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"Of course not. Paul didn't owe you anything anymore. He owed and still owes me only."
"But if you got money from Mom and Dad for it, Why should I still have to pay you? After all you already got you money back."
"I did get my money back, but it wasn't from you. You have to pay your debts. You can't rely on Mom and Dad to bail you out all the time. You can't be going and asking them for yet another dollar for bootlaces. My God man, stand on your own two feet. You don't want to be some sort of welfare case do you?"
"But I do work. What about you and Peter?"
"Oh I have money. Peter may have been able to get by on the extra dollar you'd give him for loaning you money, but he doesn't have the funds to loan anymore. I guess he's going to need to get a job like you, and start standing on his own two feet. We wouldn't want him to go begging to Mom and Dad for a handout all the time."
Peter, "Do you think you can get me a job at your work, Paul?"
"Yeah I suppose, but it'd wipe out any chance of either of us getting over time."
"Yeah, but I'm going to need something. I mean I'm okay now, but it'll only last through the end of the month, and then what?"
"I know what you mean. What are you going to do for boots. You know they're twenty bucks.
"Well I have ten, but Morgan cheated me out of the other ten he owed me, and he didn't give me any of the money from Mom and Dad like he was supposed to."
"They gave it to everyone owed money from Paul. Paul didn't owe you any money. So boo-hoo, but just to show that there's no hard feelings. I'll loan you the other ten you need for a pair of boots."
"What am I supposed to do for things like lunches for the rest of the month?"
"Skip them. You could do with a little belt tightening. You've been getting soft. Do you want the money or not?"
"Fine I guess I'll take the money."
"Here you go. By the way, Paul, what with you being unable to get a loan from Peter anymore, and no free bootlaces from Mom and Dad, I think that instead of you paying a dollar interest for a ten dollar loan, you'll need to start paying me two dollars for a ten dollar loan."
"Fine I guess I'll just pay you the twenty-two I owe you. Even though I don't think its fair. That plus the buck for my laces is going to wipe out the twenty-three I make, but at least I'll be done with you."
