Kashi was flattered, intrigued, and excited at the same time by this comment. He was flattered because of the unique opportunity that he was given and excited by the proposition of greater profits, But his intrigue surpassed both of the other emotions.
If sales reached 400 cigarettes a week as his boss had predicted, and Kashi was confident that they would, the group would be bringing in $5200 of profit a week. "That's more money than a well-off adult makes." Kashi thought to himself. He was eager to know what operation could make them even more money than this.
"What's the operation?" Kashi asked Mayr.
"Gambling." Mayr replied.
"Gambling?" Kashi said with a confused look on his face.
"Yes." Mayr said back with a look of surety, "You don't have to understand it now, but here's what you need to know. I've had the new guy, Jun, and Nesh spread the news about games that we're hosting. Some card games and some dice games after school at the desolate playground 5 blocks away from here."
"Are we sure that people are going to show up?" Kashi further questioned.
"Probably not in the beginning." Mayr replied, "We'll probably get only a few delinquents. But gambling is incredibly addicting. It won't take long until word of mouth spreads and we have a sizable amount of people showing up daily."
"Seems like it's only going to be students. Most students will only have $20 to gamble. $50 at most. How are we going to make money off that? And what if some of them don't pay? It's gonna be hard to make them pay without violence." Kashi continued piling the questions.
"Don't worry about how we will make money," Mayr reassured Kashi, "here's your job. Just oversee the games and make sure everyone feels that they're playing in a safe and fair environment. Your reputation itself will make sure some of the players pay, but in case anyone can't, do NOT use violence. Not even an angry stare. Pay the player that didn't get what they're owed and write the name of the person who didn't pay. Next to their name, write down their phone number and the amount they owe. And if they come back to play and their name is on the list, turn them away. Just tell them that I will get in touch with them. At the end of the week, I want you to hand in the list to me. "
"We might lose money by paying out of pocket, right?" Kashi asked.
"Like I said, don't worry about the money." Mayr said to Kashi, "Just make sure to charge each game 20% of the amount wagered."
"Alright, I understand." Kashi responded.
Mayr gave Kashi a look of encouragement, sensing his doubts, and gave him a pat on his left shoulder. He then picked up his backpack and pulled out a few decks of cards and a plastic jar full of dice and handed it to Kashi. He then explained the games that were going to take place and wished Kashi good luck.
-
A week passed and the entire crew was gathered at the soccer field to pay tribute to Mayr. The crew had reworked the amount that was distributed and how it would be distributed. Now, the cigarette sales teams would pay Mayr 20% of all profits and Kashi 20% of the remaining profits. 70% of the money made from the gambling operation would go to Mayr and 30% would go to Kashi.
Kris and Bray paid their dues and walked off. After them, Kashi walked up to Mayr with a sheet of paper in one hand and a relatively small bundle of cash in the other.
"I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical," Kashi said as he was walking towards Mayr, "But the people we paid out of pocket came back often. We ended up making back triple what we paid them. Regardless, we only made $350 this week. Most bets were small. $5-$10."
"To be honest, that's more than I was expecting for the first week." Mayr replied.
"I was told that your association with the games was a big motivator for some people." Kashi informed Mayr, "Anyways, here's the list of people you asked for," he said as he handed Mayr the list. "Some of these people came back to play with the amount they previously owed, and I turned them away just as you instructed. Although I can't see why we didn't just take their money."
"You did the right thing," Mayr replied while reading the names on the list, "Most people don't have much to do when they're done with their obligations, such as work or school. All we did was give them something to look forward to in exchange for their money. Might as well take what we can."
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"So what do we do from here?" Kashi questioned.
Mayr kept reading the names and replied, "meet me at lunch in the cubby on Monday and bring 2 chairs. I'm going to arrange meetings with the 7 people on the list. I just want you to stand behind me and observe. Soon, what I will do is going to be your job."
"Alright I understand." Kashi replied and made his exit.
Mayr stared at the last name on the list for a bit. "Tenzin Jor. I'm pretty sure that that's the soccer player that plays defence on the school's team." He thought to himself. When he realized he was right, a small smirk appeared on his face.
-
The weekend passed and Monday came around. The morning had passed and it was lunchtime. Mayr sat in a chair in the cubby. His back was towards the back wall of the cubby and his face was towards the entrance. In front of him was another chair, about 2 arm lengths away, and behind him stood Kashi. In the hall outside the cubby, the 7 people who owed money stood in a line. Nesh was overseeing the line. He would send people in one by one and keep the line far enough so that the people in the line couldn't hear the conversation in the cubby.
The first student walked into the cubby. He was a boy with short black hair, about 5 foot 9 inches tall. He walked in timidly. Once he saw Kashi standing behind Mayr, he froze for a second.
Mayr smiled at the boy reassuringly, as if to signal to him that he wasn't in any danger.
"Jase, come take a seat." Mayr said in a friendly tone while gesturing towards the chair in front of him.
The boy slowly walked over and took a seat.
"So, Jase," Mayr began speaking, "Last Tuesday there was a balance of $50 dollars that you wagered but weren't able to pay."
"I tried to pay it back the next day when I came with my friends," Jase responded nervously, "but Kashi wouldn't take the money. A-am I in trouble?"
"No no, of course not," Mayr replied in a lighthearted tone, "We would never do anything violent to you. It's just that I've been told that you've been trying to come back over and over with your friends. Unfortunately, we can't let you play in our games anymore."
"W-wait!" Jase exclaimed with a hint of anxiety still in his voice, "That's become the favourite hangout place for my friends. Are you really just not gonna let me play those games anymore?"
"Here's the deal," Mayr responded in a friendly yet matter of fact manner, "Although we value you as a fellow student and player, we have to look out for all of our players. And not getting what they're owed can ruin their experience."
"Isn't there anything I can do? Jase asked.
"Well, you would have to prove to us that you could pay your dues in the future." Mayr responded. "As for now, there is a 20% daily interest on the current amount you owe. This is a fee to ensure that you don't miss future payments. Once you pay all of the interest plus the principal, we'll let you back in."
"Okay, I understand. I'll try my best to get you the full amount by the end of the week." With this, Jase shook Mayr's hand and made his way out of the cubby.
One after another, people would come into the cubby and a similar conversation would ensue. Some owed more, some less. Regardless, Mayr put a 20% tax on their balances. 5 more boys came and went, and then came the 7th boy, 17 year old Tenzin Jor.
"Hello, Tenzin." Mayr said in a friendly tone, "come take a seat." he added while gesturing towards the chair.
Tenzin walked over and took a seat. Tenzin was a boy with a medium build. Not big, but looked like he packed some muscle. He was about 5 feet 6 inches tall. He had brown hair and a tanned skin tone. As he sat on the seat Mayr took a good look at him. He did not look as nervous as the other students. In fact, he did not look nervous at all.
Tenzin was the star defender of their school soccer team. What's more is that he was about to play in the finals of the nationals qualifier on the upcoming Wednesday. Perhaps the knowledge that because of his status, any harm done to him would result in immediate punishment for the perpetrators gave him confidence.
"Tenzin," Mayr began to speak, "It seems you have an outstanding balance of $200 with us. Looks like you were a bit too invested in the games."
Tenzin gave a short look to Kashi. He then looked back to Mayr with a bored gaze.
"I'll give you guys my allowance. That's $25 a day." Tenzin responded with the same boredom his eyes showed, "within 8 days you should have your money back."
"Unfortunately, Tenzin," Mayr began to respond, "that's not how it's going to work. There's going to be a daily interest of 20% on the owed amount. Until the full interest plus principal is paid, we can't let you play at our games anymore."
Once Tenzin heard this, his expression completely changed. It went from a bored, yet confident expression to one of shock. He was expecting to be threatened with violence, but being banned from something he enjoyed made him a little angry.
"Are you kidding!?" Tenzin spoke furiously, "That's more than my allowance! How am I supposed to pay that!?"
"We're not the ones that wagered all that money, Tenzin." Mayr said while coldly staring at Tenzin, "Others would not be as kind as we are, which is why people are more comfortable playing our games. If you'd like to be one of those people, you need to figure out how you're gonna pay your debt."
"But there's literally no way I can pay that!" Tenzin exclaimed, "I just recently got my allowance increased. You don't understand my situation!"
"I understand," Mayr responded in a sympathetic tone, "being the star player while keeping up your grades must be stressful. You finally found a place where you can relax and enjoy yourself."
"Yes!" Tenzin acknowledged, "If you understand this then please tell me, is there anything else I can do?"
Mayr looked at Tenzin and gave him a small smirk, "Well, there is one thing you can do."