Character Sketch: Contest Winner

She can finally tell people she's self-employed, and she gets to wander around the house in her bathrobe and slippers all day. Her day begins in front of the computer, browsing the internet for new lucrative opportunities. Then she spends her time watching some TV, hoping a commercial will lead her to success. When she checks the mail, she finds a great cache of goods, tons of envelopes and magazines. The magazines come trickling in all the time; she has more subscriptions than she knows what to do with, and besides, the magazines themselves contain more ways to further herself.

The letters are best of all. Sometimes they contain checks after she's earned some money, sometimes they contain new contests, more sources of income. The ones that tell her she's already won are always tossed, she's not interested in scams. No, she plays with the numbers and goes for the ones she's going to win, even if the prize is not money. She has a teal scooter she's never ridden.

This all started after she got laid off from her prior job as an engineer. She has no husband, no children. Nobody else in her life, not even a cat. She stays inside most of her day, basking in the alien glow of her monitor. She is brilliant but not beautiful. Her eyes are baggy and droopy, her lips long, thin and pursed. She appears to have no chin. Her hair is stringy and always tangled, and she still suffers from acne.