The Way It Works Read Online Free PDF Page A

I didn’t sleep a wink. I was too nervous and excited. And the shelter is just too loud. But being tired is nothing. I’d swim through a river of razor blades for a shot at a job. And now I’ve got one. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is going to slow me down.
    I’m at the bus station just after sunrise.
    I get out my suit and put it on. It’s a little wrinkled, but I’ve already made my first impression. And it was a good one. Today is not about appearances. It’s about results. Can I do better today than I did yesterday? Of course I can. I have to. That’s the key to success.
    I eat a breakfast burrito at my regular place. Then I start heading for the office. My office. My job. It feels so good to think that, I say it out loud. I don’t care who hears me talking to myself. I have a job.
    â€œYou hear that, Moms?” I whisper.
    â€œI’m gonna make you proud.”
    I’m coming up on the block where Capital’s offices are. Something seems to be going on today. There’s a big crowd of people standing outside the building. Probably shooting a movie, I think. They do that a lot in this city.
    I push my way through the crowd up to the front. But I don’t see any movie cameras. All I see are a couple of cops standing guard at the front door. I’ve never been in trouble with the law, but I do know that cops never mean good news. Something bad is going down.
    I nudge the guy next to me.
    â€œHey, what’s going on?” I ask.
    He looks at me. “Haven’t you heard?”
    â€œI haven’t heard anything. What’s up?”
    â€œYou work here?” he says.
    â€œI work at Capital. Today’s my first day.”
    â€œWell, I’m sorry to tell you this, buddy,” says the guy. “But your first day is also going to be your last.”
    I feel like the ground is falling away from me. I’m in shock. I stagger, then catch myself.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” I ask.
    â€œTwo words, pal,” says the guy. “ Ponzi scheme .”
    Ponzi scheme? You have to be kidding me , I think. This is just what Scooby was talking about. People taking other people’s money. Pretending they’ll get great returns. But really, all they get is robbed.
    What else did Scooby say? If something sounds too good to be true…then it probably is.
    Suddenly it hits me. I robbed an old lady yesterday.
    â€œHere they come!” someone else yells.
    At that moment, the front door opens. There are a lot of cops, and a lot of guys in suits. One thing I notice right away is that the guys in suits are in handcuffs. Some of them are trying to hide their faces.
    Then I recognize Jonny Watts. He’s got handcuffs on too. His cocky attitude is gone. He looks like he wants to cry.
    I know how he feels.
    â€œYou got to be kidding me,” I say.
    â€œSorry, bro,” says the guy I was talking to. “Heck of a way to start your first day.”
    The guys in suits are being loaded into cop cars. But I can’t watch anymore. I find a bench and sit down.
    Scooby was right. Cor ruption is everywhere.
    Who was I kidding? I thought I could make it in the world of high finance. But the only firm that would give me a chance turned out to be crooked.
    I put my head in my hands. I don’t belong in this city. I need to leave. Ever since Moms and I came here, I’ve had nothing but trouble. Little by little, everything has been taken away. I’ve lost it all. Home, car, money. Even my own mother was taken from me. And now I’ve lost the one thing I managed to hang on to all this time—hope.
    That’s it. I’m done. I’m out of here. I don’t know where I’m going, but anywhere is better than here. I’ll pawn my suit. I’ll get my car back. I’ll fill the tank with gas. And then I’ll leave.
    Suddenly I feel like a huge weight has come off my shoulders. I know this is the right thing to do.
    I go