"Hey bro. How you doing now man?" asked a buff man who barged into Carlos' room and disturbed Carlos' train of thought.
"Damn it, Blake. I got hit in the head dude. How do you think I am? This headache is fucking killing me!" exclaimed Carlos.
"Heard what that son of a bitch John did to you. How can he be this heartless!" said Blake
"Well, he is not rich enough to pay for people who are not working man. I don't blame him but at least he could have given me some time to get better," said Carlos with a calm tone.
"So what are you going to do now?" asked Blake with some worry in his voice.
"I got 3 grand from the severance pay and I have 4 grand in my savings. I was thinking of going for the County Police Auction with that. What do you think?" questioned Carlos.
"What do I think? I think you have gone mad is what I think!" exclaimed Blake and said "What happened to you man? You are always the cautious one. Why do want to take the sudden risk? Do you know how many people lose everything in those auctions?"
"I have no better idea man. John gave me the job only because his dad and my dad were pals. Now that he fired me no one else is gonna give me a job. It's not like I know something other than car service." explained Carlos.
"Moreover I think I will not be losing anything there. I have my ways, bro. Trust me."
"It's your money dude. What you do with it is up to you. But remember your family before you do something stupid. Lily need you now more than ever."
"Thanks for the concern bro. I know Sandra just started college and this is a big risk but I have to take it. Mom is not doing that great. I need the extra cash and I want to set up my own workshop man. I need the capital for that."
"Well, I have 5 grand saved up. You can use that money too." seeing that Carlos was going to refuse Blake interrupted him saying "I am not giving you the money for free. You will put in 5 grand and I will put in 5 grand in this auction. Whatever we earn from this we will split in half. How about it?" asked Blake.
Carlos hesitated for a while and said "Are you, sure man? You were saving that for buying a car right."
"Well if I earn more I can buy a better car! Hahaha" Blake started to laugh boisterously and Carlos seeing his friend's antics joined along.
"What's so funny boys?" asked Lily who entered the room with Sandra.
"Nothing much mom. Blake and I were planning to invest in some business with our saving until I get a job." lied Carlos and looked at Blake.
Seeing Carlos lying, Blake gave him a cross look. He understood that Carlos did not want his family to know about this stuff.
"Yeah, Mrs.Reidrich. I was just telling Carlos about this tech startup run by my cousin. They have a promising future and they already have Tesla investing in them. It may not pay out immediately but it is a long-term investment." said Blake playing along with Carlos' lie.
"That all fine Carlos but be careful with the investment and stuff. This goes for you too Blake. It may be your cousin's company but lots of business go broke. Make sure you get a good idea before you do anything." said Lily with some worry.
"Don't worry mom. Blake has already done some research into this. We will take care of this, don't worry. You head back home with Sandra, Blake and I will go to that company and take a look after settling the hospital papers." said Carlos.
"Mom, you go wait downstairs. I will pack the stuff here and catch up with you," said Sandra.
"Fine then. Be safe you both," said Lily to Carlos and Blake. After saying that she took her handbag and left the room.
"Now that mom is gone, do you guys want to tell me the truth?" questioned Sandra.
"What are you talking about?" asked Carlos with a puzzled face.
"Oh yeah! Then tell me the name of the company you guys are going to invest in?" fired back Sandra.
"Uhmm, that..." unable to answer, Carlos looked at Blake for help only to see Blake equally blank.
"Now are you going to tell me the truth or do you want me to tell mom?" threatened Sandra.
"Fine you win." unable to answer, Carlos gave up and told her about their plan.
"Well, you may not like this but I did some part-time work after school," said Sandra with some hesitation but before Carlos could say she continued "and I saved up $1000 so you can use that too. Don't object. I know some of my classmates who go there. I will tell them to contact you." after saying that Sandra rushed out of the room.
"Looks like your sister is exactly like you," said Blake while stifling his laugh.
"Don't go and say that in front of her man. I don't want her to divert her attention worrying about money problems. I want her to focus on her studies." said Carlos admonishing Blake.
"Fine. You worry about her too much man. She is not a kid anymore. Now what do you plan to do?" asked Blake changing the topic.
"Let's go to the Impound and get the details of the next auction first. Let's try to get as much info as we can. But first, let's get out of this hospital. It makes me sicker by the minute." said Carlos packing up the rest of the stuff. After that, both Blake and Carlos went to the reception to check out the hospital before continuing on their way to the impound.