Fast-forward to early August 2025, and Camden holds a faculty meeting during lunch, a few days before the start of the school year:
"So I identified a source of waste: too much was spent in professional development under my predecessor. I would then like to have more targeted PD and hence save us some money. However, we need more ideas for the coming new year on how to spend the money thus saved, in ways that would fit our needs" Camden explains to the faculty.
And my predecessor left behind a 2-year-old LED sign that has been chronically underutilized for advertising revenue, he thinks before the teachers offer the solutions they feel they need most.
"Solutions are many, but to ensure we have enough money to implement the most critical of these, I have an idea: we need to sell more advertising space on the school's two-sided LED sign. Nearly all the extra ad revenues will go towards these solutions"
Camden starts noting all the solutions desired by the teachers in the order they were suggested. He then writes an email to the other partners in Futurity Force to get some help from them to find more customers willing to buy advertising space on the school's LED sign. And another one to the teachers as well.
"The other solution: selling surplus supplies and equipment we no longer need, or we can no longer use" he conjures one more solution to raising money for the costs of implementing the various solutions the faculty wants.
I really hope to free up some wiggle room to increase my bankroll by doing these things. Yes, my bankrolls went up over time. But I feel like I am stretched to my limits if I don't reduce the amount of money devoted to savings! Anything to increase my bankroll! Maybe... if I took a cut of "administrative expenses" for sales we make, and being the auctioneer myself! Not too big of a cut, of course. But we will need to ensure that sales are made in accordance with due process, fairly, so the people won't notice anything, Camden then asks the central parish office for the policy on the sale of surplus equipment. Whatever portion of the equipment gets sold by the quarter horse season closer, will contribute to my bankroll for then.
Projectors, computers, worn-down furniture end up being the prime surplus items the faculty identified. Storage space would then be less cluttered going forward. He then proceeds to take an inventory of these items for auctions, and asks the secretary, who also happens to be the school's business manager, to start taking bids on said equipment.
Yet it becomes clear, in the weeks to follow, that, even with a week (or two in the case of the more expensive or cumbersome equipment) of lead time, not every item even gets bid on. There has to be... some place where I could attempt to sell this equipment that can't be sold through normal channels! Like textbooks, he ruminates, while being unsure of the logistics of attempting to sell that equipment, be it for scrap or otherwise. Anything for the bankroll, but I must be ready to implement this plan when the regular bids on these expire.
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Upon returning home on Friday night, after a day at the races, he looks in the mirror and starts reflecting on how both him and Myriam have grown as racehorse bettors during the season. Although Myriam is technically underage to gamble, in which case I need to place bets in her name, she can probably hold her own against the best racehorse bettors in southwest Louisiana. That, even though her allowance has not changed for months, she has $20 per week still. As for Futurity Force, he's not earning us much, so the impact is that I'm still paying, just not $400 per month as if he won absolutely nothing.
When he comes to that realization, on Saturday morning before he leaves to the races, he announces that his plan for handling Myriam's gains on the racetrack has changed. For that, he goes to Myriam's room:
"Myriam, before we begin, I have some questions: did you make it on the math and/or the quiz bowl teams?" Camden asks her.
"Yes to math, but there wasn't enough interest in quiz bowl for a team" Myriam beams with pride about team membership.
"Good. Although college may seem distant to you now, because you have become markedly better at playing the horses than you were even a few months ago, any profit you make from betting on horses will go towards saving for your college education. However, I will still impose limits on your bankroll"
"What would happen if I lose money playing horses?" a puzzled Myriam asks her father, knowing that the day may come where she will end up losing money betting on horses, despite the actual bets being placed by her father.
"What is the meaning of this?" Brittany questions the two, while her face is about to turn red. "You seem to have dragged Myriam into your trips to the racetrack!"
"I don't go to the racetrack that often, at least not with her. I took Myriam to the races a couple of times this year, but she has a much better grasp on value bets and on which bets to place based on historical trends than she did last year" Camden calmly explains to his wife.
In the past, I promptly paid back the credit card, whenever I win at the end of a night spent gambling. For a while, Brittany wasn't alarmed when I was playing at the racetrack. I fear like, now that Brittany knows that I'm taking Myriam to the races on top of the grocery store, I will need another credit card specifically for gambling, he thinks while Brittany's statements gives him pause. But a fragment of truth is better than no truth sometimes. There's about $300 left of the $700 Myriam won on the season opener, so I may as well save that $300 for her college education. However, I need to double-check my charts of her net gains for the season, she never spent her allowances on stuff other than bets on horse races, and that money is separate from her allowance budget.
"I'm afraid Myriam is going to become a gambling addict if you keep bringing her to the races!" Brittany scolds him.
"The way I saw her play the ponies this year, it's clear to her that, while she must treat it as a hobby, it's not a pure chance game the way lottery could be, and it's clear to me too. I taught her what I could about horse betting on our trips from and to the racetrack! She knows she's not going to win every time, and neither can I! I want to take her to the racetrack one more time before the season closer so that she can get some practice in for that date!"
"Will that interfere with her math team schedule?" Brittany asks, out of concern about Myriam's math team commitments.
"No. The VAs' middle school math team season opener is a week before the thoroughbred one, in October"
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And then Brittany storms off Myriam's room, while Camden also follows suit and fills out another credit card application whose credit limit he deems appropriate for his betting habits on the racetrack. Coupled with Myriam's, because of how old Myriam is.
Next week, I will get a lot of appointments from people all around southwest Louisiana for the surpluses I had auctioned off. Might not earn much for the school, but better that than nothing, he keeps thinking of the implications of selling school surpluses, as well as what would still remain. And what he could bring to the quarter horse season closer for additional bankroll funds as a result. What seems to sell well is furniture and computer equipment. What doesn't... seems to be more specialized. Like projector carts, as well as filing cabinets.
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Upon returning from the races, from which the pair only won paltry sums of money, he opens an eBay account for the purpose of selling off the old equipment. Complete with prices and descriptions of the products, as well as a disclaimer that all pickups are "by appointment only". He then calls Brianna to ask a question:
"Hi Brianna, I would like to know to whom to sell used textbooks; I obtained my masters not long ago, I would like to know who could buy these back"
"Are you asking me this because you lost money playing the ponies?" an annoyed Brianna asks him.
"No, I just no longer need the books" he answers, while waiting for an answer.
He writes down the answers provided by Brianna, most of which are in Lake Charles, but he didn't think of buybacks, because he believed the market for these to be very limited.
"Where to drop off books for recycling or donation if that vendor doesn't want to take them back?" Camden then asks Brianna about book disposal.
He then jots down the address of some eco-center in Lake Charles. So I know what to do with these old textbooks now. Mine and the school's. And two sets put aside for both Calcasieu and Jefferson Davis libraries, in separate, duly identified boxes. What net proceeds I can get for my old textbooks, and the school's, will go into my bankroll for the season closer, he starts thinking about what to do with these old textbooks. I must be quick about the textbooks on Monday.
When Monday comes, as soon as he arrives at work, he gives his instructions to the school's secretary right after school begins:
"Take all appointments for sale of used school equipment. I will be away from school until lunch to dispose of our old textbooks that can no longer be used" Camden instructs the secretary while he is about to load up the crates containing the old textbooks to be disposed of in his car.
"All right" the secretary nods.
I don't expect much, even though several of the newer books could still fetch a small amount of money. However, even our horse-betting skills, that is, Myriam and mine, can only do so much to avoid losing from time to time. The season opener was the biggest win of the season, Camden still obsesses over how much, if any, he can get out of these old textbooks.
When he arrives at the McNeese Cowboy Bookstore, the clerks are surprised to see the size of the manifest of used textbooks Camden is attempting to have them buy back.
"Sir, that's a lot of textbooks. Are you sure about this? You might wish to contact the supplier directly" the clerk informs him of another option and then emails him the contact information of the supplier handling buybacks. "In the meantime, I'll readily take the textbooks of which you only have one unit on hand. Please give us your mailing address; you will receive a check in about two to three weeks"
The principal, frustrated by the inability of the bookstore to buy back used textbooks in bulk, half-heartedly supplies the bookstore with his mailing address, and is then given a quote for what the bookstore can buy back at this point. Hopefully the check arrives in time for the season closer at the racetrack; I know that USPS can have some issues at times. Oh well, $200 for my old graduate textbooks is better than nothing, I suppose, which will be used to save for Jacob's college education rather than Myriam's if it doesn't arrive in time for the season closer.
After he leaves the bookstore, as well as the McNeese State campus, he drives to the Calcasieu parish library but doesn't check on the information given by the clerk at McNeese for buying back old textbooks in bulk until he's parked. And he then proceeds to write an email to the supplier with the manifest of what he wants to have sent back.
However, he wastes no time putting the old textbooks in the designated space for book donations. Yet he does so quickly because as soon as the books are under the hands of the library, he receives an answer from the supplier.
There are only certain titles they are willing to take back. That's 50 copies of a number of titles, the most recent of the gang. About $5-10 apiece, depending on their condition and age, the rest are simply too old, he summarizes the contents of the response from the supplier. However, given the number of books involved, I can't just pocket the entire amount, the parish central office would be asking too many questions, he starts worrying about the viability of his plan to pocket the money from sending back the old textbooks to the supplier to get more betting money for the season closer. As with my personal textbooks, the money won't arrive for weeks. My cut of it would probably arrive too late for the quarter horse season closer, or the thoroughbred season opener. But I'm walking on thin ice at home because Brittany overheard Myriam and I talk about horse betting. So I need to be very cautious.
Yet, with the bankroll implications of this entire textbook errand heavy on his mind, he goes to the recycling center. And he then returns to Lacassine with fewer books than he left Lacassine with. However, he'd still store the old textbooks in his office while waiting for their pickup.
"You're back, Mr. principal. All day I had to deal with detentions and appointments for the sale of surplus equipment" the school secretary, frustrated by the time it took for him to attempt selling off the textbooks, vents to him.
"Tomorrow, these books are gone, but we won't get paid until a few weeks later; the supplier will take these back, albeit at a fraction of the price we paid" Camden points out.
"Better a fraction of the price than nothing, and it's the same as selling old furniture or electronics from an accounting standpoint"
I guess, $100 for a computer bought during the pandemic isn't that bad, and often people bought a desk and a chair as well, the secretary looks at what people bought.
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By the end of the week, he receives his credit card in the mail. Yet, he sees fit to wait until Saturday to tell his daughter what he couldn't last week, while making sure that Brittany was busy with Jacob.
"I apologize if I didn't tell you last week what would happen, going forward, if you lost money at the races in any future outing, but mom interrupted me, and I didn't see fit to tell you afterward because, while the takeout rates are pretty steep, you still made a profit. A tiny one, though"
Takeout rates are the track's cut of anyone's winnings. In Louisiana, 17% for straight bets, 20.5% for 2-horse exotic bets, 25% for exotic bets with 3 horses or more, Camden starts thinking about what it takes to make a profit from playing the ponies.
"If you lose money, you will need to do chores to win your bankroll back. However, if you consistently make profits from betting on horse racing, then I may consider increasing your bankroll. For now, I can say that, if you make a profit from here to the quarter horse season closer, I may increase your bankroll to fifty dollars for the thoroughbred season"
"Now I have a better idea of what to do" Myriam sighs.
"Good. Are other tournaments confirmed yet?" Camden asks her. "These are days where I can't take you to the races, but I will drive you nonetheless"
"No, these tournaments are held after school" Myriam shows him the VAs' middle school math team calendar for the season.
"Thank you"
Knowing the state of middle school mathletics in Louisiana, we can pretty much take for granted the VAs will be the best team in the state, Camden then realizes that she will miss several weeks of thoroughbred races.
And yet, the weeks go on and he's a little disappointed when the payments he hoped for fail to arrive in time for the quarter horse season closer, both from McNeese's bookshop and the textbook supplier. As he takes Myriam to the quarter horse season closer... Damn it, getting a bigger bankroll for both Myriam and I to use today took too long! His face turns red as he tries not to scream.