Superhero

Chapter 3

After a Sunday of working, Addison walked on the sidewalk, letting out a puff of air that clouded like smoke. She shivered and pulled her coat tighter, quickening her pace. There were no one about besides herself and a stray dog that stared at her as if she stole its food. She was afraid that it might chase her and decided to get out of there as fast as she could.
She was making her way to the diner near her place, since she didn't really feel like eating readymade convenience store food three days in a row, and ramen on the fourth.

Addison saw the diner in the distance and sighed. She rushed to it and bought herself a burger and some fries. She already got herself a drink from the convenience store earlier. She stuffed the paper bag into her backpack and zipped it back up before slinging it back against her shoulders. She started her walk home, admiring the beauty of her city at night.
Addison preferred to appreciate the small things in life, never being ungrateful for anything she had. She did complain once or twice, though, but still she appreciated whatever she had, even the long walks home.
That was until she spotted a mob of men with beers in the dark alleyway next to her. She quickened her pace and tried to get away from there as fast as she could. She heaved a sigh of relief when she safely passed the alleyway without being caught in their grasp.
"Hey girl!" Addison groaned. She turned around, not stopping for even a second. "Get over here for a minute, will ya?"
"Lo siento, no speak English," Addison called back, quickening her pace. "Perdon senõr, me Spanish."
She learned those phrases, specifically for situations like these. Those were among the very little Spanish she knew.
"Hey she's Spanish," the guy said with a laugh. "Hey Diego! Ask that girl to come over here!"
To Addison's dismay, another guy started coming after her, conversing in Spanish. She didn't understand a word he said and eventually broke into a run. The mob started running after her too, much to her horror.
Addison wasn't a very fast runner, but she was surprised when her feet started moving on their own out of fear.
All of a sudden, a black shadow grabbed her, pulling her into a blinding white light. Addison yelped in surprise when she instantaneously found herself on the main road.
"What the?!" Addison exclaimed in shock. "What?! What the heck just happened?!"
She turned around just in time to see a black silhouette disappear behind a wall. She ran after it and saw the back of a person.
"Hey!" Addison called, running after them.
Something glowed in front of the person, and eventually the light consumed their entire frame. The light vanished, together with the mysterious person that just saved Addison.
Addison gasped in shock, gaping. Cold sweat dripped from her face as she realised who the person was.
It was the infamous teleporter of the town.
Addison ran home as fast as she could. She unsteadily sank down on the bed and tried to calm herself down. She had no idea what to believe. She had seen and felt it herself. Whoever that person was, they just teleported her away from danger! Were they a monster? Were they a hero? She didn't know, but she knew that sorcery was involved.
Addison unzipped her backpack and looked at the burger she bought. She didn't really feel like eating anymore, but decided to eat as much as she could anyway. She was still tired out after a long day.

Addison sleepily turned her alarm off and sat up on her bed with a groan. She rubbed her eyes and looked at her phone to see...
Five new messages from Fiolina.
Confused, Addison opened the messages and read.
Fio: Girl u have got to see this
It was a video from the street camera. Addison clicked on it and watched with wide eyes.
It was a video of her, and whoever her saviour was, appearing on the main road. Addison watched herself as she went after the mysterious person who vanished into thin air.
Fio: That's you, isn't it?
Fio: I'll come to work early later
Fio: N youre telling me EVERYTHING!
Addison groaned as she typed out a reply. She put the phone back on the nightstand and started getting ready for college. She decided to wear a hoodie so that she wouldn't have to show much of her face in college. She was glad that Fiolina didn't go to the same college.

After a day of explaining to a group of people, Addison managed to slip away early. She never took the hood off as long as she was outside, afraid of being recognised.
She called in to work a little early, much to Jeff's delight, and decided to get herself a snack and sat at the table near the window while waiting for Jeff's shift to end.
"How was college?" Jeff decided to ask since there were no customers. "You seem a little down."
"I am," Addison said. "Did you see the video?"
"What video?" Jeff asked, evidently interested. "Is that why you're wearing that getup?"
"Good, so you don't know," Addison said, a little relieved. "You might find out sooner or later."
"Maybe I will," Jeff chuckled. He looked at the time and gasped. "Addie, there's only a few minutes left. I think you should get ready."
Addison dusted off her fingers and got up. She threw the bun wrapper into the dustbin and went to the back room to get changed. She came out and stepped behind the counter while Jeff got ready to leave. Addison put some money in the cash register before grabbing herself a bottle of cold soda. She cracked it open right in front of the fridge and started drinking it straight from the bottle.
"Hey!" Addison looked to see Jeff, now wearing his biker jacket, pointing at her with a grin. "This ain't your house! You can't just drink straight from the fridge!"
"I paid for this," Addison said, pointing at the cash register. "I paid first."
"Right," Jeff chuckled. "Hey can you register me a few sausages?"
"Sure, but you have to shove them in the microwave yourself," Addison said, making her way towards the counter. She sat on the stool and watched Jeff put two sticks of sausages in the microwave. He then proceeded to take a plastic cup from the stack and put it under the SlurpSlurp machine.
"Does it actually taste good?" Addison asked from the counter. "Never really tried it."
"It's really good," Jeff remarked, nodding while he filled the cup with different flavours of the cold beverage at a time. "You should try it."
"One of my aunts got diabetes because of that..." Addison said with a thoughtful look on her face. "My mom never bought me that because of it, and I never really wanted to try it anyway."
Jeff turned to her in surprise. "Did she drink it everyday?"
"That's what I heard," Addison shrugged. "Never really saw her much."
Jeff snickered slightly and put the cover on the plastic cup. He stabbed a straw through the hole and took a sip before going to the microwave to collect his sausages.
"Is that your dinner?" Addison asked as Jeff stuffed the sausages into a white paper bag. "Seems like it."
"It's just a snack," Jeff shrugged. "I'll get something from the college cafeteria, and I'd usually save this for when I get home."
"I see," Addison chuckled. She started calculating the prices for whatever he bought since none of those had barcodes. "Poor you... why did you take night class anyway?"
"I don't wanna work at night," Jeff said with a scowl. "It's annoying..."
"That makes sense," Addison said, nodding slightly. "Alright, come pay up."
"Wait, I'm not finished," Jeff said, making his way to the medicine section. He took a few things and then came. "Here."
Addison scanned them and put them in a plastic bag for him.
"It does feel odd to see you as a customer here..." Addison chuckled, handing him his change. "Anyway, see you tomorrow."
Jeff gave her a two-finger salute and left the shop, making the distorted welcome tune play as soon as he stepped out. Addison let out a huff and sat back on the stool. She ended up playing with her phone, since there weren't many customers that day. She was thankful for that too, because she was afraid people might recognise her as the last victim of the so-called Superhero.