ so the blow doesn't hit me too hard haha I can only imagine how people who lose thousands feel!
ReplyDeleteHi Skyler,
ReplyDeleteYour story was really clear and resonating. I particularly liked the dialogue with himself and his lack of exchange with his wife at the end. Stories like this are sometimes tough to read because you feel like there's no way the night will end positively. I think you did an outstanding job of making the story contemporary as well, with specific local examples.
The ending was kind of rushed in this retelling of yours too. It didn’t make a lot of sense why the wife figure just drove him home and didn’t yell or anything. The little snips of dialogue really help set the mood of the story and add a touch of a more human element. I could really see the links between the original and yours, and it was great.
ReplyDeleteHi Skyler, I really enjoyed reading your story. I really liked how you conveyed his feelings with inner dialogue, I think that is what you call it. The story was also very clear and to the point. I could not really find any grammar errors either. Overall I think you did a great job and will be coming back to read more of your work!
ReplyDelete