My name is Jake. I work in the maintenance department at a well-funded hospital owned by a humble old man named Mr. Garcia. Mr. Garcia had an enthusiastic passion for football, almost as intense as his passion for painting. As football season was about kicked off, Mr. Garcia thought of an innovative way to liven up the atmosphere in the hospital. He set up a game of football squares for college and the pros with a max bet $50. Excitement surged amongst the employees us as they anticipated the weekend to get here.
As weeks passed by, our quiet hospital turned into a virtual sports bar. Charts were analyzed, speculations were made, and records were set up and kept in the employee break room. There were excitement at each winning and sadness at losses.
Finally, the game's concluding week was upon us. Martha, a good-hearted nurse, had 10 squares $20 a square was saying that she won all ten of her squares. As the game’s came end for that weekend, we were eager to see how much she won. Me, too, because I wanted to know how much I won. We will see Monday.
Monday, is the day everyone was looking forward to if you played The Board (football squares) and that time has come to go collect them winnings. We gathered around inside break room, anticipating to see how much we won.
And then, just as the anticipation was hitting its highest point, Mr. Garcia stepped up to announce that if you won, and an unusual look fell over face. Then he says “Sorry but all of the money is missing. It was being held by Mr. Clark, the accounting and he’s missing to. One of the employees said “is this the same Mr. Clark who was just wrapped up in a nasty divorce with his ex wife.
Everyone's faces was blank. We immediately realized the repercussions this had on Mr. Clark. There were many questions and suspicious eyes. Mr. Garcia looked the most disappointed as he explained the situation and assured us of a fair resolution.
It took three stressful days to resolve the situation. The police were involved and an investigation immediately. Despite being missing, Mr. Clark became the main suspect, accused of keeping the money to himself. We all had known Mr. Clark for years, and with him going through that divorce it was tough seeing him go through that whole ordeal.
The drama queen of the hospital Martha started saying how much money she missing out on because she has bills that have to be paid. Martha had misjudged Mr. Clark’s dignity and wonder if he needed the money because his wife took everything in the divorce. Mr. Garcia, stepped up and said he can pay us out of an emergency stash for situations like this and apologized for the whole ordeal. We all misjudged Mr. Clark and the detective will take care of him,
That was the year our football season got derailed by a desperation twist. But it wasn’t just a game of football squares, it was a reminder of trust, consequence, and life’s unexpected interceptions. As for me, my hands stay clean and gone remain clean. But not just at the hospital - until I get my hands on the money I won. As we await to get paid we are looking forward to next season, we'll all be playing the game but with a new account and, more importantly, an very close eye on the prize money.