January 9, 2012: Three Certainties

(Note: Any similarities to any real people living or dead is entirely coincidental. This is merely a piece of fiction, as far as I'm concerned, so hopefully there isn't someone here who reads this who happens to share the same name and situation as the protagonist here!)

If there's any three certainties in life, it's life, death, and taxes.  Certainly, this is something the nineteen-year-old Scott, an African-American college student, knew very well.

All his life, he and his family have been pursued by the IRS, as they were quite poor and rarely could afford to pay most of their taxes, just enough to keep a roof over their heads and keep their boy Scott in school.  They've done a respectable job thus far, as their son has managed to graduate and is now seeking a part-time job to help support the family and get some bills paid.  That's when they drop the bombshell - they've scrounged up enough to pay what Scott's scholarships do not cover so that he may attend college.  The night of the discussion is an emotional one, as the young man is ready to burst into tears of joy.  He's always wanted to go to college, but never thought he'd be able to go due to rampant financial issues.

The month after he graduated from high school, Scott arrived on college campus.  He's kept his old part-time job so that he can help his family pay tuition throughout his run of the college gamut.  His interactions with other students tend to be mixed, as about a third of the people he's talked to have become his friends, another third still remain on the fence about him, and the last third have become vicious bullies to him.  His job doesn't exactly have a friendly atmosphere about it, either, as his manager is quite ruthless.  Scott has come very close to being fired for trivial matters on multiple occasions, but at least it pays well for something part-time.

Scott remains at college for four years until his graduation, from which he walks away with a Bachelor's degree.  He manages to obtain a full-time job which has great pay and aligns well with his interests, and he quits his old job.  One year later, many of his family's bills are paid.