NEED SOME HELP ASAP!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!

I'm 24 years old. i worked at an HVAC company for a year. i live in belpre, ohio. while i worked for this company, i bought 1,1oo dollars of equipement(furnace&A/C) from them. i put the equipment in for a friends boss. well, we verbally agreed on a price of 2,400 dollars to do the job, and he agreed. after the job was over, he said he didn't think the agreed price was what he had thought it was.
i went to his shop, and he then agreed on the original price. i fought for 2 weeks to get the money. when i went to collect, he handed me an envelope with what i thought was all the money. when i opened it there was a check for only 1,400 dollars in it. i cashed the check, covered the other materials for the job and paid the fellow i had help me. he typed a letter with the check that contained several false statements against me and the work wasn't "worth" the agreed price. i didn't know what to do. i had no contract, and i'm not a business, just an individual trying to help this guy out. this all occured in march of 2000.
i never had the sufficient funds to pay the company the debt he incurred on me. i have since left the company and am in the same trade elsewhere. my old employer sent me request to pay the bill. i have no money to pay it. i sent them a letter requesting to pay 20 dollars a month to start paying this man's debt to me. i heard nothing back from them, until today.
they are taking me to small claims for the bill. they said they are adding 10 percent interest starting from november of 2000 to present. i don't know where to start. they never contacted me about my offer to make amends. is there anything i can do to get this man to pay me back to settle this debt? if not, i can't another afford 1,100 dollars in debt. i have no funds to get an attorney to prosecute this man that owes me, or to help represent me in small claims. the company ignored my offer to pay this debt in small payments. what can they do to me if i don't 1,100 dollars if/when i lose? i have a family and a car out on loan. i am in the process of straightening my credit out to get a home. i'm stuck. if i'm stuck with the bill, will i be afforded an opportunity to pay it back in payments i can afford.? i obviously have 0 help and my wife is scared to death. i'm a honest guy that's been ripped off and stuck with this. please give me all the help you can. i have to go to court may 14. thank you very much.

My response:

Please help us to help you. It appears that your post is quite lengthy. Since we want to help you, it would be appreciated, and in your interest, if you could re-write your post to shorten its length.

Some suggestions would be to remove any extra words that do not go to the heart of your question and issues. Also, if you have any emotional or editorial type words or phrases, please remove those also. In other words, be your own worst critic, and stick to the facts.

Additionally, if you haven't already done so, please use paragraphs rather than running each sentence into the next. This, alone would make your post easier to read and understand.

Thank you for your kind cooperation, and I'm sure, after you've re-posted, someone will be with you shortly to assist you.

Thanks,
IAAL

P.S. If you haven't mentioned your State name, or the State where your problem has occurred, please tell us in your first sentence.