p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"The guard was playing his large bunch of keys behind his back. He followed John down the huge hallway. John was eighteen. The age when anything was possible. The world belonged to you at eighteen. That's what John believed twenty-four hours ago./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"In New York, we often hear that anything is possible. Everyone can have their chance if they know how to seize it. John thought he could probably get by in this bustling city. He had been raised in a working class neighborhood in Brooklyn. Her mother worked in Manhattan every day. She was cleaning the Wall Street neighborhood from 8 p.m. to midnight, after the profit-seeking traders, brokers and other bankers had finished their day. She would return by subway, cross the Brooklyn Bridge which so many tourists dreamed of, then with the last bus finally arrived in front of her red brick building. She came home to find her son who was sleeping peacefully in his room. She thanked her neighbor Betty, a retired African-American old lady who was walking across the landing to come and watch over John. So as not to feel indebted, she looked after her during the day, did her shopping, housework and kept him company. John was most precious to her. He was growing up too fast. She would have liked to offer him a better life, in Manhattan for example. But she knew it would never be possible. She just had enough to pay her rent, her bills and from time to time to offer her son a movie theater. She talked to him a lot. The older he got, the more she warned him about the dangers in his neighborhood. She closely followed her schooling and dating. At fourteen, John started working weekends so that he could afford a few extras. He was quite brilliant academically and understood that if he wanted to get out of his neighborhood he would have to work hard in high school to get into a college. John dreamed of working on Wall Street. This excitement, this rapid earning of money made him dream. He already imagined himself in a magnificent Armani suit, a briefcase in his hand, climbing to the 60th floor of a building and taking a seat in a leather armchair with a breathtaking view of Manhattan Bay and the Statue of Liberty. He quickly saw his dream fade when he learned of the cost of his school. Even with a scholarship he wouldn't get away with it. Childhood buddies kept enticing him with the easy money they won in a jiffy./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';""As fast as your Wall Street guys man! 1000 dollars a week if you don't get too wet, 2000 if you start to invest." Drop your school John, this is your business school, in the street!/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"John always told them he wasn't interested. He preferred to continue working honestly on weekends to try to afford his school. But he felt he wouldn't last long on his small salary of $ 300. His mother was watching him from the kitchen window. In the evenings he stayed longer and longer downstairs with this bunch of good-for-nothing. She felt that John was starting to slip away from her. She had to find a solution before he slipped for good./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"The next morning while she was cleaning her neighbor's house, she confided her concern to him. John started hanging out at night with the gang of petty drug dealers. Betty, who had seen John grow up and who believed in him, wanted to help him. She had an old ring that was valuable and having no heirs that she really appreciated, she preferred that the money go to John. She knew that neither John nor his mother would accept such a gift. So she had decided to go and sell her jewelry and would then make a transfer directly to the school. It would be a nice surprise. The best gift she has ever given to anyone. So John could no longer refuse./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"John came home from his work day like every Saturday. It was late. The tape was planted at the foot of the building. The last Bose speaker was spitting out much too loud sound. John greeted them. He walked over to the chef, a childhood friend, and whispered to him:/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"- Look, I've thought about it. I agree to do some extras with you to pay for my studies. I have no choice. But it shouldn't be known here in the neighborhood. I don't want to disappoint my mother, you understand?/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"- Hey! Top there man! I knew you would eventually join us!/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"John really didn't want to bond with them any more, but he had to abide by the rule. The leader of the band explained to him what his role would consist of. He would be a "nurse". He would stash drugs at home and the dealers would come and get him when they needed it. "No more complicated than that, man. You'll get $ 500 a week. And don't worry, the cops don't come in here. Never. It's a no man's land "./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"John had agreed. He understood the consequences but thought it would be temporary, while this school thing was sorted out, then he would stop it all./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"That same evening, in a Wall Street office on the 48th floor, John's mother was finishing cleaning an office. She fell on a box which was ajar and gave a glimpse of a beautiful bundle of green bills. She was alone upstairs. There was at least $ 10,000. Her heart raced. Without thinking she took the bundle and put it in her bag. She closed the box, closed the office door and hurried out of the building./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"Seven o'clock the next morning. The sound of the doorbell did not stop. John shouted for his mother to go open. He hadn't slept all night. Her mother put on slippers and her dressing gown. She hadn't slept all night. She opened the door and heard, "New York Police, ma'am. "/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"Her heart stopped beating. John's heart stopped beating./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"- A theft was committed last night in one of the buildings where you work. Can we take a look at your place? Simple verification, said the policeman./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"John's mother stammered:/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"- Yes of course, come in .../p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"She followed them with her gaze. They entered her world, her cocoon, her life she had protected so much. John exchanged a look with his mother. They both understood that their lives were going to end there, now and that all life's efforts were going to be wasted. John's mother stepped on an envelope as she closed the door. It was written: "To John, affectionately, Betty. "/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; min-height: 12px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"In New York, we often hear that anything is possible. Everyone can have their chance if they know how to seize it. John thought he could probably get by in this bustling city. He had been raised in a working class neighborhood in Brooklyn. Her mother worked in Manhattan every day. She was cleaning the Wall Street neighborhood from 8 p.m. to midnight, after the profit-seeking traders, brokers and other bankers had finished their day. She would return by subway, cross the Brooklyn Bridge which so many tourists dreamed of, then with the last bus finally arrived in front of her red brick building. She came home to find her son who was sleeping peacefully in his room. She thanked her neighbor Betty, a retired African-American old lady who was walking across the landing to come and watch over John. So as not to feel indebted, she looked after her during the day, did her shopping, housework and kept him company. John was most precious to her. He was growing up too fast. She would have liked to offer him a better life, in Manhattan for example. But she knew it would never be possible. She just had enough to pay her rent, her bills and from time to time to offer her son a movie theater. She talked to him a lot. The older he got, the more she warned him about the dangers in his neighborhood. She closely followed her schooling and dating. At fourteen, John started working weekends so that he could afford a few extras. He was quite brilliant academically and understood that if he wanted to get out of his neighborhood he would have to work hard in high school to get into a college. John dreamed of working on Wall Street. This excitement, this rapid earning of money made him dream. He already imagined himself in a magnificent Armani suit, a briefcase in his hand, climbing to the 60th floor of a building and taking a seat in a leather armchair with a breathtaking view of Manhattan Bay and the Statue of Liberty. He quickly saw his dream fade when he learned of the cost of his school. Even with a scholarship he wouldn't get away with it. Childhood buddies kept enticing him with the easy money they won in a jiffy./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';""As fast as your Wall Street guys man! 1000 dollars a week if you don't get too wet, 2000 if you start to invest." Drop your school John, this is your business school, in the street!/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"John always told them he wasn't interested. He preferred to continue working honestly on weekends to try to afford his school. But he felt he wouldn't last long on his small salary of $ 300. His mother was watching him from the kitchen window. In the evenings he stayed longer and longer downstairs with this bunch of good-for-nothing. She felt that John was starting to slip away from her. She had to find a solution before he slipped for good./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"The next morning while she was cleaning her neighbor's house, she confided her concern to him. John started hanging out at night with the gang of petty drug dealers. Betty, who had seen John grow up and who believed in him, wanted to help him. She had an old ring that was valuable and having no heirs that she really appreciated, she preferred that the money go to John. She knew that neither John nor his mother would accept such a gift. So she had decided to go and sell her jewelry and would then make a transfer directly to the school. It would be a nice surprise. The best gift she has ever given to anyone. So John could no longer refuse./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"John came home from his work day like every Saturday. It was late. The tape was planted at the foot of the building. The last Bose speaker was spitting out much too loud sound. John greeted them. He walked over to the chef, a childhood friend, and whispered to him:/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"- Look, I've thought about it. I agree to do some extras with you to pay for my studies. I have no choice. But it shouldn't be known here in the neighborhood. I don't want to disappoint my mother, you understand?/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"- Hey! Top there man! I knew you would eventually join us!/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"John really didn't want to bond with them any more, but he had to abide by the rule. The leader of the band explained to him what his role would consist of. He would be a "nurse". He would stash drugs at home and the dealers would come and get him when they needed it. "No more complicated than that, man. You'll get $ 500 a week. And don't worry, the cops don't come in here. Never. It's a no man's land "./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"John had agreed. He understood the consequences but thought it would be temporary, while this school thing was sorted out, then he would stop it all./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"That same evening, in a Wall Street office on the 48th floor, John's mother was finishing cleaning an office. She fell on a box which was ajar and gave a glimpse of a beautiful bundle of green bills. She was alone upstairs. There was at least $ 10,000. Her heart raced. Without thinking she took the bundle and put it in her bag. She closed the box, closed the office door and hurried out of the building./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"Seven o'clock the next morning. The sound of the doorbell did not stop. John shouted for his mother to go open. He hadn't slept all night. Her mother put on slippers and her dressing gown. She hadn't slept all night. She opened the door and heard, "New York Police, ma'am. "/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"Her heart stopped beating. John's heart stopped beating./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"- A theft was committed last night in one of the buildings where you work. Can we take a look at your place? Simple verification, said the policeman./p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"John's mother stammered:/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"- Yes of course, come in .../p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"She followed them with her gaze. They entered her world, her cocoon, her life she had protected so much. John exchanged a look with his mother. They both understood that their lives were going to end there, now and that all life's efforts were going to be wasted. John's mother stepped on an envelope as she closed the door. It was written: "To John, affectionately, Betty. "/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; min-height: 12px;" /p