“Okay, hang on to it for a sec. Let me just look this up,” I say, typing into my phone. “The next draw is…” I look at the time: 11:01 p.m. “Now.”
And then right there on the screen, the numbers come into focus. Below today’s date are six all-too-familiar numbers.
10. 13. 30. 31. 23. 6.
A garbled noise crawls its way out of my throat.
“Knew I shouldn’t have touched it,” Hazel says, pushing the ticket back into my hand.
I confirm the numbers.
“No, Hazel…” I stand and pace in front of the bench. “We won.”
She lets out a small laugh. “Oh yeah? What’d we win? A gazillion dollars?” She’s saying this to Toffee in a funny voice as she scratches his chin.
“Hazel. I’m serious. We won.” I turn my phone toward her and hold up the ticket next to it.
Hazel’s eyebrows shoot up. “I—We—”
For a few seconds, we just stare at each other. Then the shock erupts into excitement.
“We—we won the lottery!” Hazel says as she leaps off the bench and launches toward me in a hug. We jump up and down together, our laughs andoh my gods andholy shits blending.
“Oh my shit,” I blurt out. Nothing makes sense right now.
“Holy god,” she says breathlessly as she presses her hand over her chest. “Thirty million dollars?”
I nod rapidly. “We won’t get the whole amount, with taxes and everything. Millions still, probably.”
The death of Hazel’s smile is quick and sudden. Now she’s just standing there… blinking.
“Wow. This is—I don’t even know. Wild. Surreal,” I say, checking the numbers again. “Unusual.”
Her eyes lock with mine. “Unusual?” she says, looking a little pale and a lot panicked. “This is more like impossible. Inconceivable. It doesn’t happen. And it definitely doesn’t happen to someone on their first time playing the lottery. No.” She looks around. “This isn’t happening right now.”
“I know, I can’t believe it either,” I agree. “We need to claim it somehow. Put our names on the back.”
Hazel puts her hands up. “No. Wait.” She raises her eyes to meet mine. “Don’t put my name on it. I—I don’t want any of the money. It’s all yours.”
A surprised laugh tumbles out. “Hold on. We win the lottery, and you… don’t want a single dime?”
Maybe this is what shock looks like on her. If she’s feeling anything like what I am, this is… a lot.
“I don’t,” she says, quickly shaking her head. “Money like that just brings problems.”
“But I promised you. Half of this is yours.”
Her expression softens. “That’s really good of you. But you can break your promise. I won’t be mad,” she says casually, like she’s used to promises not being kept. She gathers up her things, tossing one last candy cherry into her mouth.
“We don’t have to decide on anything right now. Let’s just…” I try to think of something useful. “Let me take you out to dinner.”
Hazel, half turned, spins to face me. The stunned look from seconds ago dissolves into something more amused. I feel the same jolt of electricity from earlier when she licked her lips.
“We’re way past dinnertime,” she says.
“A midnight snack, then?” I try. “I need to make up for the dim sum. And to celebrate, you know, this.”
She takes a step closer to me. “You just can’t stop pressing, can you?”
