Not That Bad

"Kate, tell me why you weren't here yesterday. Your dad didn't tell the office," my teacher asked.
"Oh, I was sick," I told her. I've always been a great lier. But I only lie when I need to keep my deepest darkest secret, the reason I wasn't here yesterday. And also the reason why I'm risking my death. One mess up, and I'm dead.
"Well then, you can go now. See you tomorrow," she answered.
I left the classroom, entered the main hallway, and pushed open the front door. I saw my dad waiting for me in his car, so I headed in that direction, and got into the car.
"Why are you late?" My dad asked.
"Mrs.Abbott kept me late to ask why I wasn't here yesterday," I answered.
"You didn't tell her the truth, did you?" He asked, eyeing me carefully.
"Of course I didn't, why would I?" I answered.
"I'm just making sure. I can't have you ending up like your mother," He said, his eyes tearing up when he mentioned my mom.
"I won't," I said, "don't worry about me."
"Just remember-one mistake, your'e dead. literally."
When we get home, I check the fridge. I can't eat whenever I want, and as much as I want. It's because my family-just me and my dad now, really- are poor. We get food, eat it only when we need to eat, and when we run out get more. And when I say "get," I don't mean buy-I mean steal.
We don't have enough money to buy food. It's very expensive- it costs much more money than it did before... Everything is expensive now, though. Everything used to cost much less than it does now. A few weeks before the price of things suddenly rose, everyone got a letter in the mail, telling them to prepare for the price change- the letter also had a bunch of money in it. But the day my family got the letter, we also got a bunch of other mail. Because of that, we lost a lot of it, including the letter. The only reason I know there was a letter is because my friends told me. So now my family can't pay for anything. Thank God, one of my two best friends-her family is rich- gave my parents enough money to pay for the house, and even more money than that to pay for bills. And that's the only thing my parents use it for-paying bills. Everything we need to survive...is what we have to steal to get. If we didn't lose the letter, we wouldn't have to be thieves. We wouldn't be poor. We would be able to pay for everything we need to survive. So if you ask me, we're not that bad. Or at least, my dad and I are. I don't have any other living relatives. Just my dad and me. That's all there is in my family. Two people, and once three... If I mess up, there will be one. If It's only my dad, he'll be depressed. Not only does he love me, but he won't have anyone he loves left in his life if I die. And I can't put him through that misery. And, if he dies, well, I can't live on my own. It's just plain obvious. I'm sixteen. So we both need each other. If one of us dies, so does the other.
And my mom...that's a long story.
/We walked without a sound behind a bunch of cardboard boxes around the food store. "So, when do we go?" I whispered. I was only ten, and I was being taught how to steal, because I needed to help keep the family alive.
"Shh. Just wait 'till I say to go," my mom replied.
"I'm telling you, we have to wait until she's older," my dad told her.
"Oh, just be quiet! I know this is the right time. It's perfectly fine," my mom snapped.
"No, it's definetly not. Kate is ten years old. She can eaisily make enough noise to attract the eyes of someone, and get us all killed. Now in days, once the police find out you're stealing, or if you ever stole before, they kill you right away," My dad answered.
My mom was now furious. "Who do you think I am, an idiot? Of course I know that! I know what I'm doing!" My mom swung her arm out in anger, and since she was so careless, it hit the boxes and made all of them fall down. By the bags filled with things we stole from other stores, we were clearly guilty of theft.
"Theives!" A man shouted. He grabbed his phone, and, obviously, called the police. My dad picked me up and the three of us made a run for it. But right at that moment, we saw a police car. At this moment, I'll have to admit my dad was smarter than my mom. He ran behind a nearby bush. While my dad and I were hiding, my mom was franticly whipping her head around, unsure of what to do. I wanted to run to call her to come to the bush, but my dad was covering my mouth so I couldn't speak. And Then the police came out.../ And I'll burst into tears if I mention the rest...but you know what happened... And the reason my mom is gone is another thing I have to lie about. I always tell people that the reason she's gone is because she got very sick...but obviously, its much different than that.