A guy at my old job handed me a lottery ticket one afternoon, grinning like he’d just done me the biggest favor in the world.

I scratched it during my break, not expecting much. At first, nothing. Then suddenly—three matching numbers. My eyes widened. I checked again. It said $10,000 WINNER in bold letters.

I froze. My heart started pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. I sat there gripping the ticket like it might fly away.

A few minutes later, he swung by my desk casually. “Hey, you scratch that ticket yet?”

Panic flared. I didn’t want to tell him. Not yet. Not until I figured out what I was going to do. So I forced a shrug and lied.
“Nah, not yet. Haven’t had time.”

He left with a smirk, and I could feel my face burning. My mind was racing—what would I do with the money? Pay off bills? Take a trip? Should I even tell him I won?

I turned the ticket over to read the fine print on how to redeem it. That’s when my stomach dropped. Right there in tiny letters:
“For entertainment purposes only. This is a novelty item.”

A prank ticket.

I just sat there, half laughing and half ready to throw something across the room. My heart was still racing, but now for a different reason.

When he came back later and asked again, I just shook my head and said,
“Scratched it. Nothing. Thanks though.”

Inside, I was still trying to calm down from the adrenaline crash. But one thing was clear: he got me good.