One Saturday morning in May of 2016, I was playing on my iPad in my queen size, wooden frame bed. I bought $100 of the game’s currency with my father’s money, unaware of what I was doing. I eagerly adventure through the game like never before with all of these new powers and boosts I receive. I spent the rest of the day running around my house and showing my online friends these new perks. About 6 hours later, I walk into my room. SLAM! My dad opens and slams my door. “Hey, did you buy anything?” He says loudly. Instead of telling the truth, I lied. “N-no,” I whisper, scared and nervous. My father leaves. I just realize what I set myself up for. There is no turning back now.

            I go to the projector downstairs to watch TV on the sectional, to distract me from the butterflies in my stomach. Just then, my father yells my name. I maneuver out of the basement and look at him in his gray, trusty chair. He scrolls through his computer trying to figure out what happened. He keeps interrogating me. Still, I respond with “no” or “it wasn’t me” to his questions. My dad views an online manual from Apple, and even calls them to see if he could get his money back! The next day, my family thinks it will be a good idea to take away my game. “Wow,” I say quietly and sadly, “Just give me one more day”. I use that time to say goodbye to my virtual friends and disable my account. Not even thinking about mentioning what happened.

            About 15 months later, I get the craving to play that old game. I ask my dad if I could play it. He says no. “You think that would happen again?” He finally agrees. My odd brain thinks this was the best time to say what happened. “Um, Dad, I spent that money without telling you,” I say. I can tell he is not happy. The drive home is long. My parents discuss what I would be subject to and they come up with a conclusion. “No electronics for two weeks. None of that game ever again (which I could play now). And you owe me how much you spent.” My dad says. I feel dejected for the rest of the day, although I have to respect their decisions. Even though I can easily manipulate a way around these impediments, I decide not to go through more trouble, because I do not want my parents to mandate me any more than they are. But, that’s how I learned not to lie. If you lie and then make it up or someone finds out, that’s significantly worse than telling the truth, even if the truth hurts. If I had just told the truth the first time, I would have only lost electronics for two weeks. So, always, always tell the truth, because a lie leads to some terrible things.