Chapter Five: The Calm Before the Storm

Mal forcefully shoved her french-fries into her ketchup.

"I just can't believe he's with her," she hissed as she continued to angrily tap her fry. "Like, what does he even see in her?" She grabbed the salt and began shaking it. Evie raised an eyebrow, puzzled, yet amused, by her friend's behavior.

"You don't even like salt," Evie said taking the canister from her. "You literally just dumped the entire ocean on your fries." Mal came out of her frustrated daze and noticed the visible pile of rocks on her food. She rolled her eyes and walked them over to the trashcan. She made sure to throw the fries so that there was a loud thud. Ben looked over, just as she had wanted, and she made sure to smirk at him. To her dismay, he smiled. What a jerk!

"Did you see that?" She said to Evie.

"Isn't this what you wanted? Three weeks ago you said you wanted him to move on." Mal opened her mouth but no words came out, she knew her friend was right. She rolled her eyes, and stormed off.

Maybe Evie was right, Ben thought as he watched Mal storm out of the courtyard. He felt guilty using Audrey to get Mal to want him again, but he felt he had no choice.

"Can you believe that?" Audrey's voice brought Ben back to reality. She looked at him and giggled awkwardly as she waited for his response. She touched his knee, "Babe, I said could you believe that?" Ben shook his head, unsure of how to answer since he had not been listening to her all of lunch. He was too busy thinking about Mal, missing her, and reliving the night that they had spent together after prom.

"You weren't listening to me, were you?"

"Sorry, I was too busy thinking."

"About what?" She snapped. She followed Ben's gaze to the door where Mal had gone back into the school. "Babe, are you thinking about her again?"

"What?" Ben tried to act surprised. "Who? Mal? No. I'm thinking about some of the king stuff I have to do." Audrey looked relived.

"Good," she giggled. "That's why I was trying to tell you about the castle my parents are letting me stay in this summer. They're going to be away on business for several weeks, so I'll be there by myself most of the time." She raised an eyebrow flirtatiously and put her bare knee against his. She leaned in and whispered, "So you should come visit." Ben was surprised at how uncomfortable her advances made him. He was frustrated with himself, what kind of seventeen year old guy rejects advances from a beautiful girl?

"We'll see," he said with a smile as he leaned in and kissed her forehead to remove any doubt. Audrey didn't look satisfied with his answer."It's my first summer as king, so I'll be busy, too."

"Wasn't it more fun just being a prince? You could have the servants, the castles, without the responsibility?"

"But then I wouldn't be able to help people as much."

"People like them?" Audrey smirked and looked over at the table where the kids from the Isle of the Lost sat. A group of students surrounded Jay as he demonstrated how he could fit an entire sword in his mouth while balancing on one hand. Ben rolled his eyes.

"I'm not having this conversation again with you," Ben said as he stood up from the table. Audrey realized she had upset him and stood up after him.

"I'm sorry, Ben."

"Are you?" Ben snapped, and then felt immediately guilty. He put his tray back down on the table and then put his hands on her should. "I'm sorry, too. I'm under a lot of stress right now but I still shouldn't take it out on you. I need to go get some work done for finals. I'll talk to you later, ok?" He kissed her forehead again. As he walked inside guilt and frustration began to build in the pit of his stomach. Who am I? Who have I become? He wondered.

Who am I? Who have I become? Mal wondered as she leaned against the counter in the mailroom. Her head was throbbing with a headache and she rubbed her temples as the mail clerk searched for her package in the back.

"Getting packages is always so exciting," the clerk said from the backroom. She was a large elderly woman with her white hair tied in a tight knot on top of her head. "Do you know what you're getting? Or is it a surprise? I absolutely love surprises!" Mal began to wonder if the clerk actually wanted to have a conversation, or if she just liked to hear her own self talk.

"I think it's a late birthday gift," Mal lied.

"When was your birthday?" Mal paused. The clerk's high pitched voice was worsening her headache. Was it really any of her business, anyways?

"Awhile ago."

"December sixteenth," a familiar voice said behind her. She jumped, and turned around. Ben was so close to her that she touched him as she turned. She curled her lip and pushed him away.

"Go back to Audrey," she said. She began to massage her temples again as she placed her elbows back down on the counter. Ben was unsure of what to say. Should he just admit what he was doing? Did Evie tell her? Should he just play it cool.

"I'm just doing what you wanted," he said placing his mouth next to her ear so no one could hear. The clerk emerged from the backroom and placed the small box in Mal's hands.

"Would everyone stop saying that?" Mal yelled and she pushed Ben out of the way to storm back to her dormitory.

"What do you want from me?" He yelled back. Students standing nearby turned and looked at him, and then began whispering to their peers. Great, just great. Ben composed himself and then turned to the clerk.

"Do you know who that package was from?" He asked. Ben was quite curious as to who would be sending Mal a birthday gift, especially this late. Mal never mentioned having any other family, and her mother was in a box in Ben's dungeon and all of her friends were here.

"Oh," the woman said as she pursed her lips. "I'm not allowed to disclose that information." Anger welled within Ben, why could no one just give him a strait answer?

"I'm you're king," he stood taller. The woman shook her head and squinted her eyes.

"Then act like it," she shook her finger at him before turning and marching away. Ben slouched up against the wall.

"Today is just not my day," he whispered. Ben had no idea how much worse his day was about to get, and that this was just in fact the calm before the storm.

***Please leave feedback. I incorporate suggestions into future chapters