Chapter 4: Kaleb

My alarm woke me up with its usual annoying chirps and beeps. I sat up, and shook my head, trying to get rid of the fatigue overriding all thoughts. To be honest, I had no idea why I had taken the job at the mall food court at 8:00 on Saturday mornings. I finally was able to think clearly, and I shakily stood up. I quickly got dressed, and hopped in my car.

I pulled into the mall parking lot, and went inside the food court. I glanced at my watch, and I was just barely on time. I sighed when I slipped behind the counter of the sweet shop. The day was boring as usual, until I saw Addie walk into the busy food court. Yes, it was common for Addie to come to the mall, but she was usually with Sheila or Daniel, sometimes even Marcus or some of the other cheerleaders. The way she was walking clearly showed that she had something on her mind. She finally found me with my apron and cardboard hat.

"Hi, Kaleb. Uh, can I talk to you?" Addie said shakily.

"Sure, my shift is over for now, so I'm sure I can spare a few minutes." I answered, heading to clock out for my lunch.

Addie and I walked to the pizza shop next to the sweet shop, got some lunch, and sat down. Now that I was able to look at her more closely, I noticed that she looked awful. She had pulled her hair back into a sloppy ponytail, and she wasn't wearing any makeup, both of which were nothing like the Addie I know.

"So," I asked, "How's Daniel?"

Just then, Addie began sobbing. "He-he... Oh, it's terrible!" Addie waild, throwing her head onto the table.

"Addie! Calm down, what happened? What did Daniel do?" I tried to calm Addie down, only to have my hands swatted away.

"I'm fine." Addie lied, swiping away her tears with her sleeve. "Well, that's a total lie. I feel awful." Addie then explained why she was so depressed.

"Wait, so let me get this straight. Daniel tried to force you into you-know-what, and then when you told him no, he cheated on you with Sheila?" I asked, trying to get some clarification.

Addie meekly nodded her head before it popped back up, "Hey! Marcus! Over here!" Addie yelled to somewhere behind me. I turned around in my chair and saw marcus, my best friend, walking over to us.

"Hey guys, what are you doing here?" Marcus ruffled my black hair, and pulling up a chair and sitting with us.

"Not much, as you know, I work here, and I was also talking to Addie about something. What about you?" I replied, smiling at how marcus could brighten up anyone's day.

"I'm getting some decorations and food for my Halloween party. You guys are coming right?" Marcus looked over at Addie and noticed her somber expression. "Are you okay, Addie? You aren't your normally cheerful self."

"Um, well, last night was... interesting. Daniel and I got into a fight." Addie admitted.

"Must've been quite a fight, what were you arguing about? Let me guess, Daniel flirted with the girl that works behind the snack bar at the movie theater, right?" Marcus joked, but when he saw Addie flinch at the mention of Daniel, he turned toward me.

"Uh, Kaleb, what actually happened between Daniel and Addie?" He whispered. I looked at Addie for permission to tell Marcus, and Addie nodded. I was pretty sure that she didn't want to have to tell the story again. I then quickly told Marcus all that Addie told me. When I finished, I looked at Marcus' shocked expression, and while the words were unspoken, I knew what he was thinking, because it was the same thought I had.

What has Daniel done?