“Angelina is meeting you at the mall, right?” my mom asks.

“Yes,” I say. But she isn’t. I am actually meeting up with guy that I like, but my mom doesn’t need to know that. She will just tease me, or even not allow me to go. It’s just a little white lie; I’m not really doing anything wrong.
I check behind me to make sure my mom has left, it’s clear. I walk into the mall and I forget about everything and just enjoy my day.

Some time passes by, and my phone rings. It is my mom calling, so I just pretend I didn’t hear it. But then it rings again, and again, and again

“Aren’t you gonna answer that?” Ben asks.

My face goes white. I glance down at my phone, and I’m filled with disbelief.  My heart’s
beating faster and faster.  Sweats dripping down my face, and I skip a breath.

“I-I have to go..”

The text reads, “I know you lied to me Rachel, I’m here to pick you up.”

Before I have time to react, my mom is right in front of me.

“Oh crap..” I mutter.

Standing the in middle of the food court,  chaos surrounds us. Kids screaming, people running, even things flying through the air. Until, my mom’s voice begins to raise and the shouting begins. I look around and see the hundreds of eyes staring at us, including Ben’s.

“I thought I raised you better than this,” she says.

I can’t even look her in the eye. The feeling of guilt is heavy, like carrying around a bag of bricks on your back. Mom’s find out everything, I don’t know how, but they do. I want to live, so I won’t ever lie to mine again.