U are a noob
Mega Super Ultra Cool Member
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Wrote this for my teacher Ms. Clark. I enjoyed writing it, hopefully you guys will enjoy reading it.
The Serpent
Ripping apart the packaging, blood pumped through my body as I slid the cards in my jacket pocket and stuffed the plastic wrapper in the corner of an aisle, just as my friend and I had been doing for the last two weeks. I was becoming good at this, I thought to myself as I reached for another pack to take. I looked to DJ, my best friend, and I saw him concealing his second wrapper behind the Nerf toys. Within a moment we were walking away with triumph and a sense of accomplishment. The haze produced in the moment of such an act was lifted and it felt as if I was finally able to breathe again. We walked through the aisles of Wal-Mart, as we always did after every victory, when the sly serpent entered my mind. He teased me to do what was forbidden, a second battle, a thought that had frequently crossed my mind but never entered the realm of action. My conscience tried to fend away such actions but greed had overcome me, it was too late, I had bitten the offering. All that was left to do was to offer it to DJ.
“Lets do it again,” I said to him as we neared the end of the fabric aisle.
DJ thought to himself, informing me that my offer was not original, and he too was tempted by the serpent. And that’s when I knew, no response was needed as we head to the card section preparing our sense and hands to do battle, once again.
There we were, as we had been ten minutes ago, ripping through wrappers and pocketing its contents. I was focused and had acted faster than ever, for a second battle was foreign to me and when faced with the unknown, I resorted to speed and instincts. As we finished and strolled through another aisle, we each felt equivalent to Achilles himself, immortal in battles. To our knowledge, a second battle had never been attempted before, let alone a victory achieved. And then there she was, my Paris, wearing a red shirt, approaching from the other end of the aisle.
You see, a blue shirt means you’re a regular employee, a dispensable bolt in the machine. But a red shirt was more, a supervisor, a central gear that keeps the machine turning. Perhaps she was just passing, DJ and I thought simultaneously. Instinctively we turned and looked at the products; I announced that we had need a poster (that was located at the other end of store) in order to make our movement seem less conspicuous. It was as if we had seen the Fallen Angel himself, a blue shirt at the other end of the aisle, blocking our escape route. Something was wrong.
“You two come here,” the women said aggressively.
We turned and I attempted innocence, “Yes ma’am?”
“Show me what’s in your jacket pocket,” firing her arrow, rupturing my heel. An immortal slain by greed induced weakness.
The moments after that was a blur, but I do remember resolving the problem with tears and my appearance as a sixth grader. And that her shoes were Sketchers; I had spent a long time staring at them. It was through this incident I finally realized and took to heart the phrase that has always been embedded in gambling and that is to “stop while you are ahead.” I reached this conclusion during my walk home from Wal-Mart. It was through analyzing my favorite stories such as, Achilles of The Iliad and Adam and Eve of the book of Genesis that I realized that all these great characters have weaknesses, especially through their foolish actions of greed, seeking glory, and caving to temptations. At first, I claimed to eradicate myself of those weaknesses but I soon realized I am human and I make mistakes. Acknowledging this, I knew I couldn’t get rid of my mistakes but I could try to improve.
In hindsight, I see foolishness universally through my actions in Wal-Mart. The first being that I had ignored the immorality of stealing in my reflection after the incident and the second being that greed and glory isn’t necessarily a weakness. I have now realized that it can often be used as a form of motivation, although commonly producing undesired effects, can, at times, produce great results.
I commonly look back to this event and it has been a fundamental story that I have analyzed endlessly, coming to different conclusions. I guess that’s the definition of personal growth, to change opinions as you age.
Ripping apart the packaging, blood pumped through my body as I slid the cards in my jacket pocket and stuffed the plastic wrapper in the corner of an aisle, just as my friend and I had been doing for the last two weeks. I was becoming good at this, I thought to myself as I reached for another pack to take. I looked to DJ, my best friend, and I saw him concealing his second wrapper behind the Nerf toys. Within a moment we were walking away with triumph and a sense of accomplishment. The haze produced in the moment of such an act was lifted and it felt as if I was finally able to breathe again. We walked through the aisles of Wal-Mart, as we always did after every victory, when the sly serpent entered my mind. He teased me to do what was forbidden, a second battle, a thought that had frequently crossed my mind but never entered the realm of action. My conscience tried to fend away such actions but greed had overcome me, it was too late, I had bitten the offering. All that was left to do was to offer it to DJ.
“Lets do it again,” I said to him as we neared the end of the fabric aisle.
DJ thought to himself, informing me that my offer was not original, and he too was tempted by the serpent. And that’s when I knew, no response was needed as we head to the card section preparing our sense and hands to do battle, once again.
There we were, as we had been ten minutes ago, ripping through wrappers and pocketing its contents. I was focused and had acted faster than ever, for a second battle was foreign to me and when faced with the unknown, I resorted to speed and instincts. As we finished and strolled through another aisle, we each felt equivalent to Achilles himself, immortal in battles. To our knowledge, a second battle had never been attempted before, let alone a victory achieved. And then there she was, my Paris, wearing a red shirt, approaching from the other end of the aisle.
You see, a blue shirt means you’re a regular employee, a dispensable bolt in the machine. But a red shirt was more, a supervisor, a central gear that keeps the machine turning. Perhaps she was just passing, DJ and I thought simultaneously. Instinctively we turned and looked at the products; I announced that we had need a poster (that was located at the other end of store) in order to make our movement seem less conspicuous. It was as if we had seen the Fallen Angel himself, a blue shirt at the other end of the aisle, blocking our escape route. Something was wrong.
“You two come here,” the women said aggressively.
We turned and I attempted innocence, “Yes ma’am?”
“Show me what’s in your jacket pocket,” firing her arrow, rupturing my heel. An immortal slain by greed induced weakness.
The moments after that was a blur, but I do remember resolving the problem with tears and my appearance as a sixth grader. And that her shoes were Sketchers; I had spent a long time staring at them. It was through this incident I finally realized and took to heart the phrase that has always been embedded in gambling and that is to “stop while you are ahead.” I reached this conclusion during my walk home from Wal-Mart. It was through analyzing my favorite stories such as, Achilles of The Iliad and Adam and Eve of the book of Genesis that I realized that all these great characters have weaknesses, especially through their foolish actions of greed, seeking glory, and caving to temptations. At first, I claimed to eradicate myself of those weaknesses but I soon realized I am human and I make mistakes. Acknowledging this, I knew I couldn’t get rid of my mistakes but I could try to improve.
In hindsight, I see foolishness universally through my actions in Wal-Mart. The first being that I had ignored the immorality of stealing in my reflection after the incident and the second being that greed and glory isn’t necessarily a weakness. I have now realized that it can often be used as a form of motivation, although commonly producing undesired effects, can, at times, produce great results.
I commonly look back to this event and it has been a fundamental story that I have analyzed endlessly, coming to different conclusions. I guess that’s the definition of personal growth, to change opinions as you age.
