As I sat in the van, I thought about how I got here. It was five years ago I was in high school, flunking every class, thinking there was no point in it. If only I knew where that would lead me, I would’ve taken school more seriously. I would've went to community college to follow my dreams. But from the place I was from, that wasn’t likely. Most people ended up as criminals, it felt like everytime I looked at the local news I saw an old friends names for commiting crimes as small as vandalism and theft, but others for years for drug dealing or attenmpted murder. The worst one I saw was one of my high school friends, Rob, was arrested for second degree murder. My parents loved to toss their bottle of rage on me like it was a molotov and let me know I would end up like them, and I guess I proved them right.
    “James, what do you see on the cameras?” Ryan asked through the microphone. We used the darkness as a tool, we found a vent Ryan and Toby could go through earlier in the day, and decided the best time to rob this bank, the biggest bank in the area, was at night. We were down a person tonight, as Cam told us he had to visit family. I looked over at the dust covered laptop that was setup on a table we found on the side of the street in our van, rusted from the years it aged in the garbage dump we took it from. I've been watching the security cameras for a few days now, and learned the route the security guards took. I found Ryan on the camera overlooking the hall to the vault. It didn’t look like anyone was around, so I directed him forward. I felt like someone tied a knot around my lungs as I started to panic, I did not want to do this for a living, I just wanted a normal life. I always thought I’d grow up and become a coder, as that was all I did in my pastime. As a kid, stepping outside of your house in my town wasn’t a good idea, as it felt like someone got murdered or robbed every other second, so the only way I could block out the constant screams of my parents was to blast music and do something I enjoy, code. 
I tried to calm myself down by fiddling with my watch, watching the time tick to the next minute. It was 2:24 in the morning, we were almost thirty minutes into the heist, and nothing has gone wrong yet, usually by now we are leaving before the cops come and arrest us, leaving with nothing. 
“Dude, I’m almost in!” Toby said excitedly as he used his tools to get into the vault. He tried explaining to me why he uses what tools to unlock advanced locks like a vault, but I didn’t understand it. I felt the anxiousness leave my body, maybe we finally completed a hiest without getting caught. Just as Toby was about to unlock it, the front van door flew open, and three cops swarmed in and tackled me. BANG.
I wokeup in a jailcell.
“Cam must’ve sold us out!” Toby said, clearly pissed off. Since I’ve been doing these heists with Toby, Ryan, and Cam, this was the closest we have ever got. I always told myself I’d never end up like my parents, low lifes that would do anything for money. If my parents weren’t arguing, it was almost always because one of them was in jail. I guess it runs in the family.
    “You, come with me.” An officer pointed at me and said as he unlocked the door to the cell. The smell of coffee streamed through the air, as cops rallied around the coffee machine, making more, downing the caffine like shots as they tried to stay awake in the later hours of the night. The matte white colors of the wall beamed across the building as if we were in heaven, even though it was pitch black outside. We walked down a hallway that was on the otherside of the office that the jailcell was on. We reached the back of the halllway and the officers opened the last door on the left side, revealing a dim-lighted room, with the only thing in it a table and four chairs. I assumed this is where they usually interrogate the people they bring into the prison. 
“We wanted to talk to you away from your buddies.” One of them said, and I got worried. What could they want?
“Why did you start helping these guys?” The same guy asked after I gave no response. I thought for a moment. Why were they asking this? I decided to be honest, seeing my parents in and out of jail taught me one thing, to be honest to the cops.
“I just wanted to make some money, I had no other choice.” I said, not knowing what else to say. 
    “We went through your laptop after we brought you here, and what you’ve done is impressive, but illegal. We have been short on a computer specialist for a while now, and we would drop all charges if you accepted our offer, but we couldn’t let your buddies go.” One of them explained while looking me dead in the eyes. At first, excitement rushed through my body. I didn’t know why I wouldn’t accept this, but then I realized I would have to leave the people that I’ve been with for years. They brought me in and made a home for me, but was that really the home I wanted? This was the only chance I had to not end up like my parents, and prove them wrong, even if they wouldn't know I took this job.
    “It sounds great, but I don’t have anywhere to sleep.” I replied, as I realized I’ve been sleeping in a van with four guys for years.
    “We are willing to let you stay here while you figure that out.” One said, with a smile on his face.
    I told Ryan and Toby the news, and they weren’t too excited about it, but they understood. If they had the chance to get out of their lives, finally fit into society and not be frowned upon, they would've taken it too. I always told them I just wanted a chance to make money, and not end up like my parents. Even though I’ve been with Ryan and Toby for years, I don’t know how much I would miss them. The constant stress we were under to not get caught by the police was enough to give me a heart attack, and I had to put a halt on some of the heist they planned, one even involving murder. 
    I could finally prove my parents wrong.