House of Surprises

“You won’t find any money in the house, so don’t bother looking,” Jon said and laughed.

Zak shook his head and shoved his new house keys into his front pants pocket. He was too excited and wanted to head right over to the new house. Work could wait just a tad longer. He pulled into the driveway for the first time; a slow smile enveloped his lips as he stared at the beige brick ranch. This house was his first major purchase.

He jumped out of the car and rushed toward the front door, his heart pounded wildly. He pushed the door open and stepped inside, remembering how much he hated that awful green paint. As he walked through the rooms, he was surprised that he hadn’t noticed just how much of it was green.

Zak headed to the front bedroom, trying to decide if it would be his bedroom or not. The back bedroom was bigger, but the front bedroom had the better closet. He knelt down to check out the ugly green carpet, surprised that it wasn’t nailed down to the wood floor. Maybe the wood was in great shape, and he could just yank the carpet and clean the floor.

Under the carpet was old red foam padding. It was crumbling, and dusty red streaks covered the floor. If it were glued to the floor, he’d have his work cut out for him. Zak pulled the carpet and foam further back; surprised to see a white bank envelop on the floor. He frowned and picked it up. No way could money be in there. The previous owner said he wouldn’t find any. He reached in and pulled out a wad of cash, but that wasn’t all. A cameo necklace sat at the bottom of the envelope.

Word Count: 298