"Let the Savings Begin!" by Antonio B

            “C’mon mother!” pleaded Alphonse, “I’m finally 15, and you promised you’d take me with you when you leave for Black Friday”

            “I suppose we did,” replied his mother, “but to be frank: I do not believe you are old enough to witness the savagery of the peasants there…”

            “Oh let him join us for the love of Apollo!” yelled his father, “If he doesn’t come this year, when will he ever learn to love Black Friday?”

            Sweet, I’m finally going with mother and father this year! Ah well, I better mark my calendar. Hmm… November… 102 A.P…. Ah there!

            Alphonse was now eagerly waiting for the day that he would finally be able to join his parents during the Black Friday rush, which was now tomorrow night. Alphonse rushed up the stairs to the 5^th floor where he gave all his clothes to his butler and all his extras to his maid and proceeded to pray to Apollo before he went to bed. As Alphonse stood up to get in bed, the sight of smoke from his left side window caught his attention and he decided to look out the window for a better look.

            Why must these peasants ALWAYS burn fire at this time of night?! Let me see, there’s about… 15 burning cans tonight?! Well it’s too late to be wasting time with these low-lives.

            Going now to his right side window, Alphonse’s eyes were instantly lit up when his eyes caught sight of the lights shining brightly from the many luxurious houses that seemed almost endless. Each and every house was lit up and none were shorter than 6 stories tall.

            Muuuuuch better! I wonder if the Elrics will be there tomorrow night? They seem to be gone every Black Friday was well. Oh! Would you look at the time!

            Quicker than Apollo himself, Alphonse rushed into his bed and fell asleep as soon as humanly possible, dreaming of all the gifts he would be receiving and all the trampling people would talk about.

            Today was that day, the fated Black Friday.

            As Alphonse traveled down the long underground road in the family train car, all he could see was the bright red railing they were traveling along and all he could imagine was all the gold he would be around, all the gifts he would be receiving, and all the peasants he would see. The ride the family’s destination was a mere 15 minutes but to Alphonse, it felt as if he turned 16 in that car.

            When Alphonse finally got out of the train car, he was met with a huge gold coliseum, not the gold shopping mall he was desperately waiting to see. He was so confused that his excitement faded the instant he saw that huge doorway to the coliseum but the confusion finally turned to understanding after a moment.

            Oh! Because the way people shop here are so vicious and savage, they’re like gladiators! It’s like a metaphor, right? Well it matters not, I’m finally here!

            As Alphonse and his family approached the door, a bouncer stopped them, examined them and led them to a cable car. This cable car would take them to the top of this coliseum and give them a bird’s eye view of the arena, but Alphonse was not aware of this. He was still was in a world where he was getting gifts today and making tons of peasants jealous. His love for Black Friday would soon be completely destroyed.

            The top of the coliseum had many viewing platforms, like a fancy opera house, and had chairs made of gold and lined with rubies the size of tennis balls. As Alphonse took a seat between his parents, he was wondering why they were sitting at all for Black Friday, but before he can even produce a sound, a tall, skinny man dressed in a purple tuxedo with a black tie came out of one of the pitch black viewing platforms. A bright light was illuminating him and some people in the coliseum arena. In the arena were peasants, those who burned cans for heat and stole whatever to get by, savages.

            “GOOD EVENING EVERYONE!” yelled purple tux, “IS EVERYONE READY FOR THE ANNUAL BLACK FRIDAY CELBRATION? WELL TO BAD HERE WE GO! TODAY’S FIRST ITEM IS A BRAND NEW GOLD LINED PURSE! ARE YOU READY SAVAGES? 3…2…1… LET THE SAVINGS BEGIN!!!”

            The instant purple tux said “1” the savages bolted at each other, tackling one another and throwing punches left and right. This is it, Black Friday is a battle to the death for luxury items for peasants. This was life or death for them, but to the royals, this was equivalent to a football game, the Superbowl. As the savages fought, Alphonse’s face was blank. He was unable to express his emotions and all you could see in his eyes was the carnage that was Black Friday.

            When he came back to his senses, he began to cry and fell to his knees, but he had no time for crying as the next item was being produced and announced to the excited crowd. Because of his shock and all the crying he was still doing, the last words he heard before running to the cable car were “LET THE SAVINGS BEGIN!!!”