Start All Over Again

Zach slapped me the moment he came home after school.

"Zara Livingston, did you buy bootleg shoes for me on purpose to make me look like a fool in front of everybody?"

Zach looked darkly at me.

"No, I didn't. I really did buy it from the link you gave me. You can check my cell if you don't believe me."

I quickly showed my cell to him.

"Could this store have delivered a bootleg copy of the shoes?"

"That's impossible. That's the official store. They wouldn't sell bootleg shoes."

"I have no idea how it happened."

Hah! How could I have no idea? I was the one who made the switch.

Many people loved those shoes. If I sold it online, it would be sold in a heartbeat.

I looked cautiously at Zach.

"Why don't you buy another pair? You can say that Tom Scanlon made a mistake and made you think your shoes were fake. You can head to the official store to prove that your shoes are real."

"But I don't have any money left. Do you still have money from your scholarship?"

"I don't have any more left either. That money isn't enough for shoes. I had to add in my savings to get them for you."

As I looked at the troubled look on his face, I gave it some thought.

"You can ask Dad for the money. Dad has a lot of money. I saw him with lots of cash in his room just a few days before.

"He dotes on you a lot. He'll give you the money."

Zach's face brightened when he heard my words.

"Let me think about it. You don't need to interfere with this anymore. Go into your room."

When I saw how excited he looked when he entered John Livingston's room, I decided to wash my hands of this and quickly entered my room.

It would not be nice of me to ruin his plan.

After all, even Zach knew that John would never give him so much money.

It was a few days later when I saw him with the real shoes. I tried my best not to smile.

When John returned home that night, I went up to him to ask him a question in a small voice.

"Dad, our teacher said that I have to pay 320 for the exam. I don't have that much money. Can you give me some?"

John frowned when he heard that I wanted money.

"Didn't you just receive money from your scholarship? Why isn't it enough?"

"I spent it all. I bought something a few days ago."

My voice got increasingly smaller as my head hung lower.

"Don't even think about it. I won't give you the money. Let this be a lesson to you to not be such a spendthrift."

"Dad, the teacher said that I would receive 5 thousand as a reward if I managed to get first place. Can you loan me the money? I'll return the money once I get the reward."

I looked at him and pleaded.

"Fine! All you do is waste my money. Remember to give me half of your reward."

He glared at me and went inside the room to get the money.

"Come in here, Zara Livingston."

I quickly went inside when I heard how angry John sounded.

"Did you steal my money? You're a little thief. How can you do something like this and steal from your father?"

He dragged me over while speaking and slapped me several times.

"It wasn't me, Dad. I've never been into your room."

I explained while struggling. That was strange. Why was he so sure it was me? He even hit me without a second thought.

"It really wasn't me, Dad. I wouldn't dare take your money!"

"Who else could it be but you?! You saw me when I came home with the money."

No wonder. He had noticed that I saw him that day.

"It really wasn't me, Dad. Zach! Could it be Zach? You know I'd never dare do such a thing."

My words only made him angrier. He began to hit and kick me.

"How dare you malign your brother. He's a good boy, He would never steal my money."

I looked up and saw Zach looking at me threateningly from the crevice of the door. I pointed and him and shouted.

"Dad, Zach recently bought a pair of branded shoes. It's worth thousands. He must be the one who took the money."

John finally stopped when he heard this.

"Come out here, Zach."

Zach slowly opened the door and walked into the room. I took the opportunity to run into this room.

I took out the shoes from the corner of his closet.

"Look, Dad. It's these shoes."

I placed the shoes in front of John.

"Talk. Where did you get the money to buy those shoes? Did you steal the money?"

I looked at John interrogating Zach and secretly sent a message via my cell.

Zach's cell rang the next second. I quickly picked up the call.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Hi, Miss. We're looking for Mr. Zach Livingston."

"He's right here. Please speak."

"It's like this, Miss. Mr. Zach Livingston bought a pair of shoes from our store a few days ago. We're calling to get his feedback…"

John looked at me as I pointed to his room. I quickly asked.

"How did Mr. Zach Livingston pay for the shoes?"

"He paid using cash, Miss. May I know if there are any problems?"

I watched as John's face slowly turned grim from the answer. I quickly hung up and backed away slowly.

The next thing I knew, he was kicking Zach to the ground. He picked up a broom from the living room and went over to Zach.

Zach's screams could be heard but all I did was return to my room without a care.

My classmate's acting was pretty good. We sat next to each other in class and I decided to heap praises on her in class the next day.