A free lesson
I worked at a restaurant when I was in high school as a host. My job was to greet people and sit them and tell them how long they would need to wait.
It was a good high school job because I got to be around some adults, and the money was good for a kid my age.
It wasn’t really an upscale restaurant, but I had to dress in a black button up shirt and black slacks, so I looked pretty sharp. One of the older servers liked to call me Johnny Cash (and also would serve me the occasional drink when I went there with my female high school friends trying to impress them).
<–! one in particular was pretty hot, although I can’t quite remember her name. maybe Lisa? Then there were the two Rick and high girlfriend who were probabl high on something most of the time, but kind of fun in how they were always joking about trying to get me in some trouble. –>
Money sounds good
One day when it was pretty dead, a well dressed guy, maybe around 30 – real slick – came up to me and said something like, “I dig your style man. If you ever want to make some extra cash, let me know” and gave me his business card.
I don’t remember all of the next steps, but the guy knew who to look for. The thought of more money was too much not to find out more. It was just a little phone call. No commitment to do anything, so I gave him a call. He said that he would pick me up after one of my shifts and we could go chat at his place.
Now I was only 17 at the time, and nothing seemed that strange about this situation to me. I guess my mom forgot to tell me that it was a bad idea to get in cars with strangers, but I grew up in the safest, most sanitized suburb known to man. To say I was a bit naive would be kind. So I got in his fancy Lincoln with dark, tinted windows and let him drive me all the way to some apartment down Colorado Boulevard – probably 20 minutes away.
When we got there, a couple of other people were waiting and having some drinks. They offered me a drink and got down to brass tacks. They said that for a small initial investment, a mere $500, I could get in on something that was going to set me up with easy cash. All I would have to do is spread the word and get some other people involved. Now it was going to be a little painful at first, they let me know that they had a few months of the Ramen life, but that I could be rolling in my own fancy car, drinking in my own fancy apartment in no time.
This seemed a little fishy, but I had never heard of a pyramid scheme, and it looked like they had money, and they were friendly people, so I thought I should at least consider it. To be honest, I was already thinking about how I could get them some money, but I tried to play it cool and said I would think about it. They guy dropped me off back at the restaurant and said he would be in touch.