The Unexpected

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

After I left the storage room it was easy to find my way back to Emma. She was already done eating; her plate was clean and she was playing Flappy Bird on her phone. She looked up when I approached, causing the little bird to crash into a green pipe.

“Took you long enough.”

“Sorry,” I apologized. “Are you ready to go?”

She looked down at the salad. “But you didn't eat anything.”

“I ate a little. Plus, I'm not really hungry,” I said, gathering my stuff while she stood and did the same. I slapped down a tip, Emma quickly flagged down the waitress and paid, and soon we were heading down the road.

….............

I was sitting at the bar eating a bowl of soup when my phone rang.  I might have lost my appetite earlier, but two hours after Emma dropped me off my stomach alerted me it wanted food, and now.

I set down the bowl and checked the caller ID. Unknown number. I answered it with an automatic “Hello?”.

“Hey.”

“Aaden? How did you get my number?” I asked, not remembering giving it to him.

“Emma told me. By the way, you might want to tell her not to be so trusting in giving out your number.”

“I'll do that,” I said, spinning on the barstool.

“You're probably wondering what happened back at the restaurant...” he started after a pause.

“Ding ding ding, we have a winner!”

He continued, ignoring my interruption. “But I can't tell you.”

“What?” I stopped spinning. “Then why did you call me?”

“Because I had to get it through your thick skull that you can't be messing around in things you don't know about. You're stubborn, Ricki- don't get me wrong, that's a good thing- but it could also get you in a lot of trouble.”

“What are you talking about? What kind of trouble?” A light-bulb suddenly went off in my head. “Oh, my gosh. You're in the mafia! Aaden, why did you get mixed up in that kind of stuff? I didn't take you for being so stupid-”

“Ricki, calm down!” Aaden shouted, laughter evident in his voice. “I'm not in the mafia!”

“Oh, so you're in a gang?” I asked, confused. “Well that's just as bad...”

“No, I'm not in any kind of gang, or the mafia, or anything like that.”

“So you're just a normal teenage boy? No drug dealing in dark alleys?” I pressed.

Aaden paused. “Yeah, completely normal.”

I might not be a Candor, but I could tell when someone wasn't honest with me. There's always a tell-tale sign. A pause, refusing eye contact, or any array of small things could give it away.

And, if I was correct, Aaden had just lied.

I turned my attention back to his voice, which was still coming through the speaker.

“-and in class I can talk to the teacher, so changing seats won't be a problem.”

I realized I had zoned out when he was talking. “Uh, can you repeat that?”

He sighed. “Were you even listening?”

“No,” I said, embarrassed.

“I said that we'll have to stay away from each other, at least until this all blows over.”