Zoey sat in Mr. Feeny's class. She was currently listening to Topanga's and Minkus' presentation. The brunette slumped against her chair and crossed her arms, knowing that their presentation was going to be boring.
"Topanga and I invested our imaginary $1,000 in the stock market." Minkus said, while Topanga drew the data on the black board.
"And how did you do?" Mr. Feeny asked, sitting in Topanga's seat.
"We kicked Wall Street butt!" Minkus exclaimed.
"Yet, none of the companies we invested in discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or bad karma." Topanga added, before she drew a smiley face on the black board.
Minkus looked at Topanga, admirably. "You got to love her."
"You got to lock her up." Cory stated, shaking his head slightly.
"Well thought out, Mr. Minkus." Mr. Feeny said, standing up from his seat. "Very politically correct, Miss Lawrence." He told the two, as they went back to their seats. "Which company's next?"
"Mr. Feeny, this project wasn't due for another week." Cory pointed out.
"This is just a progress report, Mr. Matthews. Those companies who've made progress should have no problem." Mr. Feeny responded.
Zoey gulped as she got out of her chair and walked to Shawn and Cory.
"We have a problem." She whispered, nervously.
Cory, Shawn and Zoey made their way to the front of the classroom. Zoey stood beside Cory, rubbing her hands, nervously, while Shawn stood opposite them, grabbing the chalk.
"Our investment plan is...." Cory trailed off as Shawn drew a straight line on the board.
"Proceeding." Zoey said with a nod of her head.
"We are please to report we have absolutely no losses." Shawn said.
"And we haven't fired anybody, and nobody quit." Cory added.
"They haven't even started yet." Minkus pointed out with a soft chuckle.
"No." Mr. Feeny sarcastically said. The bell rung. Everyone began to walk out of the classroom, while Mr. Feeny turned to the three, who gave him big smiles on their faces. "Come here." Zoey sighed as the three of them approached Mr. Feeny. "In the week that you have left with this assignment... I want to see some real effort."
"Mr. Feeny, effort is my middle name." Cory said, before he began to walk out of the classroom.
"Because it started with 'F'." Shawn told Mr. Feeny.
Zoey gave Mr. Feeny an innocent smile, before quickly making her way out of the class. As she was walking out, the brunette grabbed onto Shawn's arm and dragged him out.
When the three made it into the hallways, Zoey went up to her locker and placed her books inside, and grabbed out her bag, before hearing Minkus talking to Topanga.
"I'm glad our company is making money... because as the future mother of my children... you are going to live in the lap of luxury because I am a provider, babe." Minkus said. Zoey gave the two of them a confused expression.
"Minkus, anyone can draw lines on a chart and say they're making money." Cory told him as the three approached Topanga and Minkus.
"You know, you guys are big talk because you're bigger than me... but when it comes to using your brains how confident are you?" Minkus questioned.
"More confidenter than you." Shawn responded. Zoey paused for a moment, processing the word he had just said.
Zoey placed a hand on Shawn's shoulder. "Shawn... stop talking."
"Let me handle the negotiations, Mongo." Cory told Shawn, before turning his attention back to Minkus. "What do you got in mind?"
"I say we forget Feeny's imaginary money and we invest real money and see who comes out on top." Minkus simply said.
"I don't have a real $1,000." Cory stated.
"You get an allowance, don't you?" Minkus wondered.
"That five bucks is sacred." Cory said, quickly pointed at the nerd. "That's my snack money."
"Afraid?" Minkus asked.
"No." Shawn quickly responded.
"Yes." Cory said.
"Make it ten." Shawn gambled.
Zoey's eyes widened at her best friend. "What are you doing?"
"Are you nuts?" Cory exclaimed, staring at Shawn like an idiot.
"Fifteen." Minkus challenged.
"Apparently, I'm invisible." Cory muttered.
"Twenty." Shawn continued.
"Twenty-five." Minkus quickly said.
"Topanga, make them stop talking." Cory said, glancing between Minkus and Shawn.
"Would this help?" Zoey asked as she turned around and slammed her hand over Shawn's mouth.
Topanga turned Minkus with a serious expression. "As an equal partner in our corporation... I'd like to have a voice in this."
"Fine." Minkus sighed. "Let me set it up for you. It's me against them in a battle of wits."
"300,000." Topanga told Shawn, Cory and Zoey.
Zoey's eyes widened. "What?!"
Cory grabbed Minkus' hand and shook it. "Ten bucks it is."
"There's a sucker born every minute." Minkus muttered to Topanga, before glancing at Shawn, Cory and Zoey. "Three that minute."
And with that, Minkus and Topanga walked out of the hallways, leaving the three of them. Zoey sighed, before realizing that her hand was still covering Shawn's mouth. She snatched her hand away, and Shawn smirked down at her.
Cory sighed as he looked at the money in his hand. "I'm just going to give this to Minkus now... so I don't get attached to it. It's been real Abe."
"Okay, I've got an idea." Shawn spoke. "Let's call my uncle Frank. He knows horses."
"You want to be our allowances on a horse?" Cory asked.
"Really, Shawn?" Zoey questioned, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Isn't that a big risk?"
"Come on. Uncle Frank puts our ten bucks on a five-to-one shot. Bingo, bango - fifty bucks. We win the bet, we sell our story, we're movie stars." Shawn simply explained.
The three of them placed their bag straps over their shoulders and began walking through the halls. Zoey narrowed her eyes at Shawn in wonder.
"Shawn, I just have one question. If your uncle knows how to make money this easy... how come he lives in a trailer?" Zoey questioned.
••••
After School, Shawn and Zoey went over at Cory's place. Shawn sat at the kitchen table, while Cory was panicking and stressing about the horse that they picked. Zoey walked down the stairs, holding the radio and placed it onto the kitchen table. She sighed, nervously as she sat down beside Shawn.
"We bet our whole week's allowance on a horse." Cory said, placing his hands up to his throat. "I can't breathe. My lungs can't take it. I got... gastritis."
Zoey rolled her eyes. "Cory, you don't have that."
"Hey, who sent you a valentine?" Shawn asked as he picked up a love-heart shaped card off the table. "'Dear, boom-boom.'"
"That's what my dad calls my Mum when he thinks no one's listening." Cory explained as he sat down beside Zoey.
Zoey raised her eyebrows. "Boom-Boom?"
"Yeah, it makes me sick, too." Cory said.
"'Roses are red, violets are blue... valentines Monday, let's rendezvous'." Shawn read out.
"They're always leaving goofy notes for each other - secret meetings, romantic weekends." Cory explained. "When you're a parent, that's all you have left."
"Yeah, my folks are romantic like that." Shawn stated. "Last year for Valentine's Day, my dad rotated my mum's tires."
"Yeah, I got my mother a rose." Zoey said with a smile.
"And now the result of the ninth race from Aqueduct." The presenter from the radio informed.
"It's post time." Shawn said, getting excited.
Zoey chuckled softly when she saw Cory getting out his seat and placed his hands over his ears, covering them.
"The winner is Tuna Melt by a neck followed by Hot Wax and Jacob's Ladder. Tuna Melt paid 19.80 to win... 8.60 to place, and 5.40 to show." The radio announced.
Shawn quickly grabbed a piece of paper and quickly started writing. A moment later, he shouted which caused Zoey to jump a little.
"What? What?" Cory asked quickly.
Shawn rushed over to Cory and uncovered his ears. "We won!"
"How much?" Cory questioned, getting excited.
"This times this." Shawn said, pointing at the numbers on the piece of paper.
Zoey quickly got out of her seat and grabbed the calculator. As she punched in the numbers, she totalled them. Her eyes widened in shock.
"Ninety-nine bucks." She announced to the boys.
Shawn, Cory and Zoey all screamed together in shock. They had actually won something.
Mr. Matthews rushed into the kitchen with a worried expression. "What is the matter?"
"We won!" Cory shouted. He went over to his mother, grabbed her shoulders and started jumping up and down in excitement. Zoey quickly went over to the kitchen table.
"He means the Flyers." Zoey told Mrs. Matthews, quickly turning off the radio. "Sudden death overtime goal, very exciting."
"You guys act like you had money on the game." Mrs. Matthews commented.
Cory laughed. "Oh, Mum."
"What is this?" Mrs. Matthews asked as she walked over to the kitchen and picked up the love-heart shaped card.
Shawn, Zoey and Cory all stood together, leaning on each other.
"Breathe in." Shawn instructed Cory. Cory inhaled.
Zoey tried to suppress her smile when she noticed Mrs. Matthews smiling down at the card.
"You okay, Mrs. Matthews?" Zoey wondered.
"Huh?" Mrs. Mathews asked, before smiling. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I was just thinking I got to get a sitter for Monday night."
"Breathe out." Shawn whispered, and Cory exhaled.
"I started babysitting when I was around twelve... and you're almost twelve." Mrs. Matthews told Cory. "Maybe you could stay with Morgan. The job pays two dollars an hour."
"Whew. Two bucks - that's a lot of money." Cory stated, trying to act normal. "Mum, you know what? Keep the two bucks and buy yourself a nice dress."
"Gee, thanks, Cor. Okay, Monday night. I'll take a chance on you." Mrs. Matthews told her son, before she walked out of the kitchen.
Shawn sighed. "Whew. You almost spilled the beans to Boom-Boom."
"Hey, we just won a hundred bucks." Cory said with a wide smile spreading across his lips.
Zoey chuckled softly as she watched Shawn and Cory do their handshake, they imitated shots before they started to dance.
Zoey groaned. "I need new friends."
The back door opened, and Eric walked inside before he quickly approached the three of them.
"Come here, guys." Eric said. The three of them sat down at the kitchen table, while Eric stood up. "Now... would this bother you? All right. Your name is Brianna Henshaw. You're the best-looking girl in school. So one day you see me... accidentally stumble into your best friend Debbie and inadvertently French-kiss her. Now you won't go out with me. Why won't you go out with me?"
"I'm a little bit country. You're a little but rock 'n' roll." Shawn responded. Eric sighed and made his way over behind the kitchen counter.
Zoey sighed. "Eric, maybe it's because you made out with her best friend. Girls hate that."
"Hey, Eric." Cory started, getting out of his seat and approached the kitchen counter. "You like this girl, well, then, you got to take a big risk. I know about this."
"Oh, you do?" Eric questioned, sounding sarcastic. "Well, I'm always eager to get romantic advice from a fetus."
"The point is, you're never going to win her over unless you do something bold, unless you take a risk." Cory said, leaning closer towards his brother. "That's how I live my life. I'm Risky Boy."
••••
During the next day at School, Shawn, Cory and Zoey were doing their progress presentation. The three of them approached the front of the class and began explaining how they invested their money.
"After careful market analysis... product testing, and strategic planning. We belt on Tuna Melt to win." Cory explained, smiling proudly.
"You gambled on your ten dollars?" Minkus asked, shocked.
"It's a thousand dollars." Mr. Feeny corrected.
"Oh, right." Minkus muttered.
Mr. Feeny turned to the three of them. "You invested your money on a racehorse?"
"And we won." Shawn said with a smirk.
"Call the police, Mr. Feeny. It's illegal for minors to bet." Minkus pointed out.
"Well he does have a point, Mr. Matthews." Mr. Feeny told Cory. And without hesitation, Cory and Shawn both turned to the brunette.
"Yes, he does. Good pointed, little nerdling. Except in this assignment... we're supposed to be businessmen and businesswomen. And as we all know... it's perfectly legal for men and women to play the ponies." Zoey simply explained.
"Mm-hmm." Mr. Feeny said under his breath. "Although I don't condone gambling in any form... Mr. Matthews, Mr. Hunter and Miss Francis have demonstrated a basic tenet of American free enterprise - the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward."
"Risk, risk, risk." Cory said.
"Reward, reward, reward." Shawn added, before the three of them high-fived each other.
Minkus glared at them. "Oh, please."
"I think they were very bold." Topanga said, impressed.
"Gold digger." Minkus muttered.
••••
After School, Shawn and Zoey went over to Cory's place. The three of them were sitting on the couch, watching the television whilst eating lollies. A smile spread across Zoey's lips as she sat between the two boys.
"A hundred bucks and an 'A'. It just doesn't get any better than this." Cory said, and Zoey nodded in agreement.
The front then opened, and Eric walked inside. He stood still for a moment.
"I am a dating God. Worship me." He said, lifting his arms up in the arm.
"Ignore him." Cory told Shawn and Zoey. "Maybe his big head will float him upstairs."
Eric approached the couch. "I was bold, I took a risk... and now I got date with Brianna Henshaw."
"And you should be saying thank you to whom?" Cory wondered, gesturing to himself.
"The Helco Locker Company of Madison, Wisconsin." Eric said as he sat down on the arm of the couch.
"Why?" Zoey questioned.
"I stuffed myself in her locker." Eric responded.
"Eric, when I said take a risk... I didn't want you to become a stalker." Cory said.
"I only had to wait in there for, like, three periods. I mean, she came back from math, and there I was - her compact bundle of love." Eric explained, smiling proudly.
"The greater the risk, the greater the return." Cory muttered.
"What's this?" Eric wondered as he grabbed a love-heart shaped card that was stuck above the fireplace. "'Dear Pooh-bear'. From Mum and Dad."
"Ooh. Boom-Boom's reply." Shawn said, and Zoey snickered.
"Blue is the violet, red is the rose. Wear that sexy cologne, and meet me at eight o'clock at the place where you proposed." Eric said, reading out the letter.
Shawn turned to Cory and Zoey. "Poetry is not Boom-Boom's strongest suit."
"Poetry. Girls, love poetry." Eric stated as he started making his way up the stairs. "Uh, there once was a guy in a locker..."
"Who just got a date - what a shocker!" Cory exclaimed, smiling.
Zoey turned to Cory and smirked. "You are a real chip of the old Boom-Boom."
Cory chuckled softly before he turned to Shawn. "Hey, Shawn, can you reach your Uncle Frank right now?"
"Yeah. Why?" Shawn asked.
"Because I have wasted the last twelve years of my life." Cory said, standing up from the couch.
"Huh?" Shawn and Zoey both asked in unison.
"'Don't swim after you ear. Don't read in the dark. Don't stick your head in the ball return'." Cory said, listing all his problems."
Zoey narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you talking about, Cor?"
"I've been playing it safe all my life... and where's it gotten me? Here in a room with you two." Cory told them.
Shawn huffed. "Thanks a lot."
Zoey pouted her lips. "That hurt a lot, Cory."
"I'm talking about risk, guys. Big risk - big reward. Bigger risk - bigger reward. Feeny finally taught us something that we can use." Cory told the two of them. "Call your uncle."
"You want to risk our hundred bucks?" Shawn questioned.
"I wanna live!" Cory shouted.
And next thing Zoey knew, the three of them were up in Cory's room. They waited for half an hour for the announcer to name the horse that had won the race. Zoey sat down on Cory's bed, nervously. Shawn was sitting at the desk, beside the radio while Cory paced around the bedroom, stressed.
"The Flyers swept by Montreal, six to three." The radio informed.
"Forget the stinking Flyers. Give me the fifth race at Pimlico!" Cory shouted. Zoey breathed heavily as her left leg began to shake.
"And now the results of the fifth race at Pimlico..." The radio trailed off.
"Come on, Neck Flap, baby!" Cory exclaimed, getting excited.
"And the winner is N--"
Cory lifted up the radio, which caused it to unplug from the wall and immediately turn off. Zoey's eyes widened in shock.
"Nuh? What kind of name is Nuh?" Cory questioned in confusion.
"You idiot!" Shawn shouted. "You ripped the plug out of the wall."
"Well, he said Nuh. It's got to be Neck Flap." Cory told Shawn, placing the radio onto his desk. "What other horses starts with Nuh?"
Shawn looked down at the paper filled with horses names. "Okay, we got Neck Flap, Nux Vomica... Nunzio's Dream, and, remarkably a horse called Nuh."
"Come on, get on the horn and call your uncle." Cory insisted. Zoey ran her fingers threw her hair nervously as Shawn walked over to the phone, dialed his number.
Shawn placed the phone up to his ear. "Guys, Shawn. Give me Frankie Two Toes."
Zoey narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Frankie Two Toes? Why is he called that?"
"Well, I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. Trust me, I don't want to do that." Shawn simply responded.
"Enough fliting, Shawn." Cory demanded. "Back to the phone."
Shawn went back to the phone. "Uncle Frank? How'd our horse do?" He asked into the phone. "Yeah. Uh-huh."
Than all of a sudden Shawn went silent.
"What? What's the matter? I knew we shouldn't have bet on Neck Flap. All the smart money was on Nuh." Cory quickly said. Shawn slowly lowered the phone and was still silent. He looked like he just saw a ghost. "I know, I know. We lost it all."
Shawn gulped. "Uncle Frank says-"
"We just lost all our money, because we took a risk. Because we didn't play it safe. I'll never take another risk as long as I live." Cory ranted as he sat down on his bed.
"We just won six hundred and eighty bucks." Shawn announced.
Zoey was white as chalk. Her eyes and her mouth were frozen wide open in an expression of stunned surprise, She couldn't say anything.
"Let it ride!" Cory shouted.
Shawn, Cory and Zoey did their victory dance around Cory's room. After a couple minute, the three of them went down and picked the money and began counting it. As soon as they got back to Cory's bed, they spread all the money over Cory's bed.
"Let's count it again." Cory said in awe.
"It's been six hundred and eighty bucks the last twelve times." Zoey told her best friend.
"Don't you love twenties?" Cory asked, holding a couple of twenties in his hand.
"I'm going to go get us a pizza." Shawn said.
"Fine. Go." Cory said, handing money to Shawn. "But get a receipt, this is a business dinner."
Shawn simply took the money, before his attention turned to the brunette. He smirked.
"Zo, want to come with?" Shawn wondered.
Zoey nodded. "Sure."
Her and Shawn both walked out of the Matthews' house and began to walk down to go get pizza.
••••
When Shawn and Zoey went down to get Pizza, their eyes widened when they saw Lenny Dykstra. Shawn quickly called Cory over in a phonebooth. After waiting a couple of minutes, Cory quickly arrived, and the three of them got their baseball cards signed by Leeny Dykstra.
When they got back from the Pizza place, the three of them were gushing over the signed cards. Shawn, Zoey and Cory walked inside.
"I hold in my hand one dozen freshly signed mint-condition Lenny Dykstra rookie cards." Shawn said with a wide smile.
"Getting more valuable every second." Cory stated. "They're more valuable now... now... now."
"Ka-ching!" Shawn, Cory and Zoey shouted in unison.
"Wait a minute." Cory muttered as he glanced at the front door. "I didn't leave the front door open."
"Where's Morgan?" Zoey wondered.
Zoey looked around the lounge to see the side door opened, a baby doll on the ground while a pot plant smashed through the glass door.
"Uh-oh." Cory mumbled, before he started shouting for his sister. He got not response. "I'll go see if Mr. Feeny has seen her."
After a while Cory had come back inside the house, informing Shawn and Zoey that Morgan was safe and that was up in the tree house. Zoey sighed in relief, before she went back home.
••••
Next day at School, Zoey sat in her usual spot in Mr. Feeny's class. Mr. Feeny was at his desk, discussing about the class presentations.
"Well, based on performance figures to date it seems as though... the Matthews-Hunter-Francis Consortium is our most profitable corporation." Mr. Feeny informed the class. A wide smile spread across Zoey's lips. "So, gentleman and lady, do you have any business tips for our other young entrepreneurs?"
"Yeah." Shawn said. "Some people bet on a jockey. I say, 'Give me a horse that can run in the mud'."
"Oh, bravo." Mr. Feeny said, slowly clapping his hands. "Anything to add, Mr. Matthews?"
Cory nodded. "Yeah. The greater the risk... the greater the potential profit. Just like you taught us, Mr. Feeny."
"Yes, but sometimes the glitter of the profit makes one lose sight of the risk." Mr. Feeny responded.
"And you should never gamble anything that you can't afford to lose." Cory said.
"I didn't teach you that." Mr. Feeny pointed out.
"No, you didn't. I kind of managed to trip over that one myself." Cory said.
The bell rung. Everyone got out of their seats. Zoey gathered all of her things and walked out of the classroom, waiting for Cory while Shawn stayed inside the classroom. Cory than walked out and handed the brunette nerf guns, which were loaded with soft balls.
They were planning on hitting Minkus.
Cory and Zoey peeped around the corner to see Shawn walking out of the classroom. He gave the two of them the single as he took out his own Nerf gun.
"Happy Valentine's day." Minkus said in confusion. "Turn around."
Shawn, Cory and Zoey rushed back into the classroom and shout their nerf balls at Minkus. Minkus started screaming, while Mr. Feeny ran over to his desk and pulled out a hidden Nerf gun from underneath his desk, shooting back at the three of them. Zoey burst into laughter as she hide behind Shawn.
____________________
PUBLISHED: January 12, 2018
WORDS: 3851