Chapter 4: Shoplifting Arc

**Shoplifting Arc** is the 4th chapter of *Zaix10*.

## Plot

A high-school girl can be seen walking around a record store with an unnerved expression. She reaches out to grab a CD from the "su" section of a nearby rack. The girl tries to smuggle the unpaid CD into her handbag, but the male shop attendant grabs her arm before she accomplishes her goal. He then questions the girl's motives before proceeding to take her to the rearmost room of the shop.

The shop attendant sits down by the table as the girl stands awaiting to be admonished. A total of three stolen CDs are placed on the table, revealing that she had already succeeded two times before being caught red-handed. The man reprimands her for her criminal behavior, but he comments that he would let bygones be bygones as long as she reflects on it. Before he could finish his words, he turns around to see the girl stripped down to her underwear. Distressed by her action, the man shouts and questions her irrational behavior.

Feigning innocence, the girl accuses the shop attendant of coercing her to pay with her body. The befuddled man retorts her accusation and slams down onto the table in frustration. Getting tired of her antics, he blocks his own sight and asks her to dress herself in the room. The girl complies with his request and the man then waits outside the room out of consideration. After some time has elapsed, the attendant asks if she's done and she replies in the affirmative. As the man enters the room, he is met with a cry of embarrassment from the girl as she tries to cover her still undressed body. The attendant exclaims his shock at her deception and then leaves the room once again.

After a moment of silence, the man questions her if she has actually dressed herself this time. The girl replies in the affirmative again. He asks a second time to be sure and she reassures him of her reply. When he opens the door, however, the girl remains undressed and repeats her earlier reaction much to the shop attendant's chagrin. The man is frustrated by her disingenuous behavior, but he is finally able to get her dressed after a while.
Having sat back down in the chair, the attendant calls the girl out on her plan to victimize herself in order to avoid being punished for her crime. The girl timidly rejects the reasoning, but the attendant had enough and decides to call her parents. The high-school girl strongly protest against the attendant's decision, but the man argues that it's necessary due to her delinquent behavior.

The girl interrupts the attendant and then proclaims that she is the parent instead. In response to the attendant's confusion, the girl places her hands over her stomach and clarifies that the two have a child together. After a moment of delay, the man reacts, dumbfounded, to her inane act. The girl's face turns red in embarrassment and the attendant punches her while criticizing her action. The man angrily demands her to leave while clutching his fist in pain, but the girl appears unhurt in comparison. He insists that the girl will be allowed to leave without punishment as long as she returns the goods. However, the girl argues that she'll just be a repeating offender if she leaves just like that. Annoyed by her stubbornness to remain, the attendant relents and tells her to leave with the goods while he covers for her. After a brief moment of consideration, the girl's face lits up and happily accepts the idea. The man, realizing that he was tricked, then lifts the girl by her neck in anger.

As the girl shrieks helplessly, the shop's boss enters the room. The attendant greets the balding man and is then asked about his performance. Before the attendant could reply, the girl suddenly calls the boss her father. The attendant is startled by his poor treatment of the boss's alleged daughter, but his fears are dismissed when the boss denies knowing the girl. Deceived by the girl once more, the attendant punches her again in irritation. Having witnessed the act, the boss harshly reprimands the attendant for attacking a defenseless girl and fires him on the spot. The attendant is caught by surprise and the unharmed high-school girl yells out in celebration in response.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* **Shoplifting Girl** (Debut)
* **Record Shop Attendant** (Debut)