This story begins with a young man arriving

at home from school, holding his test paper.

"Ma, my test result are here..." (He nervously
handed it to his mother.)
"Oh, is this all? You should've try harder,
you're never good enough, your grades are
never high enough!" (The mother shouts to
her son; the disappoinment is visible in her
voice.)
Son (Keith): I'm doing my best, but you're
never happy with what I do..."
Narrator: Despite receiving a relatively high
score, his parents are still not satisfied
with his grades. He feels overwhelmed and
pressured by their constant expectations,
and even though he has been trying his
best, his grades always fall short of his
parents' standards.
[Narrator]: This leaves him feeling
frustrated and left out, as his siblings
receive more praise and recognition from
her mother than he does.
[Narrator]: On one such day, while feeling
particularly down about himself, walking
down the hallway of the school. He's on
his way to class and thinking about recent
events in his life. As he passes a few other
students, he overhear some of them talking
about gambling.
[Conde]: [speaking at the same time] "Yeah,
I won $500 yesterday at the casino...."
Keith stops in his tracks and overhears
the students talking about their gambling
experience. He tries to keep walking, but he
can't help but overhear them.
[Macusi]: Yeah, it's such easy money. I
could be winning thousands by the end of
this semester.
[Gonzales]: Hey, you should try it too, man.
It's easy; just put in a few bucks and the
profits come rolling in. I doubled my money
in a week.
[Reyes]: Yeah, it's like a foolproof system.
You'll make money so quick; you won't even
realize it. Just try it once, you'll see what I
mean.
He keeps listening in on the conversation
and can't help but feel a bit curious. He's
never tried gambling before, but these
students make it sound so easy and
tempting. He starts to think about trying
gambling just once.
[Alvarez]: Yeah, just deposit some of your
cash and try it out, and see what happens.
Chances are, you'll win big, man. Plus, you
won't even need to put in much; just a few
dollars is enough to get started.
Despite knowing that he should be focused
on his studies, the lure of distraction is too
strong, and he agrees to join. At the bar, he
meets people who are older than him but
treat him as an equal, introducing him to a
world he has never experienced before—the
world of gambling.
[KEITH] [thinking to himself]: The odds
seem to be in my favor. They make it sound
so easy to win money in gambling. And
since I've never tried it before, what's the
harm in giving it a shot? Maybe I'll get lucky
and win big, too.
Keith takes a deep breath and joins in on
the gambling, putting some of his money on
the table.
[Keith] [thinking to himself]: I’m gonna win.
I have to win. The students said winning is
so easy. This is my only chance to score
some extra cash since my grades aren't
good enough. This could be my ticket out of
this rut.
Keith's heart races as the game starts, and
the adrenaline rushes through his veins. He
watches anxiously as the cards are dealt
and placed on the table, waiting to see what
happens next.
[Keith] [thinking to himself]: I feel so
nervous. I've never won anything in my life
before. What if this is my moment? What if I
finally win and start turning things around?
Keith's hands are shaking as he watches
the game in anticipation. He holds his
breath as the cards are revealed, and his
heart races even faster as the realization
sets in that he won the hand.
[Keith]: I won! I actually won! You guys were
right; it was so easy. And I won a good
amount, too!
[Reyes]: you see? We told you right, it's so
easy.
[Gonzales]: you just go lucky tonight, dude.
Keith's adrenaline spikes, and he feels a
rush of excitement as he realizes he won
a good amount of money. He starts to feel
like this could be the moment things start
to turn around for him.
As the day passes, it becomes his habit,
go to school, and go to the casino without
thinking about the negative effect of
gambling, Keith has become accustomed
to going to school and playing at the casino
on a regular basis. He feels invincible
and like he's on top of the world, ignoring
the potential negative consequences of
gambling.
One day his friends invited him to go to the
casino once again to gambling with them.
He thought the luck was on his side.
They decide to start the night by playing
a few rounds of poker. As the cards are
shuffled and dealt, the excitement begins
to build as they start betting, raising the
stakes with each hand. As they play, the
suspense and tension begin to build up,
making it an intense game. As the cards
are revealed, the excitement reaches a new
high as the friends start betting higher and
higher, pushing each other to the limit.
The intensity of the game grows with every
hand, making it a truly thrilling night out for
all involved. They start to get into the game
more and more, making bigger and braver
bids, trying to outdo each other. The stakes
start to rise, making this intense game even
more fun.
As the cards are shuffled and dealt, the
excitement begins to build as they start
betting, raising the stakes with each hand.
While the game is intense, all the friends
are enjoying it and having a great time.
However, one of the friends starts to bet big
and starts to realize he may have made a
mistake.
As the rounds go on, the one friend starts
to realize that he may have put in too much
money, risking more than he can afford
to lose. He starts to feel anxious, and the
excitement of the game is slowly turning to
dread as the stakes begin to increase with
every play.
[Keith]: How... How did I let it get this bad? I
just kept playing and kept playing, thinking
I would win and win. But now, I'm at my
lowest point. I lost everything... my money.
Keith is at a loss and can't comprehend
how he got to this point. He never
considered the possibility that he could
lose everything through gambling. He was
blinded by the allure of easy money and the
adrenaline rush of winning. He's left with
nothing and feels utterly defeated.
But it's not the end for Keith. As he sits
there contemplating how he got himself
in this mess, a sudden realization washes
over him. Keith realizes that he let gambling
control him, that he was blinded by the rush
and the easy money. He starts to see that
the only way out of this ordeal is to walk
away, to realize that the real treasure is not
the thrill of the game, but the friendships
and relationships he holds dear.