U-WRITE-IT RESULTS

He felt confident the perpetual motion machine would be the world's saviour, the end of hunger and poverty's extreme pain. The last pieces going in today. Tomorrow in fresh light he would start it up. Then, a knock on the door. A strange little man with sunglasses and a bad odor pushed his way in. Alex felt the cold steel of a .44 in his stomach.

"I've been worried about this all week, I've never actually gone through with something like this, not all the way I mean." Remy nervously told Alex.

"You told me you have been through situations like this plenty of times."

"I have, but I didn't exactly do the talking if you know what I mean."

"Just do exactly what I tell you."

"Ok."

"Put on the mask, we're here."

Upon arrival a sultry blonde stepped out of the house.

"Everyone is in the backyard." Her voice soft.

"Thank you." Alex replied.

Alex turned to Remy before stepping out, "You ready?"

Ready as I'll ever be."

Let's do it."

They stepped out and in unison started to sing.

"Happy happy happy birthday to you! To who? To you, that's who! Timmy is having a happy happy happy birthday..."

"What? What's having a shower got to do with your debts?"

"I'll be able to wash them all away at least from my armpits down!"

"Hell, yeah." Tom replied.

Alex began to panic. Was he sure he can do this? One look at the tattered picture of Maria staring back at him gave him his answer and he stuffed the picture back in his pocket.

They walked out of the car and headed their way inside the liquor store.

Tom got to the elderly man first. One look at the gun and the old Asian man was scrambling to get the few pieces of cash he had together. Alex knew by the look on the old man's face that he would not be unable to fall through.

"Tom, forget all of this. Let's just-!"

Alex didn't get to look back in time. The firing of gunshots not belonging to them pierced the air and then pierced their hearts.

The tattered pictured of Maria fell lightly to the ground.

Alexandra sighed heavily, setting her diploma aside. She finished packing the last few things from her dorm room, then hauled it all out to her VW bug.

"Yeah, Bill Gates. I'm pretty sure he's already taken," she muttered to herself, starting the ignition.

With the hot June sun beating in the windows, the long drive home was making her sleepy.

Awakening a week later in the hospital, Alexandra was greeted by the worried faces of both of her parents.

"Dear, why didn't you tell us you needed help with your insurance?" her mother's voice quavered.

Hard as it was to speak, Alexandra croaked out words that sounded like, "I was spending my money on school."

"Hmph," her father muttered gruffly. "Fat lot of good a diploma's going to do now that you're up to your armpits in hospital bills!"

Looking at the mound of bills on the counter, Alex grabbed two fistfuls of hair, pulling until it hurt.

"What have I been DOING?" he moaned. "Gambling online, buying crap on eBay, fantasizing money grows on trees."

Groaning, he picked up another piece of junk mail. He used the butter knife to slit it open.

The richly embossed letter announced: Congratulations! Your manuscript has been chosen as the 2008 winner of Bantam House Publisher's Contest for New Authors.

"Gaw! To think I nearly pitched this into the trash!" Alex whispered to the empty kitchen.

Flipping the empty envelope over to examine it more closely, he heaved a sigh of relief eyeing the first class postage.

Then he actually took the time to read the envelope. It was addressed to Mrs. Alice Xavier.