Confronting the truth can be difficult. Such was the case for 30-year-old St. Louis resident Rebecca Ward when, during a conversation about phone bills among friends, Ward stated that it is actually cheaper for her parents to pay for her phone on a family plan, or, as Ward’s friends were quick to conclude, a lie.
“The math is sort of complicated,” said Ward, untruthfully. “But basically by adding my phone to the family plan, the packaged price lowers the cost per phone so drastically that it actually saves my parents a considerable amount of money.”
“I’m basically doing them a favor,” added Ward, lies flying from her tongue like birds over the horizon.
Ward’s friends were unwilling to accept her willful fabrications.
“I have no issue with the fact that Rebecca’s parents pay her phone bill,” said one friend, Sherri Thompson. “But how dare she sit here with a straight face and feed me insidious lies about her family plan?”
Another friend, Lorna Krupnik, tried to give Ward the benefit of the doubt.
“Maybe when Rebecca says being on her family plan is cheaper, she means it’s cheaper for her because it doesn’t cost her a dime because her parents pay for it in full,” said Krupnik. “That’s an explanation I could get behind.”
Regardless of its interpretation, the trickery has caused turmoil among Ward’s loved ones.
“This isn’t some bare-bones deal,” said Thompson. “The other day I’m at a coffee shop with Rebecca and she’s browsing away on her laptop and I ask her, ‘what’s the wifi?’ and she goes, “I don’t know, I’m on my personal hotspot.’ Personal hotspot? Okay, Rebecca.”
“On the family plan unlimited data actually ends up costing less!” lied Ward.
The ramifications of Ward’s boundless deceit have quickly extended beyond her friend group.
“It’s hard,” said Ward’s boyfriend Mark Platt. “Things are good with Becca, but there’s this infectious lie built into the foundation of our relationship. Also, she keeps avoiding me meeting her parents and I can’t tell if it’s because things aren’t that serious or if she’s just afraid I’m going to find out the truth about the family plan.”
At press time, Ward could not be reached, as she was preoccupied with moving into a new apartment.
“Technically my parents own it,” said Ward. “I’m basically housesitting. It saves them money!”
