Max stared at the sleek iPhone box on his bed like it might explode. His fingers hovered over the pristine packaging, not quite daring to touch it.

“Is this…” he swallowed hard, adjusting his glasses with shaking hands. “This is the actual newest model? The real thing?”

I leaned against his doorframe, arms crossed. “No, I bought you a counterfeit from some guy in an alley. Of course it’s real.”

He picked up the box carefully, examining it from every angle like a bomb technician. “But where did you get this? These cost like… a thousand dollars.”

“I bought it.” I shrugged, then reached into my backpack and pulled out an identical box. “Got one for myself too.”

Max’s jaw dropped. His eyes darted between the two boxes, then up to my face, searching for some explanation that made sense in his world—a world where his sister was a broke high school student who couldn’t afford breakfast.

“But… how?” he stammered. “You don’t have a job. You don’t have money. This is…” He gestured helplessly at the phone. “This is impossible.”

“It’s not stolen, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I said, sitting on the edge of his bed. “And I didn’t rob a bank or sell drugs. It’s mine, legitimately purchased, and now it’s yours.”

He clutched the box tighter. “Are you in some kind of trouble, Jade?”

I smiled at his concern. “No trouble. If this one breaks, I’ll buy you another one. No questions asked.”

Max stared at me for a long moment, his expression a mixture of suspicion and temptation. Finally, his desire for the technology won out over his concerns. He slowly opened the box, fingers trembling slightly as he lifted out the gleaming device.

The next morning, I returned from my dawn run to find Max already dressed and waiting in the hallway. His eyes were ringed with dark circles, and he was thumbing through his new phone with intense focus.

“You look like shit,” I remarked, wiping sweat from my forehead. My running clothes clung to me, damp with perspiration. “Did you stay up all night?”

He smiled sheepishly. “Maybe. It’s just… it’s amazing, Jade. The processing speed, the camera quality—I’ve already downloaded some physics simulation programs.”

“Give me fifteen minutes to shower, and then we’re going out.”

“Out? Where?”

“Shopping,” I called back.

As we headed down the stairs, Emily appeared from her room, eyeing us suspiciously. “Where are you two going?” she demanded, voice sharp with curiosity.

I walked past her without acknowledging her existence. Max hesitated, then followed me, his new iPhone tucked securely in his pocket.

The Cloud City Mall was the biggest shopping center in the area. Max looked distinctly uncomfortable as we walked through the gleaming entrance, his shoulders hunched as if trying to take up less space among the weekend shoppers who clearly had more money than our family.

“What are we doing here?” he whispered, eyeing the high-end stores with trepidation.

“Getting you some decent clothes,” I replied, steering him toward the men’s department. I nodded to a sales associate who immediately approached, his professional smile widening as he sensed a commission.

“We need a complete wardrobe refresh for my brother,” I said. “Casual, but good quality.”

The associate’s gaze swept over Max’s worn jeans and faded t-shirt. “Of course. Right this way.”

Three outfits later, Max stood awkwardly in front of a mirror, dressed in designer clothes that made him look older, more confident—despite his obvious discomfort with the attention.

“This doesn’t feel like me,” he muttered, tugging at the sleeve of a tailored jacket.

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