REWARDING SPORTSMANSHIP

Lucius was a young man in the city of Antioch. In the ancient Roman days, chariot racing was popular in Antioch. Lucius had a very good talent when it came to chariot racing. He was raised by his mom and his uncle. His uncle owned a stable where most of the champion horses were found and he had some of the best horses. Most of the time, Lucius would watch when men came to trade horses and would test them out in the field, developing a liking for chariot racing.

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Lucius was now 21 years old and worked for his uncle in the stable. His mom fell sick, and he couldn't buy enough medicine for her because the money he got from the stable wasn't enough.

"Mom, I will be going for a walk with Marcus," Lucius said as he adjusted the torn short blanket to cover the feet of his shivering sick mom.

"Okay, just make sure you stay out of trouble," Lucius's mother said in her shivering, breaking voice. His mom always made sure she taught her son all the values she could. She would always tell him, "sportsmanship is not only shown in the fields or the stadium and circus; it is something one who values doing right carries everywhere." And, he always listened to her words. He looked up to and respected her greatly. He had no qualms when it came to values. The person she was more worried about was Marcus. Marcus was a con man-an experienced thief. He was just the opposite of Lucius, and people would always wonder and ask how they ended up being best friends.

Lucius got to their normal meeting spot and couldn't find Marcus among the few people there. Suddenly, he felt a sack come over his head and heavy pair of hands held him on the shoulder. Lucius, in a reflex, swerved quickly, grabbed the stranger's hand and bent it. Just then, Marcus cried out, still trying hard to conceal his voice and pain. "Woah, it's me, Marcus," Lucius recognized the voice and let go of his hand.

"What was that? And what did you steal again?" Lucius asked Marcus, knowing that his friend was up to some mischief. And typical Marcus always tried to deny the obvious. "No, I just feel like covering my face from the sun a little."

Lucius laughed out his lungs because he knew Marcus, and that was not the first time he heard that line from him. "Okay if that is so, you should take a break; the sun is no longer out," Marcus said as he pulled the sack from Marcus's head.

"Man, what are you doing? If you weren't so big and strong, I would beat you to a pulp," Marcus said as he tried to grab the sack back. Then one of the pursuers sighted Marcus, "hey, he is over there," he shouted to alert the other men who were also chasing Marcus.

"Lucius, run! Lucius, run, run," Marcus said as he took to his heels followed by Lucius and then by the pursuers. After some minutes of a long chase, they were able to lose them and later went to a Circus Maximus where they watched chariot races. They watched Titus win so many times. Titus was one of the best chariot racers and the one with the biggest pride.

After Titus won another race, he came out as usual and started boasting of how no one could defeat him. He even put a bet on that no one could win against him. "Hey, that's a lot of money there; I think you should take the challenge."

"Hell no, everybody knows that Titus, the unbeatable, always wins."

"Hey bro, believe in yourself; I know you far much better than him. Besides, that money could really help; we could split it 20-80, and it could cover any payments for your mom."

"Well, I guess. Besides, if I lose the game, I am not really losing anything, and I really need the money," Marcus convinced him, and Lucius took the challenge.

After some minutes of preparation, the game took off. Although Lucius was good at the racing, it didn't change the fact that Titus was an experienced regular. Lucius was losing the race, lagging far behind Titus. Then suddenly, one of Titus's carriage wheels went off, and Titus tried his best to control it but still had a bad crash. Lucius won the race at the end of the day, and although Titus had a big pride, he still stuck to the deal and gave Lucius the money.

Lucius was so happy that day; he was finally going to get his mom treated. He and Marcus walked back home together after sharing the money. "Man, I know he crashed, but I must be really lucky because he had already won that race," Lucius said to Marcus.

Marcus laughed at Lucius, "you ain't as lucky as you think. In fact, if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have won the race."

"What do you mean?"

"I just simply was smart, and when he was outside talking to someone before the game, I loosened the wheels a little."

"Wait, what? So you cheated?" Lucius was angry; if there was one thing he didn't like, it was cheating. He was always fair in what he did.

"Not like I cheated; I just did a little something to help you," Marcus said.

"You know what, just go home and make sure you don't follow me because I am really pissed right now," Lucius said to Marcus. Marcus stopped following him and went home; he knew his friend was really pissed. Lucius too, went home but didn't tell his mom about anything that happened that day. He just thought of it all night long.Although he really needed the money for his mom, he knew that if she knew he got the money the wrong way, she would tell him to return it. And so the very next day, he took the money back to Titus and told him everything.

Titus was actually amazed by Lucius being so honest and having the good morals to return the money. He refused taking the money back and told Lucius to keep it as a reward for his honesty and good sportsmanship. Lucius was so happy, he skipped back home and paid for his mom's medicine. As for his friend, Marcus, he forgave him but became more cautious around him because he didn't want that kind of thing to repeat itself.

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