Chapter 10: The Point of No Return

Once I entered the office, I knew for sure—this was a scam operation. The air was thick with anxiety, the glow of computer screens lighting up desperate faces.

How did I feel? Regret, fear, anger—every emotion mixed together. Words can’t describe it. My mind raced, searching for a way out.

It was like falling through ice: shock, disbelief, and the cold certainty that I was in way over my head. The hum of computers and the click of keyboards filled the room.

“Eric, leave your phone with me—phones aren’t allowed in the office.”

“Well, I don’t need to go in.”

“Just take a look—it’s fun.”

Half-forced, he took my phone. My hands trembled as I handed it over.

I knew I wouldn’t get it back anytime soon, and realized my suitcase was still in Mr. Foster’s office—probably lost that too. The panic built inside me.

Now all I had were the four packs of Marlboros Mr. Foster gave me. The cigarettes felt like a lifeline, but also a chain.

The office was maybe eight hundred square feet, with over twenty people inside. The air was stuffy, and the tension was thick.

Each had a computer and two or three dozen phones on their desk. Nobody looked at me—they were all focused on work, faces blank or grim.

I leaned close to Kev and whispered, “Shit, is this a shady business?”

Kev laughed. “It’s money. If you work here half a year, it’s worth five years back home.”

“No way—I can’t scam people.”

“It’s easy, you’ll learn. I’ll cover you.”

He clapped his hands. “Clap, clap, clap!”

Everyone stopped working, stood up, and looked at Kev.

“Let me introduce a friend—this is my buddy, Andy. Call him Big Andy.”

“Big Andy!”

Everyone greeted me in unison—I was nervous, my throat dry.

“Take care of him from now on.”

“Okay!”

“Alright, back to work.”

Everyone went back to their tasks. The sound of typing resumed, louder than before.

I quickly pulled Kev out.

“What do you mean ‘take care of me’? What’s Big Andy supposed to mean? What the hell is this?”

“Ah, you don’t get it—everyone here uses code names, nobody knows real names. Just a nickname, I made it up—it’s not bad, why care?”

“I don’t care about Big Andy—I never said I was coming to work here!”

Kev took me to his own office. The walls were bare, the desk cluttered with papers.

“You agreed when we drank, didn’t you?”

“Who agreed?”

“If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have brought you here. Now the boss introduced you, I vouched for you—now you say you won’t do it?”

He said this in a hard tone, his face twitching, eyes narrowed.

“Look, Eric, I treat you like a brother—I brought you here to make money, and now you’re making things difficult for me.”

His words hung in the air, heavy as a threat, and I realized just how far I was from home, from safety, from anything familiar.