The Turnaround (Re-post)

The five of them entered the restaurant loudly, like usual, and moved like traffic towards the bar.
Joshua could get a clear view of them from where he was posted.
Within moments, they all had martinis or highballs and were toasting for someone's 27th birthday. It was the girl in the long gold dress.
"That dress probably cost more than my car," he thought to himself.
He had seen them so many times, but never this closely. And he never felt the jealousy he now felt so accutely. In his heart, perhaps he just wanted to be like them. But reality made him daily aware of the fact that he would never sit among their ranks.
Or could he?
He wondered what it would take to be friends with them. How closely knit they were...
Could he simply befriend one and the others would sheepishly follow, or would he have to get to know each of them, and flatter them, and surprise them, and impress them most of all?
Thomas spoke up.
"Class is what distinguishes us from the vagabond on the street. If I see someone at a club and I notice an Hermes tie or maybe he's in a Gucci tuxedo at an opening - whichever - I know this man is not under me."
The others nodded.
Joshua knew it would be easier than expected.
His dad's restaurant was making less and less. Josh had nothing to lose. He had no status. He had no dignity. He had no wealth.
Even though they were but five people, they could be considered a staple to any small business trying to break even and establish themselves in one of the most cutthroat restaurant markets in the world.
But beyond the restaurant, and his father's sinking debt, Josh knew that these five were the ticket out. With his father's fading health along with his dwindling resources, Josh was forced to face the tough facts - and that meant coming up with a plan that would not only secure the family some stability, but which would propel him literally out of a blue collar, and into a set of Prada loafers.

Currently listening : Black Holes and Revelations By Muse Release date: 11 July, 2006