Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Chapter Four: A Small Business for Wealthy Students

Tommy lit up a smoke. "You ever wonder what kinda biz I'm into?"

"Not really, but if you get busted and need me to bail you out, I'll kill you," Tony chuckled. "Don't do anything dumb."

Tommy gave a slight nod. "Just some small-time, gray-area stuff aimed at rich kids. Cops don't care."

"Got your license?" Tony switched gears.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Drive safe. The clutch on this ride's a bit loose, hasn't been fixed yet," Tony gave Tommy's shoulder a pat. "I'll hoof it back to the shop, take it easy. You handle your biz. Catch you tonight."

With that, Tony turned and started walking back.

"Tony!" Tommy called out.

Tony turned, cigarette dangling from his lips, looking at Tommy. Tommy bit his lip. "I was kinda harsh on you yesterday."

"We're family. Mom always said, with family, there's no 'too harsh,' just understanding," Tony grinned and kept walking.

Tommy didn't dwell on Tony's brotherly love. He fired up the car, cruised down Jefferson Boulevard, and hit Interstate 95, heading for Providence, Rhode Island's capital, about ten miles out.

For folks in Warwick, the twelve-mile trip to Providence was no biggie. Lots of Warwick peeps lived there and commuted to work in Providence.

Tommy rolled up to Johnson & Wales University in the Providence Harbor area. He parked, playing the part of a prospective student scoping out the campus. After chatting with a few students, he got the intel he needed.

Leaving the campus, he strolled a couple of blocks and spotted an old two-story building with a banner between two second-floor windows that read "ΔΣΦ" in Greek letters.

Buildings near colleges with big Greek letters usually belong to student orgs, namely the infamous or famous frats or sororities.

Tommy was looking to do business with the North American frat at Johnson & Wales University.

He didn't pick Brown University, Rhode Island College, Rhode Island School of Design, or Providence College 'cause the odds of frat members at Johnson & Wales hitting up his biz were better.

Brown University, an Ivy League joint, was packed with elite kids from private schools, making it tough to hustle those brainiacs.

Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island College, and Providence College had too many locals, upping the chances of bumping into high school buddies.

Johnson & Wales University, with over three thousand students, mostly drew in international students and white high schoolers from Virginia.

Why mention white high schoolers from Virginia? 'Cause in New England and states like New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, Virginia whites were often dubbed "white trash."

Virginia whites even had a special nickname coined by Benjamin Franklin, one of America's founding fathers, who called them "crackers," saying they were "descendants of British convicts as savage as the Indians."

For years, northern states had good reason to treat Virginia whites as white trash. Even after WWII, when Broadway in New York was all about inclusivity with black actors, Virginia was still hardcore about the "Racial Integrity Act" and "Anti-Miscegenation Laws." Basically, if a white person married a black person, they'd get forced sterilization.

Virginia whites threw a ton of resources into keeping their race "pure" through all sorts of laws, and this went on until 1960 when the feds finally made them cut it out.

Even in 1982, comedians were still cracking jokes about Virginia. If an American didn't know their heritage, they could tan a bit, live in Virginia for three days, and get a detailed ancestry report from the state, down to one-sixteenth Indian or black heritage, with a warning that marrying a white woman would get them castrated.

So why did Virginia high schoolers pick Johnson & Wales University? Simple, practicality.

To Virginia white trash, public education spending was a joke. Even in 1983, almost 40% of students dropped out after eighth grade to work on family farms or businesses. While kids in other states might not graduate high school by seventeen, a Virginia kid might already have two kids of their own.

Those who did finish high school often became skilled workers, farmhands, or opened restaurants, motels, or trucker bars.

To white trash and many lower-class whites, college was a waste, a government scam to bury them in debt. They thought apprenticeships were the way to go.

But with more people thinking this way, Virginia got flooded with restaurants, motels, and trucker bars, leading to cutthroat competition. Johnson & Wales University, struggling to stay afloat, saw a goldmine in these Virginians.

They pitched their culinary school to Virginia high school grads planning to open restaurants or bars, promising secret recipes that would guarantee success, all in three years instead of four, saving a year's tuition.

Learning useful skills, saving on tuition, and becoming a college student? Virginia whites were all over it, whether the degree was a bachelor's or an associate's.

Wealthy Virginia parents, sold on the university's pitch, sent their kids to this practical school.

So, the student body of three thousand at Johnson & Wales University was split evenly between international students from Europe and South America and high school grads from Virginia.

Why did Tommy know so much about this university? Because his high school guidance counselor at Lincoln High had warned them to never even think about this school, to protect their rep and steer clear of white trash.

Standing in front of the frat house, Tommy rang the doorbell. Soon, a young dude with messy hair and a beard, wearing a jacket with the frat's emblem and beach shorts, opened the door. He looked at Tommy sleepily and said, "Kid, can't you read the sign outside? Secret society, members only."

"Hey, man, does your frat need medical certificates or prescription drugs? Home delivery, cash on delivery," Tommy said with a big grin.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter