I flipped through the pages of the February issue of Teen Ink, scanning for a section marked “Fiction.” I had heard from one of my friends that my classmate, Gary, had been published with a flash fiction piece. Eager to read, I dove into the riveting tale of “All For a Video Game” by Gary Tang.
The story consists of a boy named Callum, who I presumed to be a teenager, but the details on his age were left out. He was working a terrible job at McDonalds in hopes of earning enough money to purchase a great video game. While he’s working, he finds a woman named Paula’s wallet with $45 in it, more than enough to buy the game. In the end, he endures an internal conflict about wether he should return the wallet or use the money to buy the game.
What makes this piece really great is its briefness. The author used only the most relevant details to describe five minutes in a boy’s life. The story was really diversely written as well with light-heartedness, greed, and morals mixed all in one pot. The message at the end of the story really ties it up and completes the great story that it is.