POV of Alex 2

It was just after school. Alex knew exactly what he had to do. He directly took the train and went to the house of Vernon. Never in his life was he as sure what he had to do.

´I need the white pill. Never in his life had he felt better than after the consummation of the pill. With this intellect. No. With my new me, I can be a better man. I have to clean the dirty room to feel better in it. I know exactly what others are thinking and feeling. I know exactly what I have to say to them. But the best of all is that I understand every topic, learn it fast, and work without feeling bored. Never in my life have I felt as good from learning.´

Arriving at the door of Vernon's house, Alex ringed and waited.

Finally, after 3 min Vernon opened the door.

„So, Alex. I guess you're interested after all." Said Vern without any surprise.

„Yeah. That stuff's amazing. I worked so hard like never before and I became a lot more smart and sharp. It was like I saw the world from a clear filter. Everything made sense under the effect of the pill." Alex explained full of passion.

„It works better if you're already smart." Vern commented sarcastically.

„What's... um... what's it called?" Alex asked curiously.

„It doesn't have a street name yet, because it doesn't have a street profile. And that's the way we want it to stay. The boys in the kitchen are calling it NZT-48." Vern answered sincerely.

„The boys in the kitchen...? Vern, that doesn't sound FDA approved." Alex was stupefied.

„FDA-approved, that's a laugh. Did you really believe that shit?"

Alex stared at Vern as Vern poured himself a coffee.

´Okay, so what did we have here? Some unknown, untested, possibly dangerous drug scammed out of some unidentified lab somewhere, given to me by a highly unreliable guy I hadn't seen in years.´

„So you want some more of it?"

„Yes. Definitely." Vern chuckles at his answer. He knew it.

„Like I said each pill cost 800 Euro. I can't give you a family price. I already gave you one for free. So how many do you want?"

´I knew that would happen. I have 6 thousand on my own account. This wouldn't even be enough for 8 pills. This didn't even last two days. At most, it worked 16 hours. F*ck! What should I do? I may become a genius, but only for 7 days. But maybe I could make enough money to constantly buy pills. I didn't test it. Working for money. 800 Euro per day. This won't be possible. No. It isn't about possibility. I have to believe in myself. I can become a great and successful man.´

„For now I will only take three pills. I will transfer it to your account right now." Alex took out his phone and transferred 2400€.

Vernon went to the kitchen and came back with a small plastic container with an air-lock seal.

„In this container, there are three pills. If you take them regularly the effect will only last 12 hours. If you need more pills send me a message and I will bring it to you."

Alex excitedly took the container. He pries the seal off and inside are 3 of the little white pills.

He went home. He decided to use every second of the effect and so waited till tomorrow.

´Good grades are just a small goal. What I need is a constant supply to stay focused. My primary goal should be to win a lot of money. But how should I do that? Most jobs would only give 800 Euro per month and I didn't even graduate. I may not be able to think of a solution now, but with the pill, it should be a piece of cake.´

For the rest of the day, Alex did every task that his better self would do like homework.

It was a great pain in the ass for Alex as every exercise took hours. It often ended with asking a friend how to solve this problem.

...

The next morning, the Thursday (6th April), Alex woke up early and took the pill directly after breakfast.

Just like last time, Alex saw everything more clearly, combined with an unprecedented surge of motivation. Now he knew exactly how to win money in the blink of a time.

Alex took his iPad and downloaded many eBooks about Gambling.

Under the influence of the pill, reading all these E-books was entertaining and efficient. Alex knew exactly what were the important parts in the chapters and skipped the unimportant part. What would normally take a whole day was done in the morning.

After reading through the books he knew exactly the percentage and tricks of every game. He came to the conclusion that he had a chance to make money from gambling. Gambling was, without doubt, his only chance to amass enough funds, so that he could invest in the exchange market. Alex knew that having gambling knowledge didn't guarantee him to not lose everything. Still, Alex preferred to risk everything for a better life than to go back without trying.

On the way to the biggest casino per train, Alex was thinking about what he should play first. The most important lesson, Alex learned about gambling was: "Professional Gamblers Don't Let Emotions Prevail There will be bets you win and bets you lose. If you let the excitement or sadness get to you, you will end up making bad gambling decisions.

Whenever you place a bet, make sure your actions are the result of logical thinking. Don't spend money because you "feel" obliged to do something. And don't gamble because you want to play against your opponent. That is not logical thinking. Those are your emotions leading you to one too many wrong decisions at a Casino table!"

Hopefully, Alex won't forget this through the gambling night.