I sighed. “What have I been doing all day!? Spending my Nana’s money on limo rides and pie. I wonder if there’s even any money left on this card!” I wasn’t really saying this to Akiema so much as myself.
Her jaw dropped. “You spent it on more than just skins!? Boy how could you?” she asked me.
“I just wanted to enjoy the day!” I said. “I’ve never had that much money before! I wanted to know how it felt to be cool like you guys.” my voice trailed off. My friends had always seemed higher than me, having skins and all. But when I thought about it, they were just like me. William had a normal, if overprotective mother watching over him, Rose had no skins after all (well until I bought her one,) and Akiema had two little annoying siblings. Maybe they weren't cooler than me, I had just put them on a pedestal. But I soon took my head out of the clouds and focused on the whole credit card issue.
“What am I gonna do when I get home? I’ve got the credit card right in my pocket!”
Akiema got quiet for a second. Then she said, slower than she usually says things, “You're just gonna have to lie. Tell your parents… tell them… a robber stole the credit card, felt guilty, and gave the card back to you.”
I stared at her plainly, unbelieving. “How would the robber know I was related to the person he stole from?”
“Because… Because… You look like her?” Akiema told me.
I had to lower my eyelids at that one.
“Well, I don’t know this is your problem dude!” she snapped angrily. And she had the right to be.
“Your right, your right, I’ll figure something out.” I told her. We said our goodbyes and I was about to leave until I remembered something.
“Oh, and here, this is for you.” I held out the bracelet I had gotten her from the jewelry store. It had blue beads all around it leading out to the purple butterfly charm at the end.
Her eyes and mouth widened. “Wow thanks! This is… really pretty.” she told me, smiling.
I walked away feeling lighter than air.
When I got to the limo, I told Mr. Smith to drive me home. It was time for me to face the music.
My stomach felt uneasy the whole way to my place. I secretly hoped my parents were not at home. When Mr. Smith drove me to my place, it was 5:00 p.m. and my day pass was almost over.
I stared out my window. No cars in the driveway. Mom must be at the store, and dad still at work.
I thanked Mr. Smith for driving me around all day, and told him he could leave without waiting for me to come back, since I had nowhere to go for the rest of the day.
As he drove away, my brain ran itself crazy trying to think of a way to get the card safely back in my nana's possession without getting in a wide load of trouble.
After about 15 minutes of mind scrambling, I figured I could tell mom I found it on the floor at home after looking for it all day. But that would be lying, and it wouldn’t explain how a chunk of money mysteriously disappeared from my grandmother’s credit card.
I finally told myself I had to tell the truth to my parents, as I would never be able to live with the guilt of lying to them. But that wasn’t going to be easy, and could almost see myself getting smacked with Mom’s dominant hand.
Suddenly, I got an idea, but I knew it had to be quick, as mom usually got home from the store at around 6:30 p.m., and it was already 6:15. I wrote a note, sloppy thought it was, it said exactly as I felt. You see, I always felt the most at ease when writing.
By the time I stopped writing, I heard one of my family's cars pull into the driveway. I rushed on and threw the credit card on the top of the note I wrote and rushed upstairs.
I really didn’t want to face my parents when they read that note, whichever ended up reading it first.
I was scared. I felt like I was going to be slapped, or worse, grounded. Maybe I’ll just pretend to be napping, I thought. But I’m not tired, even after that long day of activities. I could use a shower though-
And that’s when I got it. My mother couldn’t scold me when I was in the shower, and plus it would give me time to think about how I could beg dad into not grounding me for life.
I was right in the bathroom when I heard someone let themselves into the house. I heard high heels clomp against the hardwood floors and someone with an annoyingly squeaky voice gush over the newest pony tv show. I knew my mother had just come home from the store with my little sister.
My mother began to talk in a worried voice. “I can’t believe it, Kaleb! I tracked mom’s credit card at the bank, and someone’s been using it all day! Literally, since I don’t remember being up at twelve a.m. buying some type of game currency. And it’s over that silly little game Anthuny’s been playing! Sunken soldiers or something? And then they had the nerve to pay for an all day limo service! I tell you, let them spend again!
From the staticky voice I heard after mom was done speaking, I could tell she was talking to dad on the phone.
Oh boy. At least they can’t punish me as long as I’m in the bathroom. But I heard her walk over to the kitchen. I found myself leaning near the door to hear her reaction to the note and the credit card.
I had kept the note short and simple.
Dear mom/dad.
I stole Nana’s credit card and spent the money on Sunken Heroes, and a few other stuff.
I am really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, sorry.
Chow :)
“What the…?” I heard my mother say. I knew she must have been reading it. “OH THAT’S IT! THAT BOY IS IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!!!
I admediatly jumped away from the door. Mom was raging volcano right now, and I found it smart not to stick around a boiling hot lava spewer. As I got in the shower and turned the water on, I thought whew! Dodged that one!
But that was before I heard my mom open the door to the bathroom and then-oh and then!-Slash open the shower curtain.
Duante: what!?
Yep. she whooped me. In the shower.
Okafina: I thought the shower was a spanking safe zone!
Not for your grandmother. She whooped me like a madwoman. While she was spanking me, she told me about how I had lied to her about not seeing the credit card earlier, that buying food and limo services under dad and grandma’s name was not tolerated in this house and that I had wasted a TON of my grandmothers money, and I started to feel guilty. I was grounded for a week even. Needless to say my grandmother was angry when her credit card finally got returned. But that’s not the main bit.
My butt was red in the end, and every time I sat down at school it hurt, so I was constantly saying "OUCH!" in class. The teacher thought I was trying to make a scene.
“What happened!?” William asked me the day after the credit card fiasco.
“My mother whooped me. In the shower.” I felt shameful even telling that to my best friend, so you can imagine how mortified I felt when the whole school found out. Courtesy of one person. Rose.
“You got beat in the shower!? I gotta tell Akiema about this! Oh, Casey and so and so will want to know about this too, SHOWER BOY!”
“Shower boy!? Who’s shower boy?” some kid from another table asked, and my tale spread throughout the school like a wildfire.
After that, people started to call me Shower Boy because of either of two sources. Either they heard about what happened from Rose, or they asked me why I kept yelling when I sat in class.
Daunte: and you actually told people you got spanked in the shower?
Yeah. After that beating, I didn’t dare lie to anyone ever again. Okay, maybe I told a few lies after that, but no major lies after that beating. Not one.
Okafina: so THAT’S why people call you Shower Boy!?
Pretty much. But it isn’t one of those sappy stories where they never gave up the names until I was in highschool or something. They simply called me that for like a month and then the name slowly faded away as new school fads took hold. Thank god.
Daunte: But William and Rose still call you that all the time.
Yeah, but it’s just for a laugh, not to make fun of me.
Okafina: But Mom never calls you that.
Of course. Your Mother never called me that once, not in the whole time we’ve known each other, and I’ve known her a long time. She’s a real gem.
Daunte: ew.
“Y’all it’s dinner time! I made you your favorite today Anthuny! Scrambled eggs and cheese grits!”
Daunte: see ya!
Okafina: Bye dad! I mean shower boy!
While Daunte and Okafina rushed off, Maya stood before me.
Maya: So... were the skins worth the beating?
Nope. not a chance. After a while that game died out anyway, so it ended up being a waste of money after all. Plus, who cares if my character had a skin or not? The costumes weren’t even the point of the game.
Maya: Oh, Okay.
Maya smiled and ran off. I smiled too, thinking to myself. Shower Boy. how stupid I was to steel my own grandmother’s credit card.
“Anthuny!The food is gonna be gone if you don’t come downstairs soon!” my wife yelled.
I snapped back into reality.
“Coming Akiema”