THE POTREPRENEUR (To Rise & Fall)

Chapter 2A: The Rise

CHAPTER TWO

The final semester kicked in and vacation time was over. Those who reigned on campus had to resume duties and they were hungry to showcase what they had acquired this time around. Being a senior made most of them “Wild and Untamed”, as parties were the theme of it all. The whole first month was full of happiness and love. Dylan and Bella attended almost every party, except for those organised by the low glitz & glamour. He was always one of the first people to be notified of an upcoming party and he never turned down the invitation.
It was in this semester that Dylan got one of the best ideas of the century, to make his own money. At first, he was reluctant to act on it, but later on, He braced himself and put the thought into action. He wanted more than just being a lap dog to Bella. He wanted his own resources to fund his own expeditions. So his first move was to join the drug ring. Eat at the same table with Ghost and other small time drug dealers. Striking Ghost operations, was the biggest move to make and it would establish him very fast. He never told Bella about his new profound conquest. This was the first time he broke his vow with her of being open to each other. Bella had always been a supportive girlfriend and never commanded him anything. One could say, Dylan was the dominant, even though he didn’t have anything. I guess that’s what they call loyalty. Dylan was ready to break the code and be his own man. He didn’t know how he was going to carry out his move, but he was damn sure he had to do something.  He went on to execute his plan silently without consulting anyone. He had lost his only best friend, who had always been there and real with him. So he visited Ghost’s chambers and offered his deal.
“Hey man, how you doing and how can I help a Negro early this morning?” Ghost asked.
“I need a good blunt to start my day” chuckling.
His heart was pounding harder than ever. Wondering how Ghost would react to the deal. What if he went straight to consult with Bella and found out he was lying? But then he would ease his own mind by the thought of Bella always being by his side. He knew, that he was out of harm’s way with Bella by his side, and that was the kind of power that encouraged betrayal.
“Of course brother, you came to the right stop shop” Ghost said. Ghost was always a happy soul and he never fought or quarrelled with anyone. He just loved smoking weed. I guess that’s why they say, “Weed is the healing of a nation”.
“Give me two blunts” Dylan ordered.
“Where is my favourite customer Bella, you are never here alone?” Ghost questioned a little bit puzzled. That had never happened before. Bella would never dodge a morning of purchasing weed with her boyfriend.
“It’s not a weekend brother, you know that she likes getting baked only on a weekend. Am the only one now who loves to smoke all day, everyday”
“I feel you brother” Ghost said with sincerity.
At first, Dylan didn’t know how to lay out his deal in a believable and vicious manner. He didn’t know whether he was supposed to use force or diplomacy. A lot of thoughts crossed and crashed in his head, until he opted for force. Diplomacy was for the weak and he wanted to appear tough.
“So Ghost, here’s the deal and the reason why I came to buy weed this morning. Bella and I want you to work for us”
“What are you talking about brother?” trying to get a hold of the idea being passed on to him.
“I mean, we are going to take over your operations from now. In short, as of now, you are working for us”
“Are you insane? I will never work for nobody” Ghost asserted.
“Just in case you didn’t notice, I wasn’t asking but I was telling you what we will be doing. Be a good chap and stop being a dullard”
“Something tells me that you lying. There’s this look in your eyes that tells me, you are doing this out of your own will and Bella doesn’t even know about it” Ghost insinuated. He wasn’t sure how to react to the notion proposed. He had to resist and see if the chap was for real.
“Let’s not get this messy, more than it should. I just came here to deliver a message”
“A message from who? If it was from Bella, Frankoe would’ve been here. He is her lap dog, not you” Ghost charged with facts. Of course, Frankoe would have came there and whenever he showed up on behalf of someone, it only meant business. In his mind, he was wondering where Dylan would’ve got the guts to carry out such a covert operation. On the other hand, if this was true, there would be serious retribution for resistance, but he had to stand his ground for the moment till he heard from the horse’s mouth.
At that moment, Dylan knew that this was a losing battle and there was nothing he could do to win. The only option he had left, was to retreat and come back harder than before. How was he going to tell Bella about his newest endeavour? Would he be able to dupe her successfully? But then, Bella was his girlfriend after all. The one who chased after him and not the other way round. She was bound to be loyal. He got a little hope from that thought, held on to it and that’s all he needed to keep going. So he left for Bella’s room, to tell her about his idea of taking over Ghost’s operations. He got there and talked to Bella who was busy working on her dissertation.
“Hey babe” Bella said while still focused on her computer.
“Hello, we need to talk and I need your attention” he said while sitting on the single bed behind the room door.
“Talk about what, you seem edgy about it.” She said while closing tabs on her computer and then finally shutting it down.
“I did something stupid and I need you not to freak out about it. Try to remain calm” took a deep breath and told her the whole story.
“Why did you have to do that?” she asked calmly.
“To start earning for myself and not depend on another man’s money”
“Which man are you talking about?” puzzled
“Your father, dummy”
“Do you know that what you did might cause a turf between me and Ghost? And how do you expect me to help you on this, because as far as am concerned, there’s nothing I can do for you” she told him.
“You can send in Frankoe to convince the guy and maybe at least we might stand a chance.”
“Just so if you didn’t know, Frankoe works for my father and not me. He is under specific orders not to run errands like those for me. So if that was your only idea, you better go back and apologise to Ghost and tell him you were just joking” She ordered.
“I can’t do that, Ghost doesn’t have any vicious back up. We could use that to our own advantage”
“So now you want to turn into a mobster and go around beating people to do your bidding?” Bella asked.
“No, I got something even way better” he smiled.
“You want me to tell you to spill it?”
“We blackmail him to agree to our terms. You spend the whole day with him smoking weed and then you say he raped you. He could go away for a long time plus selling weed is a crime we could have that on him as leverage” he confidently spoke.
“I don’t know about that honey, this sounds so wrong. I mean, Ghost never did me or anybody wrong. Why would e go to such lengths to throw his life away in a hole. By the way, he still has other police officers in his pockets, let alone all the school security of course. You can never go around that sort of firewall” she argued.
“He may have that, but you are a bit more connected than him. He is connected to the low class insurgents, and you got, we got the bigger sharks by the balls. We can just scare him with what we don’t have”
“That might work. You are a freaking genius” she agreed to the idea.
Bella didn’t really know why she was doing this but she loved the whole thing. She could see herself at the helm of the university charter. An eminent queen. She wanted the power too. Maybe someday, she could elope with him to a faraway country. Dylan was confident that his plan would work and he could be the next biggest drug dealer. Above all, he wanted to buy his guardians a better home. They had kept him well, fed him and clothed him. That was the least he could do for the old timers. Dylan felt that he was born for some greatness. He just didn’t know that it would come through the drug cartel airways.

So Dylan and Bella put their plan into motion. Bella headed to Ghosts office where he was chilling. He was heavily frustrated with what Dylan had dropped on him. His empire was small and manageable. He didn’t think for a day that he would run a major drug operations. He smelled trouble from the offer made by Dylan. When Bella got there, he didn’t want to speak to her but just wanted to hear her say the words herself.
“Did you purchase a new lap dog without telling me?” Ghost asked, playfully.
“I didn’t know that I had to report anything to you” she replied with a feisty tone.
“Does your father know about this? You could get me arrested for what you are planning”
“Relax, I have it all covered. You just have to comply”
“Come on Bella, I have run this for a while now. I don’t need this drama”
“I didn’t come for negotiations Ghost, I came here to certify what you have been told. Don’t force my hand”
“What will you do if I don’t comply?”
“You don’t want to know that. Tip of the iceberg, I will shut you down and still open another shop. This is just an opportunity you should be happy for. With me, you are guaranteed protection from the cops and the campus security.” She asserted.
“I already have that, what makes you think you can do any better?”
“I can simply turn them against you, with a click of my finger. And you wouldn’t possibly want to test how deep the waters go”.
“Hope what you want to do, won’t get us expelled”
“Let me handle that, for now you have to expect a large amount of weed to sell” she waved goodbye and the deal was sealed.
Ghost knew who Bella was and where she came from. He knew all about her family more than Dylan did. It was a vicious family she hailed from. That was the only reason why Ghost complied so easily and let her take course of the operation. Dylan’s plan was now in motion and he was ready to take charge of the whole campus.

After the deal was negotiated successfully, they threw an amazing party. The “Van Wilder” kind of party. It was ecstatic and fantastic. The idea behind the party was for Dylan to establish market and target groups. He was very much an intellectual, that’s why Bella followed his plans blindly. She believed in him and he did too. Frankoe was there too. He was more of a party liaison, he wouldn’t miss an event that was headlined by his employer’s daughter. Dylan had specifically asked for him to be there and Bella didn’t have to argue with him. It was a party of the century, a party like no other on campus. As the party music burst loudly on the loud bass speakers, Ghost was moving the product. A lot of students at the party, really needed the high. Different social backgrounds and sets of programmes, but with the same solution. That day, Ghost sold more than he ever did in his career as a dealer. He was impressed with how Dylan could simply bring all the stoners on campus, to the same venue without their own supply. He was the sole distributor. You could tell, that Dylan was a natural born businessman and a leader. He made things happen once he focused on them. He quickly established his network, making sure he charged the right price for a good blunt. He also noticed the need for Bron’ Clear, some of the buyers had their own supply of it. Nobody sold it at the party, but there were one, too many bottles on the ground. He didn’t want to go big because that would draw too much attention. He was very careful not to get caught or have himself handling the product. You can’t refute a charge when the evidence stacked up against you is visible. He was about to be the greatest underground dealer. In his mind, he wanted to build an empire like no other. Surpass the greatest names like Pablo Escobar and El Chapo. To him, it was just another quest he had to endeavour.
His friend, Tatenda wasn’t there and it bothered him so much. He didn’t want them to fall out like that, so he went after his best friend to try and convince him to come. They had become odds and ends to what they had built astonishingly. Deep down, Dylan wanted Tatenda to just roll with him and it was also the other way round with Tatenda. The only problem was that they were on different rollercoasters, spinning differently. They wouldn’t get along, as long as they kept riding in different directions. Tatenda wanted them to just focus on their school work and make it out at the top. All he cared about, was wearing that cap and a big smile that would join the oceans. Dylan too, he wanted that, at least before he met Bella who upped his game.
He got to their room, which they barely shared ever since Dylan’s breakthrough as he would call it. He pushed the door but it wouldn’t open and that’s when he knew that nobody was home. He headed for the library and still, he couldn’t find his friend. He didn’t know where to find him. Tatenda had changed their studying spots. He was slowly moving on without him and it seemed like he wasn’t really affected.