《Cleansing A Sinful Heart-Season 1》


 Chapter 1: Slavery to Sin

    Year Eight Uzziah-Academic Year Waw


    Rising from his slumber, the young man yawned and looked out from the window. He felt the heat from the sunlight shining through his uncovered glass window. Rubbing his excited eyes, he saw a lot of buildings watching men, women, and children of all ages either walking or running past one another, on the sidewalk or crossed the street. Cars, vans and trucks-old and new-drove past one another in opposite directions, moving in slow motion. A bronze statue of a bald, old man waved at the world with a grin, holding the rolled up papers on his left hand by his abdomen. A few floating clouds slowly moved forward in the clear, blue sky. Taking his relaxing, deep breath with his eyes closed, he smiled out of joy.


    -Oh, today''s the big day, Zac buddy! My special day! I''m turning fourteen today! You know what that means, don''t you?!


    He raised his clenched fist up in the air and closed his eyes for a moment.


    -It''s time to make triple the money and buy more videogames!


    Then he got off of bed to raise his hands up in the air, and looked up at the ceiling. "Dear Elohim, I thank you for giving me a good night''s sleep and protection throughout the night, and wake me up in a beautiful morning. Please provide me with a very good, special day for me, for You know I''m turning fourteen today. Please give me more blessings and wealth, so I can buy some video games. In Yeshua''s name, Amen."


    Turning around, he walked up towards his brown shelf near the flat screen TV and his black console. There he exclusively saw a lot of videogames; although most of them are online battle royale, some of them were retro, a portion were action-adventure, a few were just action, and others were racing. He hugged his shelf and placed his hand on his videogames, sniffing at them a couple times, rubbing them onto his cheek, turning his attention to them with a smile.


    "Oh, hi, my little babies," Zac said in a cute voice as if he was encountering a baby. "How are you today? Did ya sleep well last night? Huh? Huh? Huh? Well, of course you did, and so did I! Yes, you have! Yes, you have! You know what today it is, do you? Yeaaaaa, I''m turning fourteen today. You know what that means, do you? I''ll be making some triple the money today, so I can buy an extra videogame! Yes, I am! Yes, I am!"


    He kissed them. "Muh-muh-muh! I love you, my videogames. Muh-muh-muh! Yea, I know you love me too! Muh-muh-muh!"


    After he got done being that lovey dovey with his videogames for a while, he then entered his closet and opened the vault door. He grinned at the money inside.


    "Good morning, money!" He also said to his money in his cute voice, "You know what today is, do you? You guessed riiiiight. I''m turning fourteen today! Money, come to papa!"


    He grabbed a handful of money and sniffed at it a couple times, rubbing it onto his right cheek. "So did you get a good night''s sleep last night? Huh? Huh? Huh? Oh, yes, you have! Yes, you have! I''ll find some new members to add to my family! Oh, yes, I will! Yes, I will!"


    "Zaccai, your breakfast is ready! Come in here and eat it before it gets cold!" The voice of Zac''s mother said, echoing his room from the kitchen.


    Zac sighed in annoyance and frowned at his own mother for calling him his real, legal name and interrupting his interaction time with his money. "Mom! I''m kinda busy right now! I''ll be there soon enough! Can you put my breakfast in the microwave, so that I''ll eat it as soon as I finish getting ready for the day?"


    "Sure thing, son!"


    "Thanks, mom!"


    "No problem."


    He returned his attention to the money, turning his eyes to the left with his even more annoyed face.


    -God, she''s so freakin'' annoying! I''m tryin'' to socialize with my money, yet my mom has to interrupt that, does she?!


    He then smiled at them. "Well, money. Looks like we''re going to our separate ways as usual."


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    He shook his head up and down. "I know, I know, money. Yes, I know. I hate it when we''re separated from each other, but I don''t have a choice now, do I?"


    He stopped shaking his head and continued, "Don''t worry, money. I want you to stay here and keep one another company, while I get ready for the day and go out to find new members for my vault family, like you did before. I won''t be gone for long. I promise you that. I''ll be back today as I usually do. Love you."


    He kissed the money a couple times before he placed it back into the vault. "Muh-muh-muh!"


    Then he waved at it, with a grin on his face. "Bye now, money. I hope you have a good day today!"


    After closing the vault door and turning the tumbler, he exitted his closet, walked towards the bathroom, and prepared for himself for his special day.


    ****


    "Alright, dogs! Let''s go walk in the park!" Zac commanded three dogs on the leash. After the hounds joyfully barked at him, he walked around the track with them in a loop within the park. He smiled greatly while people either walked or ran past him in all sorts of directions. He also saw children playing in the playground either by themselves or with their parents.


    -Alright, looks like I''m doing good so far. All I have to do is do an hour walk, and I should get one hundred and fifty Shekels from my neighbor. So exciting! I can''t wait to get a hold of that money!


    He returned his focus on the mongrols below him. "Now then, you three! If you guys behave well in one loop, I''ll give you guys doggie treats! What do you say?"


    All three canines excitedly barked and looked him in the eye.


    "Oh, you''re such good dogs! You guys keep making me proud! I''m about to cry," he exclaimed, wiping the tears out of his eyes. "Alrighty then! Let''s keep walking!"


    They barked at him, turned their attention forward, and displayed their excited faces. Zac and the pooches continuously walked forward, until Zac began to slow his pace. He widened his eyes out of shock and opened his mouth.


    -Huh?!


    There he saw two girls around his age walking forward in his direction, with the people still moving past by them in opposite directions. Both of them wore jeans and some jewelry-a couple bracelets on one of their arms, a necklace, and a pair of earrings. One girl with short, red-brownish hair wore a purple headband on her head, a purple shirt, and a pair of white sneakers. Her friend had long, black hair and wore a blue shirt and a pair of sneakers. However, his eyes became fixated on one girl more, as he saw them chatted with one another. Then an adult couple walked around him to his front, blocking them from seeing Zac and the dogs.


    Zac imagined those girls taking him to the authorities after they''d gotten their money back from him and the possibility of either being grounded by his parents, or worse, spending years in prison and having a criminal record which could hurt his chances of his future employment.


    -Aw, shit! That''s one of my former customers! Quick! I better get the hell out of here before she sees me!


    He quickly and fearfully turned his attention towards the hounds. "Alright, dogs! Time to walk in a loop in the opposite direction! Quickly now!"


    He tried to get them to turn around. But once the adult couple walked around those youngsters, however, one girl noticed Zac a split second after he turned those canines around, becoming curious of him.


    "That boy over there¡­," One girl said, turning her attention to the other one and Zac back and forth. "Do you see him?"


    "What boy?" Her friend asked.


    One girl pointed her index finger at him. "The one that''s walking in the park with those three dogs."


    Her friend looked at where one girl''s finger was pointing at and spotted him. "Yeah, I see him now. What about him? Do you know him or something?"


    "He looks kinda familiar to me. I think we met about a month ago. Do you remember his face?"


    Her friend turned her attention towards one girl and raised her eyebrow. "Uh¡­You sure know him?"


    "Yes, I believe he might be the one we''re after. Let''s go see if he really is the one we''re after."


    Her friend turned her attention to Zac. "Yeah, sure thing. Let''s go."


    While those two youngsters walked towards him, the mail truck drove past the park. The pooches began to chase after that truck, barking aggressively. They pulled him away and turned him around. His eyes widened and his mouth twitched while sweat fell down on his cheeks, pulling the canines back under his control.


    "Hey, you guys! Stay with me, damn it! Don''t start chasing after that mail truck! The hell, man?! Bad dogs!" He roared at the dogs below him.


    -Shit, shit, shit, SHIT! I really hope those girls don''t see me, or I''ll be toast big time!


    Those young ladies then gasped.


    "I think I remember that boy now! We''ve finally found him, after failing to find him for the entire month!" The other girl exclaimed, smiling viciously.


    "We''re definitely getting a refund from that scam artist! Let''s go!"


    "Mhn," her friend agreed as she and one girl began to chase after him.


    -GODDAMN IT! I''ve been caught red-handed thanks to these dogs! Quick! Let''s get the hell out of here!

 Chapter 2: Gettin Away with Murder

    After Zac stared the girls with his widened eyes an mouth opened for a few seconds, he immediately turned his serious attention to those mutts. "Come on, guys! Let''s go! Let''s go! LET''S GOOO!"


    He quickly and nervously pulled the dogs back on the leash, making them turn around, while those girls chased after him. He imagined those girls taking him to the authorities after they''d gotten their money, turned him in to the authorities, and the possibility of either being grounded by his parents, or even worse, spending years in prison.


    -Come on! Come on! Come on now! I don''t have time for this kind of bullshit! I''m going to make those mutts regret having me as their dog walker, if those bitches successfully catch me!


    Then he was finally able to turn them around and managed to run away from those young women.


    -Whew-wee! That was a close one! Now let''s lose these two for real, or they''ll take my money!


    "Hey, you con artist! We''re not going to allow you to get away with this!" The other one roared in a chase.


    He finally entered an alley a bit farther away from the corner of the building where those youngsters wouldn''t see him. He looked everywhere throughout the silent alley with sweat pouring down his face. His heart pounded harder as fear took over his mind continuously, until he discovered an old, abandoned house near an old, depressed building. Lots of little vines covered most of the small, white house, the gates weren''t present to surround it, and a tree stared at Zac and the hounds.


    -Looks like I might hit a jackpot. I hope it''s not locked.


    As soon as Zac walked toward the house and opened the brown door, he looked around the room. He grinned excitedly.


    -Sweet! I''m in.


    He noticed a living room on the right, a kitchen on the left, a hallway leading to one room with the door closed and the bedroom. The little vines, dust and very little sunlight covered the majority of the house, when the old, dirty curtains blocked the sunlight. The air felt cool inside it. He then looked at the tykes below and patted each one on the head.


    "Alright, you guys did a great job listening to me so far today, and I couldn''t be any prouder," He whispered. "All you have to do is to remain quiet, so that we won''t get caught by those girls, Okay? If you guys just remain quiet and we don''t get caught, I''ll give you guys doggie treats as a reward."


    He heard a couple of footsteps enter the alley behind him after the hounds happily looked at him. He turned around and saw those girls'' shadows on the ground.


    -Oh, great...these bitches are coming...


    He immediately shut the door, leaned against it, and pulled the dogs'' leash back a bit. He moved his eyes sideways as sweat came down from his forehead and his eyes widened a bit more. The mutts began to pant as he fearfully stood still.


    "OK, where''s that scam artist at? He has to be here somewhere," One girl said.


    "Let''s go split up," The other one agreed. "I''ll check this side, you look over the other side."


    "Great idea."


    They moved their eyes sideways without spotting him or the dogs. They searched everywhere but failed, even when they asked people for my whereabouts. Those girls then revealed their sad faces as they turned their attention towards one another.


    "Ah, damn it! I think we lost him!" The other one said.


    "Yeah, me too," One girl agreed. "Let''s get out of here then while we can."


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    "Mhm."


    After the other one shocked her head in agreement, those youngsters left the alley. He sighed and held up his body and breath in a clutch, as relief washed over him, patting the dogs on their heads.


    -Phew! I totally lost them!


    "Okay, you guys. You made me so proud! Such good doggies." He exclaimed as those dogs happily barked at him. He stood up and gave each dog their treat. "Well, here''s your reward as promised. You guys deserved it big time."


    The dogs barked while Zac gave them treats.


    "Alright, now let''s get you guys home to your owner!" He said.


    ****


    -Alright, time to make more money, Zac buddy! Yeah!


    After receiving the money, he arrived at the bus stop near the bench.


    -Okay, then. Time to head for a different alley, buddy.


    He walked to the end of the busy street, surrounded by other pedestrians. After a few turns, he reached his destination.


    -Finally, I''m here. Now I just need to wait for my new customer to arrive.


    He stood with his left foot against the wall, and moved his eyes sideways. He watched people passed by him in opposite directions, placing his hands inside his jacket. As time went by, he began to loose his patience. He pulled out his dumbphone to check the time.


    -Okay, where the hell''s my customer? I''ve been waiting here for him for the past fifteen minutes now, and he''s still isn''t here yet!


    He stood still and angrily looked both sides of the sidewalk, searching out for his customer; he failed to find him.


    -I swear to God, if he isn''t here in the next fifteen minutes, I''ll bail on his ass and sell the product to someone else, who won''t waste my time on this kind of bullshit!


    After time had passed, his eyes then curiously widened when looking out forward to his left a bit. "! Huh?! Could that be-?"


    He saw a young man around his age ran towards him and waved, grinning at him all the sudden. The young man wore glasses on his face, a brown bag around his body from his left side, an orange shirt, blue jeans, and white shoes. He also had red hair and freckles on his cheeks.


    -Finally, my customer showed up! About damn time! Oh, thank Elohim for that.


    Sighing, he watched his customer pant as his customer got close to him.


    "Hey, there...buddy...sorry...I...took...so long...to come...to you...," his customer said out of breath a bit.


    "Finally, what the hell took you so long?! I''ve been waiting for you for the past twenty minutes now!" He roared.


    "I was so busy helping out my family and friends, that I thought I wasn''t able to get my product on time, so I prayed to Elohim to quickly have me get it from you. Oh, praise the Lord! I thanked Him for that! I couldn''t have done it without Him, as I desperately needed it. I just couldn''t afford to loose it, y''know!"


    "...Yeah...Sure...Whatever..."


    -Damn straight!


    As they entered the alley, they made sure they were alone.


    Zac then began to unbutton his white, long jacket. "So then, you got the money, right?"


    His customer placed his hands into his pockets while Zac moved his head sideways. "Yeah, I got what you wanted."


    "I do. Now come over here and face the wall."


    His customer obeyed. "Okay, now what?"


    "Shush!" He whispered, looking straight at his customer and put his index finger in front of his lips.


    "Okay, then. And?" His customer whispered.


    "That''ll be three hundred and twenty-two Shekels for the brand new, jet black touch screen dumbphone." Zac responded in a whisper, holding out his hand for the money.


    "Right away, buddy," His customer replied in a whisper, moving his bag to his front and digging through it to find his money. As his customer handed Zac the money, Zac drooled a little bit with his cheeks blushed, smiling at his prize.


    -Oh, man! Here it comes! How freakin'' exciting! Come to papa!


    Zac placed the money into his front left pocket, and carefully handed over the phone box. Then his customer placed the box into his bag, grinning at Zac and giving him two thumbs up.


    "Thanks, buddy," His customer whispered, "I''ll never forget this and I appreciate it, man. Now I''ll no longer have to deal with this phone being always sold out, and wait for it to stock back up."


    "No, problem," Zac whispered back. "And thanks for the money. I truly appreciate that as well, and I''ll never forget this either. Bye!"


    "Bye, now!"


    His customer waved at Zac as he left. Zac waved back at him, and then smiled excitedly at the money in his pocket.


    -Ha! That sucker! He received a kids'' flip phone without a charger for it, and I charged him triple for it! I''m glad to add you into my money family vault, money! Just you wait till I take you to my home and see for yourself! Just you wait-


    His stomach growled at him from below, echoing into his ears.


    -Huh?!


    Looking down at his stomach and placing his hands on it, he sighed and frowned at it. "Alright, stomach! You win. Let''s go get something to eat, I guess."


    He took a look around him while buttoning up his jacket. And his eyes spotted a bustling restaurant across the street from him. "Look out, food! Here I come to be cured of hunger!"


    Once he looked both ways and saw no vehicle coming from either side of the street, he exited the alley, crossed the street and entered into that restaurant out of sheer happiness, having a good celebration for having a good special day.

 Chapter 3: Bein Delivered to Justice

    After Zac''s stomach was full from eating at a restaurant, he happily entered the bus station''s waiting room. Looking around the room, he saw people either sat in their seats, charged their phones, chatted with one another, or stood around. Some people also went to the counter lady for assistance, purchased snacks and drinks from vending machines, took free bus schedules from each pocket holder, entered in and out of the gender segregated bathrooms, or looked at the screens of their mobile phones. A couple of janitors did some cleaning, and a pair of security guards stood outside the waiting room, being separate from one another.


    -Oh, yeah! Today''s the best day ever! Definitely better than last year! Now let''s see my new videogame!


    He took the game out of my brown plastic bag, and looked at its cover with his excited grin and eyes, seeing eight women on it. On the right side of the cover, he saw four women in their low cut, skin tight superhero outfits without even a cape, carrying different electric weapons. They wore different colored helmets. On the other side, there were the other four wearing their school uniforms. The game was titled Soteria and the Scarlet Dragon.


    -Oh, I heard this game is so good! I can''t wait to try it out for myself when I get home!


    Then he relook around the room for a moment.


    -Time to take a seat and wait for our bus to take us home!


    After searching for an empty seat, he finally sat near a black haired boy and a brown haired girl with a couple of myrtle flowers on her right-side of her hair. The boy looked be eight to ten years old, and was about to begin either Years Alef or Bet of Elementary School. The girl, on the other hand, appeared to be either twelve or thirteen, and was about to begin Year Waw of Secondary School.


    The boy and the girl looked at Zac and he looked back at them before they returned to minding their own business. He looked around more until he spotted a box containing a brand new, red robot toy resting in a white gift bag. He excitedly stared at it for a moment with his mouth open.


    -Oh, man! Zac buddy, did you see that?! Now that looks like my next money maker! I heard these toys were completely sold out on all the store shelves and online! I can''t wait to get my hands on it and make double money off of it, for real!


    Then the girl began to look around in a three-sixty degree angle, and she spotted a gender segregated bathroom. She turned to the boy as she stood up from her seat. "Okay, Kayleb. I''m going to the bathroom now. I''ll be right back. If I''m still in the bathroom and our bus is here, just shout out my name outside the women''s bathroom, okay?"


    "Okay, I will, Hadasa. You can count on me!" Kayleb responds.


    "Good and don''t forget to keep an eye on your stuff!"


    "I won''t!"


    As soon as Hadasa headed for the bathroom, Zac looked down at the bag for a while, then looked around the room to see whether people noticed him or not. Not one person noticed him for a second, not even Kayleb. Then he returned his attention to the bag and excitedly grinned.


    -Alrighty now, Zac! Time to take this kid''s toy and move to another area, before Hadasa comes back from the bathroom! My money maker, come to papa!


    When he was so close to snatch Kayleb''s toy without the child noticing him, his phone rung from one of his pockets all the sudden.


    -Huh?!


    He dug it out of his pocket and looked at its screen, saying:


    MOM


    -Ah, damnnit! What the hell does she want now?!


    Zac answered the phone with his angry face. "Hi, mom¡­Ugh, would you stop calling me, ''Zaccai?!''...I was in the middle of something right now¡­I was getting ready to get on the bus. I''m about to head home¡­Okay, bye, mom. Love you¡­"


    Hanging up his phone, he angrily looked down at it, clinching it so tightly with his straight, white teeth shown.


    -Man, that was so freakin'' annoying! I hate it when my mom does that! Now back to business¡­


    Zac placed it back into his pocket and looked around to see if everyone noticed him all the sudden. People still haven''t noticed him, along with Kayleb. So he sighed out of relief, looked down at the bag, and excitedly grinned even more than ever before.


    -Now finally! Time to get back to business, Zac buddy! Here goes nothing, my money maker!


    He slowly moved his hand forward towards the bag, grabbed it, and quietly and slowly moved it away from Kayleb. Then he got up from his seat, turned around and left the waiting room.


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    -Oh, Zac buddy! You did it, man! You''ve got your money maker right beside you! Today''s definitely better than last year on the same day now! Now let''s get out of here!


    While Zac walked toward his bus stop, he noticed several people were either standing there near the benches or the bus stop sign, or even sitting on the benches. Some people there were also pre-pubescent, physically disabled, or pubescent. Others are also old or have different skin colors.


    "Hey, you!" The girl''s voice echoed behind Zac.


    But Zac ignored her and kept moving, pretending to be invisible.


    "Hey, you with a bag in your hand!" The girl''s voice echoed even more loudly.


    Hearing the footsteps inching closer behind him, he still ignored her and kept moving towards his bus stop.


    "Hey!" The girl''s voice echoed, being very close behind him.


    Then he felt one of his wrists being grabbed onto tightly, pulling him back while he looked down at someone else''s hand on that wrist.


    -Huh?! What the hell?!


    Turning around, he saw Hadasa glared at him, among Kayleb standing beside her.


    "You stole my little brother''s toy! Give it back!" Hadasa roared, trying to snatch the bag away from Zac.


    "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up a sec!" Zac snapped back, grabbing the bag away from her. "What are you talking about?! This toy is mine! I bought it myself!"


    "No, you didn''t!" Kayleb howled. "You sat right next to me and stole it from me in the waiting room, Zaccai!"


    Zac gave Kayleb his pissed off face. "Hey, would you stop calling me that?!"


    "So give it back, you thief! And we won''t call you that!" Hadasa bellowed, trying to snatch the bag away from Zac behind him.


    Zac angtily turned to Hadasa and held the bag up above his head. "No way, man! I told you before that it''s mine, and I paid for it with my own money!"


    Hadasa and Kayleb both tried to seize the bag from Zac as he guarded it, while people stood there and watched. They bickered with him, until the bus station security guards walked up towards them.


    "Hey! What''s going on here?!" One of the security guards said, as he stormed towards them, with his partner beside him.


    Hadasa and Kayleb excitedly turned to the security guards while Zac fearfully turned to them.


    -Oh, shit! Oh, shit! OH, SHIT! My special day''s now about to be ruined! I''m gonna be so busted! And my parents will definitely kill me for sure, if I don''t find a way out of this situation! Think, Zac, think!


    "Mr. Security Guard, oh thank Elohim He sent you guys here to arrest this thief!" Hadasa exclaimed as she and Kayleb ran towards the security guards and kept their eye on Zac at the same time.


    "Oh, really?"Another security guard asked, turning his attention to Zac and the bag in Zac''s hand.


    "Oh, no-no-no-no, sir! I didn''t steal this. I jus'' bought it today. I swear," Zac nervously answered, waving his hand sideways.


    "He''s lying, officer!" Kayleb yelled, angrily turning towards Zac. "He sat right next to us before my sister headed for the bathroom. He had a phone call with his mom and his name''s Zaccai!"


    -Oh, man! Here we go again with this Zaccai name shit!


    "Yea, he claims he''s innocent, saying that the product was rightfully his and he paid for it!" Hadasa declared, also turning her angry face towards Zac. "If he''s really innocent like he says he is, why doesn''t he show us the name tag on the gift bag? It has my brother''s name ''Kayleb'' on it."


    "Yea! Let us see it!" Kayleb declared, glaring at Zac.


    "Look, I don''t have time for this. I have a bus to catch," Zac said, nervously looked at Hadasa, Kayleb and those security guards. "So..."


    "Besides, Zaccai..." Hadasa said with her eyes closed.


    Zac annoyedly looked at Hadasa''s face.


    -Oh, this shit again...


    "Aren''t you a bit too old for a toy?" Hadasa added, opening her eyes, glaring at Zac.


    "A toy?" A security guards partner questioned, giving Zac his confused look on his face. "How old are you?"


    "Fourteen..." Zac responded, putting his head down.


    "Fourteen?!" One security guard asked as he and his partner chuckled at him for a while.


    Zac remained putting his head down below him, tightening his grip on the gift bag.


    -Oh, my God! This is gettin'' annoying...hurry up and think quick dammit before I get caught.


    "And may I ask why you got the toy in your possession?" His partner asked, raising his eyebrow.


    "I-uh...uh...uh..." Zac answered, looking up at the sky. "I needed this toy for my little brother Kayleb since they''re already sold out-both on the shelves and online."


    "No way! You also have a little brother named Kayleb?!" Hadasa asked, raising her eyebrow.


    "Yep, I sure do!" Zac replied with a smile.


    "Oh, great...Now this is gonna be hard to find out who''s telling the truth here, isn''t it?" One security guard asked, putting his head down with his annoyed face.


    -Alright, Zac buddy! That was a good one! Now we might have a chance to get out of here. Keep it up, bro. You''re doin'' great.


    "He''s lying, officer! There''s no way he has a little brother with the same name as mine!" Kayleb said, glaring at Zac, then turning to one security guard. "Listen, you gotta believe me and my sister when we said, ''He stole my toy.''"


    "Of course, it''s mine. I bought it fair and square, little boy!" Zac said, leaning his angry face towards Kayleb, then standing back up. "Now if you excuse me, I got a bus to catch!"


    As Zac was about to leave, one security guard''s partner put his hand out forward. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...whoa! Not so fast!"


    Zac turned his annoyed face towards one security guard.


    -Agh! Great! What is it now?! I really don''t have time for this bullshit! I need to go back home right now! I can''t afford to stand here much longer!


    "Let''s go to the camera area to prove your innocence," his partner suggested.


    "Wh-Wh-What?!" Zac asked, widening his eyes, opening his mouth, stepping back a bit.


    "You heard me. Let''s go to the camera area. We set cameras in the lobby room. We''ll see who''s the liar here, okay?!" One security guard said while Hadasa and Kayleb grinned at Zac.


    "Oh...about that..." Zac nervously scratched his head with his eyes closed.


    "You either come with us or we''ll place you under arrest. Do you understand?" The partner roared.


    "Yes, sir..." Zac said as he walked with those security guards, Hadasa and Kayleb, putting his head down with sweat coming down from his forehead. He widened his eyes more and opened his mouth. His eyes twitched sideways.


    -Oh-oh-oh! Great! Just great! Now I''m gonna get grounded that''s for sure! Be prepared for this, Zac.

 Chapter 4: Penalty of Sin

    After the cameras were viewed at the bus security office inside the waiting room, Zac was placed in custody and was interrogated. Zac''s mother was present there, and the bus security guards released Zac from his custody. His mother drove him home.


    She sat in the front left seat, glaring at Zac and the road back and forth at the same time. Zac sat in the front right seat, looking out from the window. Zac frowned in disappointment with his hand under his chin.


    -Wow! Jus'' wow! I can''t believe my special day was ruined by Hadasa and that little brat! They''ll pay for what they''ve done to me! Because thanks to them, not only am I now in trouble but I''m also gonna be grounded too while I''m at it. I''ll get them for this soon enough, dammit. Just you wait, you two. I swear to Elohim, mark my words. They''ll see who''s gonna have a bad day now.


    Zac''s mother sighed out of anger while she angrily turned to Zac and the road back and forth a couple times. "For once, I cannot believe you''ve done something so sinful and illegal, stealing this kid''s toy just to make a profit out of it! I''m very, very disappointed in you, Zaccai! Deeply disappointed! I raised you better than that! You''ve been a good boy most of the time, and now you''ve done something this shit?!


    "Starting today, you''re grounded for twenty-one days, mister! No phone except for certain circumstances, no bus rides, no internet and no video games."


    Widening his eyes, Zac opened his mouth and quickly turned to his mother. "N-N-No video games?!"


    "That''s right, Zaccai," Zac''s mother answered, "No video games."


    "No fair, mom!" Zac protested, "Can you not ban me from video games?! They''re part of my life and identity, you know."


    "No! Absolutely not!" Zac''s mother roared. "This is your punishment afterall. Besides, I bet you''ve bought a new video game today like you always do, did you?"


    "Y-Yeah, I did," Zac replied without looking his mother in the eye.


    "It''s ''Yes, Ma''am'' to you." Zac''s mother raised her eyebrow at Zac.


    Zac stood silent for a moment.


    Zac''s mother glared at Zac. "Well? I''m waiting, you know."


    "Yes, ma''am¡­"


    "Much better," Zac''s mother said out of relief with a little grin on her face. "Now hand over your game and phone to me, young man!"


    As soon as Zac''s mother placed her right hand out in front of Zac, moving her fingers back a couple times except her thumb, Zac pulled his dumbphone out of his pocket and his video game from his brown bag. After he put them onto his mother''s palm hand, he roared back at her, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever, Ma!"


    "Oh? So now you''re catching an attitude with me?!" Zac''s mother yelled, "Keep it up, and I''ll ground you for forty days instead! Do you understand me?!"


    So Zac decided to cool off his attitude with his mother. "Yes¡­"


    "Yes, what?"


    "Yes, ma''am."


    "Now that''s good. That''s exactly what I want to hear from you, son," his mother exclaimed. "Oh, and one more thing¡­"


    "What?"


    "Starting tomorrow morning, as part of your punishment, you''ll be doing some sort of community service-some sort of charity work, if you know what I mean."


    Zac''s eyes widened again with his mouth opened, turning to his mother''s attention. "W-W-What?! But mom-!"


    "No, no, no, no buts, mister," his mother shook her head sideways. "You''re going to do it, and that''s final. You got that?"


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    "Yes, ma''am," Zac responded, turning back to the window with his angry face. His mouth continuously opened and his eyes widened even more. His eyes started twitching a little sideways.


    -Holy shit! This punishment is worse than I thought! Not only are my video games taken away from me, but I also will be doing some¡­community service. Oh, Lord, help me¡­


    The window reflected his face like a mirror, while he looked out the window, seeing people of all sorts of life walk past and chat with each other. All types of vehicles drove past one another and parked near certain spots of the sidewalk.


    ****


    After Zac lost his privileges and tomorrow morning came, he sat in the back car seat behind his mother. His father sat at the front left car seat, driving the car.


    Once Zac finished looking out the window, Zac turned to his father. "Uh, dad. Why are you driving us to community service today? Wouldn''t we just walk there instead?"


    "Well, I''m glad you asked, son," his father responded, "Because we only travel faster by car than our legs and feet. Plus, it''s also part of your punishment."


    "Yep, and besides¡­" Zac''s mother added, "Even if you know where it''s at, you would have to regain our trust while you''re being grounded. We can''t just have you running around all over the city while you''re still under punishment, can we now?"


    "Yeah¡­I guess so¡­" Zac responded with his annoyed face.


    -Oh, jus'' great! Jus'' great! I thought this punishment jus'' can''t get any worse! And it already freakin'' has! Ugh!


    "Good, so you just sit back tight and keep yourself occupied during our travel. We''re almost there," his father said as he continuously drove Zac to community service.


    After a few minutes have passed, Zac''s father excitedly grinned when he looked out to his left. "Op, and we''re here!"


    Parking near a small, white building that stared at Zac and his parents, Zac examined it from the window on the left. Then Zac and his parents exited the car, seeing a woman walking outside the building and greeted them with a smile. Her dark black, long hair was pushed back by the wind a little while she walked. The sun shone on her white skin, and her hazel eyes gazed at Zac and his parents. Once she greeted and shook his parents'' hands, she did the same with him.


    "And lookie here. You must be Zaccai, the one who stole the boy''s toy and tried to sell it yesterday, yes?" The woman said when she and Zac shook their hands, "Well, it''s a pleasure to meet you. I''m Mrs. Ananias¡­"


    "Mrs. Ananias?" Zac asked.


    "Or you can call me Mrs. ''A'' for short if you prefer to call me that. I''m sorry my surname''s a bit unusual to you."


    "Oh, not at all, ma''am. Mrs. A it is then."


    "Good, I''m glad you agreed to that."


    -This woman seems like a nice lady already.


    "However¡­"


    Mrs. A cuckold her eyebrow at Zac. "What?"


    Zac moved his eyes to the left in his annoyed face. "Can you please stop calling me Zaccai? I prefer to be called Zac."


    "What?! Zaccai!" Zac''s mother cried. "There''s nothing wrong with being called Zaccai, you know."


    Looking down below with his angry look on his face, Zac twitched his body, clenched his fists tightly, opened his mouth and widened his eyes.


    -This damn woman jus'' wouldn''t stop with this kind of bullshit, does she now?! She''s jus'' so freakin'' annoyin'', that''s for damn sure!


    "Oh-ho-ho-ho! It''s quite alright, Mrs. Miyauchi," Mrs. A said, raising her hands up and pushed her palm hands forward a little a couple times. "If your son prefers to be called Zac, that''s totally fine by me."


    After hearing what Mrs. A just said, Zac lifted his head up out of relief and sighed.


    -Looks like someone over here finally gets it unlike my own mother. I wish I was part of Mrs. A''s family over the Miyauchi family tree instead.


    Mrs. A turned her attention back to Zac, crossing her arms with her eyes closed and a smile. "So, Zac. Are you ready to do some work around here today?"


    -Op, here comes the punishment thing¡­ugh¡­


    "Yeah¡­I guess so¡­" Zac answered, frowning with his eyes turned to the left.


    "You really don''t want to do some charity work, do you?"


    "Nope, I prefer not."


    "Well, that''s too bad, Zaccai!" Zac''s father said, pulling Zac''s dumbphone out of his pocket, handing it over to his son. "This is your punishment, son. If you hadn''t done what you did yesterday, none of this would''ve happened, would it now?"


    After being annoyed with his father calling him Zaccai, Zac grabbed his dumbphone from his father''s hand. "Yea¡­I guess so, dad."


    "It''s ''Yes, sir'' to you."


    "Yes, sir."


    "Now that''s a good boy," Zac''s father said.


    "Well, we better get going," Zac''s mother said.


    After she and her husband said and waved their good-byes to Mrs. A, they hugged Zac and kissed him on each cheek.


    "Good-bye, Zaccai," Zac''s mother said, waving at Zac. "I love you."


    Zac and Mrs. A waved back at his parents.


    "Good-bye, mom. I love you too. Good-bye, dad. I love you as well," Zac said.


    Zac''s father waved at Zac. "Good-bye, Zaccai. I love you too. Have a good day and stay out of trouble, you hear me?"


    "Yes, sir. I will," Zac said.


    "Because if you do¡­" Zac''s mother said as she and her husband headed for the car. "You''ll be grounded for forty days, you got that, son?"


    "Yes, ma''am," Zac said.


    "Good. We''ll call to check on you," Zac''s mother said, "We''ll also come back to pick you up before your community service ends, okay?"


    "Okay, mom," Zac said.


    Once his parents were gone, Zac and Mrs. A turned their attention towards one another.


    "Okay, Zac. Come with me," Mrs. A said, walking past Zac. "Since you''re new here, I''ll take you on a tour as well as lead you to the place where you''ll be working at."


    "Okay," Zac obeyed as he followed Mrs. A''s lead.


    -Okay, honestly screw this punishment, because I hate gettin'' up this early in the morning. But at least Mrs. A''s a pretty nice lady. This place might not be that bad, so how worse could it be?


    Zac and Mrs. A entered the building and started a tour for a while.


    ****


    Once the tour was completed, Zac and Mrs. A walked towards the door. They smiled as if they were relaxing or something. Zac was pretty happy with his tour.


    -Now the tour was actually pretty fun and I had a great time with it, honestly. I liked to get to know the rooms of this building once in a while. This place a lot prettier and interesting on the inside than on the outside.


    "And here we are, Zac," Mrs. A said, placing her hand on the door knob. "This is where you''ll be doing your community service at."


    Zac immediately turned his grin upside down, gazing at the door.


    -Oh, great. Here comes my punishment. Ugh. Here goes nothin'', I guess.


    Once Mrs. A opened the door, she and Zac entered the room. Zac''s eyes were widened and twitched a little sideways. His mouth was opened to display his straight, white teeth. His heart began to pound hard and sweat came pouring down all over his face a little.


    -Ugh! What the hell?! It can''t be-! It jus'' can''t-!


    There he saw Hadasa and six other people-three boys and three girls-matched each pair of shoes on the floor and placed them into that gigantic, brown box until it was full, tying the shoelaces together. Then they stopped what they were doing and turned to Zac and Mrs. A. Zac stood there in panic mode when Hadasa and others stared at him.

 Chapter 5: An Unexpected Reunion

    -Ugh! It''s that girl from yesterday! What''s she doing here?!


    Zac''s memories of Hadasa resurfaced in his heart, haunting him for a moment.


    -And I thought this punishment couldn''t get any worse than that! Welp, it already has!


    "Hadasa, Atara, Lia, Shifra, Yosef, Uriah and Eliezer¡­allow me to introduce you to Zac. Zac, I would like for you to meet Lia¡­" Mrs. A said, pointing her palm hand at Lia.


    "Hiya there, Zac," Lia said, waving her hand at me with a smile on her face, closing her eyes. "It''s nice to meet you."


    Lia''s body was curvy and fresh out of puberty. Her smooth, black skin received lighting from the ceiling. Her light brown, beautifully cow-eyed eyes gazed at Zac. Her black, straight hair was also radiant against the ceiling light. Her face was less pretty than the rest of the group; her big, thick eyebrows and a black dot near her right eyebrow examined Zac for a moment. She wore her white shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers.


    "...Eliezer¡­" Mrs. A continued, pointing her palm at Eliezer.


    "Howdy, Zac!" Eliezer said like he was almost fresh out of puberty. He performed the same actions as Lia did, except with his big grin. He saw Zac from behind him. He was a bit shorter than Zac and was almost fresh out of puberty. The ceiling lights shone on his wavy, blond hair as well as his average face and white skin. He wore a green T-shirt, blue pants and green shoes.


    "...Atara¡­" Mrs. A continued on, pointing her palm at Atara.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Zac," Atara said, waving at Zac with her sweet, gentle smile. She also saw Zac from behind her. Atara''s body was almost fresh out of puberty and was less curvy than Lia''s. Her lighter brown skin, averagely beautiful face and a pair of hazel eyes stared at Zac along with her black, curly hair. She wore an orange shirt, a mini skirt and orange and white sneakers.


    "...Uriah¡­" Mrs. A continued, aiming her palm at Uriah.


    "Hiya there!" Uriah answered, waving at Zac with his determined face. Uriah appeared to be either twelve or thirteen. His darker tan skin and black, short hair radiated well against the ceiling light. He had an average facial beauty along with a pair of brown eyes. He wore a red T-shirt, blue pants and red and white shoes.


    "...Shifra¡­" Mrs. A continued, aiming her palm at Shifra.


    "Hey, there," Shifra said, waving at Zac with a beautiful grin Shifra looked like she was either eleven or twelve. Her white skin, beautiful face and dark black, short hair shielded themselves well from the ceiling light. Her freckles  and a beautiful pair of her sky blue eyes stared at Zac at first. She wore her sky blue shirt, khakis and her sky blue sneakers.


    "...Yosef¡­" Mrs. A continued, pointing her palm at Yosef.


    "What''s up, man," Yosef answered, waving at Zac with his great, big smile and his brown eyes stared at Zac. Yosef appeared to be either eleven or twelve as well. His black, fuzzy, short hair protected his beautiful face from the ceiling light as well as his smooth, black skin. He wore his blue shirt, long shorts and blue sneakers.


    "...And finally, Hadasa," Mrs. A continued, aiming her palm at Hadasa.


    "Hey, you''re that boy from yesterday. I''m glad we meet each other again! How are you?!" Hadasa answered, waving at Zac with her grin.


    -Well, I''m certainly not, bitch! I won''t forgive you and your brother for yesterday! So deal with it!


    "Oh, so you two met yesterday, huh?" Mrs. A asked, raising her eyebrow, turning to Zac and Hadasa back and forth.


    "Uh-huh, we sure did!" Hadasa excitedly responded.


    "Yeah¡­we have, Mrs. A¡­" Zac responded, turning his annoyed face to his left, crossing his arms.


    -Wow, man! Talk about more embarrassment! I don''t deserve this kind of punishment! Please, Lord, please take me to a different community service! Anywhere but here!


    "Ah, I see¡­" Mrs. A said, turning to Zac and Hadasa one last time before leaving the room. "Well, if you guys get done with your work or need any help, just let me know and I''ll come back here. Otherwise¡­" She paused for a moment before she sang, "Keep working!"


    "We will, Mrs. A," all the adolescents said.


    Once Mrs. A shut the door behind her, Hadasa then turned to Zac. "C''mon, Zac. We gotta go get to work!"


    "Sure¡­" Zac said who sounded annoyed at first, "Let''s go¡­!"


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Hadasa raised her eyebrow at Zac while he walked towards the group and sat in between Atara and Eliezer. "Okay¡­?"


    "So you''re the guy who stole Hadasa''s brother''s toy to sell it, right?" Yosef asked while he tied the shoelaces.


    "Nuh!" Zac cried, widening his eyes while he looked into Yosef''s eyes out of shock.


    -Hey, what did this kid just ask?!


    As Zac stood silent all the sudden, Atara curiously turned to him. "Hey, are you gonna answer the question or what?"


    Zac quickly turned to Atara and immediately glared at her. "Uh, why do I care to answer such a question like that?!"


    Atara sucked her teeth at Zac. "Eh?! Why do you have to be such a rude ass, huh?!"


    -Okay, who the hell does this bitch think she is?! Huh?!


    Hadasa nearly closed her eyes while she stared at Zac, before she refocused on tying the shoelaces. "It''s alright, guys. Zaccai''s still mad about yesterday, so just ignore him until we get our work done at least."


    "Okay," Hadasa''s friends said as they got back to work. Zac glared at Hadasa more than Atara.


    -Ugh! Not only does this lil'' bitch told her friends about yesterday, but she also calls me Zaccai¡­again?! She''s so freakin'' annoyin''. I just wanna strangle this bitch to death!


    When Zac went back to tying shoelaces with Hadasa and the rest of the group, he looked at the shoes below. He moved his eyes sideways as he frowned at them. He tightly held them onto with his two hands. After he got done tying the shoelaces, he didn''t even bother to put the shoes in the box. He just stared at the them, without even moving a muscle. He frightenedly shivered.


    -Okay, as soon as I get home, I definitely need to talk to my parents about finding me a new community service. I just can''t stand to be embarrassed by Hadasa ever again. It''s the only way I could get out of this hellhole¡­


    Lia took notice of Zac''s lack of bodily movement. "Zac, are you alright there, buddy?"


    Zac didn''t answer and he still stared at the shoes he was holding. Hadasa and the other five took notice of that too, examining him.


    -Because if I don''t, I''ll be¡­doomed forever! And that''s an unfortunate fact, Zac buddy! Ah!


    "Hey, are you okay over there?" Uriah asked, raising his brow at Zac once again.


    After Zac failed to respond a second time, Eliezer tapped on Zac''s shoulder hard. "Uh, are you okay there, buddy?"


    Zac placed his hand on his shoulder, glaring at Eliezer. "Ow! What the hell was that for?!"


    "Sorry, man. We wanna know if you''re okay or not. Damn! You don''t need to be a jerk ''bout it!" Eliezer yelled, raising both his fists up under his chin, angrily examining Zac.


    "Yea!" Yosef roared, also glaring at Zac.


    "Seriously, bro. What the hell''s your problem?!" Shifra angrily asked Zac. "We were worried sick about you, since you were actin'' a bit strange."


    "Well, I was doin'' much fine, thank you very much!" Zac roared at Shifra.


    -I''m ready to hurt these people, because they''re pissin'' me off to no end! Gosh!


    "Alright guys, that''s enough fightin''!" Lia said. "We gotta get back to work for Elohim! We can''t allow our distractions to prevent us from doing our good works."


    "Lia''s right," Hadasa agreed, "We have to keep on working for the Lord."


    Once everybody in the room shook their heads, they immediately went back to work. Zac glared at everyone else in the room while he placed the shoes back into the box, nearing closing his eyes. He then angrily gazed at the shoes, breathing his breaths quietly and quickly.


    -Oooh-wheee, I can''t wait to tell my parents to get the hell out of this joint, so that I don''t have to deal with these assholes anymore. That''s for damn sure.


    ****


    After Zac and the entire group finished tying the shoelaces and placed them in the box, they let Mrs. A know about it. Mrs. A allowed them to exit the building for lunch break and picked up that box. As soon as they exitted the building, Hadasa and her friends stared at Zac and talked amongst themselves for a while. Yet Zac''s phone rang in his pocket.


    -Gee¡­I wonder who the hell''s callin'' me now?!


    He pulled his phone out from his pocket and looked at its screen. It says:


    DAD CALLING


    -Oh, it''s dad. He''s probably checkin'' on me to see what I''m up to.


    Zac answered the phone. "Oh hey, dad¡­Yeah, I''m doin'' fine¡­Community service is goin'' great so far. All I had to do was the tie some shoelaces and put them in the box for charity. That''s all¡­Yeah, I''m currently on lunch break right now, and I''ll have to do one more community service. Once I got that finished, I''ll be done for the day. Piece of cake¡­


    "Uh-huh¡­Uh-huh¡­Uh-huh¡­Well, I''ll call you back and tell you when community service is done, dad¡­Dad! Stop callin'' me ''Zaccai'' alright?! Do you not realize what a dumb, terrible name it is?!...Alrighty then, bye!...I love you, too!"


    Zac sighed, looking down at the ground, placing his phone back into his pocket.


    -Look, I love my parents and all but they seriously need to stop callin'' me Zaccai and realize what a bad name it is. It''s gettin'' very annoyin'' at this point¡­Ugh¡­


    "Zac!" Shifra''s voice echoed behind Zac. Zac widened his eyes after recognizing Shifra''s voice. He clenched his fists and glared at the world.


    -Oh, what the hell does that little brat want now?!


    Zac turned around and glared at Shifra. "What do you want?! Huh?! Make fun of me even more?!"


    "Wh-what?! No! What do you think that?!" Shifra asked, glaring back at Zac.


    "Because you heard my birth name over my phone call, didn''t you?!" Zac questioned.


    "No, we weren''t even near you, bro. Geesh!" Atara snapped at Zac, glaring at him.


    Zac then raised his curious eyebrow. "Okay, so what do you want from me then?"


    "We want to invite you to our lunch break," Hadasa said. "Not only because we''re hungry, but also because we want to get to know each other better. What do you say?"


    -Okay, I''m definitely not goin'' out for lunch with these dickheads, especially earlier today?! I don''t think so! I''m not interested! I didn''t even bring my own money, for Elohim''s sake!


    "Uh, I don''t even have money for lunch, so you''ll have to eat lunch by yourselves," Zac responded with his annoyed face, crossing his arms.


    Hadasa sighed while sadly looking at Zac. "Nonsense! Atara agreed to treat you if you don''t have any money right, Atara?"


    "Of course, I will," Atara agreed, closing her eyes with a big smile, displaying her straight, white teeth.


    "So, can you please come with us?" Hadasa asked.


    "Nope, not interested," Zac replied.


    "Awe, please?" Hadasa asked.


    "I said, ''No!''" Zac answered.


    Then once Hadasa and her friends repeatedly pleaded Zac over it, Zac angrily clenched his fights and put his head down.


    "Okay, okay, fine! I''ll go!" Zac snapped.


    "Yeahie!" Hadasa cried when they left the charity service for lunch break together. Zac annoyedly sighed while he walked with them.

 Chapter 6: Lunch Break

    When Zac and others arrived at Big Burger fast food joint, they remained in a long line. The loud chatter and laughter among customers echoed all over the restaurant. Zac annoyedly looked around and sighed.


    -Ugh, this is such a long ass line! They better hurry the hell up and not take too long! Or I''m gonna be really pissed as all get out!


    Atara walked up to David and smiled, chuckling a little. "Hey, have you thought about what you want to eat yet?"


    "Oh, uh, no, not yet," Zac responded, turning his attention to Atara while Hadasa watched them chat with one another, smiling at them. "Let''s see..." After Zac looked at the menu in front of him, he said, "I want a big cheeseburger with French fries and a large cup."


    "Okay then, Zac," Atara said, "You got it."


    When Hadasa and her friends finally ordered and paid for their food, they filled up their drinks and scanned the room to find a place to sit. They found their seats and sat at two tables near each other and the big window. Their tables stood by the corner and watched the busy restaurant. Hadasa, Zac, Shifra and Uriah sat at one table. Lia, Eliezer, Atara and Yosef sat at another one.


    "So, Zac..." Hadasa said while she and others patiently waited for their food, sipping her medium-sized drink. "What is your city and country of birth?"


    Zac looked at Hadasa and her friends when they gazed at him. "Okay, I was born here in Mishor, I jus'' transferred here from Mishor''s capital city."


    "Whoa! You''re from Chryssa?!" Uriah asked. Everyone else gasped out of excitement.


    "Yeah!" Zac annoyedly said before sipping his big drink, shaking his head.


    Uriah growled at Zac for a moment. His shadow covered his eyes and forehead whenever he expressed his anger. Hadasa and her five other friends however ignored Zac''s bad attitude and Uriah''s anger.


    "That''s-that''s pretty cool, dude," Yosef exclaimed, also sipping his medium-sized drink. "I wish I was born in Chryssa. I heard that this place is the most famous capital city in the world for its lots more opportunities, unlike anywhere else in either Mishor or elsewhere. Too bad me and my friends were born right here in Teratopolis."


    "How old are you?" Shifra asked, sipping her medium-sized drink.


    "I jus'' turned fourteen yesterday," Zac responded.


    "Ah, congratulations, Zac!" Hadasa cried. They gasped and grinned excitedly while clapping her hands quietly.


    "Ah, thanks, Hadasa!" Zac said. He closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head with a smile on his face.


    "''Cause we''re all also fourteen," Eliezer said with his eyes closed and a big grin.


    Zac spit the drink out Oh his mouth when he heard that."Wh-What?!" Zac opened and widened his eyes out of confusion. "You guys are seriously fourteen too?!"


    "Yep, we sure are," Atara answered, performing the same action as Eliezer.


    -How...interesting...very...interesting...Even Hadasa, Uriah, Shifra and Yosef are fourteen, despite lookin'' like they''re between the ages of eleven and thirteen.


    "Do you have any siblings, Zac?" Lia asked, sipping her large drink.


    "Nope, I''m the only child in the family," Zac responded, also sipping his large drink.


    "Ah, okay. Cool!" Lia exclaimed, closing her eyes, smiling. "Me too!"


    "Me three," Eliezer exclaimed, doing the same thing as Lia did.


    "Well, Kayleb is my only little brother I have, and he''ll start Year Bet in a couple months," Hadasa said. She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers together. "You met him yesterday, right, Zac?"


    "Mhn." Zac shook his head, remembering Kayleb at the bus station while he sipped his big drink. "Yeah, of course, I did."


    "I have two older siblings," Atara said. "My oldest sister is now a CEO of a fashion company with a huge social media following. My older brother will  graduate from Junior College next summer to get a job in the tech industry."


    "My older brother has been serving in the Mishorean military since last month," Uriah said.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    "My older sister is now journeying to her Junior College campus with her friends," Yosef said, sipping his drink.


    "And my youngest sister will begin Upper Elementary in Year Gimel in a couple months," Shifra said, also sipping her drink.


    "Oh, okay cool," Zac said.


    -I gotta say. Five out of eight people here have some basic to interesting info "bout their siblings. Very nice indeed. I gotta say I''m impressed with this so far.


    Lia annoyedly sighed, glaring at the fast food workers at the counters while she sipped her drink. "Damn, what''s takin'' ''em so long?! We waited for our food for a while now, and we still haven''t gotten it yet!"


    "Yeah!" Zac agreed, turning to the counters.


    "Have patience, you two!" Hadasa said, sipping and swallowing her drink. "You''ll get your order in just a few minutes. We got three more orders to go and we should get ours next, alright? Depend on Elohim to become patient like Him, and you''ll be fine."


    Lia sighed out of guilt, looking at Hadasa in the eye. "You''re not wrong about that, Hadasa." She looked up and stared at the ceiling while Zac still angrily gazed at the counters.


    -They freakin'' better! ''Cause I''ll be super pissed off if they don''t! I hate people who waste my time like this! Unacceptable!


    "So Zac..." Eliezer said, "What are your hobbies?"


    "I like to play videogames..." Zac responded.


    Hadasa gasped, smilinh and widening her eyes. "Me too, bro! So what kind of games do you play?"


    "Mostly online battle royal," Zac responded, "But I also play some retro, action-adventure, action and racing. And you?"


    Hadasa gasped. "Oh, my God. I mostly love retro, action and action-adventure. I''m definitely not a fan of online battle royal nor racin'' games. You and I gotta go play some games sometime."


    Zac closed his eyes and sipped his drink. "Sure, sure. As soon as I get done bein'' grounded, I''ll be good in no time."


    "Excellent!" Hadasa exclaimed. "So when will you get out of bein'' grounded?"


    "Twenty more days to go, hopefully," Zac responded.


    "Ah, I see," Hadasa said. "So what else do you like to do, Zac? I also like to make clothes and create jewelry."


    "Well, I also like to work for extra money. That''s ''bout all there is to it," Zac responded, sipping his drink.


    "That''s it?" Shifra asked, raising her eyebrow at Zac.


    "Yeah, that''s it. Why do you have a problem with that?!" Zac snapped.


    "No, I don''t! You don''t need to be such a bitch ''bout it, bro! Geesh!" Shifra roared, glaring at Zac while sipping her drink. "I like to watch the clouds for its interesting shapes, read comic books, sunbathe sometimes and spread the Gospel with my friends."


    "Actually, we all like to spread the Gospel together as a group too," Lia said and everyone else except Zac shook their heads. Zac raised his eyebrow at the group.


    -Spreadin'' the Gospel, huh? Sounds like a lame ass "hobby," if you ask me.


    "Anyway, I also like to take a walk in the park, listen to music and watch the sunset," Lia added.


    "I like doin'' some sports, compete and do some military stuff," Uriah said, sipping his drink.


    "I do some shoppin'', read girly magazines and go to the movies as my hobbies," Atara said.


    "I like to do some gardenin'', cookin'' and read books," Yosef said.


    "I like to make music, play in the playground set and play board games," Eliezer said, sipping his drink.


    "Finally, ''bout damn time," Lia said, sighing out of relief and rolling her eyes when the Big Burger worker finally arrived at Zac and others'' tables.


    "Lia!" Hadasa said, glaring at Lia.


    "Oh, sorry," Lia said when she expressed her guilty face.


    Hadasa turned to the Big Burger worker and smiled at that worker with her eyes closed. "Sorry about that. She didn''t really mean that, please ignore her."


    "Oh, not at all, ma''am." the Big Burger worker closed her eyes and grinned. She wore her red, blue and yellow uniform. Her pale skin and red hair stared at Zac and others. "I''m used to that here. Anyway, here are your orders. Sorry for the wait."


    After the Big Burger worker served the food to her customers, she left them alone to allow them to eat their lunch. Once Atara chewed her food and sipped her drink, she turned to Zac and asked, "So, Zac. You mentioned earlier that you work to make extra money. What is your summer job exactly?"


    "I work as a dog walker," Zac responded, sipping his drink.


    "Ah, I see..." Atara said. "And you also sell stolen products to customers, yes?"


    Zac widened his eyes and respat his drink at the floor near the window, turning to Atara out of shock. "Eh?!"


    "You also sell-" Atara repeated.


    "I know what you''re goin'' to ask. You don''t need to repeat this shit to me twice," Zac snapped. "Why the hell do you even ask that anyway?! Is it about yesterday again?!" He angrily turned to Hadasa.


    "Why are you lookin'' at me like that?!" Hadasa snapped, "We''re not goin'' to hurt you, Zac. We''re just curious about your other job, and we want to redeem you from your sin yesterday. That''s all."


    "Yea, jus'' calm down, bruh," Uriah agreed. "You don''t need to be a dick about it."


    "Don''t tell me to calm down, bruh!" Zac yelled, "I can talk to y''all like that, whether you like it or not! Got it?!"


    Hadasa looked around to see whether customers and Big Burger workers noticed Zac''s behavior. She saw a few customers and Big Burger workers watched Zac, whispering with one another. She then quickly turned to Zac and calmly said, "Alright, guys. We gotta leave. People already noticed us, due to Zac''s yellin''. Take the food with us. We''re goin'' back to community service and finish eatin'' there instead."


    "Eh?!" Zac asked out of shock.


    Hadasa''s friends agreed to leave the restaurant while Zac quickly looked around and noticed people looking at them, widening his eyes.


    -Oh, shit! Hadasa''s right! I really outdid myself, big time. We better get the hell out of here now.


    Once Zac and others left the restaurant with their foods and drinks, their faces became gloomy while they walked on the sidewalk, putting their heads down to their left. They didn''t even bother to say a word nor talk to one another.


    -Anyway, man. I hope my next community service isn''t as bad as the last one. I mean, how much worse can it be? Otherwise, I hope I get my parents to transfer me to a new community service. I jus'' can''t stand to be this embarrassed much longer. Ugh!

 Chapter 7: The Next So-Called "Community Service"

    After Zac, Hadasa and her friends ate their lunches and drank their drinks at their community service, they walked down a certain street with Zac carrying a box of Interlinear Bibles. He expressed his annoyed face even more than ever before, twitching his mouth. Hadasa and her friends took a look around, holding bibles in the air. They hoped people would accept the Gospel.


    -Okay, what the hell kind of "community service" is this?! I mean, why call this community service anyway?! Is this my punishment for lunch earlier?! Hadasa has a lot of explainin'' to do, big time!


    "I''m sorry but what does spreading the Gospel have anything to do with community service exactly?!" Zac snapped, turning his attention to Hadasa. "And why the hell do I have to carry this heavy ass box?!"


    "Because we save people''s lives from Gehenna," Hadasa answered, "And Eliezer jus'' need a break from carryin'' that box."


    "Uh-huh, right..." Zac said, "I don''t mean to be a Debby downer or anything, but don''t you guys have anything better to do than to preach repentance and Elohim''s judgement?"


    Hadasa laughed a bit. "Nope! We''re gonna stop doin'' that." Then she looked up at Zac. "We''re not only gonna preach repentance and Elohim''s judgement, but we also encourage people to read the entire Bible and get to know Elohim and His Son. Having a relationship with Elohim and His Son and repentance comes first. Once they accept the Gospel out of their freewill, then Biblical laws and livin'' in repentance comes second. That''s how we save people from Gehenna."


    "Uh, okay? Is that it?" Zac asked, raising his eyebrow at Hadasa.


    "No, not at all," Hadasa replied, "We also help Elohim care for His creation."


    "Like what?" Zac questioned.


    A man in a grey suit walked past Hadasa''s friends. His pale skin stared at Zac and Hadasa. He squished a piece of paper into a ball, and threw it on the ground in front of Zac and Hadasa. Hadasa kneeled down to pick up the paper ball, holding it up near her cheek, looking up at Zac with a wink.


    "Like this," Hadasa answered. She stood up from the ground and placed it in her pocket.


    "So just pickin'' up some trash?" Zac questioned out of confusion.


    "Yep, but it''s not the only one we do out here for Elohim''s creation," Hadasa responded. "We also give money for charity, help the poor and the needy, assist sickly people to the hospital, etc."


    "Ah¡­I see what you''re getttin'' at," Zac said. "And is this community service about what I did at lunch break earlier today?"


    "Oh, no, Zac. Not at all," Hadasa answered, "It jus'' that my friends and I do this daily."


    "Oh, okay. Cool," Zac said.


    -Oh, whew! That was a close one. But man, this has to be the most unusual community service that I''ve ever done. Like seriously?! I can''t wait to go home and tell my parents to transfer me to another community service, because I don''t want to do this shit anymore!


    Hadasa then held the Bible up and shouted, "Hey, everybody. Yeshua wants to get to know you and form a relationship with you by readin'' the entire Bible, repentin'' and accepting the Gospel. You''ll enjoy His Kingdom a lot more than this Earthly kingdom if you do so."


    Zac watched Hadasa and her friends spread the Gospel when people walked past them for a while. He saw that only a few people accepted the Gospel, as well as Hadasa and her friends performing some good deeds. He expressed his bored face when he put his head down.


    -Goddamn, this shit is boring. How long do I have to be here?! I hate this community service so bad I jus'' wanna get the hell out of here.


    As time went by, the footsteps echoed on to the left of Zac. Zac didn''t even notice it until somebody walked up to him. He turned to the left and saw Lia. Lia smiled at him. "Um, I need a couple more bibles, please."


    "Oh, right. Here ya go," Zac said, turning the box towards Lia. "So, Lia."


    "Huh?" Lia asked after getting a couple bibles from the box.


    "How long have we been here exactly?" Zac questioned.


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    "Oh, uh, I don''t know," Lia answered. "I''ll have to check the time on my phone." Lia held onto one of the bibles underneath her arm and got her phone out of her pocket. "We''ve been here for an hour now," Lia said after checking the time on her phone.


    "For one hour?!" Zac said, expressing his shocked face, widening his eyes, opening his mouth wide.


    "Yep," Lia responded, excitedly smiling at Zac with her eyes closed while she put her phone up.


    -You can''t be serious! One freakin'' hour?! I can''t believe I''ve been here for that freakin'' long.


    "And when will we get the hell out of this place?" Zac asked.


    "Oh, we''ll be leavin'' here in another hour," Lia answered.


    Zac''s face switched from shock to disappointment. "Oh¡­thanks¡­"


    "Uh-huh, no prob, Zac," Lia said, walking away from Zac.


    -Aw, great! Jus'' freakin'' great! Now I''m gonna be stuck here for one more hour?! That''s it! I''m definitely gonna get the hell out of this place, that''s for sure! Jus'' ya wait! Once my parents find me a new community service, I''ll never have to come back here ever again!


    ****


    Once Zac, Hadasa and others returned to their community service with the box full of rejected bibles, they said their good-byes to Mrs. A before they leave. Zac exited the building with Hadasa and her friends, walking towards the wall. He leaned against it with his foot placed on it.


    Hadasa looked around both in front of her and behind her. As soon as she saw Zac, she walked up to him, grinning at him. "Hey, you did great back there. You made Elohim, His Son, your parents and us proud. Keep up the good work, Zac."


    "Oh, sure¡­thanks for the compliment," Zac disappointingly said, ignoring Hadasa.


    Hadasa growled at Zac. "Hey, why are you bein'' such an asshole to me?! I jus'' complimented you, and this is how you repay me?!"


    "You''re that crazy if you think spreadin'' the Gospel for two hours is good ''community service.''"


    "That''s what Elohim wants from us through Mrs. A, bro! It''s not our fault that we had to do that, y''know!"


    "Pfft, whatever, bruh!" Zac snapped, "We still coulda done that for half an hour instead of two hours, and none of this would''ve been an issue. End of story."


    "Oooh!" Hadasa tightly closed her eyes, put her head down and stretched out her fists away from her legs. "We''re done talkin'' here!"


    "Good!"


    After Hadasa walked away from Zac with her friends, she looked at Zac with her sad face before she and her friends left the area for good. Once they were gone, Zac pulled out his dumbphone to dial it.


    He placed it by his ear. "Hey, mom¡­Can you stop callin'' me Zaccai already?! It''s seriously such a dumb name!...Anyway, I''m done with community service. Can you pick me up?...Okay, thanks, mom. Truly appreciate it¡­We helped people while we¡­spread the Gospel¡­I''ll tell you more ''bout it in the car, mom¡­Okay, well. Bye, mom¡­Alright, mom. I won''t leave this place¡­I promise¡­I love you too, and can you tell dad everything I said including ''I love you''¡­Okay, great. I''ll see you when you get here¡­"


    As soon as Zac hung up the phone, Mrs. A opened the door and stuck her head out from it, seeing Zac there. "Hey, Zac. I want to speak to you for a moment. Is that okay?"


    "Sure thing, Mrs. A," Zac said, standing up from the wall.


    "Great!" Mrs. A exclaimed, closing her eyes with a grin.


    When Mrs. A exited the building and walked towards Zac, she crossed her arms and gazed at him. "You''re waiting for your parents to come pick you up?"


    Zac shook his head. "I already called them a few moments ago and they''re on their way here now."


    "Oh, okay. That''s good to hear. So did you do good on two community services today?"


    "Yeah, but I hate doin'' them though, especially with that spreadin'' the Gospel thing. I hated that more than tying the shoelaces."


    "Well, it''s good that you hate doing them. I mean, it''s not only part of your punishment, but also helps you see what Elohim''s truly like through my volunteers."


    "Uh, I don''t get it. How do Hadasa and her friends'' actions express Elohim''s true identity exactly?"


    Mrs. A unfolded her arms. "It''s simple, Zac. They represent Elohim and His name by doing good deeds through their faith. You see, they have faith in Elohim that He''ll use them to help redeem you of your sin in your heart¡­"


    Zac raised his eyebrows upwards towards one another.


    -Oh, man. Not this shit again! I can''t wait to get the hell out of this place and ask my parents to take me to a new community service. Lord, help me!


    "And besides¡­" Mrs. A continued, raising her palm hand up in the air. "He also wants you to see His character through their actions. They demonstrated to you that He''s just, righteous and loving, just as if He was your parent. And that''s what they did. That''s why they did what they did."


    "I understand that but why do a two hour ministry work instead of thirty minutes?"


    "They''re trying to be spiritually disciplined like what Elohim wants them to do."


    "I see¡­it all makes sense now¡­" Zac turned his head away from Mrs. A''s attention and expressed his annoyed face.


    -Well, doin'' two freakin'' hours of ministry work was a pain in the ass. I sure as hell won''t be doin'' that shit anymore. Couldn''t wait to go home, that''s for sure.


    When time went on and the sound of the car honk echoed three times, Zac and Mrs. A turned to that noise''s direction. There they saw Zac''s mother in the driver seat, waving at them with her husband.


    "Op, looks like your parents are here," Mrs. A said.


    "Yep, I see that," Zac said, walking away from the wall and Mrs. A towards that car, waving at Mrs. A. "Good-bye, Mrs. A."


    Mrs. A waved back at Zac and his parents. "Good-bye, Zac. I''ll see you tomorrow then, yes?"


    Zac stopped by the car and opened the door, closing his eyes when getting into the car with his awkward smile on his face. "Why, yes. Of course, I will. Ha-ha-ha!"


    -As if, lady! Two community services my ass! Go screw yourself for all I care!


    Once Zac closed the door and put his seat belt on, his mother drove him home from his long day of community service. Zac watched Mrs. A entered back into the building while the car was moving. His determination and desperation gave him strength to try transfer him to another community service.

 Chapter 8: Alone with Hadasa

    While Zac''s mother drove her husband and son home, Zac expressed his determined face to his parents.


    -Alright, Zac buddy. You can do this. Jus'' convince your parents to transfer you to a new community service. I''m sure they''ll agree to that. I mean, how bad can it be?


    "So, uh, mom, dad," Zac said.


    "Yes, Zaccai?" His parents asked while looking out the front window.


    Zac gave his parents his annoyed look on his face.


    -What is the deal with my parents callin'' me some dumb names?! First it was Zaccai. Now is Zackie?! Oh, Lord help me.


    "Can you transfer me to a new community service by tomorrow?" he asked.


    "And why would we do that, Zackie?" Zac''s dad asked.


    "Because my current community service sucks. Not only do I have to do two tasks, but I also do two hours of ministry work. I was carrying a box of bibles all that time while Hadasa and her friends spread the Gospel and helped people. That was it," Zac responded. "It was exhausting and I need to get out of there as soon as possible. Pretty please?"


    Zac''s parents turned to one another for a few seconds and refocused on the road, laughing at him.


    "And you think you''ll be able to be happy at your new community service while you''re on punishment?" Zac''s mother asked. "I don''t think so."


    "H-H-Huh?!" Zac cried when Zac''s eyes widened and he frowned at his parents with his mouth open.


    "Oh, yeah. No can do, son," Zac''s father agreed. "If your community service does a good job making you feel miserable while you''re on punishment, that''s a good thing. Punishments are supposed to make you feel sad and think about the bad actions that you committed. You''re punished for a reason."


    -Wh-Wh-What?! I didn''t expect this to happen at all! I thought my parents would get me out of this mess, but nope. Looks like I''ll have to try again, Zac buddy. Hopefully, I''ll get out of this, and may Elohim help me.


    "B-B-But mom, dad! I really need to get out of there now!" Zac cried once more, putting his hands together, moving them sideways. "Please, please, please Get me outta there. I can''t take this crap anymore."


    "No, son!" Zac''s mother said.


    "I promise I''ll do good at the new community service if you transfer me there instead," Zac pleaded. "I''ll do anything you say, and I''m sorry I stole that kid''s toy and tried to sell it yesterday. I promise I won''t do it again. Jus'' please get me outta there. I''m beggin'' you."


    "No, son! No!" Zac''s father snapped. "That''s not how punishments work. Yes, your mother and I forgive you for what you did, but we''re still not lettin'' you off the hook for twenty more days."


    "Uh-huh," Zac''s mother agreed, shaking her head. "Elohim is a God of justice. He doesn''t allow sinful people to go unpunished. And besides, most community services are done at this time, and we''re not driving more miles outside the city for a few ones. That''s just not gonna happen. You''ll have to deal with your current community service, whether you like it or not. And you better be good there too while ya at it if you don''t want your punishment to extend, ya got that?"


    "Yes, ma''am¡­" Zac responded, expressing his depressed face while leaning his head against the window.


    "Good," Zac''s mother said, shaking her head one last time.


    -Oh, great¡­jus'' great¡­I can''t believe I''ll have to spend twenty more damn days at that community service¡­now my nightmare will continue on¡­well, Zac buddy. Prepare for the worst to come¡­


    ****


    When Zac entered his room, he took a look around to see his video game console and the games with it were nowhere to be seen nor found. He touched the spot on the shelf where the console was last seen, moving his hands around it. Then he hugged the empty shelf and placed his head on it, crying and sniffing his nose a couple times.


    "Oh, video games. I wish you guys were here to comfort me. I could really use that right now," Zac cried, "I miss havin'' y''all around."


    Zac cried for a while longer until he got over his video games being gone from his room. He wiped his tears off and relooked around the room, heading for his closet. Opening the vault, he smiled at the money and saw all of it was still present.


    -At least I still got my babies, that''s for damn sure.


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    He grabbed a handful of money and leaned his cheek against it, continuously sniffing his nose. He rubbed his cheek on his money a couple times and sniffed his money.


    "Oh, money. At least, I still have you here. I really need your comfort right now," Zac said, sniffing his nose, kissing the money. "Muh-muh-muuuh."


    Once his money visit was over, he placed his money back into the vault. "Alright, money. Looks like I''ll be headin'' back to my room and get ready for the night. G''night, money. I''ll see you guys tomorrow morning. Have a good night."


    Zac then closed and locked the vault, exiting his closet towards the bathroom. After he got ready for the night, he sat on his bed to watch cable TV since he temporarily lost his internet connection at the moment.


    ****


    "Bye, Zackie!" Zac''s parents said, waving at their son once they dropped him off at community service. "Be a good boy and don''t cause any trouble now, alright?"


    "Don''t worry, I''ll stay out of trouble. Bye¡­" Zac annoyedly said, waving back at his parents, watching them leave the area.


    -I wish my parents would stop callin'' me Zackie at this point. It''s gettin'' redundant a lot more than Zaccai. It''s so freakin'' annoyin''.


    Mrs. A walked towards Zac with her happy face. "Hi there, Zac! Are you ready for another day of community service?"


    Zac sighed out of annoyance. "Yes¡­ma''am¡­"


    Mrs. A raised her eyebrow at Zac. "Um, is there something wrong, Zac?"


    "It''s jus'' that I''m tired this morning," Zac responded, switching his face to sadness.


    "Ah, I see¡­so you didn''t get a good night''s sleep, yes?"


    "Yeah, I guess so."


    -More like I hate comin'' to this community service, but my parents made me have no choice, do I?


    "Well, try not to allow that to distract you while you''re working, okay?"


    "Oh, I won''t, Mrs. A. Trust me on this one."


    "Good, now that''s the spirit! Now do you remember the clothing section?"


    Zac put his head down and sighed. "Unfortunately, no¡­"


    "That''s alright, Zac. Don''t be saddened about it. I''ll show you where it is. Come on," Mrs. A said.


    Zac paid attention to Mrs. A and followed her. "Okay."


    Once Mrs. A showed Zac the clothing section, she patted on his shoulder and smiled at him. "Good luck, Zac. Remember to contact me once you finished, okay?"


    "Alright, I will," Zac responded, opening the door while Mrs. A walked away from him.


    Zac''s eyes were widened and his mouth was opened.


    -What the hell?! This little bitch again?! Couldn''t this get any worse?!


    There his eyes spotted Hadasa holding the light brownish plastic bags that contained clothes as she looked up at him.


    She closed her eyes with a big grin and waved at Zac. "Hiya, Zac. It''s good to see ya again."


    "Yay¡­you again¡­" Zac annoyedly waved back at Hadasa. "Great¡­"


    Hadasa then glared at Zac, growling at him. "Seriously, bruh. What the hell''s your problem?! I try to be nice to you, and yet you still treat me like shit?! Really, man?!"


    Zac crossed his arms and glared back at Hadasa. "Says the little bitch who got me here and made me do this bullshit two hour ministry work in the first place."


    Hadasa took a deep, frustrated breath, closing her eyes. "Ah, I see¡­you''re still mad about a couple days ago and yesterday, are you now?"


    "Ya think?!"


    Hadasa opened her eyes and continuously glared at Zac. "Well, then. If you hadn''t stolen my brother''s toy and tried to sell it, none of this would''ve happened. You, my brother and I would''ve remained as strangers, and you wouldn''t even be here!"


    "Pfft," Zac said, turning to his left with his eyes closed. "Well, that''s not my fault I had to make extra money. If it wasn''t for that stupid law that prevented people who didn''t turn fourteen on the last day of school and earlier, I would be able to get a job in the service sector by now."


    Hadasa sighed again, this time out of understanding. "Okay, fine. But can we get back to work? Arguing with each other over the past isn''t only going to help others but also helps waste time. Besides, you''re grounded from video games, right?"


    -Well, even though I hate this bitch, she does have a point there. Standin'' here isn''t gonna lift me out of punishment and get my video games back. I wanna hurry up and get this shit over with to please my parents.


    Hadasa glared at Zac even more. "Well?"


    "Alright, alright, alright. Fine, I''ll do it," Zac said, walking towards Hadasa. "So what do ya want me to do?"


    Hadasa grinned and closed her eyes. "Great!" Then she opened her eyes. "Okay, you''re gonna dig through these clothes here to see if they either have holes, ripples or stains in them. If you found that, set them near you and throw them in the trash can over there. You see it?"


    Zac saw the trash can at the corner where Hadasa pointed her finger at. "Yep, I see that."


    "Good," Hadasa continued, "But if you don''t find these things, then place them in this box right here." Hadasa banged on the big, brown box a couple times near her.


    "Alright, I think I can handle that."


    "Good. Now let''s get to work!"


    "Right on, bro."


    When Zac and Hadasa went through the clothes for a while, Zac looked inside the box and saw that it was halfway full.


    -Okay, great! We''re almost done! As soon as we get done with our work, we''ll be able to take a break like yesterday. Whoo!


    Hadasa called Zac''s name and Zac responded, "Yeah?"


    "You did a great job today. I appreciate you helpin'' me out here so far, as I was the only one who does this kind of work until you showed up."


    Zac expressed his shocked face.


    -Eh?! This bitch was the only one working with the clothes?!


    Then he took a look around and noticed no one was in the clothing room except him and Hadasa. Not even Hadasa''s friends were present there.


    -Where the hell are this girl''s friends at?! Weren''t they supposed to be here today doin'' some charity work?! I know they were here yesterday, but now they''re not? What gives?!


    Zac turned his attention back at Hadasa. "Uh, where the hell are your friends at? Aren''t they supposed to be here?"


    "Oh, they all went to work. They all got jobs in the service sector. They work every Sunday and Monday as well as every Wednesday and Thursday throughout summer break."


    -Well, that''s a pretty weird ass work schedule they got there, if you ask me.


    "I see¡­it all makes sense now¡­so you failed to turn fourteen on the last day of school too?"


    "Yep. I was born on June 14th."


    -June 14th¡­


    Zac looked up at the ceiling to think. Realizing that June 13th was the last day of school, he turned back to Hadasa. "Ah, I see that now. And thanks for the compliment and you did great too."


    "Thanks and you''re welcome."


    "You''re welcome, Hadasa."


    Once Hadasa and Zac finished their work, they took it to Mrs. A and finally received a break from work.

 Chapter 9: A Glorious Break

    As Zac and Hadasa left the building, Hadasa looked up at Zac. Then she closed her eyes and leaned forward.


    "So do you want to get something to eat today?" Hadasa asked when Zac leaned back.


    "Well, I wish I could, but I didn''t have time to bring some money here." Zac turned his head to the left with his annoyed face.


    Hadasa leaned back. "Ah¡­I see¡­I wish Atara was here today to treat ya."


    Zac glared at Hadasa with his eyes nearly closed.


    -Yeah, I noticed this girl''s using Atara to treat people. Yet she doesn''t even bother to treat me. Like what the hell, bruh?!


    "Uh, do you guys always depend on Atara to treat others when people don''t have any money?! Why can''t you treat me instead?!"


    Hadasa turned to Zac. "Well, me and my five other friends also treat others, yet Atara''s able to treat others more than us."


    "And why is that?" Zac crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the ground.


    "Because¡­" Hadasa looked around to see if no one''s paying attention.


    Zac raised his eyebrow at Hadasa. "Because why?"


    -And why is she lookin'' ''round all the sudden. Is she hiddin'' somethin''?


    "Sssshhh!" Hadasa closed her eyes, put her head down and placed her index finger on her lips. "Quiet down!" She whispered, "We don''t want anyone to know about this, okay?"


    "Okay? Now what?" Zac whispered back.


    "Kneel down. I''m gonna tell ya something."


    Zac kneeled down and glared at Hadasa. "Okay? And?"


    Hadasa glared back at Zac. "Be patient!"


    "Okay!"


    Then she leaned forward towards one of his ears. "Atara''s a rich girl."


    Zac widened his eyes and looked at Hadasa in the eyes. "No way! You serious?" He yelled.


    "Shush!" Hadasa glared at Zac with her index finger placed on her mouth for a moment. Then she closed her eyes, grinned and shook her head. "Yep, I''m very serious," Hadasa whispered.


    -Ah, so that explains why she picked Atara to treat me yesterday. It all makes sense now.


    "You see, I couldn''t treat ya today nor yesterday, because I don''t have enough money. But next time, bring your own money, because Atara will not keep treating you in the long run, got it?"


    "Got it¡­"


    "Okay, so let''s go take a stroll in the park then, shall we?"


    Zac stood up from the ground. "Yeah, I guess."


    "Great! Let''s go! Let''s go! LET''S GO!" Hadasa exclaimed as she ran for the bus stop and Zac followed her.


    ****


    Zac and Hadasa entered the park after getting off the bus. They looked around them. There they saw some people walking around the park. Others walked with their dogs or chatted with others. Children playing in the playground either by themselves, with each other or with their parents. People''s chatter echoed across the area. A few empty barbecues stared at Zac and Hadasa.


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    Hadasa looked up at Zac. "Hey, Zac."


    "Hm?" Zac turned to Hadasa.


    "What do you want to do here?"


    "Mmmm¡­." Zac looked at the playground. Seeing all the swing sets were occupied, he turned back to Hadasa. "I guess we will go for a stroll."


    "Okay, then." Hadasa shook her head, closing her eyes with a smile. "Walking it is."


    As Zac and Hadasa walked around the park, Hadasa turned to Zac.


    "Isn''t it beautiful out here?" Hadasa asked, looking around the park in amazement.


    "Yeah, I guess it is," Zac responded, performing the same action as Hadasa.


    "This is one of Elohim''s most beautiful creations."


    Zac gave Hadasa his annoyed face. "Yea, I''m sure it is¡­Uh, is that all you''re gonna talk about?"


    "No, silly. There are plenty of things we can talk about."


    "Like what?"


    "Like, uh¡­" Hadasa looked up at the sky, placing her index finger on her chin. "Ah!" She returned her attention to Zac. "What''s your favorite videogame?"


    Zac looked up at the sky with his hands in his pockets. "Oh, uh¡­I don''t think I have any, to be honest with you."


    "Yea, me neither."


    "Ah, cool. We''re on the same page then."


    "Yep, we sure are."


    "So what do you do after charity work anyway?"


    "I, uh, watch videos on the internet and paid streaming services, hang out with my little brother, family and friends whether in person or on social media, and play videogames. What ''bout you?"


    "I didn''t do community service until a couple days ago."


    "Ah, I see¡­"


    "And now I only watch shows on cable TV, and spend time with my money."


    Hadasa gave Zac a blank stare, raising her eyebrow. "Uh, that''s it since you''ve been doin'' community service for the past couple days?"


    "Yep, pretty much."


    "And speakin'' of money, is that the only thing you spend your time on? What about your family or friends? Like do you not spend time with them at all?"


    "Nope. Never."


    "But why though?"


    "Because¡­" Zac looked at Hadasa in the face. "I hate hangin'' out with my own parents due to how freakin'' annoyin'' they are, like they kept callin'' me my real name instead of Zac! And¡­I don''t have any friends. I''m jus'' my own person."


    "Oh¡­Zac¡­I''m sorry to hear that¡­"


    "Hey, don''t worry ''bout it. It''s honestly quite alright."


    Hadasa relooked up at the sky and placed her index finger for a little while. "Hmm¡­"


    Zac looked and raised his eyebrow at Hadasa.


    -Uh, what is this girl thinkin''?


    Then she gasped and widened her eyes. "Oh! I know!" She turned to Zac. "Maybe I''ll invite you over to a hangout that my friends and I usually go to. That''ll help you get rid of your loneliness."


    Zac stopped moving and turned to Hadasa, closing his eyes, pushing the air with his hands a couple times. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I''m definitely not doin'' that!"


    Hadasa gave Zac her sad face. "Aaaw, what?! Come on! Please!"


    "No way! No way! No way! Not gonna happen!" Zac roared, swinging his arms sideways. He then crossed his arms and turned his head to the left.


    "Oh, come on, Zac! It''s not healthy to be alone, y''know!"


    "Well, that''s too bad, ''cause that''s what I wanna be. Besides¡­I only come to community service to get my punishment over with and be outta there by the time my punishment''s done. That''s it. I''m not goin'' to waste my time hangin'' out with you guys, especially after community service."


    Hadasa glared at Zac and crossed her arms. "Well, ya can''t be hanging out with money all your life! It''s not healthy! Also your love affair with money is the main reason why you do stuff like sellin'' stolen goods and shit, y''know."


    "Of freakin'' course, I can. And that''s the way I like it whether you like it or not! Stop mentioning my bad deeds in public, alright!"


    After Hadasa silently growled at Zac, Zac''s phone rang in one of his pockets. Zac annoyedly looked down at and pulled his phone out.


    -Okay, who the hell''s callin'' me now?!


    Examining the screen for a few seconds, Zac widened his eyes, then his face became even more annoyed than ever before.


    -Oh¡­it''s my annoyin'' ass mom''s callin'' me. Great¡­


    Zac answered the phone. "Oh, hi, mom. How are you?...I''m doin'' good, and can you stop callin'' me Zackie already¡­ugh¡­alright, alright, alright. I''m sorry¡­yes, ma''am¡­well, I''m currently on break after I checked and arranged clothes with Hadasa¡­oh, yea. And now I''m walkin'' the park with her¡­m-my girlfriend?! Oh, don''t get the wrong idea¡­"


    Hadasa chuckled when she heard that.


    "Mom!" Zac cried, expressing his sad face. "C''mon¡­"


    -Ugh, I swear to Elohim, this freakin'' bitch¡­


    "Uh-huh¡­uh-huh¡­uh-huh¡­" Zac''s face remained gloomy longer than ever before. "Alright, I will, Ma¡­Bye! I love ya¡­don''t worry, I will. I promise¡­"


    Zac hung up the phone.


    -Damn, that was so annoyin''!


    He put his phone back into his pocket, hearing Hadasa chuckling a bit. He glared at her and crossed his arms.


    "And what the hell are ya laughing at?!" Zac snapped.


    "Me? As Zac''s girlfriend?" Hadasa questioned, laughing with her mouth open, placing her hands on her abdomen. "That''s so funny!"


    Zac''s glare aimed at Hadasa more than his own mother. He clenched his fists, nearly closed his eyes and glared at her with his mouth opened.


    -I can''t wait to strangle this bitch once I got my hands on her. Jus'' you wait, Hadasa. Jus'' you wait.


    When Hadasa continued to laugh, Zac roared, "Alright, you can stop laughing now!"


    "Sorry¡­" Hadasa chuckled a bit more before she stopped. "That was too funny to laugh at. Honestly¡­" Hadasa slowly stopped laughing.


    -Yea, I''m sure it was¡­not! Gheesh, this freakin'' girl.


    Hadasa stopped laughing. "Okay, what time is it? ''Cause we need to head back to our community service as soon as possible."


    "Uh¡­" Zac looked down at the time on his phone. "It''s the thirteenth hour (1pm)."


    "Oh, shoot! We better head back now!" Hadasa cried, pulling her bus schedule out of her pocket.


    While she examined it, Zac asked, "Why? Will we be doin'' some ministry work again?"


    "Yep, and our bus will be here in about five minutes. Let''s go!" Hadasa exclaimed as she dashed for her destination, putting her bus schedule back into her pocket.


    "Ugh¡­" Zac followed Hadasa with his annoyed face.


    "Whoo-hoo!" Hadasa cheered as she finally made it to the bus stop.


    -Oh, man¡­I can''t stand ministry work. But¡­this is what I have to live with since my parents won''t even let me leave this place. Ugh¡­

 Chapter 10: More Ministry Work

    When the second community service began, Zac and Hadasa headed for a certain neighborhood to spread the Gospel in a certain neighborhood. Hadasa only carried a couple Interlinear Bibles while Zac carried the box full of them. The box was a bit heavier for Zac to carry than yesterday, yet Zac still managed to do much fine. His sadness and tiredness boiled up inside his heart when they spread the Gospel.


    -Oh, Lord. Please jus'' end this thing already. I don''t wanna do this shit anymore.


    "Hey, everybody! Come and get your Bibles and get to know Elohim and His Son Yeshua!" Hadasa yelled, holding the Bibles in the air.


    The people just ignored and walked past Zac and Hadasa on the sidewalk. Zac looked around the neighborhood. There he saw young children either playing on the sidewalk or in their front yards. Some neighbors planted their gardens in their front yards, and several cars drove on the road. Old people and housewives chatted with one another, while the colorful suburban houses were squished together side by side.


    "Ugh!" Zac moaned with his bored face. He leaned forward while he carried the box.


    -Honestly, bro. This place is a lot more boring than yesterday''s place. At least yesterday you got to see stores and shit. But here? This place is filled with nothing but houses here. Like, you really have to take me to a suburban neighborhood, Hadasa?! Seriously?! Ugh! Lord, take me home already!


    "Zac?" Hadasa questioned when looking at Zac.


    "Huh?" Zac responded, turning back to Hadasa.


    "What''s the matter? Are you alright?"


    "Yeah¡­I guess so¡­"


    Hadasa turned around and stopped moving. "Look, I know you hate spreadin'' the Gospel and all but-"


    Zac gave Hadasa his annoyed face while he also stopped moving. "We gotta do it for two freakin'' hours. Yea, I know. I get it."


    Hadasa raised her eyebrow at Zac. "Uh, you realize that we don''t jus'' spread the Gospel, right?"


    "Pfft. Yea, like I didn''t know that already. And besides, why would you spread the Gospel in the neighborhood anyways?!"


    "Uh, we''re tryin'' to save people from Gehenna no matter where you are. Remember?"


    "Yeah, but do you really believe that people here will accept the Gospel in a place like this?! Why not a place where at least has some sort of stores, fast food places, etc?!"


    "People can accept the Gospel here just as much as anywhere else."


    "Yea¡­sure¡­" Zac turned his head to the left in disbelief.


    -Like that''s gonna freakin'' happen anyhow.


    "It actually does happen, Zac. It really does." Hadasa turned around and kept her attention on Zac. "Now c''mon. We''re wastin'' time here."


    "Ugh!" Zac said with his even more annoyed face as he continued walking with Hadasa.


    "By the way."


    "Huh?!"


    "Have you read the whole Bible yourself?"


    "No, why should I?! That book is so damn borin'', so why would I waste my freakin'' time on that shit anyway?!"


    "The Bible isn''t as bad as you think it is once you read it for yourself. It''s actually a lot more interesting to read. I mean, I had a good time with it and readin'' that jus'' made like Elohim and His Son much more. Trust me. You''ll like it too."


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Pfft. Yeah¡­like anyone would waste their time on that shit."


    "Awe, c''mon. You gotta read it. Pleaseeeee-uh."


    "Ugh!" Zac expressed this tired look on his face.


    -Oh, jus'' end it already. Gheesh. This lil'' bitch is jus'' so Goddamn annoyin''! C''mon now!


    For an hour, the box was halved and became a bit lighter in weight on Zac. This surprised Zac as he believed not anyone in the neighborhood would accept the Bible. But he was dead wrong. He then smiled out of joy.


    -Man, this is what I''m not expectin'' at all. I mean, what would I do if all these Bibles were completely gone? What then? Will we probably get out of here earlier than expected?! If it is, it''ll be a dream come true! Hallelujah!


    Hadasa turned to Zac with a smile. "Ah, I see you''re happy. Is it about people accepting the Gospel and bein'' saved from Gehenna? Because I''m excited for that too, y''know."


    -Bruh¡­this lil bitch has to make some assumptions, does she now?!


    Zac glared at Hadasa. "Oh, no-no-no-no! Don''t come up woth some stupid ass conclusions, little girl!"


    Hadasa growled at Zac. "Would you stop callin'' me that, dammit?! I''m not a little girl anymore, y''know!"


    "Well, I''ll stop callin'' ya that if you stop lookin'' like one!"


    "Oh, my God, Zac!"


    Zac closed his eyes and turned to the left. "What? You do look like you could start Year Hei in the fall though. So don''t get mad at me for that!"


    "The Bible says judge a person''s heart, not a person''s physical appearance."


    "Who the hell cares?! It''s not my fault I quote/unquote ''judge'' what you look like."


    "Oooooh!"


    Zac and Hadasa growled against each other for a while.


    "Um, excuse me¡­" An old woman''s voice yelled, yet Hadasa and Zac ignored her. "Excuse me¡­" They still ignored her. "Excuse me¡­"


    Hadasa and Zac finally turned to the location of the old woman''s voice. "Huh?!"


    "Why do you young''uns two argue with and curse at each other? Hmm?" The old woman asked, sitting on her orange, old school rocking chair on her front porch, glaring at Zac and Hadasa. She wore her red shirt with white stripes, blue jeans and brown sandles.


    "Well¡­uh¡­" Zac and Hadasa embarrassingly closed their eyes and Hadasa scratched her head.


    "Well, since you two are minors, y''all shouldn''t be cursin'' at all. Is that right?" The old woman roared.


    "Right¡­" Zac and Hadasa put their heads down.


    "We''re so sorry we caused you so much trouble. We''ll be leavin'' this area now," Hadasa said as she began to leave the area.


    "Yea, good idea, Hadasa," Zac agreed, walking with her.


    "Now that''s more like it," the old woman said, smiling out of relaxation.


    Zac and Hadasa embarrassingly saddened their faces, while they scanned their surroundings and walked throughout the neighborhood.


    -Man, that was embarrassing. Like for real.


    "So Hadasa," Zac said.


    "What?" Hadasa questioned.


    "Let''s hurry up and give more bibles to people, so we can get the hell outta here. ''Cause I don''t wanna deal with this shit anymore."


    "Yea, good idea, Zac."


    -Alright then. I can''t wait to give the Bibles to people so we can get the hell out of here. Like for real.


    ****


    Once they finished their ministry work, Zac and Hadasa left the neighborhood. Zac sighed out of relief while Hadasa expressed her disappointed face, leaning forward. The box was still halfway full on the way back to community service.


    -Oh, man! I''m so freakin'' glad we''re done with ministry work. Too bad no one accepted these remaining books and Hadasa and I had to remain there longer. But still¡­I''m glad it''s all over, so I can finally go back home and spend time with my money.


    Zac then happily smiled with his joyful, watery eyes.


    -Oh, money, money, money. I missed you so much and I can''t wait to see you again.


    Hadasa frowned and sighed. "Ugh! I wish people would accept these books. It''s jus'' too bad they won''t be saved."


    Zac pretended to frown. "Yea, it''s so sad, bruh."


    "Tell me ''bout it," Hadasa said, turning to Zac. "People cared more about their worldly lives than getting to know Elohim and His Son. But that''s what Yeshua expected though..."


    Zac expressed his determined face. "Hey, I know how we get people to accept these books."


    Hadasa gave Zac her excited look on her face. "Oh, yea?! Well, what is it?!"


    "How ''bout we put them near their personal belongings or front yard porches like their cars, backpacks or even on their cars? That way we''ll get all these books out of this box and be done for the day. What do you say?"


    Hadasa glared at Zac. "No, Zac. We can''t waste the Bibles like that. Not everyone will accept the Gospel and forcin'' people to accept them will not cut it either. Yeshua doesn''t want His followers to do this sorta thing in Matthew 7:6."


    Zac glared back at Hadasa, twitching one of his eyes.


    -Seriously, this girl has been nothin'' but a pain in the ass! Nineteen more days and I won''t have to see this lil bitch ever again! Jus'' you wait, Hadasa. Jus'' you wait.


    "So¡­" Hadasa continued, "We''ll have to keep doin'' what we''ve been doin''."


    Zac then frowned all the sudden. "And we couldn''t come up with anything other than what we were doin'' today?!" Zac said with his annoyed voice.


    Hadasa turned to her front with a frown. "Nope¡­not that I could think of. Sorry, Zac."


    -Oh, Elohim. I can''t take this anymore! I mean, two hours of this ministry work shit is gettin'' on my last nerves. Ugh!


    As soon as Zac and Hadasa returned to their community service, they returned the box to Mrs. A. Hadasa greeted Mrs. A and Zac said her good-byes. Mrs. A and Zac did the same thing to Hadasa before she left the building. Zac went outside and called one of his parents to come pick him up from community service. Mrs. A remined and chatted with him there until Zac''s parents picked him up from community service.

 Chapter 11: A Terrible Morning

    When Thursday morning arrived and Zac''s parents dropped Zac off at community service, Zac got out of the car and waved his parents good-bye. "Bye, mom. I''ll see y''all when I get done with community service!"


    "Bye, Zackie! Take care and stay out of trouble!" Zac''s mom said, closing their eyes, smiling, waving their good-byes back at her son.


    Zac gave his mom his annoyed look on his face while he still waved his good-bye at her.


    -Ugh! I wish my mom would stop callin'' me that and call me Zac for once!


    Before Zac''s mom left the area, Zac''s eyes widened when he saw something far away from him.


    -Ah! What the hell?!


    He saw Hadasa running towards him with Kayleb. Hadasa and Kayleb waved at Zac. "Hi, Zac!"


    Zac just stood there and didn''t even bother waving at them. When Zac gazed at Kayleb, his memories of Kayleb capturing him with his sister at the bus station resurfaced in his heart.


    -Oh, my God! It''s her bratty ass brother! What''s he doin'' here anyway?! I haven''t seen him in the past four days. I wonder why the hell wasn''t he here in the first place.


    Zac''s mom noticed him not greeting Hadasa and Kayleb. "Uh, Zackie? Aren''t you gonna say hi to them back? Because standing there and not greeting people is considered rude, y''know."


    Zac crossed his arms and turned his head to the right.


    -Okay, why the hell do I have to greet those brats, especially if my parents refuse to call me Zac?!


    His mother glared at her son. "Now Zac¡­if you don''t greet them back, I''ll extend your punishment by nine more days."


    Then Zac sadly turned to his mom.


    "I really mean it. Now!" Zac''s mom reassured Zac in her serious tone.


    -Alright, fine¡­here goes nothin''...I''m doin'' this for you, video games.


    By the time Zac reluctantly waved back at Hadasa and Kayleb, they made it near his parents'' car. Hadasa placed her hand on it while she and her brother panted there for a moment, leaning themselves forward.


    "Hi there, you two. How are y''all doin'' this morning?" Zac''s mother waved at Hadasa and Kayleb.


    Hadasa and Kayleb looked up at Zac''s mother, waving at her back. "We''re doin'' fine. How about you?"


    "I''m doin'' fine ourselves," Zac''s mom answered.


    "You must be Zac''s colleagues, yes?" Zac''s mom questioned, holding onto the wheel.


    Then Hadasa and Kayleb fully stood up.


    "Actually, I''m one of Zac''s colleagues," Hadasa answered. She looked down at Kayleb. "And Kayleb jus'' got here and didn''t even work with Zac until today. But he did meet Zac last weekend though."


    "Oh, I see¡­" Zac''s mom said. "And if I''m not mistaken, were you with Zac in the park yesterday?"


    Zac expanded his eyes out of shock when looking at his own mother. His shadow covered his forehead but not his eyes.


    -Ugh! This woman did not jus'' bring that up, did she?! I swear, this freakin'' bitch¡­


    "Uh, mom. Can you not bring that up?!" Zac asked.


    "Well, why not, Zaccai?" His mom asked. "I''m jus'' curious, that''s all."


    "Can you not call me Zaccai nor Zackie for once?! I want to be called Zac already!" Zac snapped.


    "That''s enough, Zaccai!" Zac''s mom roared, glaring at him. "I can call you whatever I want to call ya and that''s final, do you understand me?"


    "Yes¡­" Zac answered.


    "Yes, what?" Zac''s mom asked.


    "Yes¡­ma''am¡­" Zac responded.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    "Now that''s my boy," Zac''s mom said while she returned her attention to Hadasa.


    "Why, yes. I was at the park with Zac yesterday," Hadasa replied. "It was so much fun. All we did was walk around the park and chat with one another. That''s all."


    "Oh, that was good to hear, Hadasa," Zac''s mom said, closing her eyes, shaking her head a little. "I''m you had a good time with him."


    -This girl¡­! I can''t wait to pummel this bitch the ground today! I''ll show her!


    Zac''s mother then turned to Zac. "Looks like Zac''s got a girlfriend, yes?"


    Kayleb smiled when he looked at Zac and Hadasa back and forth.


    "I jus'' told ya yesterday, ma. She''s not my girlfriend!" Zac roared, clenching his fists, stomping on the ground.


    "Oh, stop that now," Zac''s mother said, grinning at Zac. Kayleb watched Hadasa chuckled at bit, turning her head to her left


    "Mom!" Zac cried.


    "Anyway, I better get movin''," his mother said, getting ready to drive away from her son, Hadasa and Kayleb.


    "W-W-Wait, ma''am!" Hadasa yelled.


    "Well, what is it, Hadasa?" Zac''s mom questioned.


    "I want to invite Zac over for a get-together with my friends tomorrow, if that''s alright with you, that is," Hadasa replied.


    "Oh? Is that so?" Zac''s mother questioned, turning to Zac.


    Zac widened his eyes and opened his mouth out of fear.


    -Did this bitch seriously jus'' request my mom to have her force me to go to her stupid ass hideout?! Really, Hadasa?! Really?!


    "I figured he''s lonely and he spends more time with money in his room than people," Hadasa added, "I want to help him get over his loneliness and make friends."


    "Zac, is that true?" Zac''s mom said, returning her attention to Zac after she looked at Hadasa.


    "Absolutely not! Hadasa''s lyin'' here!" Zac roared, angrily turning to Hadasa.


    "Oh, I''m a liar?! You''re the one''s lyin'' here, not me. You literally told me yesterday that you don''t have any friends, and you would rather spend time with money than even your parents, remember?" Hadasa snapped, glaring back at Zac.


    -Oooo, I''m gonna get this bitch if mom forces me to go tomorrow!


    "Oh, no-no-no! I will not go hang out with Hadasa and her crappy friends!" Zac cried.


    "Hey!" Hadasa snapped at Zac. "My friends aren''t crappy, thank you very much!"


    "Zaccai!" Zac''s mom roared, "You stop that right now and apologize to Hadasa, or your punishment will be extended. Do you understand me?!"


    -Look, I don''t wanna apologize to this lil bitch after what she''s done. But at the same time, I don''t wanna remain separated from my video games.


    "Well? This isn''t a rhetorical question, y''know," Zac''s mom impatiently said.


    "Yes¡­ma''am¡­" Zac reluctantly answered when his forehead and eyes were covered by his shadow.


    "Good¡­" Zac''s mom said out of relief, repeating her demand to her son.


    Once Zac reluctantly apologized and Hadasa forgave him for his misdeed, Zac fearfully turned to his mother. "So please don''t force me to go, ma!"


    "I would be very happy if you have him hang out with me and my friends tomorrow," Hadasa said.


    "Well, it''s true that you don''t have any friends. So if your social skills are bad, I think you should go tomorrow," Zac''s mom said.


    "What?!" Zac asked out of shock.


    "Oh, thank you so much, Mrs.-" Hadasa said out of relief.


    "It''s Mrs. Miyauchi," Zac mom responded. "And you''re welcome, Hadasa."


    -No-no-no! First, I''m forced to perform this shitty community service. Now I''m forced to hang out with Hadasa and her shitty ass friends. Really, ma?! Really?!


    "But, ma. Please rethink this. Please," Zac desperately cried.


    "Oh, You''re goin'' and that''s final, Zaccai! Do you understand?!" Zac''s mom reassured, giving her son a serious face.


    "Yes, ma''am¡­" Zac sadly responded, giving up on persuading his mother on not making him go to Hadasa''s hideout.


    "Good," Zac''s mom said, turning to Hadasa. "When?"


    "Right after community service, ma''am," Hadasa responded.


    "And where do you and your friends typically hang out?"


    "In the Red Alley neighborhood at the shopping area."


    "Alright, good to know. I know that place very well," Zac''s mom said. "Now if you excuse me, I have to head home to do my household chores."


    "Alright, good-bye, Mrs. Miyauchi! I''ll see you tomorrow!" Hadasa exclaimed, waving at Zac''s mother.


    "Bye¡­" Zac said without waving at his own mother.


    "Alright, now let''s go inside and get to work, right you guys?" Hadasa questioned, looking down at her brother, then looking up at Zac.


    "Yea!" Kayleb exclaimed.


    "Yay¡­" Zac annoyedly said as he, Hadasa and Kayleb walked their way towards the community service.


    Then Kayleb turned to Zac. "It''s nice to meet ya again, Zac. I haven''t met ya in four days now."


    "Yea¡­it''s nice to meet ya too, kid..." Zac annoyedly said.


    "So how are ya feelin'' this morning, Zac? Did you get a good night''s sleep last night?" Hadasa asked, also turning to Zac.


    Zac glared at Hadasa. "No, I didn''t get a good night''s sleep and I don''t feel fine at all this morning, thanks to you."


    Hadasa and Kayleb growled and glared back at Zac.


    "Oh, yeah? And what did I do? Force ya to hang out with me and my friends tomorrow after community service?" Hadasa questioned.


    "Ya think?!" Zac snapped.


    "Look, Zac. I wanna help you get rid of loneliness, ''cause money is a terrible friend for ya. It''s probably why you did what you did before you came here in the first place. Elohim''s tryin'' to save you from your love affair with money."


    "Look, I don''t need you freakin'' help and I never have been in the first place, got it?!" Zac roared as he entered the building.


    Hadasa stopped moving and sighed out of frustration for a while.


    "Man, Zac sure does act like a total jerk, does he?" Kayleb asked.


    "He sure does," Hadasa answered. "Let''s go head inside and get back to work."


    "Mhn," Kayleb agreed as he and his sister entered the building themselves.

 Chapter 12: Things Got Worse

    When Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb were assigned to arrange and pack up non refrigerated food in three big boxes, Hadasa chatted with Kayleb, happily performing their tasks. Zac''s face appeared annoyed, tired and bored, leaning his body forward. They noticed they were all alone in the room.


    -Man, I can''t wait to get the hell out of this punishment! I mean, where the hell''s everybody?! ''Cause this shit along with ministry work gets borin'' real fast. Eighteen more days to go and I''m done with this shitty ass community service.


    Kayleb noticed Zac''s unhappy face, curiously looking up at him. "Uh, Zac. Are you alright? You don''t look so good."


    Zac ignored Kayleb and continued on with his work. Kayleb called his name a second time, and Zac still hasn''t answered. But once Hadasa called Zac''s name, Zac quickly turned to her out of curiosity. "Huh?"


    "My brother''s callin'' ya," Hadasa answered, moving her head down towards Kayleb.


    Zac turned to him. "What?"


    Kayleb repeated the question and Zac responded, "Yea, I''m fine, kid. Ya don''t need to worry about me, okay?"


    Kayleb raised his eyebrow at Zac. "Are you sure?"


    Zac returned his attention to the food, expressing his annoyed face. "Yea, I said, ''I''m fine!'' Don''t worry about me!"


    -This lil brat can''t even listen to me, can me?! I mean, how freakin'' annoyin'' is that?!


    Kayleb then glared at Zac. "Hey, you don''t need to be a jerk to me!"


    "Well, if you hadn''t doubted me earlier, none of this would''ve happened in the first place. Would it, kid?" Zac snapped, glaring back at Kayleb.


    "My brother wasn''t even doubtin'' ya!" Hadasa roared at Zac, glaring at him. "He was jus'' makin'' sure you''re okay. You don''t need to be a total craphead to him, alright?!"


    "Oh, yea, yea, yea. Sure¡­" Zac gave Hadasa his doubtful look on his face.


    Hadasa dropped the food in the box and stomped on the floor, clenching her fists behind her. "And why the heck do ya think my brother wasn''t gonna make sure you''re okay?! Huh?!"


    -I can''t wait to beat the shit out of this bitch and that brat in the face. Like for real now.


    "Well?! Are ya gonna answer me or what?!" Hadasa impatiently asked with her continuous glare.


    "Well, let''s jus'' say that he didn''t accept the fact that I was actually fine and he still didn''t listen! So that''s actually his fault for that!"


    Hadasa gave Zac her surprised look on her face. "Listen? Listen?! You didn''t answer his call earlier, and now you''re complainin'' that he didn''t listen to you?! Talk about hypocrisy much, don''t ya think?!"


    -As much as I hate this bitch so much, but she kinda has a point here.


    "And also," Hadasa continued, "Maybe if you appear to be fine, he wouldn''t even make sure you were okay!"


    "Oh, what the hell ever!" Zac swung his hand in the air and continued arranging and placing the food in the boxes, while Hadasa growled at him, closing her eyes.


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    Kayleb looked up at the clock behind him and turned back to his sister. "Uh, Hadasa."


    Hadasa opened her eyes and looked down at her brother, slightly turning her head to the left. "What?"


    "We''re wastin'' time here! We gotta get back to arrangin'' and packin'' the food for charity!" Kayleb reminded his sister.


    Hadasa smiled at Kayleb. "Yea, I guess you''re right about that, Kayleb. Let''s get back to work."


    As Hadasa and Kayleb returned to work, Zac sighed out of relief.


    -Finally, these two stop botherin'' me and I can get back to work. ''Cause I wanna hurry up and get the hell out of here earlier than in the last three days.


    When someone knocked on the door a couple times, Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb turned around. They saw Mrs. A peeking her head into the room, holding onto the door and grinning at them. Zac expressed his tired, annoyed look on his face.


    -Now what does this bitch want?!


    "Hi, there," Mrs. A said.


    "Hi, Mrs. A," Hadasa and Kayleb said, waving at Mrs. A. Zac stood silent and returned his attention to his task.


    Mrs. A noticed Zac not greeting him. "Um, Zac. Aren''t you going to greet me?"


    Once Zac ignored her, Hadasa silently growled at him and walked her way towards him, tapping him on the shoulder a couple times. Zac angrily turned to Hadasa. "What?!"


    "Mrs. A''s talkin'' to ya!" Hadasa responded as Zac returned his eyes to Mrs. A.


    "Yeah? What''s up, Mrs. A?" Zac said with a tired face, pretending to be glad to see Mrs. A.


    "Aren''t you going to greet me back?" Mrs. A questioned.


    "Oh, right. Hi, Mrs. A," Zac responded.


    "Hi, Zac. Are you alright? You didn''t answer me earlier," Mrs. A raised her eyebrow at Zac.


    "Oh, no. I''m fine, Mrs. A. I''m jus'' tired, that''s all," Zac answered.


    "Ah, I see¡­" Mrs. A said, shaking her head. "So my volunteers next door heard you guys arguing. Can you tell me what it was about?"


    "There was some miscommunication between us," Zac answered as he quickly got back to work.


    "About what?" Mrs. A asked.


    "Zac was bein'' a total jerk to me and my sister!" Kayleb cried, glaring and growling at Zac.


    Zac leaned back a bit, put his hands out forward, and widened his eyes with his mouth open, when he heard what Kayleb said.


    "Eh?! No, Kayleb''s a liar here! I didn''t do anything wrong. We miscommunicated ''cause we didn''t bother to listen to one another, that''s all," Zac responded, glaring and growling back at Kayleb.


    "No, my little brother was right. Zac was bein'' a jerk to us. He literally got mad at Kayleb and I for makin'' sure he was alright," Hadasa added, glaring at Zac.


    "Ah! I did NOT, Hadasa! And you know it, liar!" Zac snapped, pointing his finger at Hadasa.


    While Zac argued with Hadasa and Kayleb, Mrs. A angrily sighed and glared at them. "Alright, everyone stop arguing! Now!"


    Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb stopped their argument and turned to Mrs. A.


    Mrs. A then frowned at them. "Now if you can''t get along with one another, you have to do more extra chores around here and remain here a bit longer. Do you understand?"


    "Yes, ma''am," All three of them said.


    "Good, and keep your voices down. Other volunteers are trying to concentrate on their tasks as well. Not just you guys," Mrs. A said.


    "We will, Mrs. A."


    "Oh, good. Very good."


    Once Mrs. A closed the door, the gang went right back to work. Zac quietly sighed out of relief while he continued working on his task.


    -Whew, that was a close one! I thought I would get caught and remain grounded for nine more days! Glad I got that shit over with. Now I jus'' need to not mess this up and keep workin'' on finishin'' this project, pronto.


    When the gang finished arranging and filling up those boxes with food, they fetched Mrs. A and told her about their completed tasks. Mrs. A dismissed them and they went out to get somethin'' to eat.


    ****


    As the gang left the building, Hadasa turned to Kayleb and Zac. She walked backwards a bit with her eyes closed. "So what do ya wanna eat out at?"


    "Oh, I don''t know," Kayleb responded. "Maybe at Star Ice Cream?"


    "Huh?!" Zac asked. "Star Ice Cream?! No way! Why go to that lame ass place anyway?! There are very few people who go to that place."


    "Okay, so what do you have in mind, Zac?" Hadasa asked.


    "Beats me," Zac responded, closing his eyes, avoiding eye contact.


    "Oh, so you don''t know either, eh?" Hadasa questioned. "Well, in that case, we''ll be going to Big Burger today. What do y''all say?"


    Feeling a bit tired of that place, Zac angrily turned to Hadasa and glared at her. "There''s no way I''d agree to that either! I mean, is that all you''re gonna think about?!"


    "No, of course not! Why the heck do ya think that, huh?!" Hadasa snapped back, raising her clenched hands up underneath her chin, glaring at Zac.


    "''Cause you literally can''t think of anything outside of Big Burger. Can ya like think of something else to eat then?!"


    "Sure¡­um, uh¡­" Hadasa placed her hand onto her chin and looked up at the sky, until her eyes widened from her thought, "How about we go to Seafood Bay? Is that alright?"


    "Sure," Zac and Kayleb agreed.


    "Good," Hadasa said out of relief. "Do you guys bring any money?"


    "Yep, we sure do," Zac and Kayleb answered.


    "That''s good to know, so let''s get out of here, gentlemen," Hadasa said as she happily ran towards the bus stop. Kayleb followed suit while Zac just kept walking forward.


    -Well, at least we''ll get something different. Now let''s go have some fun now, Zac buddy. I''m sure things are going well¡­hopefully¡­

 Chapter 13: Eating Out Again

    By the time Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb arrived at Seafood Bay, they looked around and saw some people were either sitting at the blue tables with the clam designs on them, getting their drinks or waiting in line. The chatter among the crowd echoed across the room along with some children''s screams. The workers there were trying their damnedest to send meals to their customers as fast as they could.


    Zac''s face was quite surprised when he saw this. Kayleb and Hadasa talked to one another with a smile.


    -Whoa, this place must be buzzling in here. I''m gonna enjoy this. I jus'' hope I don''t do anything to get us kicked out like last time.


    Then the siblings turned to Zac.


    "So, Zac. Are you ready to eat and drink here?" Hadasa asked.


    "Hell yea, I am!" Zac exclaimed, raising his fist underneath his chin, closing his eyes with a smile. "I''m starving!"


    -Oh, yea! I can''t wait to eat and drink, bruh!


    "Good!" Hadasa also exclaimed. She also closed her eyes with a smile and placed her hands together while they waited in line.


    "You seem to curse a lot, do ya?" Kayleb asked, looking up at Zac.


    Zac annoyedly looked down at Kayleb. "Yea? Do ya have a problem with that, kid?"


    Hadasa sighed, put her head down, and clenched her fists. "Alright, that''s enough, you two. We don''t want to be forced out again, do we, Zac?"


    "''Again?''" Kayleb asked as he turned to Zac with his eyebrow raised.


    Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb waited in line for ten minutes, wondering what''s taking the service so long to accept orders. People remained in line and grumbled among themselves. Hadasa and Kayleb gave the counter their curious faces when they both leaned slightly to the left. Zac on the other hand gave the workers his impatient, angry look on his face, clenching his fists.


    "Uh, what''s goin'' on over there?" Kayleb curiously questioned. "What''s takin'' ''em so long?!"


    "Oh, I don''t know," Hadasa replied. "That''s a pretty good question though."


    -Okay, I hate this kid here, but what the hell, man?! I don''t have time for this bullshit! They better hurry the hell up with the food, or I''m outta here and go somewhere else!


    One of the workers stared at the line. "Sorry, everyone. One of the machines for the seafood burgers is currently down right now, so it''ll take a bit longer to get the food out once you order. Please have patience as we get the machine runnin'' again."


    "Uh-oh, that''s not good," Kayleb said.


    "Yep," Hadasa agreed, shaking her head while she looked down at her brother.


    Zac frowned and sighed as he heard some customers grumbled against the employees and moaned there.


    -Oh¡­you have gotta be kiddin'' me¡­I mean, seriously?! Really?!


    Then Zac gave the workers his pissed off face while some customers left the restaurant. Well, Zac couldn''t blame them. He would want to leave too.


    -Okay, that''s it! I''m outta here! I''m goin'' to get something to eat somewhere else!


    Zac turned to Hadasa and Kayleb. "Alright, we''re goin'' somewhere else to eat. Let''s go."


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    "Wh-What?!" Hadasa asked. "There''s no way we''re leavin'' right now, Zac. We''re goin'' to patiently wait and order here since some people left here, meaning less people in line. You should wait too if you''re that concern about long lines, y''know."


    Once Kayleb thought about it for a while, he agreed with his sister, "Yep, Hadasa does have a point."


    "Uh, we still have to wait for our food for a long time, even with less people," Zac roared. "So we''re goin''."


    "Okay, but where though?" Hadasa asked. "Do you have any in mind then?"


    Zac looked up at the ceiling. "Well¡­uh¡­um¡­"


    -Damn, bruh. You can''t even bother to think of anything?! Like seriously?! Think, Zac, think!


    "Hmmm, can''t think of anything, huh?" Hadasa asked.


    "Oh, I''m thinkin'' of something. Chillax, bruh," Zac responded.


    "Okay, then. I suppose I''ll jus'' give ya more time," Hadasa said.


    Zac relooked up at the ceiling. "Uuuuh¡­uuuuum¡­" He then frowned all the sudden.


    -Wow, you still couldn''t manage to think of anything. How embarrassing¡­


    "Looks like Zac couldn''t think of anything after all," Kayleb said, chuckling a little bit.


    Zac quietly growled and glared at Kayleb.


    -I''m ready to strangle this kid. Like for real, bruh. Jus'' you wait, kid. Jus'' you wait.


    "Alright then. I guess we''ll go to Big Burger," Hadasa said, looking down at her brother.


    Zac frowned and put his head down.


    -No way. We''re seriously goin'' back there?! Really, Hadasa?! That''s all you''re gonna pick?! Seriously?!


    "You can''t be serious. Do ya really have to pick that place?" Zac roared. "You couldn''t pick any place other than that?"


    Hadasa annoyedly looked Zac in the eye. "Well, I couldn''t think of anything else other than Big Burger. And you failed to pick a different fast food joint. So¡­"


    Zac''s eyes broadened and his mouth was opened a little when he heard Hadasa said that.


    -Oh, my God. This girl can''t be for real.


    Images of the memories in his heart flashed about the last time he went to Big Burger for a while.


    "Plus, it''s closer to our community service anyway," Kayleb agreed.


    Hadasa looked down at her little brother. "C''mon, Kayleb. Let''s go."


    "Mhn," Kayleb said, closing his eyes, shaking his head.


    Then Hadasa turned to Zac, giving him her serious face. "And when we get there, Zac, I expect ya to not get us in trouble like you did last time."


    Zac sighed as he exited Seafood Bay with Hadasa and Kayleb. He leaned forward and put his head down.


    -Oh, Lord. This is gonna be my nightmare. Let''s hope it doesn''t become like last time.


    ****


    When Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb finally arrived at Big Burger, they looked around and saw the place wasn''t as busy as last time. Zac sighed out of relief as he saw the line was shorter this time. People''s chatter still emitted across the room.


    -Wow. This place doesn''t have a long ass line like last time. I''m impressed. That means that we should be getting our orders sooner.


    Hadasa noticed Zac''s relaxed face. "Ah, looks like someone''s finally not complainin'' about Big Burger. That''s a relief."


    Zac annoyedly looked at Hadasa in the eye.


    -Yea, a relief my ass!


    "So you ready to order up?" Hadasa asked.


    "Sure, why not," Zac responded. "Of course, I''ll do it, especially in a shorter line like this."


    Hadasa closed her eyes and placed her fingers against each other with a smile. "Oh, that''s good to hear, Zac."


    After Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb ordered their food and filled up their drinks, they scanned the room to find a place to sit. Once they found an empty table near the door of where they entered, they sat down and waited for their orders to arrive. They all sipped their drinks before they began to chat with one another.


    "So, Zac¡­" Hadasa began to speak first.


    "What?" Zac responded.


    "Are ya ready to visit my friends tomorrow?" Hadasa questioned.


    "At your freakin'' place?" Zac asked back, sipping his soda.


    "Well, not jus'' that, but tomorrow morning as well, silly," Hadasa answered. "Remember when I told ya that they only work on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday?"


    Zac remembered what Hadasa told her a couple days ago.


    -Oh, yea. I remember her tellin'' me that.


    Then he expressed his annoyed face.


    -And no, I definitely am not excited to see her dumb ass friends. Hell, I''m not even excited to see Hadasa nor her bratty ass brother.


    "Uh, Zac? Are you gonna answer me or not?" Hadasa questioned, raising her eyebrow at Zac while Kayleb sipped his drink.


    "Oh, right," Zac responded. "Sorry ''bout that. I do remember you tellin'' me that a couple days ago. And no, I''m not excited to see your friends again tomorrow morning."


    Hadasa growled at Zac. "Would ya not be an ass to anyone?! Jus'' this once?! Or are ya still mad ''bout gettin'' caught last time."


    Zac breathed hard while putting his head down. "Oh, my God. Why do ya keep bringin'' it up?!"


    "''Cause ya still mad at us ''bout gettin'' your butt caught red handed. I mean, if you haven''t done these things, none of this would''ve happened. We wouldn''t even see each other," Hadasa said. "Maybe stop thinkin'' ''bout that for once, and I won''t mention it. Besides, I don''t even want to have this discussion with ya. I want to help ya out to overcome your sins, yet ya have to still think ''bout that. Do ya, Zac?"


    Zac growled while putting his head down.


    -Look, once I get my vengeance on her little brother after community service today, she goes next. Like for real!


    Once Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb received their orders, they ate and drank it all before they left Big Burger, returning to the community service for ministry work. And because Zac enjoyed his time there at Big Burger, it was his first time he liked being there and would want to return there in the future.

 Chapter 14: Escapin Ministry Work

    While Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb made it to downtown Teratapolis, Zac was carrying a box of Interlinear Bibles. Zac expressed his tired, bored face, and Hadasa and Kayleb smiled out of joy. Hadasa and Kayleb held onto the Bibles in their hands, raising them up in the air.


    A lot of buildings were squished together with small, local shops at the bottom and apartments at the top. People mostly walked on the sidewalks in opposite directions, and others stood by the traffic lights to cross the streets. Cars stood by the sidewalks and watched people pass by them.


    -Oh, Lord. Why the hell are Ya doin'' this to me?! I''ve had enough of this ministry shit! And I''m sick and tired of carryin'' this freakin'' box! How long are Ya gonna get me out of here?!


    Then Zac smiled at being in a place besides houses.


    -But at least I''m not in the suburbs, that''s for damn sure. I''ll give Hadasa that.


    "Alright, everybody. Time to get to know and form a relationship with Elohim and His Son to receive grace," Kayleb shouted as he, Zac and his sister stopped by the barbershop.


    "Amen to that, my little brother," Hadasa said, looking down at Kayleb with a grin. "Elohim and His Son are desperately tryin'' to form a relationship with you!"


    While Hadasa and Kayleb shouted the Gospel at people, Zac expressed his annoyed face when trying to hold onto the box. But his arms and hands became so tired of the box''s heaviness, that they''ll in fact just drop it and become too tired to pick it up.


    -Alright, time to drop this bitch. It''s gettin'' too heavy for me to carry.


    So Zac dropped the box at his feet, allowing his arms and hands to rest from carrying that box. People walked past Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb, ignoring their presence. Zac then expressed his relaxed face as he stood there.


    -Whew! ''Bout time my arms and hands rest for a bit. Now we jus'' have to wait for this bullshit two hour ministry work to end, which can be pretty annoyin'' as all get out.


    As thirty minutes had passed, Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb noticed people jus'' ignored them and never accepted the Bibles. Remembering his goal of getting out of ministry work and community service early, Zac frowned when he looked down at the Bibles in the boxes, then at Kayleb and Hadasa back and forth at the same time.


    -Oh, man. This is hopeless¡­


    Then Zac glared at Hadasa and Kayleb.


    -''Cause what they''re doin'' isn''t workin''! I gotta do sonethin'' to get the hell outta here quicker and earlier, so I don''t have to deal with this shit much longer.


    So Zac pulled out two Bibles from the box and took a look around him.


    -Alright, where the hell do I put these books?


    While he looked around for a while, Kayleb looked up at his sister with a frown. "Awe, it''s so sad that people don''t wanna have a personal relationship with Elohim and His Son. Maybe we should move somewhere else?"


    "No," Hadasa said, looking down at Kayleb. "We gotta persevere and keep goin''. That''s what Elohim and His Son want."


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    "But-" Kayleb cried.


    "No, Kayleb. You gotta obey Elohim''s will. That''s literally what He wants, never go against it. He knows what''s best for us, so you gotta have faith in Him," Hadasa snapped.


    "Aah, alright. I understand," Kayleb guiltily said, returning his attention to the crowd, spreading the Gospel.


    Hadasa smiled at Kayleb. "Very good, Kayleb. I knew Elohim could count on ya."


    Zac glared at Hadasa more than Kayleb when he heard that, opening his mouth with his teeth gritted.


    -Look, I hate this kid, but man, does his bitch has a lot of nerve if she thinks we''re gonna keep stayin'' here for another hour and a half. No freakin'' way we''re doin'' that. I''m jus'' gonna pass these books off somewhere whether this bitch likes it or not. I''m gonna do it, dammit!


    Once Zac widened his eyes when his eyes spotted small shops behind him, he smirked at them with determination.


    -Alright, Zac buddy. Time to deliver these books in these stores and get the hell outta here.


    Then Zac walked his way towards the barbershop and entered it, without Kayleb nor Hadasa noticing it. The bell rang whenever Zac entered. Zac saw a couple men doing their customers'' hair and some men sat in black chairs. They turned to Zac and smiled at him.


    "Hello, sir. Welcome to the Barbershop. What can I do for you today?" One of the employees asked.


    "Oh, I''m not here to get a hair done," Zac responded with a smile. "I''m jus'' here to drop these off."


    After Zac handed the Bibles to one of the employees, the employee examined the Bibles. He handed them back to Zac. "Oh, sorry, my man. We don''t take books except magazines."


    Zac leaned back and widened his eyes and mouth when he heard that.


    -Oh, man. I better do somethin'' to keep these books here quick, before Hadasa and that little brat finds me. I gotta get outta here. I jus'' can''t remain her for an hour and a half much longer.


    "B-B-But, sir. Please keep them here. I''m beggin'' ya," Zac pleaded as he handed the Bibles back to the employee.


    The employee pushed the Bibles back to Zac. "Sir, we don''t accept books except magazines. If you refuse to accept that, we''re going to ask you to leave."


    Zac pushed the Bibles towards the employee, but the employee pushed them back against him.


    -Oh, c''mon now! Jus'' take them already! I wanna get the hell out of this ministry bullshit, so I can go back home early and spend more time with my money!


    Zac frowned at the employee. "Oh, please take the Bibles. Please take them. I don''t want to remain out here longer than thirty minutes."


    Then the employee glared at Zac. "Alright, sir. I''m going to ask you to leave. If you refuse to leave, I''ll call the authorities for your arrest."


    As soon as Zac reluctantly got the Bibles away from the employee, he glared at him for a moment.


    -Man, this is no use. I gotta get outta here before the authorities arrive anyhow. We''ll go to the next shop that''ll take us.


    "Alright, fine! I''ll go somewhere else then! Hmph!" Zac roared when the doorbell rang behind him.


    "Zac!" Hadasa''s voice echoed behind him.


    Zac widened his eyes and quickly turned around, frowning at Hadasa and Kayleb as the door closed itself.


    -Oh, great! Now I got caught red handed by a couple of brats! I''ll never get the hell outta here earlier. Jus'' great¡­


    "What are ya doin''?!" Hadasa roared when she walked towards Zac. Kayleb just stood there and glared at Zac.


    Realizing Zac was handing out Bibles in the barbershop, she gasped at first, then growled at him. "Are ya tryin'' to force people to accept the Bibles or somethin''?!"


    "What?! I jus'' wanna leave this area as quickly as possible. There''s nothin'' wrong with that," Zac replied, crossing his arms, turning his head left with his eyes closed.


    Hadasa growled at Zac even more before she chuckled a little, when she saw the employee just standing there, grabbing and pulling Zac''s arm. "Oh, I''m sorry for this guy botherin'' ya with a couple Bibles. We''ll be headin'' out now."


    "Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate it," The employee said, grinning at Hadasa with his eyes closed.


    "No problem," Hadasa said as she successfully dragged Zac out of the barbershop without any resistance from him. Zac realized how useless it is to resist Hadasa, when he was already caught and he wanted to leave anyway. Kayleb exited the barbershop with Hadasa and Zac.


    Once Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb left the barbershop, Hadasa grabbed the Bibles from Zac''s hands to place them back into the box and angrily looked up at Zac. "Okay, Zac. First of all, you need to have a personal relationship with Elohim and His Son by readin'' the entire Bible. Second, you need to be spiritually trained and disciplined as a disciple. Then you can spread the Gospel.


    "''Cause of your motives for what you did earlier jus'' demonstrated to me that you shouldn''t spread the Gospel. At all," Hadasa roared, raising her fists up underneath her chin. "I literally can''t believe you did that! I''m so pissed off with you right now!"


    "Well, if ya, like, spread the Gospel for thirty minutes instead of two freakin'' hours, none of this woulda happen, would it now?!" Zac roared back at Hadasa, pointing his finger at her.


    Hadasa growled before she and Kayleb grabbed a couple Bibles from the box and turned around. "Jus'' stay with us whenever we go on doin'' some ministry work! Gosh!"


    "Fine! I will!" Zac snapped as he just stood near the box, while Hadasa and her brother spread the Gospel. He glared at Hadasa more than Kayleb.


    -I can''t wait to pummel this bitch as soon as we get the hell outta here.

 Chapter 15: Confrontation

    When Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb returned to their community service from their two hour ministry work, they all leaned forward like their backs were hurting with their exhausted faces. They all moaned before they entered the building. Zac still carried the heavy box full of Bibles.


    Kayleb turned to his sister with a frown on his face. "Ugh! I can''t believe none of the people accepted the Gospels back there."


    Hadasa turned back to her little brother. "Yea, me too. I felt so bad for people''s poor souls as soon as people rejected the Gospel. We''ll have to keep praying for them when we get home."


    "Mhn," Kayleb agreed, shaking his head before returning his focus on the building.


    Zac just walked forward without even saying a word.


    -Oh, man. I can''t believe I have to stay at that place for two freakin'' hours for this bullshit ministry work. It also doesn''t help with the fact that I have to carry this damn box from and back to community service daily. I can''t wait for this shitty as punishment to end, so I can get back to normal.


    Once Zac and others entered the building, they headed their way for Mrs. A''s office. Mrs. A turned to them while Zac placed the box at the corner near her. She noticed their frowning, tired faces.


    "Lemme guess. Seeing the expressions on your faces, people didn''t accept the Gospel today, did they?" Mrs. A questioned.


    "Yes¡­" Kayleb answered, "It was painful¡­"


    -Yea, tell me ''bout it, kid.


    "Oh, I''m sorry to hear that," Mrs. A then frowned at Zac and others. "I''m sure it''ll get better next time."


    "Yea," Hadasa agreed. "I mean, to think ''bout it, yesterday was so much better than today."


    Zac gave Hadasa his annoyed look on his face.


    -Well, yea obviously, no one''s gonna deny that one. But still¡­I can''t believe today ended up worse than yesterday though¡­Jeez¡­


    "Why, yes, that''s very true," Mrs. A agreed. "You''ve all done well in the past and you''ve done well today. You made Elohim and His Son proud. Keep up the good work in the future."


    Hadasa grinned at Mrs. A and shook her head. "We will, Mrs. A. You can count on us for that one."


    "Good," Mrs. A said, closing her eyes with a grin, swinging her fist upward in front of her. "Elohim and His Son have faith in you guys." Then she opened her eyes and turned to Zac. "Zac, are you alright? You''ve been kinda silent lately."


    "Oh, me?" Zac asked, pointing his finger at himself. "Oh, I''m fine. Honest. I''m jus'' tired of doin'' a two-hour ministry work. That''s all."


    "Oh, I see¡­" Mrs. A said, placing her hand on her chin.


    "And speakin'' of ministry work¡­" Hadasa said, glaring at Zac for a few seconds before she turned back to Mrs. A. "Can Zac have one of those Bibles in that box at the corner? He''s been tryin'' to shove the Bible down to people''s throats at the barbershop earlier today, without even reading the entire Bible himself."


    -Ah! This bitch¡­


    "Oh, really?" Mrs. A asked, turning to Zac with her angry face, crossing her arms. "Is that so?"


    Zac leaned back and opened his eyes out of shock. "Uh, of course not! I was jus'' handin'' them the Bibles before I left there. Honest, Mrs. A."


    Kayleb turned to Zac with his fists raised up underneath his chin, glaring at Zac the moment he heard him say that. "Yes, you did! Ya liar! Hadasa and I really saw you trying to shove the Bible down people''s throats at the barbershop today!"


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    -Damn! First, I have to deal with brat number one. Now I have to deal with this freakin'' brat too?!


    "Now why on Elohim''s green Earth would you do that, Zac?!" Mrs. A angrily asked.


    "But, Mrs. A, I-" Zac tried to come up with an answer for Mrs. A for a moment.


    -Come on, Zac! Think, dammit, think!


    "Well?!" Mrs. A impatiently questioned.


    Zac stood there and looked up at the ceiling for a few more moments, until he was finally able to come came up with an answer. "You see, Mrs. A. I jus'' wanna give people free Bibles as a language learning lesson. That''s all."


    Mrs. A sighed as she put her head down, placing her finger on her forehead. "No, Zac." She returned her attention to him. "We give out Interlinear Bibles to people due to mistranslations of majority different types of books. We want to get to the Biblical Root to people as soon as we can. Do you understand?"


    "What kind of Christians are you anyway?" Zac curiously asked, raising his eyebrow at Mrs. A.


    "We call ourselves the Biblical Root Christians," Mrs. A answered. "We call ourselves that because we want to get to the root to the Christianity back in Yeshua''s Time."


    "Oh, I see..."


    -So these people call themselves the Biblical Root Christians, huh? That''s...interestin''...


    Most people in Mishor are Christian, always attend church every Saturday and worship there. That''s pretty much it. They usually don''t do anythin'' else. Zac has church on Saturdays, and this Saturday''s no different.


    "Anyway, I jus'' wanna get home early from doin'' my punishment. I didn''t want to wait to get home two hours from doin'' some ministry work. That''s all," Zac confessed.


    "I understand..." Mrs. A gave him her serious face. "Well, just as you know. Until you have your personal relationship with Elohim and His Son, which is reading the entire Bible, you don''t get to spread the Gospel. Ever¡­


    "And once you''ve done that as well as be spiritually trained and disciplined, then you get to spread the Gospel. And also you don''t shove the Gospel down to people''s throat, it''s against Elohim''s Word. Do you understand me, Zac?!"


    Zac widened his eyes and leaned back, with his hands out. "But, Mrs. A, but-"


    "That''s quite enough, Zac!" Mrs. A cut Zac off with her eyes closed. "I don''t wanna hear it, do you understand me?!"


    Zac frowned at Mrs. A, realizing there''s no use in arguing with her. He didn''t want to risk being further segregated from his video games. He sighed and looked Mrs. A straight in the eye.


    Zac moved his eyes to the right. "Yes, ma''am¡­"


    "Good, now go get the Bible from the box over there," Mrs. A demanded, tilting her head backwards.


    Zac widened his eyes and opened his mouth.


    -Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell does this bitch say?!


    "Uh, I don''t wanna read that borin'' book!" Zac snapped.


    "Well, you''re a Christian, yes?" Mrs. A questioned.


    "Yes, and?"


    "And you want to help out Hadasa and others on their ministry work, yes?"


    Zac repeated his response.


    "Well, as long as you don''t read the bible and have a personal relationship with Yeshua and aren''t spiritually trained and disciplined, you will NEVER be allowed to spread the Gospel, especially with the wrong motives. Do you understand?"


    Zac sighed, frowned and put his head down.


    -Okay, Zac. Wanna spread the Gospel and get the hell out of here earlier, instead of just standing by the box for the entire two hours of ministry work? Read the Bible on your own until your punishment''s over. Then you don''t have to deal with it anymore. Trust me, buddy. You can do this.


    Zac reluctantly lifted his head up and look at Mrs. A straight in the eye. "Alright¡­I''ll do it¡­I''ll read the darn book¡­"


    "Good," Mrs. A said while Zac walked towards the box and grabbed a Bible from the box.


    "Any other questions that you all want to ask me?" Mrs. A continued.


    "No, ma''am," Hadasa, Kayleb and Zac said;while Hadasa and Kayleb were emotionless, Zac frowned as he carried the Bible in his hand.


    "Good, now everyone''s dismissed," Mrs. A said.


    They turned around and exited Mrs. A''s office.


    "We''ll see you tomorrow, Mrs. A," Hadasa said, waving at Mrs. A with Kayleb.


    "You too," Mrs. A said, waving back at Hadasa and Kayleb with her eyes closed and a smile.


    "See ya tomorrow," Zac said as he exited without either looking at Mrs. A nor even waving at her.


    "Good-bye, Zac," Mrs. A said, also waving at Zac with her eyes closed and a grin.


    After Zac, Hadasa and Kayleb exited the building, Zac pulled out his phone and took a phone call, leaning against the wall. "Hi, mom¡­Uh, would ya stop callin'' me either Zaccai or Zackie already?!...Ugh!"-Zac sighed out of frustration-"I''m doin'' good, how are you?...Well, I just finished community service¡­Uh-huh¡­Uh-huh¡­Uh-huh¡­Alright, I''ll see ya here. Bye, mom¡­Love ya¡­"


    After Zac hung up his phone, he put it back into his pocket.


    "See ya tomorrow, Zac," Hadasa said as she and Kayleb stood far away from Zac and waved at him.


    "I''ll see ya tomorrow too," Zac said in an annoyed tone, waving back at Hadasa and Kayleb.


    As soon as Hadasa and Kayleb turned around and began to walk home, Zac viciously grinned, looking up at the sky.


    -Alright, I''ll have to put this kid locked up in the box, or something as payback. Once I do that, then I''ll do the same to Hadasa. But I''ll have to do that without getting caught. Hadasa''s friends will be here tomorrow. So I better find a place for me to trap two of these brats in a big ass container for tomorrow.


    Hearing the car honk, Zac turned to that sound''s direction, seeing his mother in the car. She smiled at her son from a bit far away, waving at him. "Hi there, Zackie!"


    Zac growled at his own mother when he walked towards the car, putting his head down, clenching and tightening his fists.


    -This damn bitch keeps gettin'' on my freakin'' nerves.


    He returned his attention to his mother with his annoyed face and waved back at her. "Hi there, mother."


    "It''s good to see you again, isn''t it?" His mother asked, adjusting her glasses.


    "Yea¡­Of course, it''s good to see ya too, ma¡­"


    Then his mother noticed a book in his hand. "Oh? What''s you got there, Zaccai?"


    "It''s a Bible¡­for ministry work¡­" Zac replied, placing his hand on the door knob.


    "Ah, I see¡­" His mother shook her head and grinned at the same time. "It''s good for you to read the Bible sometime, Zaccai. It''s good for ya."


    As soon as Zac annoyedly entered the car and put on his seatbelt, his mother began to drive him home.

 Chapter 16: Financial Loss

    After Zac''s mother took Zac home and he entered his room, he sighed out of relief and leaned forward like his back was hurting or something.


    -Phew! I''m glad I''m finally home from that bullshit community service! That''s for sure!


    Then he looked down at the Bible, remembering what Hadasa and Mrs. A told him about reading the book. He looked at his bed and walked towards it. He opened the Bible and looked through the pages before he flipped them over.


    -This is some borin'' ass book, but how long is shit anyway?!...That''s a lot of freakin'' pages!


    He looked at the table of contents, widening his eyes.


    -That''s a lot of books in one! Jesus Christ! I rather read any other borin'' ass book than this shit! Ugh!


    He looked through the pages in the book one last time. Then he grinned out of relief.


    -At least the chapters in this book are short, unlike any ordinary novel, that''s for sure. But still¡­


    He threw the Bible on the bed with his angry face, breathing hard in and out.


    -The hell with readin'' this damn book anyway! I have to read the entire thing and become a disciple is such bullshit! I''ll provide Bibles to people in my own way! You jus'' watch!


    His memories also haunted him with what Hadasa and his mother said tomorrow morning. His eyes widened even more out of shock and opened his mouth. A drop of sweat was pouring down on his face.


    -Oh, great. Not only do I have to do another day of this bullshit community service tomorrow, but I also have to go to Hadasa''s hideout with her shitty ass friends. Ugh!


    He put his head down for a while. Then he lifted up his head with a vicious smile. Standing up straight, he placed his fingers together, moving his eyes sideways.


    -However¡­I can make both Hadasa and Kayleb''s lives so miserable tomorrow. I jus'' need to think about how though. I mean, it''ll be a blast if I could jus'' figure it out how to do it.


    Zac tried to think of anything but couldn''t do so. He frowned and frustratingly sighed, leaning forward, putting his head down.


    -Ah, dammit! I still couldn''t think of anything?! What an embarrassment, Zac buddy.


    Zac sat on his bed and still looked down below him for a while, putting his hands together. Then he looked around his silent room. He stared at his empty video game spot.


    -Oh, man¡­I''m already starting to miss my video games. Just Eighteen more days to go and I can get my video games back. I can''t wait to get out of punishment, so I can play video games again. It''s jus'' so exhausting at this point.


    He turned to the Bible and gazed at it one more time, before he slapped the air against it.


    -Stupid ass book!


    He stood up from his bed and turned to his closet, grinning with his reddening cheeks.


    -At least I still have money to spend some time with.


    Entering his closet, opening his vault, he widened and twitched his eyes.


    -Wh-What?! What the-?! What the hell?!


    There he only saw the little note inside his vault. All his money was gone. Gone!


    -No, no, no, NO! This can''t be happenin''! What''s my life have gotten into?!


    He picked up the note and read it. It said:


    "Zackie, I''ve realized from your girlfriend Hadasa that you spend way too much time with money, and not enough with real people. So I took all your money away while you''re gone in order to curb your money addiction. From now on, you can only ask for money for lunch time, an emergency or something completely necessary.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    -Sincerely, your loving mother"


    Zac growled and put his head down.


    -Okay, first of all, why does my mom always refer Hadasa as my stinkin'' girlfriend. She never has been in the first place, and I''m not interested in her anyway! Ugh!


    Then Zac gave his vault his blank stare, dropping the note to the floor.


    -Oh, man. This is some bad news. First, I lost my video games. And now I lost my money?! Like why do You have to do this to me, Lord?! Jus''...


    He lifted his head up and gazed at the ceiling.


    "Nooooo!" Zac screamed with his eyes closed and his hands on his head. He put his head down and started to cry for a while. After that, he angrily breathed hard and put his hands down on the ground.


    -Okay, nobody takes away my money! And I mean nobody! Money''s the love of my life! Now all I have to say is screw you Hadasa for suggestin'' my mother to take away my money, and screw you mother for takin'' away my money! I earned it all, y''know! And I deserved it, dammit! Deserved it! I hope they''re both gonna be in pain tomorrow!


    ****


    When Friday morning arrived and Zac got ready for the day, he arrived at the dinner table, sitting down on his chair. His father watched the local cable news while he ate his breakfast. His mother grinned at her son as she handed him his breakfast.


    "Good morning, Zackie," his parents said, looking and smiling at him.


    Zac put his head down and paused for a moment, glaring at his parents.


    -Oh, Lord. Can my parents jus'' call me Zac for once?!


    Then he lifted his head, closed his eyes and grinned. "Good morning." He looked down at his breakfast, seeing scrambled eggs, a couple bacon and a couple sausages on his plate. "Thank you, mom, for breakfast."


    "You''re welcome, son," his mother said as she headed back to the kitchen and fixed her plate. "Don''t forget to pray for your food."


    Zac paused for a moment before he sipped his orange juice. "Oh, don''t worry, mom. I won''t." He put his drink down and prayed for his food.


    Then Zac''s dad turned to Zac. "So did you sleep well last night?"


    Zac sighed, putting his head down. "No¡­"


    His father frowned at Zac. "Oh, I''m sorry to hear that. I''m sure you''ll sleep better next time."


    -Yea, I hope so¡­


    "So are you ready to do some community service today, son?" His father asked, gazing at Zac, sipping his orange juice.


    "Why, yea, of course I am, dad. I mean, why wouldn''t I?" Zac responded after he chewed his food.


    -Man, another day of this shitty ass community service. Don''t worry, Zac buddy. Seventeen more days and after that, no more of this shit.


    "Good," his father said, grinning at his son with his eyes closed, eating his food. "I''m glad to hear that."


    As soon as his mother arrived at the table with her plate, she sat down and ate her food as well for a while, watching the local cable news with her husband. Eating and chewing on his food, Zac glared at his mother, nearly closing his eyes. His memories haunted his heart over the vault against his own mother.


    -Now as soon as I get done eatin'', I can''t wait for vengeance against this bitch for takin'' my money! I will never forgive her for what she did! Ever!


    His mother then turned to Zac. "So I''m jus'' going to remind you, Zac, that your father and I will not only take you to your community service today. But we will also drop you off at your colleague''s place, after you get done with community service."


    After chewing and swallowing his food, he gave his mom his annoyed face. His heart also haunted him with his memories of yesterday morning. He recalled her words back then.


    -Okay, you''ve gotta be kiddin'' me. You''re also gonna also drop me off at Hadasa''s place, not jus'' at community service?! Like, Jesus Christ, broh!


    Zac''s dad noticed Zac''s annoyed face. "Hey, don''t be givin'' your mother that look of yours. You''re still under punishment, you know."


    Then Zac no longer gave his mother his annoyed look on his face. "And since I got all your money now, I''ll give you some money for gettin'' somethin'' to eat as soon as you get done eatin'' your breakfast and be on your best behavior, got it, Zackie?" Zac''s mother said.


    Zac ignored his mother calling him Zackie in order to avoid getting in trouble with his parents. He put his head down and closed his eyes sideways.


    -Look, Zac buddy. Don''t give an attitude today. Jus'' do it for the money and the video games, nothing else but that, got it?


    "Well?" His mother asked impatiently.


    "Yes, ma''am¡­" Zac said, lifting his head up.


    "Good, that''s our son!" His parents said, eating and drinking their food happily with their son.


    After eating breakfast, Zac waited for his parents to prepare themselves for the day. His mother gave him some money for the day as she promised. He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms with a smirk on his face.


    -Okay, now''s your chance, Zac buddy. Get ready to steal mom''s expensive necklace.


    He scanned the room before he turned off the lights and hid behind the counters.


    "Mom, dad..." Zac yelled. "I''m headin'' for the bathroom."


    "Okay, well. Don''t be long," his parents yelled back from the master bedroom.


    After Zac hid behind the counters, he kneeled down and patiently waited for his parents to come out of their room. After his parents exited the bedroom and the house, while chatting with one another, Zac grinned viciously and stood up from the floor.


    -Oh, boy! I can''t wait to do some payback from my mom. Big Time. Time to get that necklace.


    Zac searched the master bedroom everywhere and finally found his mother''s real emerald necklace inside one of her drawers. He grinned viciously when he gazed at it for a few more moments.


    -Oh, yea! Now we''re talkin'', Zac buddy! I''m definitely sellin'' this bitch at the pawn shop to make up for my loss last night.


    Zac put the necklace in his pocket and studied the master bedroom one last time.


    -Alright, Zac. Let''s get the hell outta here before my parents become impatient and come back inside for me to get caught.


    This made Zac very, very happy when he exited the bedroom and the house in general, for community service with his parents. Selling the necklace at the pawn shop was the plan that he will never forget. Ever.

 Chapter 17: Another Usual, Borin Ass Day

    When Zac''s parents dropped their son off at the community service, Zac''s dad said to his son in his driver''s seat, "Now be good and stay out of trouble."


    "I will, dad. Bye!" Zac responded, waving his parents good-bye.


    "Bye, Zackie!" His parents waved back at Zac.


    Zac quietly growled at his parents, putting his head down, clenching his fists.


    -Can my parents not be so obnoxious ''bout sayin'' my preferred name already?! It''s gettin'' annoyin'' really freakin'' fast, bruh! Ugh!


    "And don''t forget we''ll drop you off to your friends'' place and pick you off from there, once you get done with your community service, okay?" Zac''s mom said.


    "Yea¡­of course¡­" Zac said with a frown.


    "Uh, it''s ''Yes, ma''am,'' Zaccai, not ''Yea¡­of course¡­''" his dad annoyedly corrected, leaning forward from the car window.


    -Ugh! These annoyin'' ass freakin'' people!


    "Yes, ma''am," Zac replied with his annoyed face, moving his eyes right, slightly turning his head right.


    Ignoring Zac''s bad attitude, he leaned back at ease. "Good, that''s better. See you later, Zackie."


    "Yea¡­you too, mom¡­dad¡­" Zac replied as he watched his dad drive the car away from him. Then he angrily placed his hands on his hips and looked down below him, tapping his foot on the ground.


    -Man, my parents are so freakin'' annoyin'', that''s for damn sure!


    Then he viciously grinned when he pulled and stared at the necklace he stole from his mother out of his pocket.


    -Luckily, I stole this necklace from my annoyin'' ass mother. I can''t wait to sell this bitch to the pawn shop and earn some extra cash!


    "Zac!" Hadasa''s voice yelled behind Zac, along with her footsteps vibrating.


    Zac widened his eyes and moved his eyes left.


    -Oh, shit! It''s Hadasa! Better hide this shit quick before she sees it!


    "Zac!" Hadasa''s voice reechoed behind him as the sound of her footsteps inched closer to him.


    He quickly rolled up the necklace like a ball and placed it back into his pocket. Then he turned around and looked at Hadasa in the eye.


    "Oh, hey, Hadasa," Zac said in a tiring tone, waving at Hadasa slowly.


    "Um, Zac? Are you okay?" Hadasa curiously questioned, raising her eyebrow at Zac. "You look like you''re tired."


    "Well, of course I am," Zac responded, still being pissed about his money situation last night.


    -I''ll never forgive this bitch for not only encouragin'' my mom to force me to go to your stupid hiding place, but also encouraged my mom to take my money away from me. My babies! My lifeblood! I''ll try to get ya back for this once I got my vengeance against my mom''s completed! Then I''ll be gunnin'' for ya next!


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    "I didn''t get a good night''s sleep last night, thanks to you!" Zac then snapped at Hadasa.


    "Ah, Me?!" Hadasa roared back at Zac, giving him her confused yet angry face at the same time, pointing her finger at herself. "What the hell did I do?!"


    "If it wasn''t for you mentioning ''bout my money to my mom, none of this shit should''ve happened," Zac responded. "It''s your fault that my mom took all my money from the vault last night!"


    "Ohhhh¡­I see¡­" Hadasa angrily closed her eyes, clenching her fists, putting her head down. "So you''re still mad ''bout yesterday, huh?" Then she opened her eyes and glared at Zac. "Well then, it''s"-she pointed her finger at him-"your fault you mentioned your money problem that caused ya, to have a severe lack of social skills a couple days ago, don''t ya remember that?!


    "If you hadn''t mentioned that, none of this shit wouldn''t even happen, would it?! I wouldn''t even mention my hideout if you hadn''t even mentioned it, would it?!"


    She sighed when putting her head down, then returned her attention back at Zac, glaring at Zac. "Look, Zac. I don''t wanna fight ya, but I''m not here to hurt ya. I jus'' wanna help ya become a better person, not become the worse version of yourself." She frowned at Zac and swung her hands downwards. "Don''t ya see that?!"


    "Nope, I don''t see that," Zac responded, walking away from Hadasa toward the building''s entrance, pointing his finger upwards at the sky. "Nor do I care!"


    "Ooooooh!" Hadasa closed her angry eyes, slightly turned her head right, and clenched her fists with her frown, before angrily returning her attention back to Zac. "You know what? Fine, be that way, ya bitch! See if I care anyway! Ugh!"


    "Well, that works with me," Zac sang with a cocky smirk on his face, moving his eyes left, still listening to her moanings.


    -Jus'' Seventeen more days, Zac buddy. Seventeen more days, and I won''t have to deal with this bitch anymore.


    Zac and Hadasa entered the building to get busy with their work within the community service.


    ****


    Entering the clothing section within the building, Zac and Hadasa encountered Hadasa''s little brother and her friends. They waved at Zac and Zac waved back at them. He expressed his annoyed face whenever he saw them.


    "Good morning, Zac!" Kayleb and Hadasa''s friends said.


    "Good morning as usual, I guess¡­" Zac muttered.


    -Jeez, look who I jus'' encountered today¡­It''s Hadasa''s bratty ass brother and her stupid ass friends. Can''t wait to get this shit started. Yay¡­


    Kayleb and his sister''s friends nearly closed their eyes while they gazed at Zac.


    "You really can''t stop thinkin'' ''bout gettin'' caught red handed by Hadasa and Kayleb, can you?!" Yosef asked, glaring at Zac.


    "Eh?!" Zac glared at Yosef. "Hey, would ya, like, stop bringin'' that shit up?!"


    Yosef glared back at Zac. "Well, if you stop bein'' a jerk, and quit thinkin'' ''bout it, I wouldn''t even bring that crap up, would I?!"


    Zac growled at Yosef, putting his head down, clenching his fists.


    -I can''t wait to beat the shit outta this kid. He''s jus'' so goddamn annoyin''. Jus'' you wait, kid! Jus'' you wait!


    "Alright, guys. Alright. Time to get back to work on our charity services," Hadasa yelled as she broke up the fight between Yosef and Zac.


    "Yea, I guess she''s right, broh. Time to get back to business," Yosef said as he returned his attention to the clothes beside him and arranged them in certain bags.


    "Uh-huh," the rest of Hadasa''s friends as well as Kayleb agreed as they got back to work.


    Zac scanned the room for his spot in position, and he walked towards the box in between Uriah and Atara. He looked through the clothes and arranged them in certain bags like the rest of his colleagues. After fifteen minutes, his eyes were constantly blinking and bobbing his head, like he was about to fall asleep.


    He studied his surroundings and also saw his colleagues full of energy and were happy to work. In comparison to him, not so much. He stopped working and placed his hands on the box edges, holding onto a red, flimsy shirt.


    -Man, I''ve done this shit for fifteen minutes and I''m already tired. I jus'' wanna go back home and get back to bed. But my parents probably won''t even let me, so that''s not gonna happen anytime soon...ugh!


    Hadasa noticed Zac''s lack of movement out of curiosity and stopped working. "Um, Zac? Are you alright?"


    Zac ignored her and still gave the clothes inside the box his blank stare. Hadasa''s friends and Kayleb also curiously looked Zac in the eye and stopped working.


    "Zac?" Shifra asked.


    Still no answer from Zac.


    So Uriah tapped on Zac''s arm a couple times. Zac finally responded and angrily turned to Uriah, touching and rubbing on his arm as he felt a little bit of pain. He glared down at Uriah. "Hey! What the hell was that for?!"


    "Hadasa was callin'' ya, so you don''t need to be a total jerk, y''know!" Uriah snapped back, raising his fists underneath his fists.


    Zac growled at Uriah. "Well, stop tappin'' me in the arm already?!"


    Uriah growled back at Zac. "If you answer Hadasa''s call, I wouldn''t have to tap ya in the arm!"


    Then Zac frowned and moved his eyes left, slightly tilting his head left. He sighed out of guilt.


    -Alright, alright. Maybe they got a point there, Zac. Maybe I''ve gotten things a bit too far.


    Zac turned his attention to everyone in the room with his guilty face. "Look, everybody. I''m sorry I acted out of hand earlier. I was jus'' tired and I didn''t sleep well last night, that was all."


    Hadasa, Kayleb and her friends forgave Zac for his behavior earlier, no longer glaring at him. Hadasa sighed out of relief with her eyes closed, returning her attention to Zac. "You''re forgiven, Zac."


    Then Zac and everybody else returned to work. Once they got done with their community service, they left the building and returned to Mrs. A''s office and let them know that they completed their tasks. Zac began to explore the rest of the building to hopefully take revenge on Hadasa and Kayleb.


    Then he entered the storage room and found a bag to put things in and hang it on the ceiling. This pleased Zac a lot more than ever before. This is an opportunity for him to tape Kayleb''s mouth and placed him in it.

 Chapter 18: Zac & Kayleb

    Still standing there in the storage room, Zac viciously grinned when he moved his eyes around. He rubbed his palms together. Then he gazed at the bag lying on the floor with some rope tied to it.


    -Oh, man, Zac buddy. This is gonna be great! I can put this little brat in that bag and have that other brat and her shitty as friends find her piece of shit brother, while I go out and sell my mom''s necklace to the pawn shop and get somethin'' to eat by myself. That''ll make up for last night''s financial loss. It''s gonna be great.


    Then he moved his head around for a few moments.


    -Now I jus'' need to find some tape for Kayleb''s mouth, and rope for his hands and feet while I''m at it.


    He walked all over the room out of search for some tape and rope. He looked at the majority of the areas in that room, and yet he couldn''t find them. He sighed, frowned and leaned his body forward.


    -Oh, man. Where the hell''s the tape and more rope?! I know they''re here somewhere. I gotta keep lookin''. I don''t have time to waste, y''know. One of Hadasa''s friends or even her brother can come in here any minute, Zac buddy.


    When he looked at the cabinets, he widened his amazed eyes when he finally saw some gray tape and rope inside one of these drawers.


    -Oh, man! Congrats, Zac buddy! I finally found what I''m lookin'' for! About damn time!


    He pulled the tape and rope out of there and pushed the drawer back in. He examined them closely with a vicious grin.


    -Oh, yeah, baby. Yeah! Now we''re talkin''! This is gonna be great! I can''t wait to trap this brat in here! I jus'' can''t-


    "Um, Zac? Are you in here?" Kayleb''s voice questioned behind Zac.


    Hearing the door creaked open and Kayleb''s footsteps entered the room, Zac quickly turned his head to slightly right with his eyes widened and a frown. His eyes moved a bit sideways a little bit.


    -Oh, shit! Kayleb''s in here!


    He returned to the items in his hands. His face switched from fear to anxiety.


    -I better hide these before that brat finds me with these, and becomes suspicious with me.


    Zac quickly placed the items in his pocket just in time before Kayleb finally found him standing there.


    "Oh, there you are," Kayleb said as he walked his footsteps towards Zac. "My sister, her friends and I were lookin'' all over for ya. We''re ready to take off and leave to go to one of the fast food joints for lunch. You''re goin'' with us, right?"


    Zac turned around and forced a big smile with his eyes closed, placing his left hand on one of the cabinets. "Why, of course, I''m comin'' with you guys. I mean, why wouldn''t I go?"


    -Like hell, I''m goin'' with you guys. I''d rather go to a fast food joint by myself, than havin'' lunch with you guys.


    "Okay! Great!" Kayleb exclaimed with his eyes closed and a grin. Then he opened his eyes and took a look around the area. "But what are you doin'' in this room anyway?"


    "Oh, I was explorin'' this amazing building before we leave, that''s all," Zac replied. "I love repeated explorations, y''know."


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Ah, I see¡­" Kayleb said. "Now that I found you, Let''s go reunite with my sister and her friends!"


    "Okay, well. Can you stand outside and wait for me there?"


    Kayleb turned around, raising his eyebrow at Zac. "Huh?"


    After Zac repeated the question, Kayleb glared at him, placing his hands on his hips, tapping on the floor. "You''re not doin'' anythin'' suspicious, are ya?"


    "Huh?!" Zac widened his eyes and leaned his body backwards a little bit. His sweat fell down on his cheek. "W-W-What are ya talkin'' ''bout?! Of course, I''m not doin'' anythin'' suspicious. I''m tryin'' to do somethin'' real quick before we leave. Honest."


    Kayleb glared at him even more, watching Zac wipe the sweat off of his forehead. "Like what?"


    "Like¡­um¡­uh¡­" Zac looked up at the ceiling, trying to think of something.


    -C''mon, Zac buddy. Think, bro, think! Think! I''m tryin'' to get rid of this brat''s stupid ass suspicion.


    "I''m waitin''..." Kayleb continued.


    Zac angrily turned to Kayleb. "Be freakin'' quiet now, would ya?! I''m tryin'' to think of somethin'' as fast as I can here! Gheez!"


    Zac looked up at the ceiling and placed his hand on his chin.


    -Now where was I?...Oh, yea. What am I tryin'' to do here? Think, Zac, think!


    While Kayleb impatiently stared at Zac, Zac tried to think for a few more moments, before his eyes were widened.


    -Ah! I got it!


    Zac then turned back to Kayleb with a smirk on his face. "I''m gonna go put the gum up, see?" He pulled the green wrapped gum out of his pocket and displayed it to Kayleb. "I found this dropped on the floor from this"-he banged on the cabinet with his hand-"cabinet here. And I''m gonna place this back inside the cabinet here."


    "Well, I wanna see you do it," Kayleb said.


    "Oh? You would?" Zac questioned with sweat coming out of his forehead and his eyes widened. His fearful heart beated faster and harder when he gazed at Kayleb. He put his hands forward and leaned back against the air a little.


    "Yea¡­I would¡­" Kayleb answered Zac, glaring at Zac even more with his eyes nearly closed. "I don''t really trust you, Zac. So I''m gonna watch you do it."


    Zac swallowed his own saliva. "Okay, well." He turned to the cabinet near him and Kayleb back and forth a couple times. "Here goes nothing."


    Zac turned to the cabinet near him and slowly opened one of its doors.


    -Oh, man. I can''t believe I couldn''t get that brat immediately turned around, while I was gonna tie him up and place him in the bag. Ugh! Now I''ll have to do that when I put my gum up in here, I guess. Then I should get it back once I tie this brat up.


    After Zac put his gum up in the drawer, he turned to Kayleb and Kayleb smiled at him at ease, no longer tapping his foot on the floor.


    "Good," Kayleb exclaimed, closing his eyes. "Now let''s get out of here, and reunite with Hadasa and her friends."


    "Oh, sure¡­no problem, broh," Zac responded.


    As soon as Kayleb turned around, Zac viciously grinned at Kayleb even more as he pulled the tape out from his pocket. He stretched the tape and placed it near his mouth, making sure it was wide enough to tape Kayleb''s.


    Realizing he needed scissors, he quickly looked around the room and spotted a pair of orange-blue scissors on the brown, long table. He turned to that table and Kayleb back and forth.


    -Okay, Zac. Better hide in the table over there, before that brat catches me.


    When Zac finally found his hiding spot, he quickly yet quietly tiptoed across the room, without Kayleb noticing a thing. With Kayleb noticing Zac not walking with him, he turned around and didn''t find Zac present in the room. He gasped and widened his eyes out of shock.


    "Wha-?!" Kayleb cried taking a couple steps forward and scanned the room. "Where did he go?!" Then he growled with an angry face, clenching his fists, tightly closing his eyes. "Ooooo!" He angrily opened his eyes and remained scanning the room. "I''m gonna find that jerk, and when I do that, I''ll have to walk behind him, for sure."


    While Kayleb searched for Zac, Zac peeked from underneath the table and watched Kayleb with his hands on it. He viciously grinned at Kayleb.


    -Oh, goodie. Looks like I''m in the clear for now.


    Zac turned to the scissors.


    -Alright, gotta get the scissors to cut the piece of tape before that brat sees me.


    Zac quickly and quietly stood up from his position, took the scissors from the table and kneel back down. Kayleb turned around without seeing Zac, walking to the other side of the room. Zac''s face was relaxed when Kayleb didn''t catch him.


    -Phew! That was close!


    He looked down at the tape, holding onto the scissors.


    -Better hurry up and cut the tape while I''m at it.


    Zac quietly cut the tape and placed the scissors back as well as the tape on the table. He lifted the tape up and viciously grinned at it.


    -Oh, yea¡­this should be a piece of cake, Zac buddy. Now time to tie that freakin'' brat.


    After Kayleb checked the other side of the room, he studied it sideways. "Well, he should be in here somewhere." He turned to the side area where he and Zac entered the room. "I''ll check on this side first, then I''ll check on the other side."


    While Kayleb checked that side of the room, Zac just stood there for a few seconds before he stood up from the floor. When Zac quickly tiptoed his way towards Kayleb, his shadow appeared and enlarged behind Kayleb. Kayleb noticed this and turned around, gasping, widening his eyes when he saw Zac was about to forcibly place the tape over his mouth.

 Chapter 19: Restoration

    Quickly taping Kayleb''s mouth, Zac pushed Kayleb to the wall. Kayleb closed his eyes, mumbled and placed his hands on Zac''s hands. Zac viciously chuckled while his hands held onto Kayleb''s mouth so tightly, that Kayleb was unable to get his hands off of Kayleb. Kayleb then tried to resist Zac, yet he was unable to get away from him.


    "Gotcha, kid!" Zac exclaimed in a low voice. "You''re goin'' down! Get ready to be trapped"-he turned to the brown bag on the floor-"in that bag over there." Then he returned his attention to Kayleb while Kayleb looked up and glared at him. "Let''s go!"


    Zac grabbed Kayleb''s hands and placed them behind Kayleb''s back, knocking him down on the floor. Kayleb fearfully looked into Zac''s vicious eyes, frowning at Zac. Zac gazed at Kayleb for a moment.


    -Alright, Zac! Now''s your opportunity to tie Kayleb''s hands and feet, before somebody comes in here and I get in trouble for it. I don''t wanna be separated from my video games and money any longer.


    Zac held one of his hands on Kayleb''s wrists, while he sat on Kayleb''s legs. He placed his other one into one of his pockets, to pull out the rope from it. Yet he couldn''t find it so he searched for it in other pockets, and was finally able to pull out the rope without a complaint. He viciously smiled at it.


    -Finally, I found it!


    Then he looked down at Kayleb.


    -Now we gotta tie him up, Zac buddy! C''mon!


    After Zac successfully tied Kayleb''s hands and feet, he studied his surroundings to check for any witnesses. He checked and, lucky for him, there were no witnesses around him. He sighed out of relief.


    -Alrighty then. No witnesses are good for me. Now let''s place the brat inside that bag and get the hell outta here.


    Zac carried Kayleb to the bag lying flat on the floor, placed Kayleb there and tied up the bag. Zac turned around and checked for any witnesses and the rope to pull the bag up in the ceiling. Yet he still found no witnesses and he saw the white rope tied up on the corner of the wall. Then he viciously looked at the bag moving sideways.


    -Okay! Now time to pull up the bag and get the hell outta here!


    Zac walked his way towards the rope. After he untied the rope from the black hook on the wall, he pulled the bag up while the bag moved sideways, until it almost reached the ceiling. Tying the rope back on the hook, Zac sighed happily with his vicious smile, gazing at the bag up in the ceiling.


    -Great! Now we can get the hell outta here before I get caught.


    Zac exited the storage room and locked the door with a pedal door lock. After that he wiped the sweat off his forehead and sighed out of relief. He looked up at the ceiling and smiled.


    -Phew! What a relief! Now let''s go to the pawn shop and sell Ma''s jewelry there!


    Zac looked both ways and turned right to head outside, seeing the Exit sign above the door. He smiled viciously as he continued walking towards the exit. Once he opened the door and exited the building, he looked around the outside and saw people of all ages-children and adults-placed the food containers into the back of the eighteen-wheeled truck.


    Zac walked away from that group and walked around the building. He quickly rubbed his hands and grinned viciously while he continuously walked forward.


    -Alright, Zac! This is gonna be great! I can''t wait to get the hell outta this place, and sell this bitch at the pawn shop.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Then he put his hands down and frowned his anxious eyes.


    -But I better do it quickly while I can. Can you imagine my parents receiving a phone call about my disappearance, finding me and grounding me for nine more days, Zac buddy?!


    As soon as Zac walked farway from the small building''s exit, he saw the city bus make a stop at a bus stop. He quickly ran over there and yelled with his hands surrounding his mouth, "Hey! Wait up! I''m comin'' for the ride!"


    He waved at the city bus, swinging his arm sideways. He continued to yell those same exact words and kept running faster and waving at the city bus, until he finally made it. After he entered the city bus and paid for the fare there, the city bus closed its door and continued to drive forward.


    ****


    After Zac got off at the bus stop and scanned his surroundings, he saw a building of his interest with a sign that said Pawn Shop. He grinned out of joy and just gazed at it for a brief moment.


    -Alright, I made it here jus'' in time. Now let''s hurry up, sell this bitch and head back to that shitty community service.


    Zac looked both ways of the street and waited for the cars to drive past him, before he crossed the street.


    -Okay, here we go, Zac buddy! Seventeen more days to go and we''re outta there! Whoo!


    Once he made it near the Pawn Shop and opened its door, the door rang its bell behind him while it closed the store itself. The middle aged man with some white beard and wrinkles waved at Zac, closing his eyes with a smile. "Hello, sir. Welcome to my store. Feel free to enjoy yourself now."


    "Oh, don''t worry, sir. I will." Zac waved back at the employee of the store. Then he examined the place and moved his amazed eyes left and right.


    -Wow, this place is pretty chill. I''ll give it that though. I mean, hot damn!


    Zac''s eyes spotted the instrument section at the right corner, and the electronics near the right wall of any kind-DVDs, Blue Rays, video games, computers-everything there. The instrument section stood near the rear wall and the Sports section stood in the center of the store. And lastly the Jewelry section stood behind the counter.


    The customers outnumbered the employees by seven to one. They curiously roamed around the store to see what they were interested in buying. The employees stood there and watched in order to preserve order and harmony in the store. Zac gave the store his vicious smile.


    -Now let''s hurry up and get this shit over with, so I can turn back to that shitty ass community service. The faster and earlier the better. Let''s go, Zac buddy.


    When Zac marched towards the same employee, the employee turned to Zac and smiled at him, after he received payment from the customer and waved him goodbye. "Oh, hello there. How may I help you, sir?"


    "Actually, I came here to sell this." Zac displayed his mother''s necklace to the employee.


    The employee gasped and examined the necklace closely. "This is some pretty nice necklace you got there." Then he returned his attention to Zac. "And it looks pretty expensive too. Where did you get it?"


    "Well, you see¡­uh¡­um¡­" Zac looked up at the ceiling and tried to come up with a lie for a few seconds, before something popped inside his heart.


    -Oh, I know!


    "So you see, sir," Zac continued, leaning himself on the counter. "I came across it yesterday at twilight, comin'' home from runnin'' errands for my parents. Yet I didn''t have time to sell it until today, because I was on a curfew. You know how that goes¡­"


    "Ah¡­I see¡­" The man was getting ready to go to the back door. "Well, let me go to the back and check for this necklace''s identity, then I''ll come back and tell you this necklace''s value. Alright?"


    "Oh, yea. Sure. I''ll wait here, so take your time, sir," Zac said with his eyes closed and a big grin. As soon as the employee left Zac alone, Zac turned his smile upside down and expressed his annoyed look on his face.


    -Oh, he better hurry up and not waste my time. I gotta get back on the bus and get back to that crappy community service. I don''t wanna get in trouble, y''know.


    Luckily for Zac, the employee quickly returned to him with the necklace and opened his cash register. "Looks like you won yourself five thousand Shekels. Congratulations, sir!"


    Zac widened his joyful eyes and grinned when he heard that.


    -Z-Zac buddy, did you hear that? I''ve earned five thousand Shekels! Ah, it feels so good to be financially restored from last night.


    The employee gave Zac five sets of ten one-hundred Shekels. "Alright, here you go, sir. Is that all I can get you?"


    Zac folded and placed the money in his pocket. "Oh, yea. That''ll be all, sir." He headed towards the door and waved at the employee. "Have a good day!"


    The employee waved back and watched Zac leave the store. "You too! Don''t forget to come by anytime you want, sir."


    "Oh, I will, sir. You can count on that!"


    Everything went according to plan. Zac managed to catch the bus back to the community service. This made Zac very happy, making him believe that he had a good morning, due to his community service task was being disrupted.

 Chapter 20: Too Little, Too Late

    Once Zac got off the city bus, he scanned his surroundings. Seeing no one present, he sighed with a smile on his face and closed his eyes for a brief moment.


    -Finally! Now that the coast is clear, maybe we can enter that shitty community service the way that I exited it there earlier. Hopefully people didn''t notice when I was gone. So let''s get inside before we get caught, Zac buddy.


    Zac ran halfway around the building and still looked around behind it, still seeing children and adults placing boxes of food in the back of the trucks. Zac grinned viciously and said quietly, "Hmph!"


    -To my surprise, I''m glad no one noticed me. I can''t wait to get inside to untie Kayleb and take him to Mrs. A jus'' to keep my hands clean, y''know.


    Opening the back door, he entered the building and scanned the hallways sideways. He saw no one present. No one at all. Zac joyfully sighed.


    -Okay, great!


    He turned to the storage room door with his vicious smile on his face.


    -Now let''s go to the storage room, shall we, Zac buddy?!


    He walked his way towards the door to the storage room. He then stood there and rubbed his palms up and down a couple times, excitedly smiling at the door.


    -Oh, man. Oh, man. Oh, man. Can''t wait to get back inside it. Get ready, Kayleb! I''m gonna turn your ass in to keep my hands clean, broh. So here I come!


    Once he opened the door though, he held the door wide open, broadening and twitching his eyes a bit. There he saw the bag lying on the floor and Kayleb''s disappearance shocked Zac. He let go of the door knob, placed his hands on his head and moved his eyes a little sideways, putting his head down, leaning forward like a hunchback.


    -No! This can''t be! I thought for sure that I locked the door. That means¡­I''m now in big trouble. I thought people didn''t notice that I had disappeared from this building. Great! Jus'' great! You know what that means, don''t ya, Zac buddy?! That means twenty-three more days of bein'' grounded-no money, no video games-instead of video games. I mean, think ''bout that buddy.


    "Ah-ha! There you are!" Kayleb''s voice echoed behind him. "We got ya now, Zaccai! There''s nowhere to run as Sam and I jus'' caught ya red handed!"


    "Ah!" Zac slowly turned around and saw Kayleb standing with his former customer-the one that Zac sold the fake phone to. He broadened his twitchy eyes a lot more when he saw him. He put his hands out, opened his mouth and leaned back a bit.


    Sam glared at Zac. "You!"


    -N-N-No way! Is that-?!


    Zac''s heart suffered from memories of selling a fake product to his former customer at the alley last weekend.


    -It can''t be?! Jus'' what the hell''s he doin'' at a place like this?! Huh?!


    "Aaaahhh¡­" Sam finally said something, glaring at Zac with his eyes nearly closed. While he walked towards Zac, clenching his fists, Kayleb stood there and watched, also glaring at Zac. "I''ve been searchin'' everywhere for ya for the past three days, and I finally found ya at last!"


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    As soon as Sam got close to Zac, Kayleb ran towards the end of the hallway. Sam pointed his finger at Zac and moved it back and forth as he got closer to Zac. "You tricked me! ''A now rare brand new dumbphone,'' huh?! What a load of bullshit! I trusted you!"


    Sam stood in front of Zac-into Zac''s face. "Now I regret my decision back then, so I''ll make you regret what you''ve done to me." He moved his fingers except his thumb backwards a couple times. "I want my money back¡­right now!"


    Zac glared back at Sam for a second, crossed his arms and turned his head left with his eyes closed. "Hmph! No way, bruh. There''s gonna be no refunds."


    Sam glared at Zac even more, this time also growling at him.


    "Once you gave your money to me¡­" Zac added, "It''s mine forever. So get lost while you''re at it, will ya?!"


    Sam pushed Zac back against the door. "I said, ''Give me my money back!'' Dammit!" Zac angrily turned to Sam and got into his face.


    "So, you wanna get your money back, huh?!" Zac pushed Sam backwards. "You''re gonna have to come and get it, bruh!"


    "Oooo, you''re so on!" Sam roared, screaming at Zac, raising his fist up in the air.


    Zac growled at Sam more, shutting the door behind him.


    -Oooo man, this boy''s gettin'' ready to get a beat down. Big time! Get ready, Zac buddy! ''Cause you''re gonna need it!


    As soon as Sam got close to Zac, Zac moved out of the way and Sam instead slammed his fist against the door. Sam widened his eyes when he felt the pain from his hand with his eyes closed, taking a couple steps back, shaking his hand sideways. "Ye-oooowww!"


    After he shook his hand sideways for a while, he immediately turned to Zac and glared at him, until he broadened his eyes out of shock. "Wh-What the-?!"


    Zac kicked Sam in the face, making Sam take a couple more steps back. Sam touched his face. "Owww-wah!"


    "Oh? That hurt, huh?" Zac questioned with his vicious smile. "Well, that''s what you get for pickin'' a fight with me, bruh. Ready to give up now while you''re at it?"


    Once Sam felt the pain on his face, Sam turned to Zac and growled at him with his twitchy eyes. "Give up?! GIVE UP?!" Sam quickly stood up straight and looked at Zac straight in the eye, tightening his clenched fists. "No way in hell I would give up now, ya scam artist! I''m gonna take you down, whether you like it or not!"


    "Oh, yeah?" Zac performed his fighting pose and moved his fingers except his thumb backwards a couple times. "Bring it on, bitch!"


    Sam screamed again and rammed his punch at Zac''s face, yet Zac caught his wrist and viciously grinned. That made Sam widened his eyes at his wrist, turning to Zac. When Zac swung Sam''s arm towards the wall, Sam smiled at Zac and managed to jump up and kick one of Zac''s cheeks, before he was slammed against the wall.


    Zac''s face was slammed against the same door that Sam kicked him at. Zac touched his reddened cheek and felt its pain, moving himself away from the door. "Owww!"


    "Ha! That hurts now, doesn''t it, Zac?" Sam asked, moving away from the wall, giving Zac his vicious smile back, panting. "Take that!"


    As soon as Sam was getting ready to punch Zac in the face, Zac glared at Sam with only one eye. Yet Hadasa, her friends and Mrs. A arrived at the end of the hall far away from Zac and Sam, with Kayleb pointing his finger at those boys. "There they are!"


    "Hey! Both of you, stop fighting this instant!" Mrs. A roared from the top of her lungs. "I will not tolerate anyone fighting in this building, is that understood?!"


    Sam and Zac stopped fighting one another and turned to Mrs. A as soon as they heard her voice. They closed their embarrassed eyes and scratched the back of their heads, smiling, chuckling a little. "Yes¡­ma''am¡­"


    "Sorry ''bout that, Mrs. A," Sam guiltily confessed.


    "Yeah, me too, ma''am. Ha-ha-ha!" Zac also guiltily confessed, staring at Mrs. A with a frown on his face.


    -Oh, great. Jus'' great, Zac buddy. Looks like I''ll be in deep, deep trouble. I''ll be grounded twenty-seven more days now, instead of seventeen¡­jus''...great¡­ugh!


    Mrs. A raised her hand up and moved her index finger backwards a couple times. "You two come with me to the office." Turning around, she tilted her head right. "Now!"


    "Yes¡­ma''am¡­" Zac and Sam turned to one another, then followed Mrs. A to her office. Hadasa and others moved out of the way before the boys even came close to them.


    -Oh, boy. Here we go, Zac buddy. Here we go.


    Zac sighed with a frown as he and Sam walked past them. Hadasa and others watched those boys follow Mrs. A, glaring at Zac more than Sam. This was especially true from Hadasa, for she was angry about what he did to her brother. Zac glared at everyone else around them back while Sam just gazed at Mrs. A.


    -But seriously though. I mean, screw this place. Honestly, I''d rather jus'' remain at home, than bein'' here. This community service sucks. Worst community service ever!


    Then Zac turned to Mrs. A and watched her as well as scanned his surroundings, turning to Sam and her back and forth.


    -Now I really hope I don''t get to go to Hadasa''s shitty hideout place and hang out with her and her shitty ass friends. I''m definitely not in a mood for it, especially earlier today. Definitely not. NOT¡­EVER!


    As soon as Mrs. A entered her office, she stood by the door, holding it, waiting for those boys to enter it. Once the boys entered, Mrs. A immediately closed the door. Silence echoed the halls around that office.

 Chapter 21: Mrs. As Office

    When Mrs. A sat in her desk, she placed her hands together underneath her chin and put her head down for a moment. "Now you two"-then she opened her eyes, lifted her head up and glared at Sam and Zac-"have a lot of explaining to do."


    Zac and Sam just stood there in silence when they gazed at Mrs. A. Zac frowned at her while Sam just gave her his serious look on her face. Zac''s eyes twitched and moved sideways at a bit.


    -Oh, man. This is it, Zac buddy. I''m gonna be in so much trouble.


    Then his memories of tying Kayleb up in the bag and locking him up in the storage room haunted him through and through.


    -I jus'' can''t believe that I failed to return here jus'' in time, y''know. If only that bus arrived at my stop earlier, none of this shit would''ve even happened in the first place. Goddammit!


    Mrs. A turned to Zac and glared at him with her eyes nearly closed. "Starting with you¡­so answer this, Zac: why did you tie Kayleb and lock him up in the storage room this morning?! In fact, what were you even doing in the storage room anyway?!"


    "Well, um¡­uh¡­" Zac looked up at the ceiling when he tried to think of a response for Mrs. A. Yet his sweat poured down from his forehead when he had a hard time coming up with an answer, frowning harder than ever before.


    -Oh, c''mon, Zac buddy! Come up with an answer already! Think, dammit, think! We don''t have time for this bullshit now!


    "Well, Zac?!" Mrs. A impatiently said while Sam viciously grinned at Zac, without Mrs. A noticing it. "I''m waiting¡­"


    -C''mon now, man! Hurry the hell up already! Geez¡­


    He thought of an answer harder than ever before. He fearfully kept staring at the ceiling for a while until something finally popped up inside his heart.


    -Ah! Finally!


    Then he turned to Mrs. A with a smile on his face.


    "Well, you see, Mrs. A¡­" Zac swallowed his saliva and began to speak, placing his hands together while he slowly walked up to Mrs. A''s desk. "We were jus'' playing Bein'' Silent while Bein'' Tied Up in a Bag¡­"


    Sam quietly chuckled and turned his head left with his hand in front of his mouth, while Mrs. A raised her eyebrow at Zac. "So you were, what I heard right¡­''playin'' Bein'' Silent while Bein'' Tied Up in a Bag'' with Kayleb, huh?"


    "Yes, ma''am! We sure did!" Zac continued. "I mean, you have to remain tied up without anyone else except me untying him for a long period of time. Once that time''s up, I would arrive back at that storage room.


    "If anyone else untied him except me, he looses and remains bein'' tied in the next round. If I untie him, then he wins and I get to be tied up for a long period of time in the next round. And that''s how the game'' bein'' played."


    Mrs. A closed her eyes and shook her head sideways, sighing out of disbelief. "Zac¡­"


    Sam still managed to chuckle silently without Mrs. A noticing him, performing his same actions as before. Zac widened his eyes and twitched his eyes sideways, leaning back a bit, putting his hands out forward. He couldn''t even believe what he''d saw from Mrs. A''s reaction towards his answer.


    -Oh, man¡­I can''t believe it! I can''t believe my lie didn''t even work on her!


    "Do you really expect me to believe that story?" Mrs. A asked when she glared at Zac. "''Cause what I''ve been hearing from Kayleb, I''m not really buying your story. At all."


    -Alright, I better come up with another lie then, Zac buddy. Quick!


    "But Mrs. A, I-" Zac tried to say something to her, yet he saw her close her eyes and put her head down, expressing her angry face.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "I believe you''re done talkin''!" Mrs. A roared as she opened her eyes back up and continued her glare at Zac.


    Zac backed down and didn''t continue to speak further on this issue, frowning at Mrs. A.


    -Oh, great! Jus''...great, Zac buddy¡­here we go¡­


    "Now where was I?" Mrs. A questioned, placing her finger on her chin whenever she looked up at the ceiling. Then she widened her eyes whenever she turned her attention back to Zac. "Right! Ah-hem." She placed her hands together in front of her mouth before she put her hand down.


    "From what Kayleb told me¡­" Mrs. A continued, "You were putting the gum back into one of the cabinets in the storage room, yes?"


    "Yes, ma''am," Zac responded.


    "So why did you steal the gum from the storage room?"


    Zac sighed. The gig was up. He got caught red handed and he had to tell Mrs. A the truth. "I didn''t."


    Mrs. A broadened her eyes out of shock and leaned back a bit. "You didn''t?"


    "No, of course I didn''t. I jus'' pulled it out of my pocket and placed it there."


    "So you placed your own gum in there, why exactly?"


    "I wanted to prevent Kayleb from bein'' suspicious of me, that''s all."


    "I see¡­and you tied him up, yes?"


    "Why, of course I did."


    "And why did you do it?"


    "I didn''t want that brat to bother me while I was takin'' a break, and once I did that I got my gum back and left the storage room."


    "Did you leave this community service?"


    -Okay, that I''m not tellin'' the truth ''bout that! No way, no how! I jus'' simply refused to do it!


    "I was standin'' outside..." Zac finally responded.


    "Which section though?"


    "Well, I, uh, um¡­" Zac looked up at the ceiling as he thought about something. Sam chuckled a bit quietly, yet Mrs. A noticed it this time.


    She angrily turned to Sam. "That''s quite enough, Sam!"


    Sam confusedly turned to Mrs. A. "Um, Mrs. A. I didn''t do anything wrong."


    "I saw you laughing at Zac earlier today, so don''t play dumb with me," Mrs. A snapped when she glared at Sam. "I''ll give you an extra punishment if you do it again. Do you understand me?!"


    Sam sighed, frowned and looked down below him. "Yes¡­ma''am¡­"


    "Good," Mrs. A said.


    Zac viciously grinned at Sam.


    -Well, well, well. Looks like this bitch has finally been put in his place. Finally, ''bout damn time too, while we''re at it.


    Then Mrs. A returned her attention to Zac and glared at him. "Now Zac, you may continue."


    Zac quickly turned back to Mrs. A. "Huh? Oh, right!" He then relooked up at the ceiling and tried to think of something.


    -Now hurry up and think of somethin'', Zac buddy. Where the hell were you hidin'' at?! Think, Zac, think!


    "Zaaaac," Mrs. A impatiently said. "I''m waaaaiting. I don''t have time for your nonsense, you know."


    "Oh, don''t worry, Mrs. A," Zac reassured, turning back to Mrs. A. "I''m thinkin'' of somethin'' right now."


    "You''re not lyin'' to me, are you?"


    "Well, of course not!"


    -Damn, she''s onto me already. Better hurry up and come up with a lie. Or she''ll think I''m lyin'' even more now than ever before.


    Then something finally popped up in his head.


    -Finally, Zac buddy. ''Bout damn time!


    "I was standin'' by the right side of the building, lookin'' up at the clouds in the sky for a while before I returned for Kayleb."


    "Is that so?"


    "Yes, ma''am."


    "Well then, looks like I''ll ask around about your whereabouts later," Mrs. A said.


    Zac expanded his eyes when he heard that.


    -Oh, goddammit! Here we freakin'' go again! Jus'' great¡­Jus'' great, Zac buddy¡­


    "And when you get back, that''s when you reunite with not only Kayleb and Sam, but also pick a fight with Sam. Is that right?" Mrs. A continued.


    "Yes¡­ma''am¡­"


    Then Mrs. A moved her eyes sideways when she glared at both Sam and Zac. "So¡­what were you two fighting about?"


    "Zac scammed me into buying his fake product four days ago," Sam finally got a chance to say something.


    "Oh, really?" Mrs. A turned to Zac when she heard that.


    Zac sighed when he put his head down.


    -Oh, great. Here we go again¡­.Ugh!


    "Of course he did, Mrs. A!" Sam continued when he glared at Zac. "He claimed to provide me with a brand new dumbphone for double the price, and after all that time, he refused to give me a refund."


    "Zac, is that true?" Mrs. A turned to Zac.


    "O-Of course not!" Zac answered as he and Sam angrily turned to one another. "He''s the one that''s lyin'' here. I did in fact provide him with the product that he actually wanted."


    "No, you didn''t, ya liar!" Sam argued, raising his fists up underneath his chin.


    "Well, of course I did, ya liar!" Zac argued back.


    When Mrs. A got tired of hearing the boys argue with one another, she stood up from her chair and slammed her hands on her desk. "That''s quite enough, you two!"


    Zac and Sam fearfully turned back to Mrs. A. Mrs. A turned back to the boys, glaring at them. "You two will not eat out for a week from here. You''ll instead assist the janitors on cleaning this place up all day from now on. Is that understood?"


    "But Mrs. A-" Sam cried with his sad face.


    "Is that understood?!" Mrs. A repeated the question.


    "Yes¡­ma''am¡­" Zac and Sam said with their heads down.


    "Good," Mrs. A said in a relaxed tone, leading the boy''s out of her office. "Now let''s go."


    "Yes¡­ma''am¡­" Zac and Sam said as they followed Mrs. A.

 Chapter 22: Punishment Chores

    When the janitor took Zac and Sam to the clothing room, he turned to them and handed them a broom, a mop and some cleaner wipes. "Okay, you two. You''re going to work together to clean this room. I want this room clean, do you two understand me?"


    Sam and Zac frowned at the janitor. "Yes, sir¡­"


    "Good," the janitor said as he began to walk out the room. "Now if I hear you two fighting, I''ll report you guys to Mrs. A. You got that?"


    After the boys repeated their answers, the janitor opened the door wide. "Good."


    Watching the janitor close the door and leave the room, the boys turned around and moved their eyes around sideways. The clothes were either hung up or inside the boxes. Several big boxes were standing still and watching the boys stare at them. There were a few items lying on the floor; some were trash and others were not so.


    -Oh, man¡­I can''t believe I have to work together with¡­


    Zac turned to Sam and glared at him.


    -That guy over there¡­


    Then he returned his attention to his surroundings right in front of him.


    -To clean this shit up¡­I mean, talk about today as literally the worst day ever¡­in my life¡­


    Sighing, he turned to Sam with his no nonsense look on his face. "Look¡­"


    "What?!" Sam snapped as he angrily turned to Zac and glared at him for a few moments.


    -This bitch¡­


    "We need to wipe everything in this room and pick up items on the floor, so that I can sweep the floor first. Then you mop it, got it?" Zac suggested, moving his hands up and down a couple times.


    "Yea, yea, yea. Sure¡­" Sam nearly closed his eyes when he continuously stared at Zac. Then he sighed and took a deep, angry breath and looked away from Zac. "Whatever! Let''s hurry the hell up and clean this freakin'' place, so that I don''t have to deal with you and your bullshit anymore. The sooner we get our chores done, the better."


    Zac growled at Sam for a moment.


    -Oooo, I can''t wait to punch this bitch before I leave.


    Then he realized that he didn''t want anymore trouble with Mrs. A and later his own parents. It wasn''t not worth it for him to remain separated from video games and his own money. He began to forget about what he ought to do with Sam earlier.


    -Alright, Zac buddy. Forget about what I thought earlier and get to work. I don''t wanna get caught again.


    Once Zac and Sam wiped everything cleaned, they picked up a few items on the floor and placed them back the way they were. Sam turned to Zac, moving his thumb backwards. "Yo, Zac. You''re up!"


    "Got it," Zac responded as he grabbed the broom and the blue dustpan from both the wall and floor.


    As soon as Zac dropped the dustpan in the middle of the floor, he began to sweep the glistened, tiled floor. For a long while, Zac sighed and frowned while he continued to sweep the floor. He was about twenty-five percent done with his duty.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    He had to make sure the place was squeaky clean, so he won''t be called for his mistakes in the long run. He didn''t want to reclean the areas that he missed once he finished his chores. He most certainly didn''t want that to happen.


    -Man, tryin'' to make sure this place is squeaky clean sure is a huge pain in the ass¡­This has got to be the most borin'' thing that I''ve ever done¡­Quite possibly the worst punishment¡­EVER¡­Ugh!


    Sam sighed impatiently as he watched Zac slowly clean the floor, glaring at him. He tapped on the floor and crossed his arms, glaring at him. "Uh, why the hell are ya sweepin'' the floor so damn slow?! I don''t got all day, y''know?!"


    Zac growled at Sam while he continued sweeping the floor. But he didn''t bother to say anything to Sam. Like, nothing at all. He just flat out ignored Sam.


    "Uh, helloooo-uh?!" Sam''s patience continued to deteriorate further and further, opening his mouth with his gritted teeth shown.


    At that moment, Zac stopped what he was doing and angrily turned to Sam, growling and glaring back at Sam. "Bruh! I''m tryin'' to keep this place clean as soon as possible, man! Like, chillax, will ya?!"


    "Well, hurry up, slow poke! I don''t need to wait for much longer for ya to finish sweepin'' the floor, y''know!" Sam shouted angrily, clenching his fists, sticking them out backwards.


    Zac growled at Sam even more, glaring at Sam for a brief moment. Sam glared and growled at Zac.


    -This bitch!


    Zac cautiously and slowly swept the floor over time until he finally finished his task. He even ignored Sam''s complaints, sighs and grunts. He growled at Sam while he continuously swepted at the floor, glaring at Sam.


    -Well, this impatient ass will have to wait. I''m tryin'' to keep this freakin'' room clean as soon as possible, y''know. And besides¡­


    He turned his eyes away from Sam''s face.


    -I don''t give a crap what this dude said or wants. It''s better to do it this way or no way at all. So Sam can suck it!


    After he banged on the trash can to drop some trash and dirt in there, he turned to Sam, pointing the dust pan backward. "Alright, you''re up, impatient ass!"


    Sam took his deep, hard breath, blinked his eyes and stood up away from the wall. "Finally, about damn time too while you''re at it!" He pulled the bucket with wheels and held onto the mop stick, walking past Zac.


    Zac stopped moving for a moment, then he turned his head to Sam, glaring at him constantly. "Hey, don''t forget to check for missing spots, alright? Don''t be a slow ass while you''re at it."


    "Hmph, please!" Sam turned his head to Zac and glared at Zac back, adjusting his oval-shaped glasses. "Oh, don''t worry, Zac. I won''t miss anything while I''m at it. And besides, I can clean faster than you can!"


    "Hmph!" Zac leaned his back against the wall and crossed his arms, right after he placed the broom against the wall and the dust pan on the floor. "We''ll see ''bout that."


    Sam growled at Zac before he squeezed the water in the bucket and mopped the floor. Although he mopped the floor quickly, he did it so rapidly that he didn''t even bother mopping underneath the tables. Zac noticed it and yelled, "Hey, you miss somethin''!"


    "Shut up, Zac! I didn''t miss anythin'', slow ass! So hang tight, will ya?!" Sam snapped while he continued mopping the floor without even paying attention to Zac.


    Yet Zac decided to remain calm and still glare at Sam instead, watching. "Well, if you didn''t miss anythin'', then why the hell didn''t you even bother cleaning underneath the tables then?! Huh?! You clearly forgot to mop underneath the tables! "


    Sam angrily turned to Zac. "Oh, my God, Zac! I said, ''Shut the hell up already!'' I don''t really need to mop underneath there anyway, okay?! Gheesh!"


    Zac moved his back away from the wall. "Okay then, fine. I''ll ask Mrs. A about that then." Then he turned to the door and opened it until his eyes widened and twitched, when he saw something to his surprise out of shock. "Ah!"


    There he saw Mrs. A standing by the door.


    -Oh, shit. It''s Mrs. A! Don''t panic and pretend everything''s alright, Zac buddy. Trust me on this, broh.


    He backed away from her as she entered the room, turning to Zac and Sam sideways back and forth.


    "Alright, what are you two fighting about now?!" Mrs. A snapped, crossing her arms, tapping her foot on the floor, while she gave the young men a serious look on her face.


    Fearfully recognizing her voice, Sam turned to Mrs. A and forced a smile with his widened eyes. "Oh, uh, hi, Mrs. A. I didn''t notice that you were coming in here to check on us. He-he-he."


    -Well, to be honest, I didn''t notice that either.


    "Well?" Mrs. A impatiently questioned, "I''m waaaaitiiiing!"


    "Well, you see, Mrs. A," Zac responded. "I was reminding Sam here to mop underneath the tables, because he missed those spots yet he didn''t take my constructive feedback for it."


    "Oh?" Mrs. A turned to Sam. "Is that so?"


    "Why, of course he did, ma''am," Zac added. "He thought he didn''t have to mop that specific area of the floor."


    "B-B-But Mrs. A. He was clearly lyin'' here," Sam responded. From that moment on, Zac widened his eyes when he heard Sam''s response.


    -Eh?! No freakin'' way, bruh! Sam did not jus'' lie!


    "I told Zac that I was clearly goin'' to clean there as soon as I mop the entire floor," Sam continued.


    "Well then, Sam. Since you lied to me, you''ll be doin'' more chores around here. Now mop the floor underneath those tables. Is that understood?" Mrs. A demanded when her angry eyes stared right into Sam''s.


    "Ah!" Sam broadened his eyes when he heard that, then leaned forward like a hunchback person. "Y-Y-Yes¡­ma''am¡­"


    Mrs. A turned around and walked out of the room. "I already told your parents about you two fighting earlier today, and they will pick you up from my office, got it?"


    "Ah!" Zac and Sam widened their twitchy eyes even more. "Yes¡­ma''am¡­"


    After Mrs. A left the room, Zac watched Sam mopped his missing spots before he and Sam exited the room.


    -Oh¡­great¡­looks like I''ll face my parents like this¡­jus'' great¡­ugh!

 Chapter 23: Mediocre Evening

    As soon as Zac and Sam finished waving their goodbyes to Hadasa and others, they sat in their seats away from each other. They finished their punishing chores, even after Hadasa and her friends performed their ministry work without them. Zac saw Sam gazes the numerous books standing there on the black bookself.


    Then he turned to Mrs. A supervising him and Sam from her desk, while she typed something on her computer, probably surfing through the web. He moved his eyes sideways with a frown for a while as he and Sam waited for their parents to come pick them up from Mrs. A''s office. He sighed with his mouth closed.


    -Oh, man. Get ready for mom and dad''s backlash, Zac buddy, ''cause it''s gonna get brutal. Ugh!


    Silence echoed across the room. While Zac gazed at the pictures hanging on the left hall, Sam immediately turned to him as well as Sam quietly growled and glared at him. He heard that growl right next to him, but not Mrs. A.


    -Huh?!


    Although he also immediately turned towards Sam, he noticed Sam restared back at those books on the bookself. He gave Sam his suspicious look for a brief moment before he returned his attention to those pictures.


    -Huh, freakin'' bitch.


    Not wanting to cause trouble with Mrs. A and be grounded more from his own parents, Zac didn''t even bother to growl back at Sam nor confronted him about it. It was better for him this way, until Sam quietly regrowled at him. He heard Sam''s growl and immediately turned to Sam. Sam quickly turned his head towards the wall instead of the books just in time to prevent Zac from spotting him.


    Mrs. A took notice of Zac examining Sam and nearly closed her eyes when she suspiciously stares at Zac. "Why are you looking at Sam like that, Zac?"


    Zac turned to Mrs. A and Sam back and forth, while Sam ignored him, making himself appearing as innocent as he possibly could.


    "Well, you see, Mrs. A," Zac responded, trying to come up with a lie. "I heard a growl right next to me and I thought it was Sam, but  then I realized it was just my hallucinations that caused this."


    Sam smiled and couldn''t help but laugh it off, yet he held it in, leaning forward, closing his eyes, covering his mouth with his hand. Mrs. A just raised her eyebrow at Zac. "Is that so?"


    Zac slightly turned to Sam and glared at him a bit, not saying a single word to Mrs. A. Mrs. A impatiently said, "Well, Zac. I''m waaaaiting. I don''t got all day, y''know."


    Zac immediately returned his attention to Mrs. A, closing his eyes, forcing a smile. "Oh, right! Sorry ''bout that. I jus'' got distracted there for a bit." Then he opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling with his finger on his chin. "Now where was I?"


    He thought about it for a while and Sam curiously turned to him, until something popped in his head. "Oh, yea!" He turned to Mrs. A. "Why, of course, Mrs. A. I''m pretty sure it was my hallucinations that made me go a bit crazy."


    "Are you sure?"


    "I''m positive, Mrs. A. Honest."


    Her eyebrow was no longer raised and she leaned back against her chair. "Okay, then. If you say so."


    As soon as Mrs. A returned her face to her computer screen and continued typing on her keyboard, Sam crossed his arms and turned back to the wall, whispering with his eyes closed, "Hmph!"


    Zac quietly growled at Sam and bared his teeth at him, clenching his fist, raising it near his head without Mrs. A noticing him.


    -Oh, I can''t wait to get this bitch one way or another someday.


    As Sam and Zac''s parents arrived at Mrs. A''s office, they chatted a bit with her and waved their good byes at her, taking their sons with them. They confronted their sons over their behaviors earlier and grounded them for good. Zac hated being in punishment for more than he can take, yet he knew he would have to deal with that for the time being.


    ****


    As soon as Zac''s mother dropped him off at a certain street near Hadasa and her friends, she said and waved her good-bye at Zac and the others. They did the same while she drove away from them.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    -Great¡­more of this freakin'' nightmare. Seriously, man. Why can''t I jus'' be at home instead of here?! Huh?!


    Hadasa and her friends turned to Zac, no longer glaring at him. Hadasa said to him while entering the alleyway, "Follow us to our secret hideout, Zac. And don''t get lost."


    "Got it¡­" Zac said with a sigh and an annoyed face. He followed Hadasa and her friends at their hideout. He was surprised to see Hadasa and her friends no longer angry with him about Kayleb. He raised his eyebrow at them.


    -Hey, what''s the deal with Hadasa and her friends no longer mad at me about Kayleb? I expect them to get mad at me ''bout, yet they''re not. I wonder why¡­


    Zac and the others see lots of small mom and pop stores opening and selling stuff, housewives chatting with one another and children playing with each other.


    "Yo!" Zac shouted while they continuously walked through the alleyway.


    "What''s up, Zac?" Hadasa turned her head right and aimed one of her eyes at Zac.


    "How come you aren''t mad at me about Kayleb anymore?" He asked.


    Hadasa and her friends sighed as her friends also turned to Zac, displaying their frowns on their faces.


    "And why are ya askin'' that, Zac?" Hadasa questioned.


    "''Cause I thought y''all wouldn''t let this shit go," Zac answered. "That''s why I asked."


    "Bruh¡­" Uriah said. "Even though we were mad at you ''bout it earlier, we would never get mad at you ''bout it forever."


    "Yea, and besides¡­" Lia said. "The Bible says we should always forgive, even when it''s difficult to do so."


    "Otherwise," Shifra added, "Elohim wouldn''t forgive us for our sins."


    "Yea, y''all tell ''em!" Eliezer exclaimed.


    "Mhn!" The rest of the gang agreed, shaking their heads.


    "Oh¡­" Zac widened his eyes out of realization. "I see¡­"


    "Yea, so you can jus'' chillax ''bout it, okay?" Hadasa said.


    "Yea, I guess so," Zac said as he then sighed out of relief. "Phew!"


    -What a relief! I thought they were goin'' to stay mad at me for the day, yet I guess not. So¡­at least I can give them that.


    Zac continued to walk with Hadasa and her friends over the hideout until they made it.


    "We''re here!" Hadasa announced to Zac, raising her arms up and down a bit with a smile.


    Entering the hideout, Zac widened his eyes when he studied the place.


    -Whoa!


    There he saw lots of light bulbs shining in the room, all on the straight line. Several wallpapers stood on the walls, with some torn up.


    The couch, sofas, a certain number of brown, wooden chairs and a brown, wooden table just stood there and gazed at Zac. Hadasa and Uriah sat on the couch, Eliezer sat on the sofa and rocked it back and forth, and the rest of the gang sat in the chairs.


    -This place is amazing. I didn''t expect a place like this to be this goddamn clean and good lookin''. I gotta hand it to them. They sure know how to fix up a place. I''ll give them that.


    "So what do ya think of the place?" Shifra asked. "It''s pretty cool, huh?"


    "Yea, I''ll say¡­" Zac replied, smiling when his eyes moved sideways out of amazement. "This is a pretty neat place you got there. I expected it to be messy, but no. You guys managed to get this place fixed up real good."


    "Well, thanks, Zac! I''m glad ya liked it!" Hadasa exclaimed with her eyes closed and a grin. She then patted on the empty spot on the spot near Zac. "Come sit here."


    Zac went to sit near Hadasa. He grinned out of relaxation when he sat on that couch. He even closed his eyes when he felt that couch''s softness.


    -Oh, man! This couch feels so good. I wish I could sit on it forever.


    "So, Zac¡­" Atara said, chewing on her bubble gun.


    Zac opened his eyes and turned to Atara. "Yea? What''s up?"


    "Have ya ever gone to the beach before?" Atara asked. "''Cause we''re thinkin'' ''bout goin'' there."


    "Oh, uh, no," Zac answered. "Is that why you guys invited me here? Jus'' to go to the beach?"


    "Well, kinda¡­" Hadasa said. "But we also go to places where we get to do fun things as a reward for doin'' more community service?"


    "Oh¡­great¡­" Zac frowned when he heard that. "More community service¡­"


    "What, there''s nothin'' wrong with that," Lia said. "And besides¡­if we go to the beach tomorrow after ministry work and do environmental clean up, we get to swim at the beach!"


    "Oh¡­" Zac''s cheeks blushed whenever he fantasized girls in bikinis.


    -Oh, yea! That''ll be great!


    "Sure! I''m in!" Zac replied.


    "And now, who wants to play a board game!" Eliezer exclaimed as well as everyone agreed.


    After they played the board game, Zac had a great time there, chatting with people. He red the Bible as soon as he got home from Hadasa''s hideout.

 Glossary

    *Locations*


    Teratopolis (T?¦Ñ¦Á¦Ó?¦Ð?¦Ë¦É?)


    A Greek name of a city for "the city of wonder."


    Mishor (????????)


    Name of the country where Zac, Hadasa and her friends reside in which either means "a level place," "uprightness," "plain," or "plateau."


    Chryssa


    Name of Mishor''s capital city that devries from a Greek term chrysos (¦Ö¦Ñ¦Ô¦Ò??) to mean "gold."


    *Characters*


    Miyauchi Zaccai


    Miyauchi (ŒmÄÚ) is the protagonist''s Japanese surname for "inside temple," and Zaccai (??????) is the Hebrew first name for "pure."


    Larue Hadasa


    Larue is a French surname for "the street," and Hadasa (????????) is a Hebrew personal name for "myrtle;" it usually refers to Common Mrytle flowers in Israel.


    Larue Kaleb


    Kaleb (??????) is a Hebrew given name which devries from another Hebrew word keleb (??????) for "dog."


    Uzziah (?????????)


    A Hebrew name of the current monarch of the constitutional monarchy where Zac and his friends live for "Yahweh''s my strength."


    Elohim (???????)


    A Hebrew word for "God" or "god;" its a plural version of eloah (????????) which is a plural form of el (???) of the same meaning. It implies that Elohim the only superior God that''s above all of humanity and all the gods created by humans on Earth.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Hamashiach Yeshua (??????????? ????????)


    Hamashiach (???????????) is Hebrew name for "The anointed." Yeshua (????????) is a shorter form of a Hebrew name of Yehoshuah (???????????) for "the Lord is salvation." It''s Jesus Christ''s Hebrew name.


    Mrs. Ananias


    A Dutch surname based off of a Biblical Latin given name Ananias, which devries from a Biblical Hebrew given name Chananyah (?????????) for "Yahweh is gracious." It''s pronounced Hah-nah-niah, not Ha-na-nie-ah.


    Mufaro Lia


    Mufaro is a Shona surname, which is used in one of Zimbawean tribes, for "joy," "rejoicing," or "happiness." Lia is a Biblical Latin name that devries from a Biblical Hebrew name Lay''ah (?????); it also devries from a Hebrew term la''ah (?????) for "to be weary" or "to be paitent."


    Hardwick Eliezer


    Hardwick is an English surname in Old English Heordw¨©c for "herding village" or "herding town." Eliezer (?¦Ë¦É?¦Æ¦Å¦Ñ) is a Biblical Greek and Latin version of a Biblical Hebrew name Eli''ezer (??????????) for "my Elohim is help."


    Castillo Atara


    Castillo is a Spanish version of an English surname Castle which devries from an Middle English term castel for "castle." Castel originates from a Late Latin word castellum to define a person living by the castle. Atara (???????) is a Biblical Hebrew name for "crown."


    Guerrero Uriah


    Guerrero is a Spanish surname for "warrior" which serves as a soldier''s occupational name. Uriah is a Biblical version of a Biblical Hebrew name Ooriyah (????????) for "Yahweh is my light."


    Yoon Shifra


    Yoon (Òü (?)) is a Korean surname that means "to govern" or "to oversee." Shifra (????????) is a Biblical Hebrew name for "beautiful," "fairness," "clearness (of a sky)," "brightness," or "garnish."


    Maina Yosef


    Maina is an Eastern African or Kikiyu, or one of the Kenyan tribe names, surname meaning "sing" or "dance." Yosef (??????) is a Biblical Hebrew name to mean "He will add," deriving from a Hebrew root word yasaf (?????).


    *Others*


    Waw (?)


    A Biblical Hebrew name of the sixth Hebrew alphabetical letter and its numeric value is six; Vav is its Modern Hebrew name.


    Alef (?)


    A Hebrew name of the first Hebrew alphabetical letter and its numeric value is one.


    Bet (?)


    A Hebrew name of the second Hebrew alphabetical letter and its numeric value is two.


    Gimel (?)


    Name of a third Hebrew alphabetical letter and its numeric value is three.

 Bonus Chapter: The Blizzard

    Moaning, slowly getting up from the ground, my face felt coldness from both the snow and the harsh cold winds all at the same time. Once I stood up from the ground, I wiped the snow off my face, turned left and yelled out from the top of my lungs, "Hello?"


    No answer, hearing nothing but the sound of the cold breeze. I scanned my surroundings, yet I saw nothing but fog, the blue skies and snowflakes all around me. My heart pounded and my blue eyes twitched from fear. I took a couple of quick breaths, panting.


    "Hello?!" I cried again, but I heard no one respond to my call. "Hellooo?!"


    After hearing no response for the third time, I frowned and continued to scan my surroundings. Oh, man. This is bad. This is really, really, REALLY bad! My body began to shiver and looked down at my pocket. This is jus'' great! My train jus'' crashed, and I need to call my parents and tell them that I''m okay. I bet they''re worried sick ''bout me jus'' now.


    As I began to put my hand into my pocket, my hand and arm shivered a little. Activating my dumbphone, thanks to this blizzard, I slowly contacted my dumbphone despite my shaky hand. I called my parents three times, yet my phone received no signal. I growled and glared at it. "Dammit!"


    I placed my phone back into my pocket and returned to my crashed train''s direction. Great, now I need to head for my train right now. This cold weather''s gettin'' pretty goddamn annoying! So let''s go, Hionay!


    With my face covered by my arm, I moved my way forward, preventing the wind from blowing my wavy, brown hair in my face. I wanted to move a bit faster in this goddamn weather, but I couldn''t. It''s too bad the snow was two inches above my feet however, making me move a bit slower instead. C''mon, c''mon, C''MON! You can do it, Hionay! Jus'' keep movin''!


    Once I spotted the trees, I began to notice some trees laid there on the snowy ground. Alright, Hionay. Let''s jus'' walk on the train tracks instead. I''m not gonna risk havin'' a tree fall down on me, y''know. I looked down below for the train tracks and walked on them as soon as I spotted them.


    Returning to my destination, I displayed my serious, determined face. Alright, then. Let''s go! I continued walking and I was able to walk a bit faster this time. I walked so fast that I began to run. I saw the blizzard knocked down a couple trees right in front of me. I was relieved when I made the right decision to walk and run on the train tracks.


    I ran, ran and ran as fast as I could, not allowing the blizzard to stop me, no matter how hard it tried. Then my eyes widened when I spotted something far away from me. What the hell? There I saw the remaining tracks were destroyed. No freakin'' way! This can''t be for real. Don''t tell me the train crashed below this bridge out here, did it?!


    I stopped by the end of the cliff and looked down below. Even though I couldn''t see the train below me, I studied my surroundings and saw the remaining train tracks destroyed and ruined. I sighed when I gazed at it. Looks like my train crashed here after all. I can imagine many people dyin'' there. I''ll pray for them as soon as I find a warm, safe place for me to settle at temporarily.


    I turned around. Right now I need to get out of here, forget the forest. It''s too dangerous there. I need to get the hell out of this damn weather! I saw another station earlier. I walked forward in this cold weather.


    After a while, I started to move very slowly. My body just couldn''t handle this much cold weather. The images of my parents came into my mind. I knew death was upon me, realizing that I wouldn''t be able to reach my destination. I looked up at the sky and asked, "Elohim¡­why are You doin'' this to me? Why¡­are You lettin'' me die?"


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    I returned to my destination and smiled as I already came up with my last few words. "G-Good-bye, mom and dad¡­I''m¡­I''m gonna miss ya¡­" I fell to my knees. "P-Please pray for me while you''re at it, okay?" I collapsed to the ground and blinked my eyes before I finally closed them for good. That was when I began to sleep in my own grave.


    ****


    Slowly opening my eyes, I moaned and sat up from the couch, putting my hand on my head, rubbing it. "Ohhhh-oh, where am I?"


    Then I studied my surroundings, only to find out that I was in a living room, seeing the plasma TV on the wall, the kitchen beside it and the hallway on the right. "W-What is this place? A-Am I in heaven?"


    "Morning there!" The man''s voice echoed to my right.


    I turned to that voice''s direction right after I gasped. There I saw a handsome brown-haired man waving at me, sitting at the table. The hot red stew stood right in front of him. I waved back at him. "Oh, uh, good morning, sir." Um, who is this guy anyway?


    "Did you sleep well?" The man asked, eating a spoonful of that stew.


    "Well, why, yes, I did, I guess," I responded. "Who are you? And where am I exactly? Like, am I in heaven or something? ''Cause I believe that blizzard just killed me back there."


    The man chuckled a bit with his head lifted upwards a while, then he returned his attention to me. "Oh, no. You didn''t die nor are you in heaven."


    I widened my eyes and opened my mouth with my hands covering my mouth when my ears caught him saying that. No freakin'' way! Did he jus'' told me that I''m alive all along?! This can''t be real, can it?!


    "R-Really?!"


    "Really," he reassured, taking another spoonful sip. "I saved your life from that storm and cured you from those frost bites."


    "Oh¡­is that so?"


    The man closed his eyes and grinned at me. "Yep, I sure did."


    Ah, so it is a miracle. Elohim did save me through this man, and I bless and thank Him for this.


    Then I smiled back at him. "Oh, thank Elohim for that. Well, why, thank you, sir. I truly appreciate what you''ve done for me."


    He opened his eyes. "Oh, no problem. And if you''re hungry, I''ve saved up some stew for you if you want."


    "Okay, cool. Thanks." I uncovered the black blanket and stood up from the couch.


    "You''re welcome," the man responded as he continued taking a spoonful of the stew.


    I headed for the kitchen and fixed my plate. My hands felt the warm temperature at the bottom of the bowl, and my stew''s steam entered into my nostrils. I loved the smell of this delicious food as I entered the dining room. Mmm¡­it sure does smell tasty. I can''t wait to eat it!


    Once I sat down at the table, I took a spoonful of that stew and my tastebuds enjoyed this chicken-esque flavor. "Mmm¡­" Then I swallowed the soup. "That stew tastes so goooood."


    The man reclosed his eyes and grinned at me. "Why, thank you for your compliment. You can have the rest of the stew if you want."


    I gasped, broadened my eyes and opened my mouth. "R-Really?!"


    "Why, of course you can. It''s all yours."


    "Why, thank you so much for offerin'' me this much food, sir."


    "Well, you''re welcome, miss."


    I took a lot of spoonfuls, faster than the man sitting across the table. The man noticed I ate like a wild animal and stopped eating for a moment to look me in the eye. "Hey, now. You''re eating way too fast. Eat slowly or you''re going to choke yourself."


    I stopped eating a bit, closed my eyes and blushed my embarrassed cheeks. Seriously, Hionay. What the hell are ya doin'', embarrassin'' yourself in front of the guy who saved your life?! You jus'' met him for the first time, y''know! "Oh. I''m sorry ''bout that. I get carried away with eating way overboard like I shouldn''t have, y''know."


    "Oh, well, that''s alright. Just slow down while you eat, okay?"


    "Oh, don''t worry, sir. I will," I reassured before we both continued eating the soup. I looked down at my soup and slowly placed the spoon towards the soup, while the man ate it at a normal pace.


    My hand was shaky as it got closer and closer to the soup. C''mon, c''mon, c''mon! You can do it, Hionay. Jus'' eat slowly and you''ll be good to go, okay?


    Once I finally ate the soup slowly a bit and chatted with the man, I had more soup than enough and I didn''t have the care in the world until I was actually full. Once I put the bowl and spoon in the sink, I took a look around the room, especially the pictures of the young woman my age.


    I thought that was his cousin, sister, or whatever until the man informed me that the young woman in the pictures was actually him. My heart became confused when I heard that.

 Announcement Letter

    Alright, I thank you reader for reading my first volume of Cleansing A Sinful Heart. I truly appreciate that and may Elohim the Almighty bless you. I couldn''t be any happier and prouder than that so far.


    Unfortunately, my less satisfaction with the series'' direction overall and less people reading my content, I''m sorry to inform you that this series will be discontinued and I''ll be on hiatus from now on. But don''t worry, reader. There is hope after all.


    I''ll instead focus on fixing the plot, blurb and the cover art, using the same exact characters and names in that story, but I''ll change its genre to a Sci-fi Fantasy under the new title RE: Redemption instead of Cleansing A Sinful Heart. I''ll be making the majority of changes in that story. It will take a long time for me to get that established properly. I''ll also brainstorm for my new series and complete volumes 1 and 2 for it.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    But don''t worry, I won''t make too many changes to the plot overall. Other than that though, the same characters will be back. Once I get that done and placed the chapters on there, I should be able to upload my brand new series and delete the old one, along with letting you guys know about it.


    I know this is sad for me to delete my old series and to go through these changes, but this is what I have to do for the Almighty Elohim. This is the series'' redemption moment after all. Anyway, it''s very fortunate that I have readers read my first volume of the old series and I couldn''t have done that without my fans at my side.


    I truly appreciate your strong patience, time and support of my precious time. Other than that, have a great day and have a great year. Peace!