"I am the chosen one."
On top of a half-buried car tire located in a barely functional children's playground stood a slightly overweight black-haired boy with his hands on his waist, looking down at his only two friends.
"What are you talking about?" Jeremy, his overweight friend, asked looking up at him in both confusion and excitement.
"The voice in my head said if I buy something I will get one hundred times more," Christopher answered proudly his chest puffing up.
The wind blew past him, making the effect even more magical.
"Really, that's so cool," Jeremy said his face blooming into a smile.
"But, where will you get the money to buy?" Isaac, the studies of the three asked while adjusting his glasses.
Christopher flinched and avoided his friend's piercing eyes. Jeremy saw his reaction and stood up stumbling as he tried to balance his weight.
"I'll go and ask my mom for money," Jeremy said, and turned to leave. His blue clothes had turned brown from playing in dirt.
"You don't have to worry, I have money," Christopher regained his courage and said proudly.
He pushed his hand into his back pocket, took out a crumpled one-dollar bill, and started to wave it in the air, a proud look on his face.
"Did you steal it. Auntie beat you yesterday there is no way she would give you money," Isaac said and reached out to take the money.
Christopher moved back, forgetting he was standing on a tire, and stepped into the air. What followed were groans of pain as he landed on his back.
It was his luck that they were inside a large sandbox.
"No, I borrowed it from her," he denied the accusation with a straight face," Jeremy, let's go and buy sweets, we'll definitely get a hundred more."
"You said it was times a hundred, not an extra a hundred, " Isaac grumbled as he dusted himself off and ran after his two idiotic friends.
They would never be able to survive without him.
The three ran down a few blocks before the place they were looking for came into view. Old, with clear glass windows that show the colorful snacks inside, clearly meant to bait children.
At the top of the door was a sign.
MAMA MARY CONVENIENT STORE
Their speed increased as they saw their destination.
"Mama Mary, we want candy," Christopher shouted the moment he pushed open the door of the old convenience store.
Since they lived in an old community, the store was also just as old. Small and only sold candies and small groceries.
"Ooh, isn't it my little sweet tooth. Look, I brought a new flavour," Mama Mary said, pointing at one of the aisles where different colored candies were organised.
She was your typical middle-aged woman. A few grey hairs were scattered across her hair, and a kind smile graced her face as she looked at her regular customers.
"Wait," Christopher stepped back and puffed his chest up again," the voice in my head said you will give me an extra one hundred sweets today."
Mama Mary looked at the young boy his blue and green eyes looking up at her proudly. She chuckled softly at his attempt at swindling her.
It wasn't the first time.
"Okay, what do you want?" She said while taking the money he placed on the counter.
Christopher pointed at the only pack of Pop Rocks that was placed on a small shelf on the counter.
Christopher took the pop rocks but still stood there looking at her.
"Chris, did you get the extra candy?" Jeremy asked him, but what they didn't know was that a screen had appeared before Christopher.
"Let's go," Christopher pulled both of his confused friends and ran out of the store. He went around the store and squatted beside the wall. The other two also did the same.
"Why are you running?" Isaac asked after catching his breath.
"I was scared Mama Mary would see the blue thing in front of my face," he said, waving at the system interface. His hand passed through it.
"What thing, you don't have anything in front of you," Jeremy said and waved his hand in front of Christopher's face. His hand passed through the interface.
"But it's there, I swear, look, there is something written on it," Christopher pointed out, but his friends weren't convinced.
He had promised them a hundred candies, and now they think he was joking again.
He looked at the words, trying to understand what they meant, but he couldn't. He wasn't the brightest bulb in school.
"Ooh, it's asking me to sign in then I can get my reward," he said excitedly.
"But how do you know what it's saying? Do you hear a voice like in the movies?" Isaac asked curiously.
"No, it doesn't have a voice i just know what it's saying."
"Ooooh...that is so cool chris, you have to teach me," Jeremy said excitedly.
This was enough to stroke Christopher's ego.
"I can't this is only for the chosen ones. You are not a chosen one."
He looked at the words of the interface.
[Wealth system]
[Sign in to activate your reward]
[Yes] [No]
He lifted his right hand and pressed the Yes button. Immediately more words appeared on the interface.
[Ding, congratulations host for binding the wealth system]
[Congratulations, host, on obtaining 10,000 dollars, a Davis 3-bedroom condo, and perfect health.]
[Host is underage a trust has been established Trust fund account, $10,000 has been deposited, Davis ' 3-bedroom condo has been put under trust, will be open for rental, vanguard firm has been appointed to manage the trust and generate income from the condo]
Christopher looked at the words that appeared on the screen in succession and got confused.
"The system didn't give me a hundred Pop Rocks," he said to his friends. His mood plummeted.
"Is the voice in your head called system?" Jeremy asked curiously.
Christopher nodded and tried to hold the interface but his hand passed through.
"Maybe it's a liar after all....my mom is going to kill me," he said distressed.
He had stolen the money because he thought he would get extra Pop-Tarts and the sacrifice would be worth it.
[100× multiplier activate]
[Congratulations host for spending $1 it has been multiplied by 100]
[$100 has been deposited into the inventory. Host can buy as many Pop Rocks as they want]
Christopher shot up in surprise.
"The system didn't lie to me, it gave me a hundred dollars, I can buy as many Pop Rocks as I can."
He pulled the shocked Jeremy into his arms.
"We are rich! We are rich!"
They both shouted together as they skipped around. Isaac, the ever-quiet one, looked at both of them and sighed.
"Where is the money?"
That stopped the two from skipping around. Jeremy got out of his embrace and stepped back reason taking over excitement.
"Oh yes, I forgot. System inventory."
The system interface appeared, but this time there were a lot of grids, and he could see at the top of the first grid that it was floating money.
He pressed on it.
[Error! Money cannot be removed from the inventory a bank account is required.]
Christopher froze his face, going from excitement to rage in a matter of seconds. His friends stepped back the moment they saw that expression, which they were familiar with.
"Aarghh.. This is not fair. The system says I need a bank account to get the money. "
He felt like pulling his hair out. The voice kept on tricking him over and over again.
"Isn't bank accounts for our parents. My mom and dad have one, and I heard them talking about getting money from the bank account. "
That brightened his mood. Christopher turned and held the wise Isaac's shoulders.
"Really, if I get a bank account, will it always have money?"
Isaac was quiet before he nodded.
"You get a card, then you can just swipe it on the counter and the money pays itself. That's how my parents do it we always have money since they pay with the bank account everywhere."
Christopher nodded seriously.
"You are right, my parents also have that bank account card, maybe they can create one for me."
Isaac nodded agreeing with him. Christopher chuckled and stepped back.
"Tomorrow I will come with the bank account card, then we can buy more Pop Rocks."
He pitifully opened the small packet and shared the candy equally among them.
"Okay, I'm going to go home and ask for the bank account. "
The others nodded.
They each ran through old alleys, scaring stray cats, and occasionally, dogs' barking would follow behind their overexcited figures.
They came to a stop in front of an old but clean four stories apartments.
The kind that were meant to be demolished but were left behind.
His mother's head appeared on the fourth-floor balcony.
"Christopher! I'll count to ten, and I want you up here doing your homework," his mother shouted, breaking through the sounds of old cars and bicycles.
"Coming," he says to his two friends and runs up the stairs.
His feet echoed noisily as they disappeared.
"Didn't he say he finished his homework," Jeremy asked in confusion.
Isaac scoffed and started to walk towards the opposite apartment complex.
"You believe him."