A crowd had gathered at the table outside ARCO Arena, quickly sensing that they were in the presence of something special and unique, something they would never have the chance to see again. At the table, unimaginably quick hands darted a trio of shells about, daring the bystanders to guess which one contained hidden treasure.
"Come now, folks, you can't tell me you don't think you know where the dollar is, I know you're sure, come on now…" Ticha Penicheiro was working the crowd for everything she was worth, which admittedly wasn't as much as she would have liked. But her people-pleasing skills were still in full effect, which had led her to this alternative form of employment.
"It's on the right!" someone yelled. Ticha grinned and picked up the one on the right, showing nothing underneath it but the surface of the table. Laughter came from the crowd as the over-confident theorizer slunk away in embarrassment.
A louder and deeper voice suddenly boomed, "Hell, haven't you people ever played this game before?" The bystanders and spectators watched in awe as a tall woman with a no-nonsense manner shoved her way through the crowd. Ticha saw her and went pale.
"Yo, what are you doing here?" she hissed.
"Coach sent me looking for you," Yolanda Griffith said impatiently. "Ticha, what the hell are you doing?"
"Listen, I needed spending money, and this was the quickest way I could think of to get some. You understand that, right? You've done some weird stuff just for-"
"If you bring Candace into this you're going to leave me no choice but to get seriously pissed at you," Yolanda interrupted in a level but menacing tone. "That was a completely different situation, time, and place. And so is this. Get a move on before Coach brings in the big gun for both of us."
"The big gun? Please, I could take Kara in a slap fight. Besides, I'm almost finished here. I just need a couple of more minutes and then I'm done. Please stop interrupting me and menacing the people." Ticha's tone was amazingly steady for a woman in her position; she knew that Yolanda couldn't do anything to her that she couldn't handle. As her teammate stepped out of the way with a scowl, Ticha resumed her patter. "All right, people step on up, you've got two left to pick from, which do you think it is? Come on, don't be afraid!"
Yolanda was surprised by Ticha's easy affectation of an almost carnival attitude. It was so unlike her, but at the same time it was a natural development. The shell in the center was lifted to reveal air, and several more people paid up. Finally, she picked up the left-hand shell to show off the golden dollar underneath.
When all was said and done, Ticha had collected well over two hundred dollars from the crowd. Yolanda whistled appreciatively. "Hey, Tich?"
"Yo, Yo," Ticha called back.
"Can you show me how to do that?"