17 Problem with Capital
1555 Words
“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait… Run this by me again?”
Charlie sat in Max’s desk surrounded by Trae, Max, and Jules. At this point, all of their hangovers had dissipated and it was close to the end of the day. Classes had just ended, and all of them had gathered with Charlie in hopes to convince him to join their cause.
“So you want me to start a company with you?” Charlie asked Max.
“Yeah...” he replied.
“A company?”
“Yup!”
“As punishment for losing to you in beer pong?”
“That’s right!”
Charlie looked at Max for a moment in disbelief.
“You stupid or something?” Charlie asked without a hint of sarcasm.
“Woah, wait wait, Charlie let me explain!” Max demanded as he took a seat.
“Alright please do because I am completely lost,” Charlie said, completely exasperated.
“Ok, here's the deal,” Max said, as he rested his elbows on his knees. “So me and Trae over here, are really well versed in coding, and technology, as well as a bit of hacking.”
“Uhuh,” Charlie replied.
“And, Jules over here is the daughter to an influential company here in the States,” Max said, gesturing over to Jules who gave a little wave.
“Right...”
“So we would like to start a company but are sorely lacking in the department of vision and innovation. That’s where you would come in!”
“Alright, I get it,” he said as he squeezed the bridge of his notice after momentarily taking his glasses off. “So, supposing I decide to join you, what would my role be?” Charlie asked, remotely starting to take this conversation seriously.
“Well, you would be the brains behind our product. You’d decide what we could create in order to sell. I already have a few ideas, but we feel you could take it to a whole other level!” Max said, gesturing his hands like a crazy person.
“And what do we have for capital?” Charlie asked.
“Right, we still need to have that figured out!”
“So you don’t capital?”
“Not really no.”
Charlie took a deep breath.
“So this is the door, right? I’m gonna show myself out,” he said, nearly getting up to walk out the door.
“Wait! Wait! Let me explain!”
“God damn it, fine!” Charlie said, sitting back down with arms crossed.
“Alright, so we have some money saved up from a previous venture that I and Trae worked on. However, we don’t think it’s enough to successfully start-up. That’s where you come in again!”
Charlie sighed.
“Look I’m not going to my father for money. I would like to remain as far from him as possible, as he seems hell-bent on getting me to take over his company,” he said, shaking his head.
“Don’t worry! We don’t have to talk to your father!” Max said, gesturing to him to stay seated.
Charlie raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
“Really?” he asked.
“Really!” Max assured him.
“So then what are we going to do about capital, assuming that I decide to join,” Charlie asked, quickly losing his patience.
“Alright look at this,” Max said as he loaded up a program on his computer.
The computer hummed as the program loaded onto the screen.
“This is our prototype POS program. It doesn’t have a name yet, but we think that we can get this school running on a more advanced kind of POS system,”
Charlie’s eyes widened and focused on the system as Max continued his demonstration.
“Haven’t you noticed that on campus, cashiers are using the same kind of POS program that was created in the seventies. The seventies! And even more so, some cashiers in the older buildings of the school are using non-electronic cashiers! Unthinkable right?! So I and Trae came up with this new kind of POS system, that can be adapted not only to cashier roles in the food sector of the school but also for other actions taken by students, like tuition payment, student loan transactions and even in school purchasing of merchandise!”
Charlie rubbed his chin, and squinted his eyes, as he analyzed every nook and cranny of the POS system’s interface.
“So on what medium will this system run?” Charlie asked.
“We were thinking we run them on computers, that way there is a data bank in the computer, and information can be backed up as necessary,”
“What about how to sell this to the school? How do you intend to convince a single staff member to bring this to the President of our school?” Charlie probed even more.
“We will apply for a space in the school showroom and events hall to launch the device. With the help of Jules’ dad, we can definitely draw some attention.”
“And what about bugs and maintenance?”
“We will be creating updates in the software and selling them separately for a discount to those already owning the system. That way, it doesn’t turn anyone off when we try to sell it separately.”
Charlie looked at Max’s smiling face, clearly happy from a triumphant pitch. He sighed and stood up again.
“I have to admit… you seem to have this all figured out,” Charlie said, as he took off his glasses to wipe them. “But you’re aware that my father will retaliate with fire and fury. Not only at me, but to you as well.”
Max smiled and leaned back on his chair.
“Yeah, I guess I have a habit of getting on the nerves of powerful people...”
Jules and Trae chuckled lightly, as they kept their eyes on Max.
“But I think that we got a chance to really make something special here. I can see it happening. You invent and push the boundaries of technological advancement, while I back you up with top of the line software security technology. Trae is at my side for support on either of our ends. Jules will take on timelines and managerial roles, keeping us on the right track. And we pull together to show this world ruled by crooked adults that we are the future,” Max continued. “After all, don’t you want to show your father that he can’t control you? Don’t you want to show him that you are your own person?”
Charlie bit his lip and hung his head. He let out a really long sigh, before raising his head again to meet Max’s gaze.
“I’m sorry Max… I think I might have to turn you down on this one.”
“Wait, bro, please hear us out-”
Without waiting, Charlie walked out of the door, and strode off, leaving Max and his companions looking on from behind.
“s**t! We were so close too!” Max complained as he put his face into his hands.
“We can’t blame him though can we? His father will completely unleash hell on him if Charlies tries to go against his wishes,” Jules said, laying down on Max’s bed.
“It’s a dangerous game… but I think I know about following my own heart, trying to play a dangerous game with you guys, you know?” Trae said, remembering what his mother had told him the night Jules was almost captured. “I think… I think I’m gonna...”
Max looked at Trae curiously.
“Trae? What’s wrong buddy?”
Trae immediately shot up out of his chair.
“I’m gonna go talk to him,” Trae said.
With that, he immediately rushed to the door and ran out as well. Trae sprinted through the hall at full speed. Max and Jules looked out the door, as they saw their friend tear through the crowd of students returning from class. They looked on, dumbfounded.
“What is it with my friends and running through the halls at full speed?” Max asked.
Jules playfully elbowed him in the stomach and smiled.
“Watch it, freshman,” as she gave him a sly smile.
The two went back into the room, leaving Trae to his devices.
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Trae ran all over campus looking for where Charlie could have gone. He checked the courts, the cafeteria, the entrance hall, and even the lawns. Charlie was nowhere to be found. He then slowed his pace and tried looking along the halls a little more carefully, in case Charlie had decided to blend in with the crowd. He checked every floor of the dorm building, with little success. Trae rested his hands on his knees and heaved trying to get the air back into his lungs. It was then that he noticed that the door to the rooftop was open. He passed this hall every day and knew that that door had always remained shut. Trae, taking a chance, walked up the stairs and stepped through the opening of the door.
He was greeted with a vibrant orange sky, which on the outer edges started to fade into a deep shade of violet. The birds fluttered from his feet and flew off in a wonderful formation. The clouds blocked the sun ever so slightly over the horizon, that you couldn’t tell if the sun was setting. It was then that he saw a figure leaning on the fence of the rooftop. The smoke coming from that familiar face blew out, as the person looked on toward the sun. It was from Charlie.
“Hey!” Trae called out.
Jumping a little, Charlie turned around and looked over to his visitor.
“Oh, it’s you… Trae, right?”
- Writer
