Don't Forget Me When You're Famous

Don't Forget Me When You're Famous [Chapter 4]

Chapter 4 

To any sane teen on Earth, high school was purgatory. The icy classrooms or boring teachers that droned on and on about pointless subjects, never seeming to get tired of hearing their own voice were inescapable. Hell didn't come close to describing school, and it was predictable that as soon as the bell rang, every student stumbled out into the halls and crowded into the parking lot. And then I faced a problem. Work never seemed dull when I had something to look forward to after my shift. I would work hard and it would seem to pass faster, and then star gaze at the night sky above with Honey, or have a Star Trek marathon with her. But now, I had nothing to do when I got home, and work was slow.

"Hey, my name is Kale what can I get you?" I asked a small family of three. Their teenage daughter eyed me appreciatively as I took their order, but I didn't notice until Kimberly, my manager pointed it out to me.

"You've got to start dating sometime," Kim said, glancing up from behind the stove. She was cooking something on the skillet that was no longer sizzling, soaked in grease, and hard, black, and possibly poisonous. How the hell did she own a restaurant and not know how to cook? She stepped out from around the stove and leaned against the counter next to me. I looked at her blankly. She knew I didn't date, though I would make an exception for-

"You know she's only been gone for three and a half weeks right?" Kimberly said, and I looked at her questioningly.

"I don't know what you mean," I murmured, and she raised her eyebrows.

"Kale, you've got it bad don't you?" she didn't sound like a twenty-something year old. She sounded more mature than any thirty year old I'd met, let alone twenty.

I flashed a quick glare at her and then twisted my expression back to vacant once more.

"I honestly have no idea what you mean," I sighed and smelled the intolerable stench of burnt meat.

"Kale, you know she's what you're problem is!" Kim said, and I aimed another glare in her direction, too pissed to actually care if she saw it. "Wait, Kale I didn't mean-" I slammed my hands down on the counter between us and glared at her, attracting the concerned stares of a few disturbed customers.

"First of all, Honey isn't a problem, she's my best friend, " I felt a small shock of disappointment rush through my body as I said those words aloud, even though I knew they were nothing but the truth.

And then I added as a second, "It seems you've got your own problems to worry about; stay out of mine," I jerked my chin towards the fire in the skillet over her shoulder. She turned halfway, and then her eyes widened in horror at the flames licking at the failed attempt of an entree. I knew most people would have gotten in trouble for speaking to their boss that way, but of course Kimberly was my friend, and one of the only adults I thought could trust. I thought she would understand exactly how I felt, but it seemed like she couldn't this time. Of course, she'd never felt like this before.

"Kale-" she began and I saw the worry in her eyes.

"Forget it." I was mainly afraid, because when she had said Honey was a problem. . . .

I wasn't sure how I felt. She wasn't holding me back. . . .but she was running my life without even knowing it. My world revolved around her. It was because of all of those years I spent talking to her, telling her everything. Seeing her, and having deep conversations with her. We had our disagreements, but it was difficult to stay angry at someone like Honey for too long. She was my life, and even if I didn't think of her in that way, I could never live life to it's fullest without her. She was my best friend, and I'd cared for her because of the way I felt my whole life. She was a part of my life that would never leave, and even though I would never want to forget her, I couldn't, even if I tried.