In Grade 9, I accidentally became the head of a gambling syndicate at my school.

I was a young, fresh faced kid, and found out that you could win money playing blackjack. So in my usual fashion, I began expanding the operation. I soon had 5 tables in the lunch room with games going at lunch.

That led to me needing to hire football players to act as muscle and collect debts from people.

I was planning on expanding my operation into fight promoting. But then some kids told their moms why they were coming home so hungry every day. They were losing their lunch money at the tables.

So, their moms went to the principal and I was called in to his office. He said, “Muneer, I’m hearing you’ve made $1000 off this little operation of yours!” I said, “No, I’ve actually only made $643. It’s all here on my log book.”

So, I was forced to pay back the money I hadn’t already spent on baseball cards and rap tapes. Which was about $200. In my report card, they said, “Muneer needs to stop using his bright mind for destructive purposes.”

Written on January 5, 2021