The swindler.

The guy had noticed that James and Simon were starting to believe what he was saying...they were slowly falling into his trap. So he planned to speak more convincingly from now on.

"Are there any requirements? Like, to take me to the music school you spoke of, and to introduce him to the coach?". James inquired of the boy.

"Yeah, there is a requirement". The boy responded.

"Tell us, what is it?".

"Money is the main requirement, for you to start studying in that music school, you'll have to pay money. And you'll have to pay money to meet with the coach".

Yeah, money, that was the problem. If James had a job and there was steady flow of income, that wouldn't be a problem. But he can't take anything out of the money he had left on him to pay for music classes, how would he feed? Would the money even be enough? And the same also goes for Simon, he doesn't have any source of income, so he can't take out of the money he had left on him 'cause he wants to meet with a coach? Feeding comes first.

So in the end, the guy's requirement was gonna be a stumbling block. The boy had already noticed that the mention of them paying money was gonna cause problem. He had discerned that they'll have to feed and all that, so he came up with a lie,

"That shouldn't bother you guys, it seems like you guys don't have a roof under your head and you don't have much money. But I assure you guys, once you pay the money you have left on you", He pointed at James, "The music school is gonna handle your feeding and those other stuff. You can also reside there if you want, there are other young boys like you that are residing there".

"You must be kidding me, that's a f**king lie". James uttered with a bewildered facial expression, he couldn't believe what the guy just said.

"I'm f**king serious, am ain't lying. Haven't you heard of music schools that do that? You don't even know much about music schools".

Then he focused his gaze on Simon and said, "And as for you, once I introduce you to that coach and he sees how good you are at football playing, he'll cherish you like his own son. Once he learns about your predicament of being homeless and all that stuff, he would put a roof under your head and take care of your needs 'cause of your football skills. You could take him places 'cause of how good you are at football playing, he'll cherish you".

James and Simon had already fallen into his trap completely, they believed all that he just said to the fullest...he speaks with so much conviction. The guy continued speaking,

"But you guys shouldn't forget, money is needed to accomplish all these".

By now, James and Simon had already stood up from the chair they were sitting on, so Simon managed to place his palms on the boy's shoulder and said,

"Money isn't a problem, we are ready to drop all the amount we have on us, just take us to the places you mentioned of".

The guy sighed and uttered, "You guys would have to hand the money over to me".

"Hand the money over to you?". James and Simon questioned in unison.

"Yeah, you guys would have to hand the money over to me, it's best if it's with me. So everything would take place orderly once I take you guys to the different locations, they'll know that we are serious and we've planned everything ahead of time. I'll just converse with them a little and hand the money over to them".

"OK". James uttered with an unsure facial expression. It wasn't easy to just hand over the last amount of money they had on them to someone.

Simon was so unsure that he had to voice out, "How trustworthy are you? Who knows, you could be a swindler".

"If you guys don't wanna do this, then don't do it. I'll be on my way". The boy said and began walking away.

James held him by the hands and stated, "You shouldn't go just like that, you shouldn't get angry either. You should know that it isn't easy to trust someone just like that and hand over money to the person...especially if it's the last amount of money remaining on that person".

"Yeah, yeah, I know that, but don't I look trustworthy?". The boy inquired of them.

"No, you don't". James and Simon responded in unison, then Simon added, "It isn't wise to decide if a person is trustworthy or not just by glancing at the person's appearance. A person can have a very innocent and harmless face, but can be the biggest crook. That's life".

"Then I should get going since I don't look trustworthy".

"No, no, don't go. We'll give you the money, we'll take the risk. Just so you know, the money we are about to give you is the last amount we have on us. We are giving you this money 'cause you said that our needs would be taken care of at the different locations. If you swindle this money, we don't have a single penny left on us we could use in feeding".

The guy nodded his head and said, "I understand, trust me, guys".

James and Simon brought out the money they had left on them from their pockets and handed them over to the boy...Simon's money was heavier than James' own. There was a smile on the boy's face as he collected the money from them. Putting the money inside his pocket, he said to them,

"Let's get going".

After making that utterance, he began walking immediately as James and Simon followed him from behind. The guy's walking pace wasn't that fast, James and Simon were closely following him. After walking for some minutes, the boy inquired of them,

"You guys are friends, right?".

Simon and James glanced at themselves before responding in unison, "Yeah".

"Well, you guys know that you'll have to part ways, right?".

"Yeah, we know that".

"We are heading straight to the music school now, it's the closest. You'll get to meet young boys like you with the same dream and passion. Then after that, I'll take you straight to the coach. But that doesn't mean that you guys wouldn't see each other again once you part ways, you can still be visiting each other from time to time".

"Yeah, we know that".

The boy didn't speak with them anymore as he kept on sauntering. James and Simon could closely follow his walking pace for some minutes, but after some time, he started walking fast. They had to increase their pace before they could closely follow him once again. Simon tapped him on his shoulder and uttered,

"Bro, why are you walking this fast? You've gotta decrease your pace".

"You guys would have to match up with my speed, there's no time. We gotta reach there as quick as possible". The boy voiced out.

He didn't decrease his speed as he kept on walking fast, Simon and James had no choice but to keep trying their best to meet up with his pace. They kept on journeying until they arrived at a boulevard that was crowded. They had been walking freely all this while until they arrived at this boulevard. But that didn't stop them as they kept on walking even with the people around.

But there was a problem, following the boy closely had become hard for them 'cause of the people around. And the boy didn't decrease his pace, he kept on walking fast. Then suddenly, James and Simon couldn't find the boy anymore, they couldn't sight him.

They thought it was a joke at first, maybe the boy was waiting for them at a place that wasn't that crowded. They sauntered until they arrived at a spot that wasn't that crowded, but they couldn't still find him. They didn't want to accept the fact that he had run away with their money, so they began searching for him thoroughly.

They began roaming about in search of the boy, but they couldn't find him. They searched and searched for minutes, but to no avail...they didn't even catch a glimpse of him. Now, they had to accept the fact that the boy had run away with their money...he had swindled them. James placed his palms on his head and sat on the ground. Glancing at Simon, he said,

"We've been duped".