"Differential Diagnosis"

[Part 1 of this story]
[Part 2 of this story]
[Part 3 of this story]
[Part 4 of this story]

Like any good businessman, I was constantly thinking up of ways to improve my business. I upgraded from small hand written notes passed around in class, to ink-jet printed menus with full color pictures of the candy & prices. ? I would do my best to arrive to class early to pass out my menus without drawing too much attention.

For some of my more trustworthy customers, I carried around a notebook where I would keep track of their IOU???s. Being such loyal customers, I wouldn???t want them to go candy-less at any point. ? Of course, should one of them fail to pay up their IOU???s before the end of the week, they would be cut-off from my services. Once you???ve gotten used to all that candy, it???s hard to be cut off for any extended period of time, they always paid up eventually.

As great as those ideas were, ? it was the debut of my newly imported Mexican candy that proved to be my biggest success! ? These spicy, tangy treats outsold all my previous inventory and I often found myself running out of stock before the day ended. ? I knew better than to carry my entire supply of candy with me, so I would re-fill my backpack daily from my supply stash at home, but running out of stock during the middle of the day was wasting valuable sales opportunities!

To account for the extreme demand, I moved a portion of my “stash” from home into my locker at the school. This way I would be able to resupply at any point during the day. The only problem was that my locker was located in an enclosed area without temperature control. ? Candy & chocolate + hot Texas weather just don’t mix, luckily my new friend Ferny from my English class agreed to switch lockers, his was inside an air conditioned building; problem solved!

With the recent locker swap, I had to modify my paths between classes, which consequently left out some of the customers accustomed to buying from me in the halls, I had to make up for these lost customers somehow. ? I would need to be in multiple places at once…that???s where Ferny came in.

With Ferny now having access to my locker stash, I offered to cut him in on my business as a limited partner. I would sell him a large portion of my locker stash, below my normal retail price, and allow him to keep the difference he earned from sales. ? This meant he’d follow my pricing scheme, carry my supplies & menus, and essentially expand my reach across campus. ? Reaching a wider market is worth taking a small hit in profit, since the increase in sales would easily make up the difference.

The increased notoriety for having a backpack full of money & candy eventually caught up to me. ? I found myself strangely paranoid about my backpack and its location; I couldn’t be away from it for more than a few seconds without worrying. Bathroom breaks during class became a definite taboo in my book, so I’d have to hold it until after class. Hanging out with friends during lunch, I’d have to constantly carry my bag for safety.

I would love nothing more than to trust everyone, but even in middle school, I had already learned some of the harsh ways of the world. ? It was that year when I decided to get my fist wallet. ? From that point forward, any bills would go directly into my wallet, and any loose change, (which I started to avoid if possible) would be kept in my backpack.

One fateful day, the Career Investigation teacher asked me to run to the resource room to pick up a stack of worksheets he left behind. I tried and tried to get out of it by making excuse after excuse, but I was one of the few trustworthy students in the class and he would have it no other way. ? Unable to take my bag, I was forced to leave it behind. ? As soon as the door to the classroom shut behind me, I broke out into a full stride! ? I couldn’t stand leaving my inventory unguarded, so time was of the essence!

Once I had arrived at the resource room, completely out of breath from having run across campus, I located the stack of copies my teacher requested and dashed back with all my might. ? Gasping for breath as I continued my marathon, I was stopped in the hall by the principal. ? Blast!! ? “Hey, slow down! No running in the halls, come here!” Tick, tock, tick, tock. ? The brief interrogation by the principal seemed to take days, as thoughts of my entire class partaking in delicious delight from my unguarded inventory crossed my mind.

Finally, I was allowed to continue on my journey…albeit at a much slower pace as long as I was within the principal’s line of sight. ? I turned a corner and gave it all I got until I reached my classroom and walked inside.

1. unbreakable says:

   June 30, 2009 at 12:46 pm

   The Business how have a partner from a sole propritership to a partnership.so what eventually happened in the class room. that dude was kinds enough to switch locker with you..good job cutting him on the profit encouragement sweetened labor

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2. ChinkyGirLMeL says:

   July 1, 2009 at 5:53 am

   That was sooo nice of you to give Ferny a cut on the profit. What a really nice guy you are…
   So what happened when you got back to the classroom? You sure know how to keep your readers in suspense dontcha? looks like you have me hooked again. So I’m hoping you’ll post the continuation of this story within the week. I’m dying to find out what happened. =)

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3. Dani says:

   July 1, 2009 at 12:29 pm

   I love reading these…I hope that some little ahole kid did not steal your cash or candy. I love that you would deny people your services if they didn’t pay up by the end of the week.

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4. TOPolk says:

   July 2, 2009 at 4:38 am

   Such a complicated plan for a 7th grader. Importing candy, limited partnerships, secrecy. I’m waiting for the next post to talk about how you hired the mafia to watch your stash when you weren’t around…

   I 2nd Dani here. Hopefully the next part of this story is up shortly.

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5. andhari says:

   July 2, 2009 at 12:22 pm

   Tricky tricky tricky, sounds like you’re about to make it big. I feel stupid in the 7th grade compared to you ;P

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