Thankfully Everyone Leaves This Story Without A Scratch

This is a long ago when my state has just started the lottery. Everyone has gotten excited about winning ‘easy’ money and are going practically crazy buying lottery tickets and scratch offs.

Around 9 PM I walk into a gas station where I used to work, and I talk to a friend who still works there. A customer walks in and steps straight up to the counter.

Worker: “Yes, ma’am, may I help you?”

Customer: *In broken English.* “How much scratch off ticket?”

Worker: “$1 each, ma’am.”

Customer: “I want forty please.”

She picks the card style she wants and paid for them in cash. My friend counts out forty twice in front of her, to be sure. She gets her tickets and goes to her car.

We both watch her scratch the tickets in her car. After roughly twenty minutes, she comes back inside with her tickets and walks up to the counter.

Customer: “I want my money back!”

She slams the now used tickets on the counter.

Customer: “These no good! I want my money back!”

My friend looks to me, then to the customer.

Worker: “Uh, ma’am, I can’t. Once you buy them, they’re yours. You can’t bring them back for a refund. They’re yours forever and ever.”

She gives my friend a look that could kill a bear in its tracks, then at me. We really expect her to loudly complain, but she just quietly walks out to her car. We examine the tickets and find she had won money, but probably didn’t notice it or understand how they worked.

As she starts backing up, I run outside to inform her she had money coming and to come back in for her winnings. She almost runs me over before stopping!

She gets excited, gets out of her car, and runs back inside. Meanwhile I put her car in park for her! Yep, she’s that excited.

My friend explains how the scratch offs work and shows her the money she’s won. It really isn’t much of a win, though. She paid $40 and is walking away with $43. It doesn’t matter. She struts out the door as though she’s won a million dollars.