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Chapter 2

Author: Eternity
It was July, and the temperature had climbed to ninety-seven degrees.

I stood outside a newly opened shopping mall in a giant teddy bear costume, waving customers toward the toy store.

It was one of the best-paying summer jobs I could find.

The oversized head covered my face completely, and the padded suit trapped every bit of heat. I had to keep waving, dancing, and posing for pictures with passing children.

Within half an hour, my clothes were soaked with sweat.

It ran into my eyes until they stung, and my lips were dry and cracked. But I couldn't take off the head until my scheduled break.

"Mom, I don't like this strawberry ice cream."

I recognized the voice immediately.

Through the narrow mesh in the costume, I saw my parents leaving the mall with several shopping bags.

Chloe walked between them, frowning at an ice cream cone she had barely touched.

Mom took it from her and tossed it into the trash.

"Then don't eat it. I'll make you a milkshake when we get home."

Chloe soon noticed me.

Of course, she had no idea who was inside the costume.

"Look at that bear! It's so cute!"

She ran toward me.

"Mom, Dad, I want a picture with it!"

Dad picked her up and held her beside the teddy bear's head. Mom stepped to my other side and put an arm around my shoulder.

One of the employees took the picture.

Dad was holding Chloe, and Mom was leaning affectionately against me.

Only I knew it was a family portrait.

Mom took Chloe's hand, and the three of them headed toward the parking lot.

None of them looked back.

I watched until they disappeared around the corner.

I spent eight hours dancing in that costume.

At the end of my shift, the manager paid me one hundred dollars in cash.

I spent two dollars on a large bottle of cold water from a vending machine and drank it in one go before dragging my aching body home.

Dad was playing a board game with Chloe in the living room, while Mom was preparing dinner in the kitchen.

I slipped into my bedroom, put the remaining ninety-eight dollars in my cash box, and wrote in my notebook:

July 10. Income: $98.

"Sophie! If you're home, come help me!"

I quickly put the cash box away and went to the kitchen.

"You've been leaving early and coming home late for days. Where have you been?"

Mom continued preparing the salmon as she spoke.

"Just because you graduated doesn't mean you can spend all summer doing whatever you want. No matter where you go to college, your father and I will only cover half of your tuition, housing, and living expenses. You'll have to handle the rest yourself."

"I wasn't out having fun," I said quietly.

"I was working. You said I still owed you more than seventeen hundred dollars."

Mom glanced at me.

"At least you understand that you're responsible for your own debt."

She pointed to a large bowl of fresh shrimp on the counter.

"Peel those. Chloe wants shrimp with garlic butter tonight."

"If you finish the whole bowl, I won't charge you for dinner."

I pulled over a kitchen stool and began peeling the shrimp, removing the shells and pulling out the veins one by one.

A few minutes later, Chloe ran into the kitchen.

"What are you doing? I want to help."

She reached for a shrimp, but Mom immediately stopped her.

"Sweetheart, you'll hurt your fingers. Go play with Dad. Your sister and I can handle this."

Chloe obediently ran back to the living room.

I said nothing and kept peeling.

By the time I finished the entire bowl, my fingertips were stinging from the salt and my nails ached from working the shells loose.

Mom didn't notice.

She was listening to Chloe laugh in the next room.
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