The World Unknown

"Dad... stop the car"

I didn't wake up to the sound of birds, or an alarm or even the sun. No, I was dragged out of bed by the growls of my stomach. After falling asleep last night I must have been so tired that I didn't wake up to have dinner last night. Looking at the clock it said that it was 5:38 AM, ten minutes before my alarm would make its annoying sound. I decided to get up and get ready not wanting to fall back asleep and miss the damn thing anyway. Stepping into the shower I thought about what I said to Mrs. Penwhil. She most likely told dad what happened. Great, now I have to talk to him about the one thing I didn't want to talk to him about. Sighing, I got out of the shower and wrapped the towel around me. Opening the door of the bathroom I walked over to my walk-in closet. After getting into a light grey sweater and black jeans I grabbed my bookbag, black and white vans, and phone I left my room.

Half way down the stairs I could hear faint voices that seemed to be having an argument. "She is of age, she needs to know the truth before it's too late." One voice said.

" You can't keep guarding her, at any given moment she might find herself in danger. The best thing to do is warn her of the trouble that may be coming her way." Another voice said agreeing with the first one. At this point I'm very convinced that there were gang members in my house. I wonder who the mysterious female was. It wasn't till the next person spoke that I stopped walking.

"I said no." The pure authority that came from that voice was enough to make me shiver, but not enough to make me scared. The voice of this person was one that I knew as well as my own, what was my dad thinking talking to gang members. Dad's always telling me to stay out of trouble yet here he was talking to it, or maybe he was one of them or- I lost my footing and tumbled the rest of the way down the stairs. I quickly stood up and looked around the living room only to find no one. Though it is a good thing that no one was there to witness my fall, I was now bothered by the fact that the voices I had heard on the stairs sounded very close. Frowning, I made my way to the kitchen and opened the door. Inside the kitchen I found two men and my dad standing by the island in the middle of the kitchen. This causes me to frown even more. The kitchen was at least two hundred feet away from the stairway and what's the door in between us, there should have been no way I could have heard their conversation. Snapping out of my thoughts just in time to hear my dad introduce his friends. "Kora, these are my coworkers and closest friends-"

"You're horrible at introductions," one of the men interrupted,stepping forward. "I'm Mason, the coolest person of the group." I gave him a small award smile. Mason had short brown hair and pale blue eyes that shone with mischief. The other man and dad just rolled their eyes in annoyance. The second man stuck out his hand and I shook it.

" Ian,It is a pleasure to meet you Kora." Ian had blonde hair with coco brown eyes. Both him and Mason looked like they put a lot of effort at the gym. Though neither looked like a gang member I still didn't remove the possibility from my mind. Looks can be very deceiving.

"So Kora, why are you down so early?" Dad asked, genuinely confused. I gave him a are you kidding me look and pointed my gaze at my backpack. " Oh that's today," I struggled not to roll my eyes at him.

"Can you move so that I can have breakfast now" I walked past him to the fridge. Opening it I found some milk and grabbed some chocolate cheerios pouring myself a bowl. I sat down on the Island and munched on my food while dad and his friends talked about a business deal that they were trying to get. Half way though I lost interest and blocked them out. I didn't notice that dad was talking to me till the room was silent. "What?"

"I was asking about what happened yesterday with Laruan," of course he will bring up Mrs.Pinwhil while his friends are here. Looking up at him I saw that he had a deep frown on his face. Ian and Mason, to their credit, seem to be in their own conversation but I could tell that they were still listening. Sighing, I shrugged and took my bowl to the sink and washed it. I could everyone's eyes on me, after putting the bowl in its proper place I started to make my way out the room. "Kora, I need an voiced answer, not a shrug."