The Irreversible Fate of a Coffee shop Couple

Chapter 6

Textbooks really were boring when you got down to it. They seemed endless, and the writer's either didn't condense their information at all, or you were endlessly peppered with fact after fact, until you couldn't retain any of it. It was very unfortunate that this textbook was the second one. Honestly, what was I doing, never paying attention in class? Alibaba thought. A voice in the back of his head reminded him that he had been, in fact, looking to the future. Counting his eggs before they hatched. Being an idiot. Standard stuff it seemed. And now here he was, only part way through a very long day, babysitting a kid of a family he has met only one day before for minimum pay only several days before his test. Why do I do this to myself?

"Hey mister!" The kid, Aladdin called out. "Aren't you going to do something other than look at that book?" Alibaba could feel his patience getting worn thin. He took a breath. This kid is the heir to Alma Torran co, he reminded himself, Get in with this family, and the world is at your fingertips!

"Of course, of course!" He put on his most sickeningly sweet face, then put his book down, feeling the weight of his soon to be bad grade. The kid smiled at him.

"So then we're friends, right?" Friends? This kid seemed like the most stereotypical innocent, naive child he had ever met. He couldn't even remember being this pure hearted when he had been Aladdin's age.

"Um, sure." At this point he didn't even know how to respond.

"Then let's go to the park!"

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Alibaba sat on a park bench, looking up from his textbook and notes every now and then to make sure Aladdin hadn't run off. The kid seemed to be pretty excitable, playing with the rest of the kids in the park. Seeing it reminded him of his younger days. The days when he had played for hours on end after school with his friends, his mother always picking him up several hours after school had ended. But he hadn't minded much. His mother really cared about him, and all of the kids in the neighborhood where they lived completely understood the danger of strangers. They had to if they wanted to survive. Technically speaking, it should've been a bad life, but all Alibaba could remember was how much his mother had loved him. He shook his head.

Now's not the time to be nostalgic, I have to watch a kid and study for an exam. He looked back down at the textbook, with all of it's information endlessly sprawling in front of him. He was going to meet up with Hakuei the next day, but still, he was starting to get the sense that the amount of studying he was doing was not going to be enough. It was nerve-racking, the idea that he was going to fail his class. He tried reminding himself that failing one test wasn't the biggest deal. But deep down, he knew that every failure as an adult was on his own back. There was no one to back him up in this. He didn't want to rely on his family, but now if he messed up, he had no one to blame but himself. He looked up from his textbook. He was in a park, and if thinking was going to keep him from his studies, he might as enjoy nature. That was when he saw a girl who looked to be a high schooler getting picked on. The other kid with her had his fist around her red hair and seemed to be mocking her.

Man, kids are mean, Alibaba thought. He had certainly been picked on, but he generally knew better than to get involved. It usually got sorted out by the kids, and the victim always got embarrassed whenever someone stepped in. That and bullying could often get worse when someone else did something. It's just the way it is. He then noticed Aladdin look over at the girl. Oh no.

"Hey, mister, why are you being mean to that lady?" No no no no no no! Alibaba raced over to where Aladdin and the two other kids stood.

"Excuse me?" One of the kids said. "You have no right to get involved." The boy stood with an eerie smile, and he folding his hands, letting go of the girl's hair. She stepped away, getting closer to the two boys. Alibaba grabbed Aladdin by the shoulder and started pulling him away from the situation.

"Come on Aladdin," He started to whisper, when Aladdin interrupted him.

"Why? Doesn't this make you angry as well?" Alibaba looked at where the girl was standing off on the side. Her face betrayed no emotion at all. Geez, Alibaba thought to himself, this must happen to her a lot. And what Aladdin says is true, but even so...

"Listen Aladdin, we might make it worse for her," Alibaba nervously tapped his fingers against his leg, eager to leave. The taller boy looked like he could beat the crap out of him. "I really think we should go."

"That's right, this is none of your business, these two don't mind" The kid with the eerie smile then proceeded to punch the boy next to him in the stomach. Even though the other boy seemed to be much stronger than the one who had punched him, he didn't react at all. "You see?" The boy's smile grew larger, but his eyes seeming almost empty. Alibaba shivered. This kid clearly had some problems, and psychopathy seemed to be one of them.

"Is this really okay?" Aladdin asked Alibaba. I mean, if I don't do anything, this kid might keep hurting her, Alibaba thought. I guess I'm going to have to do something. Alibaba sighed. This day was certainly getting complicated.

"Okay, listen, if you don't stop, I'm going to have to call the cops."

"No, it's fine." The girl spoke. Oh geez, Alibaba thought, I guess I was right when I was thinking this has been going on for awhile. But Alibaba had made his decision.

"Come on, you don't have to listen to him. Just walk away." Well that sounded stupid it's nearly laughable. The girl stood in place. Her face didn't change, but her eyes looked terrified, wide and pleading. The boy looked at her.

"We'll be back Morgiana. Or maybe you'll come crawling back. We'll see." The boy said. He looked at Alibaba. "And just so you know, I'm leaving because I have important things to deal with. I'll remember your face, and trust me," his eyes looked deranged. "You do not want to get on the wrong side of Jamil." And with that he walked away, the other boy following him. Alibaba, Aladdin, and Morgiana stood where they were, no one saying a word. The wind blew around them, drowning out the sound of children playing. Then Aladdin broke the silence.

"Do you want to play with me?" Morgiana seemed confused for a second, but then smiled.

"Sure. Thank you."

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Morgiana had explained to them that she came here after school, waiting for her older brother to pick her up.

"It's always more relaxing outside, so I prefer to be here than my apartment." Alibaba wasn't sure how it could be very relaxing if the other kid was always bullying her, but he decided to let it slide. He thought about asking her why the kids were always picking on her, but knew that would be incredibly rude. So he was stuck watching after two children at this point. He was definitively going to fail his test. So he continued to study as Aladdin talked with Morgiana.

"So you're in high school?" Aladdin asked. Morgiana nodded in response. "Wow! What do you like about your school? Who are your friends?"

"Huh," Morgiana stared at the ground. "I don't really know what I like about my school. And I don't have so many friends..."

"Oh, well then I can be your friend!" The girl looked up at him, her eyes shining.

"Really? Thanks." Alibaba was surprised. Did this girl really have so few friends that the idea of being friends with an elementary schooler was exciting to her? That was pretty horrible. Although, when he thought about it, he didn't have many friends either... he was a pretty unpopular guy. His phone rang, breaking him out of his self deprecating thoughts. He took it out of his pocket, and looked at the caller ID. It wasn't someone in his contacts. Even so, he picked it up. On the other end he could hear a woman's voice.

"Hello, is this Alibaba Saluja?" In the background he could hear a two guys in an argument. One of the voices was familiarly irritating.

"Uh, yeah, who is this?" Even though he asked, he already knew who it was. There was only one girl with that voice in the world who knew someone that irritating.

"Oh, it's Kougyoku. Glad to finally get a chance to talk, Alibaba."

A/N: Sorry it took so long for Kougyoku to show up again! I'm not so sure about this chapter; there were a lot of parts where I wasn't sure how to write what needed to happen. I had to rewrite an entire part! Even so, I hope you enjoy this chapter.