Sleight (2nd Place)

Bucky placed fifty $100 chips on number eight. Paul, the roulette dealer, held the marbled white ball in his fingers.

“You sure you want to do that, sir?”

Bucky nodded and tilted his black Stetson back revealing his white hair.

Paul scanned the other players whose attention turned to the ball. Paul felt the heavy ball on his fingertips. The smell of Bucky’s cigar smoke hung in the air. Paul could tell that Bucky held his breath. A look of desperation swept over his face. Paul stared at the man. God, let it fall on number eight.

Paul bumped the button with the side of his hand and the wheel began to spin. He notched the ball in the groove and flipped it. The familiar sound of the ball gliding in the metal crevice overwhelmed the soft chatter of the other gaming tables.

Every eye watched the ball. Sweat beaded on Bucky’s forehead. Paul swallowed hard. Come on eight. Suddenly, a stray thought popped into Paul’s mind. He remembered his last birthday as his wife pulled a sheet off a crate and instructed him to open it. The excitement he felt. The wonder as he saw the new motorcycle. His eyes must have looked just like theirs.

The ball ticked off one of the spindle slots and rolled up the steep side. Paul anticipated the ball settling down and rattling into one of the slots. Time seemed to slow as each player froze. The ball spun down the glossy finish and clanked into one of the slots. Paul followed the captured ball and gazed at the number.

“Number nine is the winner.”

Bucky grinned. “Number nine. That’s a 35 to 1 payout.”

Paul reached for the chips and found fifty chips on nine.

They reviewed the cameras ten times.


299 Words
Flash Story Must contain: Cigar, Bump, Crate