On the day Zach finished his SATs, he came to pick me up from preschool wearing a pair of limited-edition $4,000 sneakers. My teacher, Miss Miller, stared at his shoes for a long time. She said Zach was barely an adult himself and that she didn’t feel safe letting two kids walk home alone. She insisted on walking us back. I was about to nod blindly when the Barbie doll in my arms suddenly spoke inside my head: [Right before you reach your house, Miss Miller will fake a sprained ankle. She will ask Zach to help her inside and let her stay the night.] [At midnight, she will crawl into Zach’s bed. Tomorrow, she will lie and say Zach assaulted her.] [Your brother will be expelled from school. She will take your house, your family's savings, and kick you all onto the streets to freeze to death.] My mind went completely blank with fear. By the time I finally processed what the doll said, we were already at the gates of our gated community. Suddenly, Miss Miller gasped and leaned against the wall, clutching her ankle. Her face was pale. "Chloe, my foot hurts so bad I can't walk. Can I please stay at your place tonight?" I squeezed Zach’s hand tightly, remembering the last thing the doll had whispered: [In the end, she will sell you to human traffickers. You will never see your mom, dad, or brother again!] I was terrified of bad guys, and even more terrified of losing my family. I gathered all my courage and screamed: "Miss Miller! We are going on a road trip tonight! We won't be home!"
Miss Miller’s face froze for a second. But then she forced a quick smile. "Summer break hasn't even started yet, sweetie. Why are you going on a trip now?" "Besides, I didn't get any text from your mom about this..." "Chloe, are you just saying that because you don't want to help me?" "Lying isn't what good girls do, you know." Being accused of lying made me feel so frustrated. I screamed louder: "I am not lying! Mom said Zach got a perfect score on his SATs, so we are going to New York to celebrate!" Hearing this, Miss Miller’s eyes lit up. She wasn't angry at all. Instead, she turned to my brother and gave him an understanding smile. "I guess Chloe is just too excited for the holidays and wants to skip school. That's why she's making up excuses." Zach frowned slightly. His tone was firm. "Chloe doesn't lie. If she doesn't want to go to school, there must be a reason." Then, he knelt down, ruffled my hair, and asked softly: "Tell me, Chloe. Are you feeling sick? Or did someone bully you at school?" Looking at my gentle brother, the terror of being sold by traffickers finally turned into hot tears. I buried my face in his chest, grabbing his shirt, and sobbed, "There's a bad person at school... they want to sell me..." Zach’s face went pale instantly. He held me tight and glared at Miss Miller with suspicion. Miss Miller clearly didn't expect me to say that. Seeing Zach staring at her, she quickly forced a laugh. "She... she must be talking about the anti-abduction drill we did at school!" "Yes, that's it! Since summer break is coming, the school organized a safety drill so kids know how to stay safe outside." "Chloe is just sensitive. She probably got scared." "You know how kids are. They get confused easily." Zach was still worried, but Miss Miller sounded so confident, and I was crying too hard to speak clearly. He could only pat my back to soothe me. "Don't worry, Chloe. The bad guys in the drill aren't real. No one is going to take you away." Then, looking at Miss Miller, who was sweating from her "painful" ankle, he sighed apologetically. "Your ankle looks really bad. Why don't you come inside and rest for a bit? I'll help you find some ice and medicine once I calm my sister down." Hearing Zach believe her instead of me, I lost it. I let out a loud wail. I pushed Zach's hand away and threw myself straight onto the ground. "It is real! It’s not a drill! I'm going to get stolen! I don't want to go home! No, no, no!" Zach was shocked by my meltdown. People walking by started staring at us. Zach's face turned beet red. He was completely stuck. "What's going on here? Why is Chloe crying like this?" A familiar voice came from behind us. It was Mom, just getting home from work. Zach looked like he had just seen his savior. He quickly explained everything to her. After hearing it, Mom patted Zach’s shoulder. Only then did Zach's tensed shoulders finally relax a bit. "You did great, honey. Don't worry. Since Chloe is scared, we won't wait for Dad to get off work. We'll leave for our trip right now." She picked me up, gently wiping my tears, and smiled. "We will stay far away from any bad guys. Dad will meet us there later, so Chloe doesn't need to be scared at all." After calming Zach and me down, Mom turned to Miss Miller with an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry for the drama, Miss Miller. Let me drive you home instead."
Hearing this, a flash of panic crossed Miss Miller’s eyes. "Mrs. Miller, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't bother you guys." "But... the apartment I rent is an old walk-up. I live on the fourth floor. With my ankle swollen like this, I can't climb the stairs at all." She let out a bitter sigh. "And calling an ambulance for a sprained ankle feels like such a waste of medical resources." "It's fine. I'll just sit on the bench in the park tonight. I'll probably feel better tomorrow morning..." Mom looked at Miss Miller's pale face, feeling conflicted. Miss Miller was my homeroom teacher. She always talked to the parents and seemed to care a lot about the kids. Leaving her on a park bench overnight felt too cruel. So, Mom knelt down and tried to negotiate with me. "Chloe, how about we push our trip to tomorrow morning? Can we do that for Mom?" I hugged my doll tightly. Every cell in my body was screaming "no". But I didn't know how to argue back. My parents had always taught me to be polite and kind. My tantrums earlier had already used up all my courage. I had to think fast. If I couldn't kick her out, I would just stick to my brother like glue! "Okay..." I pouted, pretending to give in. Then, I spun around and wrapped myself around Zach's leg like an octopus. "But Zach has to sleep with me tonight! I'm scared of the bad guys!" Seeing my red, puffy eyes, Zach couldn't bear to say no. "Deal," he said immediately. The heavy rock in my heart finally dropped. As long as I slept in the same bed with Zach, that evil teacher wouldn't be able to crawl into his bed! However, Miss Miller almost lost her smile. She forced a dry laugh. "Oh, Chloe, you're a big girl now. Why are you still so clingy to your brother?" "Are you afraid of the dark? The other kids at school might laugh at you if they find out." Normally, this peer pressure would work on me. But right now, I felt like a superhero fighting a supervillain. I wasn't falling for her tricks! "I'm not afraid of the dark! I just want to sleep with Zach!" I buried my face in Zach's leg. "If you don't let Zach sleep with me, I won't let you stay at our house!" That shut Miss Miller up completely. No matter how angry she was, she could only close her mouth in embarrassment. That night, I got my wish. I crawled into Zach's bed with my doll. Zach leaned against the headboard, reading me a bedtime story in his soft voice. I pretended to listen, but my ears were straining to hear any noise outside the door. I promised myself I would keep my eyes open all night to protect my brother. But a five-year-old’s body simply couldn't hold out. Under the soothing sound of his voice, my eyelids grew heavy, and my brain turned to mush. Before I knew it, I fell fast asleep. But my sleep was far from peaceful. In the middle of the night, I felt the air turn freezing cold. It felt like a pair of icy hands was pulling my arms, trying to drag me out of the warm bed. In my dream, I was caught by human traffickers. I couldn't move. I screamed for Zach to save me, but my body felt like it was made of lead. I couldn't wake up. I couldn't make a sound. The terrifying face of the trafficker came closer and closer. I was shaking with fear. "AHHHHHHH!!!" Suddenly, a piercing shriek woke me up completely.
I pouted, turning around to cry to Zach. But my hands grabbed nothing but air. Zach wasn't next to me. Even my doll was gone! I rubbed my blurry eyes and looked around. Pink wallpaper, stuffed animals everywhere... This was my own bedroom! How did I get here? I was sleeping with Zach last night! I didn't even put on my shoes. I ran as fast as my short legs could carry me straight to Zach's room. When I reached the door, the scene inside shocked me. Miss Miller was sitting on Zach's bed, holding the blanket tightly up to her chest. Her hair was a mess, and her face was covered in tears. Zach was standing by the bed in his pajamas. His face was ghostly pale, and he looked completely lost. "I really don't know... I woke up and she was just in my bed... I didn't do anything..." Zach's voice was shaking with pure terror and despair. Just then, loud footsteps came from the hallway. Dad had just gotten back from his business trip. Still holding his briefcase, looking exhausted, he rushed in when he heard the scream. The moment Dad stepped into the room, he saw the chaos. Zach saw Dad and tried to explain immediately. "Dad, let me explain! I was sleeping with Chloe last night! I swear I didn't touch her!" Dad froze. Then he saw me standing by the door, having just run out of my own room. Dad's face turned dark. He rushed forward and slapped Zach across the face. "Your sister just came out of her own room!" "You did something this disgusting, and you're using your little sister as a shield?!" Dad was shaking with rage, pointing his finger at Zach's nose. "I didn't! I really slept with Chloe!" Zach held his cheek, his eyes filled with tears of injustice. The noise was so loud that the neighbors from upstairs and downstairs started gathering around. Our front door was open, and people were whispering and pointing at us. "Isn't that the kid who got a perfect score on his SATs? Wow, you really can't judge a book by its cover." "I used to tell my kids to be like him... Oh my god, being smart doesn't mean you have morals!" "How did his parents raise a monster like this?" I screamed at Miss Miller on the bed. "Zach is not lying! I slept with him last night! She sneaked in by herself!" Hearing my words, Miss Miller didn't panic. Instead, she cried even harder. She gasped for breath, sobbing. "Chloe... I've always been so nice to you. How can you lie to protect your brother like this..." She pointed at Zach, wailing: "He is a six-foot-tall guy! I'm just a kindergarten teacher." "My ankle is injured. How could I possibly fight him off?" The neighbors murmured in disgust. "What is wrong with this family? The brother does something terrible, and they teach the little sister to lie at such a young age!" "That poor teacher. She just needed a place to stay..." Being pointed at and called a liar by so many adults was too much for a five-year-old. Tears poured down my face. I didn't know what to do. No one believed me. I knew I was holding Zach's arm last night. Why did I wake up in my own room?
Suddenly, I remembered the candy Miss Miller gave me last night. She said Mom bought it for me, so I ate it without thinking. I couldn't quite connect the dots, but I felt like that candy was the reason. On the bed, Miss Miller was screaming for someone to call 911. A few minutes later, the police arrived. Facing the officers, Miss Miller clutched the sheet and wept hysterically. Because this happened inside our house, there were no security cameras. But the disheveled bed, the torn clothes, the hair on the pillow... All the physical evidence pointed directly at Zach. The police officer frowned, took some notes, and turned to the crowd of neighbors outside. "Did anyone hear anything unusual last night?" Mrs. Gable, a lady from down the hall, stepped forward and said hesitantly: "Officer, I did hear a woman screaming last night." "It was so loud that I actually came over and knocked on the door." "This young man opened the door and said he was playing a horror game. He said the screaming was from the TV." "I told him to turn it down and went back to bed." "Now that I think about it... it must have been the teacher screaming for help." Hearing this, Zach's eyes widened in horror. He waved his hands wildly. "I didn't! I wasn't playing any games! I didn't even open the door last night! I never talked to you!" "Why are you still lying?!" Mrs. Gable snapped back, looking disgusted. "We live in the same building. Why would I lie to get you in trouble if you didn't do it?" I was sweating with anxiety. The police didn't believe me. Dad was too angry to see the truth. My only hope was Mom! Mom was the smartest adult I knew. If she was here, she would kick this bad woman out. But I looked through the crowd and couldn't find her. Then I remembered—Mom always went to Whole Foods early in the morning for groceries. She wasn't back yet! Seeing that all the "evidence" and "witnesses" were against Zach, and Zach had no way to prove his innocence, the lead officer sighed. He walked over to Zach and said coldly: "Son, you're going to have to come down to the station with us for questioning." At that exact second, Mom burst through the door. She was out of breath, and her grocery bag was empty. She pushed through the crowd, stood right in front of Zach and me, and said firmly: "Officer, I guarantee my son was sleeping with his sister last night. He couldn't have done this." I nodded like crazy behind Mom. "Yes! And I dreamed of being taken by bad guys, and then I woke up in my own room!" Miss Miller wiped her tears and said: "Of course you're going to defend him, you're his family..." "Even if they slept together at first, his brother could have easily carried Chloe back to her room before coming back to assault me!" "Chloe, did you see anyone else in the room last night besides your brother?" Miss Miller's question stumped me. Seeing me silent, the officer shook his head and reached for his handcuffs to take Zach away. Suddenly, Mom looked at me and asked: "Chloe, where is your Barbie? Didn't Mom tell you to never let that doll leave your side?" I froze. I looked down at my empty hands. I realized that since I woke up, I hadn't seen my doll. Mom saw my reaction and nodded. She walked straight into Zach's room. A moment later, she came out holding my Barbie. She held the doll up and said coldly to everyone: "Who says we don't have cameras in this house?" "The eyes of this doll are the cameras!"
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