by T. M. Meek
Alex was relieved to have the option of wearing pants as a part of her new school uniform. She bought a skirt to wear on occasion but she knew she would wear pants most of the time. After having the usual theme for breakfast of a healthy meal, Meredith helped Alex pack a healthy lunch including an extra pancake (high fiber, whole grain) from breakfast as a side treat for later. Meredith drove Alex to school and made sure she had no problems getting to her first class.
The plan for the afternoon was for Alex to be picked up after school by Meredith since she got off work in time to not leave Alex waiting long. Meredith was glad she had made the change earlier in the year to work less hours. Now that she worked only part-time at the local university she would be done working early enough to get Alex after school. Meredith felt it was serendipitous that she had decided several months ago to cut back on her hours at the university only to find how unexpectedly perfect it worked out for both her and Alex's schedules. Since Meredith had worked at the university for several years as a professor, this was the first year she chose not to teach any classes that began before 9 a.m. She was thrilled.
Shortly after Alex was seated in her first class of the day, English, an announcement came over the middle school PA system. It was the voice of another student reading enthusiastically the information about the school fund-raising contest that all of the middle school students were invited to participate in. Alex imagined the same information would soon be hung up in large posters in various halls as well as on North Ivy's school website so that anyone who might miss this morning’s announcement could still get the same information later.
The student began. "This year’s first annual Charity of Choice Championship is a contest where middle school student contestants choose a charitable cause to support, create a way to raise money for the cause and do so as a team. Each student may choose to form or otherwise join a team of students to work with in the competition. Each team must consist of at least two students but may not exceed a maximum of five students. Results will be scored on three factors: First, the quality of the cause as it relates to the number of human lives that can be improved for the better, second, how it can teach you and your teammates about success and third, how much each team is able to raise for their charity as a total amount by the competition's due date. The funds raised will be distributed in the following manner: 90 percent will go to the charity of your team’s choice and the remaining 10 percent will go to support the North Ivy scholarship fund to allow disadvantaged students to attend here at North Ivy. The team with the highest overall score, winning 1st place, will win the grand prize of an all expenses paid, four-day trip to three Florida amusement parks for everyone on their team and their parents."
Alex became wide-eyed with excitement. Another girl in another class also got very excited. A boy in a different class got so excited, he accidentally swallowed his gum. In sudden disappointment, he mumbled, "That was my last piece."
The announcement continued. "The deadline for a team to enter is October 1st and all money must be raised by no later than May 15th at 9 a.m. with the announcement of the Grand Prize winning team and all other winners occurring at 1 p.m. May 15th. The team that wins Second Place will get an all day free pass to the local Splash and Sing water park plus dinner at Stinky's Sticky Pizza parlor. The team that wins Third Place will get free movie passes to the local movie theater (limit one ticket per team member) plus a free lunch at Bart’s Beef Barfarama. For more details for this year’s first annual Charity of Choice Championship, or to fill out your team’s entry form online, simply visit our school’s website. Remember, there's no time to waste! Pick your team and pick your charity and submit your team’s entry by October 1st! Thank you.”
The teacher in Alex's English class began the lesson. As the teacher spoke, Alex was quick to notice something she wished she hadn't. Apparently, Alex would be in for quite an unwelcome treat by a nearby classmate for as often as Alex was able to pay attention to her teacher, she just as often gave in, with some annoyance, to a nearby distraction known as Julio Manuel Francisco Lopez. He was a fairly cute Latino. Julio was a fellow classmate that sat exactly one row over and one seat in front of Alex. He had a somewhat noticeable Spanish accent when he spoke, but his English was very good. As far as Alex could tell, Julio didn't even know she existed––which was fine with her. She wished she could say the same thing about his existence.
Despite how cute and fairly attractive he was, she wasn't sure what annoyed her the most about him. It was a toss up between exactly how he raised his hand when he would, and what he actually asked or said once he was called upon. The first time he raised his hand that day, the teacher had not asked a question nor had she invited any response from the class about the lesson, yet out of nowhere, Julio launched his hand sky high in the air in an urgent manner as he remained seated, as if he needed to request a bathroom break. But somewhere in the midst of his effort to be noticed, he seemed to become lost in a new quest to see just how high in the air he could stretch his hand without actually leaving his seat.
The teacher finally called Julio out of la-la-land and he quickly dropped his hand and sat up straight.
He asked, "Do you remember inviting us on our first day if any of us had another name we might like to be called by?"
She replied pleasantly, "Of course, Julio. By what name would you like to be called?"
In a most dignified manner, he replied, "I respectfully request, that you please address me as, 'Julio: King of All Ham and Marshmallow Sandwiches.'" His comment made most of the class burst into laughter which pleased him although he tried to hide his smile of satisfaction.
With the teacher rightfully concluding that Julio was not really serious about his new title, she reminded him that as much as it was simply an invitation to inform her by request, it was at her sole discretion to choose whether or not to actually call a student by a name other than the one she had on her records for the students in her class. And with that, she simply moved on to the next part of her lesson. But several minutes later, she gave Julio another open door invitation to again annoy Alex and potentially humor the rest of the class when she asked, "Does anyone have any questions?"
As another student was quicker than Julio in raising his hand, and as the teacher took the time needed to completely answer the other student's question, Julio apparently felt a need to use that same time to get some exercise in as he would raise his hand quickly, holding it in the air and quietly mouthing a count to himself, "One, two, three, four," and then his hand would lower slowly as he mouthed another count of, "One, two, three, four." Then he'd quickly shoot his hand back up in the air repeating the count to four as he held his hand up high, and again slowly lowering it to the same count of four. And again, in his fascination with how high his hand was in the air and how steadily he would count to four, Julio was lost in la-la-land over a simple variation of his vast array of hand raising techniques.
Once again, the teacher called him out of la-la-land. "Julio, what is your question?" she asked patiently.
He quickly dropped his hand and sat up more straight to give his full attention to the teacher as he asked, "Would you like to know how you can get free French fries today?" Once again, the class could not contain their laughter.
Remaining unruffled, the teacher gave a calm, cool reply. "Julio, I am only interested in questions that pertain to this class and today's lesson," she said in a kind but firm tone.
In a polite way he plead for her to listen as he quickly added, "But it's a legitimate offer..."
"Julio!" she interrupted firmly. "That's enough.”
“Fine,” he said with a voice more depressed and trailing as he slowly hung his head down in some embarrassment that he tried to hide with a blushed smirk.
After a few moments of overall class silence, the teacher made it clear by her overall demeanor that despite Julio's silliness, she would choose not to label him in her mind as anything less than another student who still had great
potential for academic and life success, as she said to Julio, "Don't get me wrong. I definitely have a sense of humor because I believe that's a vital way for most of us to simply make it through life. However, I also feel it must be appropriate humor that is given at the right time and place. Apparently it may be beneficial, to all here today, to know of my limits. Julio, I think you've already reached your quota with me regarding your clear desire for humorous outlets for distracting expression in my class––at least for this week."
She then moved to address the entire class. "Now, does anyone else have a question that actually pertains to this class or to today’s lesson?"
Alex wanted to raise her hand and ask regarding Julio, "Did somebody drop him on his head this morning? Because that boy is weird!" But she kept her silence as another student asked a real question.
At lunchtime, Alex brought her lunch to one of the tables and began unpacking her food. She looked around to see if she could find anyone who might be in need of food or money for lunch. Everything around her was so modern and rich and clean in design and atmosphere that she wondered how anyone could be broke at that school. Then she remembered from the morning announcement that some students who otherwise couldn't afford to attend North Ivy could be scholarshipped in. She wondered if that scholarship might include a free meal plan to pay for lunches.
As she looked around, everyone was basically dressed the same since all were required to wear a school uniform. This made it more difficult to spot who might be in need among the classmates of more wealthy parents. She planned on finding out later if scholarships included meal plans. But for now, she was set on enjoying a healthy homemade lunch from Aunt Meredith's kitchen.
As she removed her food from her lunch bag, the first item she set out on the table was a couscous salad that included dried currants, chopped bell peppers, rinsed and drained canned chick peas, some medium scallions and fresh cilantro. She also set out to the side a small container of spicy yogurt dressing. She dug around more in her lunch bag and pulled out a lemon wedge wrapped neatly in plastic. The lemon would be used to squeeze over her salad. She then set out another container of fresh sliced cantaloupe with blueberries and the extra pancake from breakfast. Her reusable beverage container held 18 oz of pure filtered water from home. Before she ate, she said a brief, quiet prayer of gratitude to God for her food.
After her prayer, she placed a napkin on her lap and picked up a fork for her salad. Just before she could take her first bite of lunch, that annoying but cute Julio, from her earlier English class, came right up to her, pointed at her couscous salad, and with a clear facial expression of disgust, asked Alex, "What the hell is that?"
Alex rolled her eyes, ignored him and started eating. She wondered why in the world in the plentiful open sea of available cafeteria tables did he have to choose hers to eat at as he seated himself pleasantly, directly across from her. She decided after finishing her first bite that she would simply answer his question in hopes he would then leave. She said to him without making any effort to hide her annoyance, "It's couscous salad. And what was your name?"
"Julio Lopez: King of All Ham and Marshmallow Sandwiches," he said with dignity, just as he had earlier in their class.
Alex could see that he had no intentions of leaving anytime soon, so she proceeded to see if she could make the best of it in her own way. She set down her fork and stopped eating for a few moments to address him directly.
"Okay, Julio. Let's get a few things straight here. All right?”
“Okay,” he smiled cheerfully.
Alex then began to ask him several questions in a serious and almost monotone, rapid-fire succession that he answered just as quickly as he matched her somber nearly monotone style.
"How old are you?" she drilled.
"Thirteen."
"When's your birthday?"
"November 26th."
"Does it annoy you that your friends are usually out of town with their family for the holidays every year on your
birthday?"
"Yes."
"How many brothers and sisters do you have?"
"One."
"Older or younger?"
"Younger."
"Brother or Sister?"
"Brother."
"Can you tell that I prefer not to be annoyed by people whose names rhyme with 'Julio?'"
"Yes."
"With that in mind, what are your intents regarding me in the future?" she asked.
"To choose only the kinds of behaviors, questions and comments in your presence that you find are the least annoying to you."
"How often do you think you'll succeed with those intents?"
"Rarely."
"What is your favorite food?"
"Ham and marshmallow sandwiches."
"That was a dumb question," she grumpily regretted.
"I know," he simply replied.
"Okay. You're good," she said now bored and ending her line of questions. He answered every question truthfully.
Julio smiled cheerfully and Alex went back to eating her lunch.
While she ate, Julio opened his lunch and an attractive strawberry blonde girl, a Caucasian of similar age to Alex and Julio, came up from behind Alex and placed a pint sized container of milk in front of Julio and said, "There. We're even."
The two then conducted a series of friendly hand greetings that seemed to Alex as if it took an eternity to finish even though it concluded in a matter of only four or five seconds. "Would you two mind not doing that over my food? In case you hadn't noticed, I'm actually eating here," Alex said in some disgust more to the girl than to Julio.
Julio decided to start some introductions. "This is Leena Lilly," he said pointing to the girl Alex just mildly chastised. He then began to introduce Alex to Leena. "Leena, this is..." but he hadn't learned Alex's name yet so he waited and looked to Alex to tell him her name and introduce herself.
"Alex. Alex Opalstone," she replied reluctantly. She then returned to eating.
Julio then pleasantly explained to Leena, "Alex, contrary to unpleasant and even grumpy first impressions, is actually a very kind person in her heart."
Alex then studied Julio carefully and asked in a mix of curiosity and skepticism, "How do you know what kind of person I am at heart?"
Julio smiled softly. "Unlike some people who think they know someone after asking a series of several inadequate questions, I can tell a lot about a person just by looking at someone––before they even say a word," he said matter-of-factly with an air of pure confidence and not an ounce of arrogant pride. Alex would see over time how he was right.
"May I join you two?" Leena politely asked.
A now more humbled and warmer Alex replied, "Sure. Sit wherever you'd like." Leena sat next to Julio.
"What's up with the crutches?" Julio asked Alex curiously.
"I sprained my ankle after running when I tripped on something at home," Alex said nonchalantly.
"So how long will you need them for?"
"About a week or so."
"Oh. That's not too long," Julio said contentedly. "I'm sorry you need crutches. But at least you have them when you need them," he said sympathetically.
"So how do you two know each other?" Alex asked curiously just before taking another bite of food.
Leena was happy to answer. "Julio and I met last year in math class and we've been friends ever since."
“My family moved here from California. My dad is in the business of protecting others. Like personal security. Bodyguards. Anyway, he got tired of the Hollywood celebrity protection scene in California and so now we live here and he works with only a few clients – all famous people. One’s an ex-politician. Another is a rock star. I just can’t tell you who. Because, you know. It’s private,” Julio said. He then drank some milk.
"So who helped who with math?" Alex asked. She decided to change the subject to respect his apparent agreement with his father to
not reveal his famous clients.
"Sometimes I helped him and sometimes he helped me," Leena replied casually.
"Speaking of math, Julio, do you want to see how fast we can add up some Franklins for a good cause?" Leena asked wryly as she challenged Julio.
"Franklins?" Julio asked bewildered.
"Hundreds––as in hundred dollar bills? You know. The Charity of Choice Championship?" she smiled.
"Oh yeah! Florida! Amusement parks!" Julio said excitedly as Leena took a bite of her lunch.
"I've never been to Florida before. But my Grandma and Grandpa just moved there. Maybe I could go to the Florida amusement parks and visit them on the same trip," Leena added excitedly.
"But we have to win first, and that takes coming up with a winning plan..." Julio said as if he had all of the answers, until he added, "of which I have no idea of."
Alex was quietly listening to their conversation as she ate her lunch and was patiently waiting to propose an idea she was fairly sure would work.
Both Leena and Julio continued to discuss the competition in between bites of their lunch.
"Maybe we could raise money selling car washes that use organic liquid dish soap," Leena suggested. "It's a green way to provide a useful service. You know, it's eco-friendly." She then thought further and added, “But most of that eco stuff is really just crying wolf these days so… never mind.”
“ Even if we did a car wash, how does that provide both an important service that helps a huge number of people as well as teach us about success?" Julio asked thoughtfully since they needed to have those two aspects included in their strategy to meet the championship requirements. Leena looked a bit puzzled.
"Don't forget the third qualification needed to get the highest score. It has to raise a lot of money. Ideally, the most out of all other contestants," Alex reminded them before she took a sip of water from her bottle.
Julio sat up straight with optimism as he thought of an idea to share. "I propose we come up with a low calorie, lowfat, heart-friendly recipe for German chocolate cake, and sample as much of it as we can as we share that recipe with the world––and all for only $49.95!"
"Surely you can't be serious," Leena asked in disbelief.
"Of course I'm serious! And don’t call me Shirley," Julio replied.
Leena rolled her eyes. "You're so absurd," she mumbled.
"May I make a suggestion?" Alex humbly chimed in. Leena and Julio shrugged their shoulders and nodded in agreement.
"One word: 401(k)," Alex said matter-of-factly. She then took another drink of water. Leena and Julio looked at each other in confusion. They then gave Alex the same puzzled look.
"I don't get it," Julio admitted.
"401(k). It's a law under our U.S. government tax code that basically outlines how employers can provide a defined contribution plan for their employees who want to save and invest their money towards their future retirement. Who are the employees? They are usually adults," Alex summarized.
Both Julio and Leena still looked confused.
Alex sighed. "Do you guys know what retirement is? Haven't either of you ever heard one of your parents say that 'we're trying to save for our retirement?'" Alex asked as she tried hard not to use a condescending tone.
"Isn't that when you're old and you don't work anymore?" Julio guessed.
"Exactly. But how will you pay for your food or your house or your clothes or medical bills or your favorite Saturday night out at the movies when you're not working at a job anymore? That money has to come from somewhere. And that money usually comes from a large savings account that financial experts call a 'retirement account' that you put money into every month for years and years and years until you have enough to be able to stop working and start living off of the money saved in the account. And since anytime you have money in an account, taxes usually affect it, so the 401(k) laws tell people how their retirement money is affected by taxes under that '401(k) plan,'" Alex said.
Leena carefully studied Alex's face warily as if Alex were slowly turning into an alien from outer space. "Do you have like, ' normal ' hobbies? Like cooking or drawing or swimming?" Leena asked cautiously.
"Of course I do!" Alex replied defensively. "And there's nothing wrong with having an interest in financial planning."
Both Julio and Leena looked at each other and thought Alex was crazy.
"Do you guys want to go to Florida or not?" Alex challenged. They both felt ashamed for mocking her.
"Look," Alex said with a more forgiving tone of real confidence. "I'm telling you that I've recently learned that a lot of adults are losing money in their 401(k)s. If we can get the right information together about how people can make the most out of their retirement money, then they won't have to retire like most adults do in poverty. Now, granted, we’re not going to be able to save everyone, but we can at least help those who are serious about helping themselves."
Alex continued as Leena and Julio acted like they understood.
“Studies have shown that over ninety percent of adults in the U.S. have been retiring in poverty for well over twenty years now, meaning they can't even afford to adequately feed themselves so they have to keep working even when they're sick and tired from old age. Which means that they have to do that until they die and then they'll mostly die broke."
Alex then looked directly at Julio and asked, "How do you know that your dad isn't struggling with this exact problem but he isn't saying anything to anyone because he's too embarrassed and worried about how that will affect you, your mom, and your little brother?"
She then said to Leena, "Your parents may be struggling financially to raise you for any number of reasons. If your mom was a single parent, even if she were receiving alimony and child support payments from your dad after a divorce, it's usually not enough. The chances of her either suddenly winning the lottery or the chances of her employer doubling her salary this year just to help her out are slim to none. Most people know it's extremely rare to ever win a big lottery. Taking a gamble that money will suddenly just show up in some big amount from an employer or someone else is extremely unrealistic. And if she's not having some kind of serious increase in her income pretty soon, chances are, she's going to be retiring in poverty too."
Although Leena's mom was not technically currently a single parent, Leena had heard her mom threaten to divorce her dad more than once in recent months and Leena's mom was a full-time choosing home mom with no other income beyond that of her husband’s.
Leena asked in some discouragement, "Is there a happy ending to all of this?"
"That's what I'm trying to get to!" Alex replied optimistically. Leena exhaled a deep sigh of relief. "We can really help people like your mom with whatever her financial situation is for retirement.” Alex then turned to Julio. "Maybe we could help your dad––or even my parents," Alex added enthusiastically. Julio and Leena seemed to listen with more care and concern for older adults as Alex continued.
"Look. I know where to get the right information to help people plan better for retirement. Our ultimate goal will be to help them learn what it takes to have enough money for themselves at retirement so they can have extra money available to give charitably to others. They can have the opportunity to give back in a way that makes the world a better place and then they can teach others to do the same. We're not going to tell them what charity to donate to once they're retired. We'll just suggest that they do so. This way a lot of different people will be saving money with the goal of financial self-reliance during retirement while they also aim to improve the lives of others locally or across the globe through charitable donations. Now, if we put together a PowerPoint presentation with this information and go around to companies, we'll tell them we're raising money and we'll charge them three hundred and fifty dollars per presentation. Each presentation will only last about forty-five to fifty minutes."
"Three hundred and fifty dollars?!" Julio exclaimed in s
hock. "Who would pay that kind of money for anything other than a rock concert?" he asked dumbfounded.
Alex looked in disbelief at Julio. "Are you kidding me? Some companies spend at least three hundred and fifty dollars just for lunch for a bunch of their employees. And what's their rate of return on that? Acid indigestion at best."
Julio again looked confused as he asked, "'Rate of return?' What's that?"
"Rate of return. Return on investment," Alex said somewhat impatiently.
But Julio still wasn't getting it. Neither was Leena.
"You know. What financial or other benefits are they getting for spending that three hundred and fifty dollars?"
They started to look as if they might understand.
“So we offer a solution to thousands of employees at various companies and raise the most money of anyone in the competition while also learning about success!" Alex said logically and enthusiastically.
"And how do we know that they don't already know this stuff for their retirement?" Leena asked in polite skepticism.
"If they already know about it, then why do over 90 percent of them continue to retire in poverty? Again, over ninety percent of Americans means that includes your average employee working at a large or small business." Alex replied in a tone of common sense.
Both Julio and Leena nodded in agreement as Leena said, "Good point. That makes sense."
Julio looked at Alex thoughtfully and asked, “How do you know it’s not more than ninety percent?”
“That’s a good question. One study shows it’s about 90 percent and another shows it’s over 94 percent. I’m still looking into it,” Alex replied. Julio was still thinking about her reply but he quickly snapped out of it as Alex began putting together their team and began to delegate individual team member responsibilities. She wanted to find out who was best able to do what towards their newly formed three-member team's success. Alex began by quizzing Leena.
"What are you good at? What can you do on our team that can help us win?"
"I can draw, paint, and sculpt. But I'm not sure how that will help us," Leena replied.
"Do you ever use any graphics software on your computer to make art? You know, can you make graphic arts?" Alex asked curiously.
"Sure! I created a picture of the Empire State building in New York City and I created sunlight to reflect off of the windows. It had people and cars on the streets with neighboring buildings and a clear blue sky. I finished that just yesterday," she replied eagerly.
"Perfect! Then you'll create the pictures we'll use in our slide show presentation," Alex said like she was born to lead.
"What are you good at?" Alex asked Julio.
"I always get A's on my English papers. My teachers say it's because I quote good sources well. So I guess that means I'm good at research," he shrugged.
"Excellent! You'll be our research and quotes man. I've got some good leads to get you started," Alex said. Julio gave a proud smile. "I'll be in charge of putting it all together, selling and making the appointments and giving the presentations. Are we all agreed?" Alex said. They all nodded in agreement. "Saving families. Saving the world. One smart charitable retirement presentation at a time. Florida vacation, here we come!" Alex said smartly. They all clinked their lunch drinks together in optimistic unity.
Alex hoped that she could also turn this into an opportunity for her to learn how to earn enough money to buy her own home. If she could do that then Glade would come back and Alex would finally have her own say as to where she lived and with whom. But this new team of teens Alex had just formed didn’t understand what they were all about to get into in the name of helping the older generation of adults. They had all three unknowingly entered a battle over retirement and financial literacy that would seem nearly impossible to win.
One greedy person would be determined to stop them.
Chapter 7: The Success Crew is Born