Chapter One Michael I chewed on my lower lip as I stared at the computer screen, then checked my bank account balance. It was still zero. If I didn’t do something soon, I’d be evicted from my apartment and out on the street in a few weeks. There was a knock on the door. “Yeah?” I called, without taking my eyes off the screen. My best friend, Sarah, walked in and put a cup of coffee next to me on the table. “You haven’t slept yet?” she asked. I blinked at her. “What do you mean?” “It’s Tuesday. You’ve been up for more than twenty-four hours. You came home from work yesterday, ate a sandwich, and then locked yourself in your room.” “I have?” I checked my watch. She was right. It was 7:00 am. Sarah sighed. I could always tell what she was feeling by her sighs. This one was resignation mixed with annoyance. She’d already resigned herself to the fact that I would never sleep, but she was annoyed that she was right. “You need to stop this,” she said, pushing her glasses up on her nose. I turned my attention back to the computer screen. “I will. Just let me finish this one thing.” Sarah made a noise in the back of her throat and went into my bathroom. Five minutes later she came out with a wet washcloth and ran it over my face. “You need to take a break,” she said. “I will.” I pulled the washcloth away from my face. Sarah snatched the washcloth back from me and wiped my face again, then ran it around my neck and shoulders. She was a petite girl with a slender frame, but she had a lot of strength for her size, and she used every ounce of it as she tried to get me to relax. “Stop,” I said, grabbing her wrist. “It’s not working.” I took the washcloth from her and dropped it on the floor. She sighed again and went to sit next to me. “What’s wrong?” “I’m broke.” I shrugged.

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Feb 28

Scenario:Michael used college credit card to buy Xfinity Internet

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Chapter One

Michael

I chewed on my lower lip as I stared at the computer screen, then checked my bank account balance. It was still zero. If I didn’t do something soon, I’d be evicted from my apartment and out on the street in a few weeks.

There was a knock on the door.

“Yeah?” I called, without taking my eyes off the screen.

My best friend, Sarah, walked in and put a cup of coffee next to me on the table. “You haven’t slept yet?” she asked.

I blinked at her. “What do you mean?”

“It’s Tuesday. You’ve been up for more than twenty-four hours. You came home from work yesterday, ate a sandwich, and then locked yourself in your room.”

“I have?” I checked my watch. She was right. It was 7:00 am.

Sarah sighed. I could always tell what she was feeling by her sighs. This one was resignation mixed with annoyance. She’d already resigned herself to the fact that I would never sleep, but she was annoyed that she was right.

“You need to stop this,” she said, pushing her glasses up on her nose.

I turned my attention back to the computer screen. “I will. Just let me finish this one thing.”

Sarah made a noise in the back of her throat and went into my bathroom.

Five minutes later she came out with a wet washcloth and ran it over my face. “You need to take a break,” she said.

“I will.” I pulled the washcloth away from my face.

Sarah snatched the washcloth back from me and wiped my face again, then ran it around my neck and shoulders. She was a petite girl with a slender frame, but she had a lot of strength for her size, and she used every ounce of it as she tried to get me to relax.

“Stop,” I said, grabbing her wrist. “It’s not working.” I took the washcloth from her and dropped it on the floor.

She sighed again and went to sit next to me. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m broke.” I shrugged.

"well fuck

"Fuck. You scared me!" I said to her.

She rolled her eyes. "Why do you always do that?" She frowned at me. "I have a key, so I can always come in. It's not like you're going to do anything to keep me out."

I shrugged. She was right, but it didn't make me want to stop doing it. She just shrugged and made a face at me. I knew she wouldn't stop, so I didn't bother trying to make her.

"So, what's going on?"

"I'm broke," I said.

Sarah frowned at me. "How is that possible? You just started this job two weeks ago."

I knew she would be able to tell because she was the only one who was watching over my finances. I didn't care if my other friends knew how much money I had, but they would tell me how idiotic I was for spending it on stupid things like the internet or video games.

I sighed. "I've got a problem."

Sarah stared at me for a moment, then her eyes went wide and she clapped her hand over her mouth. "What did you do?"

"What?"

"You spent all of your money on something stupid again, didn't you? What was it this time? More internet?"

I shook my head. "No. Well, technically yes, but that's not the problem."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "What do you mean?"

"Do you really care that much about what she thinks?" a voice in his head asked. "About what anyone thinks?"

"That's not important right now," I said to the voice in my head.

"That's where you're wrong," the voice said. "It's always important."

I sighed and tried to block out the voice in my head. It never worked, but I still tried anyway. My therapist once told me that I shouldn't try to shut the voice up, but just listen to what it had to say. It would go away if I did that. She was wrong. The voice just got louder and more aggressive if I listened to it.

"Are you going to answer me?" Sarah asked.

I shook my head and refocused on her. "What? Oh, um, no, not really."

"Michael" Sarah warned.

"Please don't use your mom voice on me." I frowned at her.

"That's not going to work on me." She sighed again and rolled her eyes. "Why does everyone think I have such a good mom voice?"

I shrugged. "You're the only one of us who actually has a mom. I think that might have something to do with it."

Sarah nodded. "That makes sense." She paused for a moment. "So, what's going on?"

I took a deep breath. "I've been playing around with my credit card."

Sarah shook her head. I could tell she was trying not to get angry with me.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?"

"I know. I know. But there was something I wanted to get on there," I said.

Sarah raised an eyebrow at me. "What could possibly be so important that you needed to put it on your credit card?"

“alexa, oder echolife 3.0”

“Don’t judge me,” I said before Sarah could respond. “But it wasn’t something stupid like that. I mean, it kind of was, but it’s not like I wanted it for myself.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wanted to get internet for our apartment,” I said.

Sarah stared at me for a moment, then her eyes went wide and she clapped her hand over her mouth. “What did you do?”

“What?”

“You spent all of your money on something stupid again, didn’t you? What was it this time? More internet?”

I shook my head. “No. Well, technically yes, but that’s not the problem.”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “What do you mean?”

“It wasn’t just for us,” I said.

“Who else were you sharing it with?”

“Um,” I hesitated.

“Who?”

I turned to my computer and pulled up the email.

I read it out loud to Sarah.

"Dear Michael" Sarah interrupted me.

"We don't have time for this.

What did you do?"

"Please let me finish," I said.

"Fine," Sarah sighed.

"I was going to get internet for our apartment so that I could make some quick money online.

But then someone offered to buy it for me if I gave them the account information after it was set up.

I wouldn't have to pay anything myself."

Sarah stared at me in disbelief.

“alexa, oder echolife 3.0”

“shut the fuck up bitch”

“You sold something that you didn’t even have yet?”

She asked me. “You’re a fucking idiot.”

“I’m aware of that,” I told her.

“Did they give you their name at least?”

Sarah asked.

“I didn’t think that was important,” I said.

“Of course it’s important,” she said.

“They’ll be able to track you down now.”

I groaned and put my head in my hands.

“What am I supposed to do now?”

I asked.

“I don’t know how to fix any of this.”

“I can help you,” Sarah said.

“But it’s not going to be easy.”

“Please,” I pleaded.

“Anything is better than going to jail.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she said.

I squeezed her hand.

“Thank you,” I said.

“I don’t know how I would get through this without you.”

“You wouldn’t have gotten into this mess in the first place if it weren’t for me,” she told me as she stood up from the bed and started pacing around the room.

“But that’s not important right now.”

She kept pacing as she talked.

“I can probably get you a fake name and address for the account, but it’s not a permanent solution.”

“That’s fine,” I told her.

“As long as it buys us some time.”

“Alright,” she said.

“Just let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thank you,” I said as she walked out of the room.

I leaned back in my chair and sighed.