Slander had just turned 14 when he felt he was no longer a boy, he looked at himself in the mirror and observed his goatee excitedly, " I am definitely becoming a man."He has began at the age of ten working with his father in the shoe factory making shoes, but that is not what he wanted to be, he took out his guitar and began to play "Do re me." He chanted . Today he got the courage to ask his father if he could leave the shoe factory and earn money by playing his guitar.
His father Bryan was hard at work in the shoe factory, he worked in this business all his life and was respected by all the other workers. They looked up to him and they were happy to work with such a fine man. When his father would take Sly with him to the shoe factory ,the workers would tell Sly how he made this place from scratch. Sly worked very hard after school polishing and shining shoes on the streets to people passing by.
He would earn two nickels a day then four then eight, until one day when he became older in his young twenties Sly's luck became better when he met a rich traveler coming through the town for a visit . Mr Potter was a rich money ,rumor has it he became rich by smuggling gold from different countries and selling them in high prices ,Mr Potter came to Sly so that he could shine his shoes and was impressed with what he saw, " You really have out done yourself Sly, You really know how to shine these shoes and make them brand new, you are very skillful young man."Sly nodded, " Thank you sir ,it is my dream one day to have my own shoe factory." Mr Potter admitted that he was smitten by this young man's enthusiasm and gave him a suggestion." Tell you what young boy I am invited tomorrow night to the opera to see it. Lots of rich men and women are going to be there, maybe if you are free you can go there and shine so shoes .You will earn a lot of money." Sly was excited ," Why thank you sir . I would definitely like to be there and I would miss it if my life depended on it."
Mr Potter gave him the address and was hopeful that he would be there. The next day he told his father what had happen with him and his father was against it, " I have a bad feeling about this Sly ,getting involved with rich people will always get you into trouble ." Sly always listened and had done everything his father wanted him to do . But this time he was determined to go to the opera and earn more money. He got his stuff and went to the opera over there he was startled at the big hall way in the entrance. He saw people young men and women standing in a line buying tickets ,children running around .The men and the women were dressed in the most expensive gowns ,Sly thought while staring at them ,"I can't believe that this was the life of the rich and famous." He ran in the hallway and took a peek inside the Opera Hall it was cylinder shaped and had red comfortable chairs and in the middle was a huge stage where there were musicians and violin players. He then looked for a perfect place to sit and put his shoe shines and he said, " A shoe shine for a nickel , come and get it a shoe shine for a nickel ." One man came up to him and gave a nickel and said, " Would you please shine my shoe it is quiet dirty and give it a sparking look."
Sly did just that from customer to another shinning and polishing their shoes that night he earned a lot of money .At the end of the night he packed us his stuff and was about to go home until Mr Potter noticed him and said, " Oh Sly there you are , I hope it turned out to be a successful night." Sly excitedly replied, " Yes sir thank you so much for telling to come." Mr Potter laughed, " No worry young man." He was about to leave and turned around and said, " Say are you free this Friday night I am having some famous politicians over for dinner ,you can meet my son he is around your age I think you two would get along just fine." Sly was shocked by the suggestion of going to his house and smiled, " Of course I would love too. Thank you so much sir." He waved a goodbye and left.
After telling his parents what happened, his father was amazed, " Mr Potter seems like a very kind man . I am very proud of you. My son's business will begin to boom fast thanks to your connections with the higher class society."
Sly was so happy ,the day had come where he didn't have to beg for crumbs anymore.
On Friday night Sly burrowed one of his dad's old suits ,looked at himself in the mirror and said, " This is it! I can get so many customers from this party." His father came in and smiled, " Here son, let me help you fix your tie." He fixed Sly's tie and said, " Look at yourself in the mirror." Sly looked at himself and saw that he didn't look like the street boy who sat on the streets and polished peoples shoes but a fine young gentleman.
He went to Mr Potter 's house and stood there in front of the doorway. It was more than just a house, it was a five story mansion. There was a metal door knob in the middle , Sly felt nervous as he knocked on the door. The door opened wide and Sly couldn't believe his eyes. The grounds were made out of marble floors , up in the ceiling were large chandeliers that sparkled so brightly. The hallway was so huge and had large pillars that held the ceiling.Sly entered the ballroom slowly but carefully ,he then saw Mr Potter in the corner laughing with some men and Mr Potter saw him and said, " Sly please come closer I want to introduce you to my friends." Sly came to him and he told his friends, " This man is the best at making your shoes stay shiny and clean, everybody greeted him kindly.
He looked around and he felt as if he was the center of attention, everyone wanted to know the story of the 14 year boy who began his business just by sitting on a sidewalk and shining shoes. Mr Potter than said, " Come Sly I want to introduce you to my son Mark." Sly came over and saw Mark he was a teenaged boy wearing a baggy pants , Sly thought to himself if he saw him on the streets he would never imagine that Mark came from a rich family.Mark just brushed and ignored Sly," Whatever ?" He said, " Can I have some money I'm gonna go out?" Mr Potter was angry, " Mark you are not going out right now you are going to be kind to our guest and show him around the house." Mark annoyingly replied, " Bummer! Come on Sly let me show you around."
Sly was irritated by his attitude but he had no choice but to go with him. They went outdoors to the garden and Mark just lit a cigarette. Sly began coughing ,He asked, " How old are you?" Mark put the cigarette aside and said, " 15 turning 16 next month and over there." Pointing at a silver Mercedes , " Is going to be mine when I turn 16." Sly thought to himself how could a spoiled rich kid like Mark be the son of a nice gentleman like Mr Potter. Sly was the staring at a beautiful phone on the desk next to him, Mark went over and took it and said, " Do you want it ?" Sly stuttered, " I couldn't...." Mark cut him off, " Oh man it's fine , it's old and by the way my dad is going to buy me a new one." He handed the phone to him, Sly just told him, " No thanks I feel like I am stealing you." Mark tried to convince him otherwise, " Tell you what , you can bother it for a few days and if my dad doesn't buy me a new phone I will just take it back."Sly actually thought it was a good idea so without giving another thought he took it and put it in his pocket and said, " Thanks Mark that is very nice of you."
After that they were called to eat in the dinning table .Sly sat there enjoying his delicious meal , and he thought to himself I haven't had a meal like this in forever . Then Sly heard Mr Potter tell someone, " Yes I just bought Mark a new phone for his birthday, Mark would you show every body your new phone." Mark replied, " Yes it's on the table let me get it." Sly's heart began to beat as he was carrying Mark's new phone, Mark lied to him and said that he didn't get his phone. Sly was feeling nervous and got out of his chair to leave until Mark screamed, " Dad it was just here and now I can't find it!" Mark looked at him and said, " Dad check Sly's pockets." Mr Potter said, " Guards check the boy if he has Mark's phone." The guards held him and found Mark's phone. Sly was helpless and began to defend himself, " Mark gave it to me." Mark yelled, " Dad why would I give him a brand new phone." Mr Potter yelled at Sly, " I brought you home and this is how you repay me."Mr Potter then took him by the sleeves and threw him out of his home.