Page 69 of Fraud
“Um, hi. Hello,” I said into the microphone.
Great. Good job, Kate. Start off with um. Way to sound confident.
“Welcome to Fremont College. My name is Katelyn O’Malley, and I am the loan processor here on campus. Depending on the time of the year, I’m either the most popular person on campus or the least.”
My joke went over the majority of the parents’ heads, but I managed to get a few polite chuckles.
“Okay,” I said brightly, “we’re here to go over the many type of loan programs, how to quality for each, and what steps to take over the next several months. Some of this information will be exclusive to Fremont, as we offer our own in-house loan program, but the majority of it will apply to whatever colleges you are considering.”
That little tidbit always seemed to calm people. Over my many years here, I’d come to notice that there were several types of parents who came to an exploratory day like this. The ones who’d already made up their minds, and those who had no idea what they were doing. I tended to get the parents who were skeptical, seeing me as a dirty car salesman, ready to trap their kids into a bleak future just so that the university could make our admissions quota.
But I wasn’t that person.
I knew better.
I’d seen what debt could do to a kid, and if this place was too much for someone, I would be more than happy to see them go somewhere else where their dollar could stretch even further toward a happy future.
“I’ve handed out several pamphlets that will be useful throughout this talk. I’ll be referring to them often, so if you came in late, please raise your hand, and my lovely assistant, Amy, will make sure you get one.”
Several parents in the back raised or waved their hands as I paused, allowing some time for Amy to reach them. Once everyone had successfully gotten everything they needed, I had no other reason to delay.
Time to start.
As soon as I opened my mouth to speak, the familiar sound of my ringtone filled the large space. My eyes went wide as “Work Bitch” by Britney Spears rang loud and clear from my purse.
A look of panic shot from me to Amy as I begged her to do something.
Our ability to converse silently had never been fully developed, and instead of leaping to my aid, she just looked at me, wondering why I was stalling, as everyone in the auditorium searched around for the Britney enthusiast.
Shit.
Moving swiftly, I said a quick apology under my breath, “Sorry, everyone. I guess I forgot to put my phone on silent.”
I pulled the cell out of my purse, silencing it immediately. The lack of noise was like a vacuum, sucking all the hysteria I’d felt in that single moment out of the room in one collective breath.
Looking down, I saw Jane’s name before it suddenly disappeared.
Of course it was her.
Placing the electronic device from hell on the table, I tried to collect my thoughts.
Simply start over. Nothing to worry about. Everyone has a phone these days.
Deep breath.
“Okay, as I was saying, everything we’re going to go over is in the pamphlets and—”
Buzz, buzz…
My speech was cut off as all eyes went to my blasted phone once again, watching it vibrate across the table.
For the love of…
This time, words weren’t needed. Amy came to my rescue, grabbing the phone for me and allowing me to continue.
Everything from that moment on continued without a hitch. Without any other interruptions, I was able to go over each topic, answer questions, and even make a few jokes.
Success.
