"Ah money", I thought to myself as I looked in my magazine seeing the newest video game out. The magazine said it cost 50 dollars. I shook my head and walked downstairs to find my mom. "Mom, can you take me to GameShop and buy me this game?" I knew the answer she would give me before I even asked. "Joeseph, you are 14 years old! It's way past the time you need to stop asking me for money! You are smart and you know how to work, so what are you waiting for?" This wasn't like Mom's other speeches. This time she didn't just say no and yell at me about maturity, this time she inspired me. As corny as that may sound, it was true. She made me really want to go out and make money. But this raised a new question: how in the name of the Lord am I going to make money? We lived in the country so there weren't really any stores I could work at. It wasn't so rural that I could go milk cows on the farm or anything, just not urban enough that I can go across the street to a fast food restaurant and work. I walked outside to think, I always think better with fresh air. But that’s when it happened, I saw something very small, almost like a seed, it was gleaming and shiny with gold-like material. I picked it up slowly and something fell out from under it. It was a nickel. "What the...?" I said out loud. "What is that?" I jumped up at the sound of my sister's voice. "What are you doing here?" My sister shrugged and said "I don't know, what is that?" I picked up the coin without responding. "This looks like a seed, what do you think would happen if we planted it and gave it water and stuff?" I said chuckling, sarcastically. My sister stared at me for a second "Let's try!" I put my finger into the soil and dug a small hole. Then I put the seed in and packed the soil back into the hole.
***

The next day, I stepped out of the house and looked at where we planted the seed. There was now four quarters next to where we planted the seed. "Lex, Lex!" I screamed for my sister. She came sprinting out. "Oh my gosh!" I took the four quarters and gave Lex two of them. She ran back into the house and came back out with a watering can. She poured some water onto the area. "Should we tell Mom?" Lex asked. "Nope, she'll find out when I have that new game I wanted", I winked at my sister.
***

Two days later, I heard my sister yelling. I came out of the house almost dropping my sandwich on the way out. I almost fainted when I saw what happened to the seed. There was a small tree which had almost ten branches coming off of it, on each one there was a five dollar bill. "That's 50 dollars right there!" I yelled to my sister. We split the money half and half again. My mom and dad came out of the house, "What's with the yelling guys?" Lex was about to speak, so I stepped on her toe lightly. "Lex and I planted a tomato tree to see what would happen." My parents nodded and went back into the house. I nodded at my sister, satisfied with my fib. We watered the tree again and went back inside.
***

After a week more of foraging and watering, my sister and I had made 150 dollars each. I couldn't believe it! To ensure that this would continue to grow, I kept it very secret and made sure to take the money off of the tree before anybody could see it. I even put a few grape tomatoes on the branches to keep up the fib. I hadn't bought the game I wanted yet, because I didn't want my parents to get suspicious.
***

The next day, it rained. I walked outside after the rain ended, and my eyes lit up. Instead of a bunch of five dollar bills, there were hundred dollar bills! There must have been at least a thousand dollars there! I decided it was about time to buy my game. My sister and I walked to the GameShop which was about half a mile from my house. When we got there, I found the game I wanted and another game. When I placed the games on the counter, the vender said "100 dollars even." I placed some of the new-found money onto the counter; I had been keeping the money in a homemade wallet. The vender smirked at me and shook his head. “Nice one kid, that’s not going to work for me. You're lucky I don't call the police.” I couldn't believe my ears! The vender must have been jealous. I shrugged to my sister. The vender pointed at a little mark on the dollar. It said not valid for legal tender. I remember seeing that on the Monopoly money my family played with, that wasn't a good sign. That’s when my parents came into the store. My mom smiled at me holding a stack of the fake money. "That's what happens when you try to take the easy way out. Well, I think you learned your lesson." That’s when she placed a real hundred dollar bill on the counter. The vender placed the games in a bag and waved us out. I looked at my mom with disbelief, "You really are cool", I said, smiling.