CHAPTER FOUR

"Why did the Andalite cross the road?"

I turned. "I do not know, Tom. Why?"

He smirked. "To get to the other side."

I looked down, puzzled. "Forgive my ignorance, Tom. But I do not understand."

"Forget it," he sighed. "It's a joke... Marco would've laughed."

I felt bad for Tom. I wanted to comfort him, make him feel at ease. And so, I did the best I could.

"Ha ha. Ha. Ha ha ha!!"

Tom looked at me, his eyes wide. "What...was that?"

"I was laughing, Tom. At your joke. Very humorous indeed."

"Uhm. Yeah. Don't do that again."

"Was that not the correct response?"

"No," he said. "That wasn't a laugh. You sounded like a demented robot or something..." Tom turned his head left and right, examining the road. "Come on. Let's go."

Together, we walked across the highway and passed through the parking lot.

"Here's the entrance. Just act normal. Or try to, at least."

He opened one of two double doors. And we walked inside the mall.

Instantly, my senses were bombarded. The sights! The sounds! The smells! It was twice as exciting as a visit to Ularna, the largest space port on my world. And this was only the food court, as Tom called it. We were yet to visit the various shops selling human goods.

We walked past a group of children, eating together at a circular table.

"I would like to try your human foods," I whispered. "I have never experienced the sense of taste before..."

"Nu uh," he said. "No way. I've heard about what happens when you guys get near food. We'd get kicked outta here in ten seconds flat... Speaking of which, why are we here? Are we supposed to be looking for something?"

I saw an opportunity to use a human expression. The shrug. I must have used it correctly, because Tom replied with a sigh.

"Great. Just great. So we're just gonna wander around until we see what the Ellimist wants us to? That could take forever. We should be looking for my dad. We should be looking for..."

"Jake?" a voice called.

We spun around. A young boy approached us, about Tom's age. He had blonde hair and strangely familiar brown eyes.

"Jake? What's up, man? I was hoping I'd find you here."

Tom's mouth opened wide. At first, I did not understand why. But then it "hit me," as humans say...

This boy was familiar for a reason. We knew him. He was Tobias.

"Tobias?" I whispered.

His eyes looked up at me. "Uh, yeah. You Jake's dad?"

"Um. You must have the wrong guy," Tom stammered. "My name's... Bill. Yeah. Sorry, man."

"Wow..." Tobias said. "Gosh, I feel like a total idiot. Sorry.. You really do look just like this guy I know, except your hair is lighter now that I think about it. Sorry, dude..."

"No problem," Tom said.

Tobias turned and walked away. We decided to do the same.

"Wait a second!" Tobias exclaimed. "You knew my name!"

Tom cursed. "We're screwed," he whispered to me. "Tobias is not supposed to know about us. We've gotta get out of here."

I nodded. "I am sorry, Tom."

"Hey, how did you know my name?" Tobias was standing right behind us. Had he heard our conversation? I thought about running, avoiding any confrontation... But I wasn't too experienced with using human legs yet. Running would be very difficult. And Tom would not leave me behind. We turned and faced the young Tobias...

Tom lowered his voice. His eyes scanned the area, making sure no one was within hearing range. "So, you know Jake?"

"Yeah," Tobias said. "Are you related to him?"

"Yeah, you could say that. Are you guys friends?"

Tobias shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, he's nice and all. He kinda...helped me out awhile back. But we haven't really talked much or anything."

Tom looked at me. I could tell he was formulating an idea. A dangerous one...

"Do you know where he lives?"

Tobias thought for a second. "Not exactly. I've seen him cut through this construction site a few times. I think he lives in the neighborhood on the other side. Need me to show you there?"

Tom's eyes lit up. There was an excitement in them I had never witnessed before.

"Yeah. Yeah, take me there."