Timmy's eyes were fixed on the giant teddy bear on the prize table. All it took was the right ticket number, and it would be his. But it wasn't as easy as it sounded. There were hundreds of people at the Sunny Park Annual Picnic, and Timmy expected many of them to share his desire for the stuffed animal. The seven-year-old feared that the one ticket his mother had bought for him wouldn't be enough.
“Mommy! I want the bear!” A little girl whined. Her eyes met Timmy's and narrowed. Timmy returned the glare, grinding his teeth.
“All right, everyone!” a voice announced over the loudspeaker. “We're now going to draw the winners for the raffle!” A buzz of excitement stung through Timmy's body. The announcer began to read off the winning ticket numbers for the other prizes. Timmy watched as a woman stepped up to claim a wine basket. A man with a flock of children behind him approached to receive an assortment of Disney movies. Another man crept up to claim a Beginner's Quilting Kit.
In time, the only item left on the prize table was the large, fuzzy teddy bear. The announcer cleared his throat. “And the winner of the Mega Plush Bear is...” He began to read off the numbers; Timmy's whole body shook as he stared at the number on his ticket. The first two numbers were read, but those were the same on every ticket, so they didn't matter.
Another number was read: Eight. “Got it!” Both Timmy and the girl exclaimed. Timmy gasped, remembering that he had competition.
The next number: One. “That one, too!” Timmy  shouted. The girl growled.
The next number: Six. Timmy was shaking now. “So close!” he squealed, but he looked at the girl. Sure enough, she had that one, too.
There was only one number left. The two children looked at each other with palpable hostility. This one number would determine the winner of this silent battle. This vicious yet unspoken feud. This-
Zero!
The two children looked up from their tickets, faces blank. There was silence.
The number was read again.
“Oh, hey, that's me!” A girl of about sixteen raised her hand, giggling. She shoved her way through the crowd  to the speaker, who handed her the teddy bear. “What the hell is this? This isn't what I put my ticket in for.” She stared at the prize with mild disgust as she walked away from the table. “Oh well,” she said, throwing the object into a dumpster as she ran to catch up with her friends.