When I was in high school, I learned of a guy who was acting as a local bookie, taking bets on sports games. Money was not easy for me to come by back then, so when I heard of the great odds he was giving on my favorite football team, I couldn't pass up the chance to place a large bet on such a sure thing. My plan was to score a good sum on the win, which would give me money for dates and nights out on the town for a while.
Much to my dismay, my team lost and I found myself owing money I didn't have. I tried to run a tab, hoping that I could clear my losses with another bet that I would win. However, John (the bookie) said that new customers have to settle up losses before placing further bets. I explained that I didn't have the money at the moment but could get it soon. He said I could have a week, but after that he would need to be paid in full or he would owe interest to his contact with whom he placed his bets.
I didn't know how I was going to come up with the money and during the week I tried everything I could think of short of stealing. However, after the week had passed I still had no money. When I explained this to John, I asked if there was any way that I could pay in installments. He told me to come by his house after school and he would see what we could work out.
After school, as I walked to his house, I worried about how I was going to be able to raise the money to pay off the debt with interest without my parents finding out. I had heard some stories about the guys that John was connected with and worried about getting on the wrong side of some shady characters.
When I arrived at John's house, I found he was home alone. We sat down to try to come to some kind of arrangement. He explained that he was being charged 20% interest per week. I realized that I would be lucky to make interest only payments working whatever odd jobs and chores I could to get paid. I asked him if there wasn't some way he could forgive the debt.
That's when John said something that caught me totally by surprise. "Look," he said, "you meet me here after school every day and I'll credit you $20 for each blow job you give me. At that rate, you can be paid off in about three weeks without having to come up with any cash of your own. Since it's been a week already, you already owe $40 interest."
I was stunned. I didn't say a word. I didn't know what to say. Sensing my apprehension, he added, "I'm always home alone. Nobody has to know. We'll keep it between the two of us. You can work off your first payment starting today."
"I...I don't know," I said.