Success, Opulence and Power by Hebru Young (the unexpected everything .txt) 📕

At 12:30 p.m., another buzzer sounded, and fourth-period physics came to an end. Eddie got up and put his books in his backpack. This was the same backpack that had contained the spare clothes he changed into after taking out Zorro and his nephew. He had initially planned on getting rid of the bag, but he felt there was no need now. Everything else had been incinerated, and there was nothing linking the backpack to the murder. He headed towards the cafeteria, and as he approached, he saw Alex and Chris already standing near the entrance. He gave the boys a nod from a distance, and when he arrived, they all walked in.

In a matter of minutes, the old cafeteria was packed with students. The paint on the walls was a dull grey colour, and the wooden floor was light brown with the faintest trace of sheen. There were rows of tables which sat a maximum of six students each, resembling the tables found in the State Prison visitation rooms. It wouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone had the tables actually came from the prisons. Like every other high school, there was a hierarchy, and a student’s position within the hierarchy determined who they sat with and where. There were the rich cool kids, the poor kids, the nerds, the emos, the goths, and then there was Eddie’s crew. They didn’t fit into any of these groups—they did their own thing. They generally didn’t interact with a lot of the other kids. There were a few other children from their neighbourhood, but Eddie only offered the occasional nod to them. Eddie was the natural leader of his crew, sharing his entrepreneurial skills with Alex and Chris, allowing them to earn money with him. They would help Eddie in selling jeans, caps, sneakers, and any other merchandise Eddie could get his hands on. Once the items were sold, he gave them a cut of the money. Eddie let them have a decent share of the profit, but he would never disclose who his suppliers were. He did this for two reasons: First, the guys that sold him merchandise sold it at a significantly discounted price, meaning they were probably stolen goods. This was a nonissue as far as Eddie was concerned, because he could always deny all knowledge of whether the goods had been stolen. In fact, his suppliers told him to do just that, play stupid. The second reason was that Eddie wanted to make a profit, and the only way to ensure this was to guarantee there was no competition. The fewer clientele his suppliers had, the better for him.

The boys grabbed their lunch and walked over to their usual spot next to the side door leading to the main courtyard. There were windows providing a view to the courtyard. Through the windows, other students could be seen eating, reading, rehearsing for plays, and so on. The boys always sat here, they never had to sit anywhere else; their table was always available. Perhaps it was because the table could only seat three people. The other three stools attached to it had broken off. As they sat down to eat, Eddie dove right into what he needed to tell them.

“So, where do I begin…look guys, a lot has happened over the last couple weeks since my dad died. I will cut to the chase and tell you that you are now looking at a new custodian for the cartel. The youngest in North Walnut Grove and maybe the youngest ever,” Eddie said.

“Yo, Dom, this is crazy! How did that even happen?” Chris asked.

“The boss made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. He said the cartel would like to keep storing their drugs at the restaurant, and that they were happy to take over the entire operation. This meant they would take the restaurant from us. The other option they gave me was to be in charge of the restaurant and run it myself, but I would need to continue the work my dad did for them. Well, let’s just say I chose to keep the restaurant,” Eddie replied.

 “Your mom okay with this?” Alex asked.

“She had no choice, Alex. If we hadn’t agreed to do it, they would have taken the restaurant and given us very little for it. We couldn’t afford for that to happen. Working in that restaurant is all that my mother knows. It is also part of the legacy my dad left behind. So, I had to agree to work for them,” Eddie explained

“So, what now?” Chris asked.

“You sound worried, Chris—it’s not all bad news. The head of the cartel likes how I handled myself when he talked to me. He basically told me I could run the restaurant and still go to school if I wanted. They have offered to provide me and my family with twenty-four-hour security. They were really pleased with the service that my dad provided. They are extending me the courtesy in his Honour,” Eddie replied.

“Dom, this is nuts!” Chris said.

“They’ve already given me a nickname—you are not going to believe what they call me. They call me Soap,” Eddie said.

“Dude, this is crazy! I feel like you have changed already, it’s almost like you’ve become the man overnight,” Chris said.

“Yeah, Chris is right, man. I’m definitely getting some kind of manned-up vibe from you right now. So, what does this mean for us, Dom, where do we fit in?” Alex asked.

“I’m glad you asked. Going forward, there will be opportunity for you guys to make a lot more money than what you are making now. I will have access to more money from the cartel, which will be split between me, my mom, and my sister. I will give you guys some of my share of the money. Here’s the thing though, we will need to use some of the money to keep selling