It was the end of the school day and Haru saw all the kids off. He stayed in the classroom looking over the work the children had done that day. They might complain but the children enjoyed it.
By the time Haru finished grading the papers it had gotten late. He put away the papers and packed up the rest of his stuff for his walk home. The first few days going to and from the temple were interesting as he tried to keep from getting lost to bad. Finally he had found an easy path that wouldn't get him lost.
The route did take him through a not so friendly section of town. Hell, Haru lived in that section. There were some bars and other places he passed on his way home. Walking by one, he happened to glance in and saw some guys playing cards. He stopped and thought a moment. Taking a deep breath Haru entered the establishment. He had just gotten paid and figured a few hands of cards couldn't hurt.
"DAMN IT ALL..." one man in the game cried out in frustration as he threw his cards down. "I'm done..." the man rose up and left the game, pushing past Haru on his way out.
"See ya next week Kim!" the dark haired man with ruby eyes called after the quitter which only got some curses flung back at him. The man noticed Haru looking their way. "Care to try your luck? We just happen to have an empty seat," he said pushing out the chair with his foot.
"Heh, if you gentlemen don't mind," Haru smiled and took the seat. The other two men at the table chuckled.
"The name's Zane, this is Lee and Tung. The one that just left is Kim," Zane smiled. "And you are...?"
"My name is Haru Chen, it is a pleasure to meet you." Haru's response got chuckles out of the other three.
"Well Haru, the game is Poker, I take it you know how to play?" Zane shuffled the cards, a dangerous grin on his face.
"I might not play often but I do know how to play," Haru's demeanor changed, his eyes narrowed an air of seriousness surrounded him.
Zane's grin turned into a smile. "I like you kid," he said as he began dealing out the cards.
A dozen or so hands passed before Lee bailed out. Another half dozen before Tung followed suit. Now it was just Haru and Zane, both men had a nice size chunk of cash laying before them, but Haru's was bigger.
"Might not play often my a**..." Zane said as he lit up a cig and took a deep breath on it. "You a pro or somethin?" he asked.
Haru shook his head. "No, I've just always had unbelievably good luck at cards," he said as he fixed his pile of cash.
"If your not a pro, what the hell do you do?"
"I'm a teacher at the temple."
Zane nearly inhaled his cig. "You work with the baldy convention? Man... Ch.."
"Come on now, I don't work with the Monks, I work with the children. The temple is merely kind enough to allow me to use one of their rooms to teach the children."
Glancing at the clock Zane got up and grabbed his cash, shoving it into a pocket. "Well Haru it's been nice meetin ya. I got other rounds to make so maybe I'll see ya around if ya stop by here again."
Haru smiled and rose himself, putting the money away in his bag. "Yes, it was fun and hey, I tripled my paycheck."
"Bah, I'll clean you out next time I swear... See ya guys later!" Zane said to the rest of the regulars and waved as he headed out to his next stop.
Haru paused a moment and began thinking. He bowed politely to the bartender as he left the establishment. His mind going over the things he would do with this money. Hey, this wasn't bad, he would have to make this a habit.
