Takedown Read Online Free PDF Page B

shifts to buy it.”
    Biggie burst out laughing. Trey seemed pleased with himself, as if he’d told an awesome joke.
    I didn’t think Biggie should’ve blown all that money on a watch, but at least his money came legit. He’d been working at Artie’s Pizza for years. It might’ve made him fat, but at least it kept him out of trouble.
    â€œYou could have gotten a more expensive watch than that,” Trey said. This from a guy who was known for his Batman knapsack.
    â€œOh yeah?” Biggie said. “What kind of watch would you get, Bat Boy?”
    â€œThat’s not what I meant. I’ve seen you cashing your pay checks at the Cash Stop. It’s a waste of money. That’s five percent you’re throwing away. On a three-hundred-dollar purchase, that’s fifteen bucks. If you make three hundred a month, that’s one hundred and eighty dollars you’re losing a year.”
    Biggie shrugged. “Yeah, but you go to the bank and they’re chargin’ for this and that anyway. I like to keep my money where I can see it, you know? Besides, everyone goes there. Even the execs. And when it comes to cash, you know they ain’t playing.” He pounded fists with Smalls.
    â€œYou can get a no-fee student account at the bank on the corner of Finch and Keele,” Trey said. “And you can use their bank machine ten times a month for no fee. My sister got an account and saved . . .”
    He kept talking, but their eyes glazed over. The guys turnedback toward the front of the bus, and I pretended to listen to Trey, but my mind was tripping in another direction.
    So the executives went to the Cash Stop. That meant something. It had to.
    Diamond Tony wouldn’t be paying his guys with checks, that’s for sure. If executives went there, they were doing business.
    Prescott had said that Diamond Tony would be laundering money through businesses that dealt with large amounts of cash. I couldn’t think of a more perfect place than the Cash Stop. Half the neighborhood went there to cash checks, get loans, or send money. Even my mom cashed her checks there when she couldn’t be bothered waiting at the bank.
    I would have to check it out. No pun intended.
    *  *  *
    An hour later, we got our bio tests back. Written in red at the top was 85%, with a Nice work, Darren! from Mrs. Inrig.
    Score!
    When I studied, I could get A’s. Here was the proof. Maybe if I worked hard I could bring my average up to an A minus by the end of the semester.
    My biggest challenge was economics class. Mr. Miller always brought math and stats into it. And he didn’t put many notes on the board to study from, so I had to try to summarize everything.When we all complained, he said he was doing us a favor by preparing us for college.
    It didn’t help that Miller had hair sprouting from weird places, like the back of his neck and the top of his nose. It distracted me from what he was saying. Somebody oughta slip him a hair trimmer.
    Today’s lesson was: How can I be a savvy investor? Maybe it would be less boring than usual, because this was info I could actually use. One day I planned to have lots of money—legit money.
    â€œPicture you have one hundred thousand dollars,” Miller said. “Can you do that?”
    We all nodded, and a few people went, “Yeaaah.”
    â€œNow, how are you going to invest it? Any ideas?”
    â€œI’d put it all into green energy,” Jessica said. She sat at the front of the class on the left side. Since I was at the back right, I could watch her all class long without her knowing it.
    â€œThat’s a thought,” Miller said. “You used the word, ‘all.’ Do you intend to put all your money in the same place?”
    She thought about it. “I’d put all of it into green energy, but maybe in different companies.”
    â€œWhy?”
    Her reply was quick.