Over 2 months later, Camden could finally muster one last player to get the quiz bowl team running, and he could then allow the team to enter quiz bowl-State as a wildcard, held at VA. However, he kept quiet about quiz bowl at home, even when Myriam is set to be playing at State. When they start talking about quiz bowl at the dinner table...
"This year, we failed to make it to the HSNCT; hopefully on Saturday we will get it" Myriam starts talking about the VAs' hopes going into quiz bowl-State.
"In the past four years, VA went to the HSNCT with very, very strong finishes for the last three years" Brittany explains to a Jacob who didn't follow VA quiz bowl much.
Sadie and Cristiano having graduated last year was one thing, but the real kicker was VA losing Anna. As for Lacassine, Derrick is our best player, but he focused too much on mathletics to be of much use in quiz bowl. The other 3 players were outcasts of varying academic strengths, and the coach had to fight with the parents to get them to play, Camden tries to think of the quiz bowl situation at both VA and Lacassine.
"Just don't try to think of betting on horse races, and you'll be fine" Camden then advises his daughter the night before the tournament.
"You're the one who tied everything to whether I can bet on horse races! Since the day I even began betting in the first place!" Myriam lashes out to her dad.
My daughter has become pickier as to what she will accept to play for. She will demand transparency about what the money will be used for, on top of clear fundraising targets. I'm concerned that she will lack discipline, Camden struggles to voice his concerns about Myriam's attitude as of late. She acts like an expert whose value can seemingly afford her some breathing room to be picky with projects at work, or to voice issues her coworkers cannot voice. Have I been a bad father to Myriam? Did I create a monster of a bettor?
This entire deal about using school money for gambling ends up keeping him up at night, especially with the forensic auditor sent after him by the parish that kept visiting the school in the past few weeks. And requesting accounting information for several years, and on specific aspects that appears suspicious about his expenditures. Also, early in my tenure as a principal, I decided to have some of the most senior teachers in K-6 and 7-12 groomed for assistant principal positions, reducing their teaching loads, but not altogether removing these. I have the feeling one of these will become principal if things go awry because of my involvement in horse racing! Memories seemed to go off in his mind at night.
The following day, he drops off Myriam at VA for quiz bowl-State, and then goes on buying groceries, as well as other items, unconcerned by any goings-on at quiz bowl-State. Be it Lacassine losing a lot of games, and the Cardinals winning a grand total of one game. Or the forensic auditor the parish hired to investigate his case being a moderator at that tournament.
During the break, the forensic auditor hired by the parish school board to investigate embezzlement suspicions meets with Glen, whom he didn't expect to be reffing a quiz bowl tournament.
"I apologize, sir, for being late in submitting the report, there was a last-minute lead that we needed to investigate" the forensic auditor sternly tells Glen.
"Just send the bill and report to the central parish office" Glen requests the forensic auditor before the auditor emails the report and its accompanying invoice to both him and the comptroller from his phone.
Ouch! Not only he went ahead and bought the horse in the school's name, he had the school claim it at a race below the minimum required for competitive bidding. Basically, Lacassine's racehorse is a low-level horse. And Camden even had the audacity to set up a phantom supplier in their system through which to pay the trainer, under maintenance expenses! Glen reflects upon skimming the first part of the report, as it relates to Lacassine's involvement in horse racing. He then recommends to the head of HR to fire Camden from his position as principal of Lacassine, as well as look for another principal.
And he also uses the opportunity to report Camden, along with Lacassine, to the Louisiana Racing Commission so that, hopefully, the LRC revokes both Camden's and Lacassine's horse ownership licenses.
When the time comes for Camden to pick up Myriam at the end of quiz bowl-State:
"I'm proud of you because the VAs' roster was much worse than the ones we had in the past" Camden tries to console his daughter, who's a little dejected from the VAs' poor showing at quiz bowl-State.
Then again, when the past 4 seasons brought joy to VA fans, thanks to four consecutive top-25 finishes at the HSNCT, of which 2 are top-10s. Of course, this lackluster quiz bowl season would have disappointed the VA fanbase! I guess VA fans still have NSDA Nats to look forward to, and for Chantal in international extemp, he sighs while picking up Myriam from the tournament.
Next year, I will have some help from two eighth graders who will be playing at the MSNCT, Myriam sighs, believing that next year, she will be playing at the HSNCT.
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The following Monday after quiz bowl-State, the parish police receives a copy of the auditor report regarding Camden. Its content is apparently enough to indict him, and the police drives a short distance from the station. They arrive in the principal's office:
"You're under arrest for government fraud! You have the right to remain silent. If you don't have a lawyer, the court will provide you with one. Anything you might say may be held against you" the police officer reads Camden's rights, forensic audit report in hand, and then handcuffs him.
"Attention! Your principal is under arrest!" another officer announces in the school's PA system.
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Oh boy... I'm going to be banned from racetracks statewide for this! And I will be forced to sell both the school's racehorse and the one I have part ownership of while I'm in prison! a visibly distraught Camden thinks about how his addiction to gambling on horse races might have landed him in jail. And maybe enter a bargain plea. I really wonder what will happen to the rest of the family now that I am no longer working as a principal...
And, after school, he sees fit to call home to inform the rest of the family of his dire predicament.
"Brittany, I'm under arrest!" Camden shouts over the phone, hoping that she will understand what's happening.
"Under what charge?"
"Government fraud. From this day forward, you will have complete access to my bankroll and keep betting on horse races in my name" Camden starts crying.
I also have both my own and Lacassine's horse ownership licenses revoked, but they never knew about my horse ownership license, he has a lot on his mind, preventing everything from being voiced to his wife. The court seized Lacassine's horse and is about to auction the horse off!
"And I'm fired as principal, too! I face up to five years of prison and we may be fined up to ten grand, too"
"And I suppose that auctioning off the asset sold by the court will be paid as part of the restitution, and we'll be on the hook for the remainder of the restitution..." a nervous Brittany has no clue as to how much Full Moon Rising is worth, nor how much did Camden actually drain from Lacassine's coffers.
"From this day onward, I give Myriam full access to my betting bankroll. Just withdraw the money from my online horse betting account, and open yours for Myriam's use, with the money in there"
"Are you sure it's a good idea to let Myriam bet on horse races in your name? She's an underage gambler!" Brittany retorts.
"She's a better bettor than I am! She'll probably bet on horse races as a job once she'll be old enough to bet on her own! Get me Myriam, will you?"
"Myriam, a professional horse race bettor?" a surprised Brittany gasps, while handing over the phone to Myriam.
"She clearly has the skill to bet on horse races professionally" Camden tells her mother while Myriam is about to pick up the phone.
"Dad? What's next for me?" Myriam asks her after being told about Camden's arrest via her mother.
"Starting today, you will have complete access to my betting bankroll, and you will be able to bet whenever you want, set your own targets for fundraising, and raise money for any reason you deem appropriate through horse race bets"
"Yay! It's the best day of my life!" an overjoyed Myriam feels freed from the burden of having to bet on horse races to raise money for reasons she can object to. "I'll finally be able to bet on horse races on my own terms!"
And Brittany learns the whole truth of Myriam's gambling habits over a couple of minutes.
"The cat is now out of the bag. If you're as good of a horse race bettor as dad says you are, I will let you bet in my name. However, in the event you lose the entire bankroll dad gave you..." Brittany starts explaining the rules.
"That will not happen. Ever" Myriam makes her promise to her mom. "Otherwise, dad would never have entrusted me with his complete bankroll! I know I can lose money on races, but I can play the horses much better than dad ever did!"
"I know nothing about horse race betting other than you can win and lose money doing so. I guess, I have no choice but to respect your opinion on the matter"
So I'll sell off the older of the family's cars, cancel the license plate and insurance policy on it once sold, Brittany makes her own plan of action while Myriam asks her a question about the size of dad's bankroll.
"Dad's bankroll is around seven thousand dollars as of today" Brittany informs her while Camden is about to enter a plea deal.
He's about to plead guilty to the charge of government fraud, but only as it relates to the fraudulent purchase of Full Moon Rising and its associated expenses for the time between the claim until its seizure by the court. But he still needs to offload the 10% share in Futurity Force he owns. He then quickly calls his other business partners in it to try and get his 10% before he gets to jail.
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Then, a few days later, Brittany receives a check for $3000 for Camden's 10% share in Futurity Force. Which will be then used for the emergency fund, as are the proceeds from the sale of Camden's car. However, for some reason, Brittany does not believe that divorce is in order just yet.
And yet, it seems to take a while for Brittany to get her horse race betting account fully operational for Myriam to use in betting, presumably because of the background checks required for new registrants. To ensure that bettors are who they claim they are, and Myriam writes down the key information used for this purpose because she feels she will need it later.
When the sentence is handed down on April 3, which is very quick for a plea deal on a case of that kind, the whole parish is in shock, and especially the people in the territory served by Lacassine High.
"Five years of prison for dad?" Jacob gasps, not quite understanding what fraudulent is.
"The court auctioned Lacassine's horse off right after the sentence was handed down, and the proceeds would be used for restitution. Also, dad will need to undergo treatment for gambling addiction, both in jail and upon release, if he's going to be on parole" Brittany explains to the two children.
"Don't be alarmed if I bet on horse races in mom's name. I have her permission to do so. Besides, betting on horse races to provide for the family is a reason I can get behind" Myriam warns her little brother.
And, somehow, Full Moon Rising can fetch $100k? Wealthy thoroughbred enthusiasts came from all over Louisiana, and maybe a Texan or two, for a chance to buy Lacassine's horse. That's more than enough to pay for restitution and court fees. The rest of it will be used by the judicial system for other purposes, Myriam is researching the outcome of the court-ordered auction for that horse.
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Over the next 3 years, Myriam ends up getting much higher rates of return than her dad ever did with a $7000 bankroll, which Brittany never wanted to touch. However, Myriam makes withdrawals from the bankroll on a bi-weekly basis, treating horse betting like a paycheck.
And she gets her highest "paychecks" in the summer because it's where her betting volume is highest. Yet, in some 2-week cycles, she can win tens of thousands, and, in others, she even loses some money, but never the full amount. When that happens, however (usually in exam seasons), she takes two weeks to earn back what she lost over the previous two weeks.
Now that's what it really feels like to bet on horse races as a job! However, I'm not sure about how my parents will react if I just stay here after high school, don't go on to college, and bet on horse races all day, no matter how profitable it would be, Myriam reflects on her summer playing horse races essentially all day, every day. Because, while she volunteers, her summer volunteering schedule is much lighter than her coursework. However, Brittany lavishes more attention on Jacob over time.
As for her high school career, Myriam proves the star of the VAs' quiz bowl team, and, with her at the helm, the VAs finish thirty-third during her sophomore year, as well as eighth as a junior. She was able to leverage that, as well as what she learned from her life in high school with a father in jail, to get into Brown.
Her father, on the other hand, resumes betting on horse races upon getting out of jail, using money left behind by Myriam. She keeps betting on horse races while at Brown, albeit on a reduced schedule. And yet, on several occasions, she comes close to having her life crashing down on her while in Providence.
The only thing keeping her life from going out of control is the profits she keeps earning on bets, which she first uses to pay her tuition and then to send back to the family.