"Calantha! Wait up!" Amber, my best friend shrieked. I snickered as she caught up to me, bumping into me in the middle of the crowded hallway. "Are you going to Jessica's party?" she asked excitedly. I knew she had been waiting all day to ask me, but I had an answer for her.

"Remember, I have a date with Josh. I can't make it. Besides, I really don't know Jessica that much, she's more your friend." Amber goggled at me. "You have a date with Joshua Anderson? As in, like, the richest kid in this school? What?" Rolling my eyes, I sighed. "We've been going out for two weeks! Seriously, Amber? Too caught up in your love story?" I teased. Amber had a thing for a freshman, and she was always chattering non-stop about him.

"Shut it, Cal," she swung her bag at me. Suddenly, she jolted to a stop. "Oh my- Cal, there's Josh, go talk, now." I laughed as she pushed me in the direction of my boyfriend, who was leaning on a water fountain.

"Hey, Cal!" He greeted me with a shy wave. I giggled, biting my lip. "Hi, Josh." I was two different people around my closest friends and other people, but I knew Josh well enough not to embarass myself completely.

"Is it just me, or do you always look this beautiful?" he smiled. Catching my hand, he entwined our fingers as Amber went crazy behind him.

"What do you mean? Are you saying I usually don't look good?" I joked as we walked to the parking lot. Josh leaned closer, our noses touching. "No, that's not what I meant." he grinned. I heard whoops around us, and catcalls, but I still smiled. "You're always pretty." he said.

As the eyes of almost all the other girls waiting for their rides watched us leave, I let a faint smile appear on my face. Maybe by dating Josh, I would become one of the 'popular' girls, the ones who had hundreds of followers to their aid. After all, I was the one with the boy, and besides-I was the most envied 11th grader at Woodsen High School.

"I'm so glad I don't have to ride the bus anymore," I said as he drove us home, past the streets of Manhattan. Josh laughed. "Remember, we had to sit next to 6th graders! Ugh!" Our smiles faded as we stopped in front of my house. That silver Honda could only mean one thing: Dad was home. "Uh, Josh, maybe you shouldn't come pick me up today? I'll walk to your house and then we can go on our date." I gave him a knowing look.

Both of us were well adjusted to my dad's temper, especially towards my boyfriends. Josh nodded. "Alright, see you soon!" he waved as I got out of the car. I sighed in relief when my dad didn't come out of the house, and then froze as Josh pulled out of the driveway. Standing in the middle of the road, arms crossed and the deepest scowl on his face, was my father. Josh and I exchanged panicked glances, and then Dad strode forward.

The look of anger on his face, and the "You stay right here," toward Josh, meant Dad and him were going to have a 'talk'. He first jabbed a finger at me, and then at the house. "In. Now." he hissed. I didn't bother to talk back. I slumped into the house, groaning as I heard angry yells from outside.

Sometimes having a dad who knows 100 ways to kill you meant nothing fun.

***

"Calantha!" Dad yelled. I had locked myself up in my room, enduring the sounds of the 'talk' that lasted for the past 30 minutes. I was now ignoring my father's threats of 'you're grounded for a week' and 'no phones for a month'. He was raging in front of my door, occasionally thumping on the door, and basically working himself up even more. "Are you listening to me? How many times do I have to tell you, you're not allowed to date until you're older!" I rolled my eyes.

"Dad, I've been dating since I was 14. No changing that. Grow up." I snapped. That triggered something in him, and he continued his bellows, providing sufficient noise to cover up the squeak of the window. "Besides, who in their right mind doesn't have a boyfriend in 11th grade?" His response: "Calantha! Do not talk to me like that!"

"Yeah, yeah," I said, and crept onto the roof. I avoided the motion sensors that I knew were around the entire roof below me and instead jumped onto the roof above me, scampering over the entire house. Suppressing the feeling of satisfaction at beating my dad at his own game, I clambered onto the tree branch that my father always said he would cut but never did, and slid down the trunk. Dad still didn't know about this way out of the house.

Checking my watch, I rushed into the not-so-busy street. Cars rushed past me, but this time of afternoon, everyone was either at work or doing sports afterschool. Jogging, I made it past our block quickly, and was making quick work of the streets. I caught Amber and that freshman entering a fancy restaurant together and rolled my eyes, knowing that something had been going on.

Central Park, with its toddlers and dog walkers whizzed past me. By the time I was nearing the section where Josh lived, I was panting for breath. Stopping to take in the fresh air, or at least the air in New York, I was leaning against a building when cold hands wrapped around my neck and pulled me into an alley.

Oh no. You're an idiot. I thought to myself, as I whirled around slammed my fist upwards into my attacker's face. I noted the graffiti covered walls and dead end in shock. "Get off!" I hissed, and I scrambled to the main road, knowing that I would be safe surrounded by people.

My heart racing, I turned around the corner to bump into two other people, staring at me in surprise. "I- uh, excuse me-" I tried to go past them,but they were still standing there like stone, and I felt a chill of fear run up my spine. I should have known better than to be running around the streets, but I had never thought this would happen to me, not in a million years.

I dove between them, but an iron grip held me in place. "No-" I muttered, as I kicked out blindly behind me.

"Calm down." The man in the hood cackled, drawing a sharp knife from his sleeve. I managed to stop myself from moving, but as the three shadows cornered me in the alley, I opened my mouth to scream. "Help!" I shouted, as the knife, cold as ice, pressed down on my throat.

All the training from Dad had disappeared at the first tremor of fear. "I have money. I have money!" I screamed as the blade pressed closer. The men glanced at each other, with wary looks. "Where." A guttural voice asked. "It's... in my pocket. I'll get it." I frantically looked from face to face, hoping that there would be enough time for me to run.

As the hands backed away, I slid my own hand into my jeans pocket. My fingers found the object I was looking for and took a deep breath. Whipping out the only weapon I had, a little tin of pepper spray that, for all I knew, didn't work, I aimed it at the closest man and said, "My father is the Chief of Police. He will come for you. Now get away from me."

I waited for the trio to disappear, but instead watched in uneasy silence as they started to laugh. "Go!" I screamed, my fatigue and fear finally getting the best of me. The tallest man pulled back his hood, revealing a pockmarked face. "We know who your father is. He did this." Horrified, I couldn't stop staring. Near his eye, was a deep scar that crossed his eyebrow. The man grinned, stepping closer, his black gums gleaming in the faint light of the alley.

I staggered back, holding my weapon high. "Stay back!" In my panic, I hadn't realized the other two had snuck up behind me. I bumped into the other man's arms, and as I whirled around, a hand knocked the spray out of my grip.

"In fact, your father is the reason we're here." The man growled, his voice ice cold. And, my mind trying to understand the sentence, a fist that felt more like a rock, slammed into my jaw. I stood in shock for a moment, pain spiraling up my face, and then no time to think because there was another sharp jab of pain. I could feel blood trickling from my lip, and maybe the crack I had heard had been my ribs. Struggling for breath, I rasped out, "Let me go!"

"That's exactly what we had said when your dad jailed us. Let me go!" a voice mimicked. Pain and understanding, harder than the kick to my stomach, hit me. Under the haze of pain, I gasped out. "Of course..." And then I couldn't think. Black and red pulled me down, and I gladly followed.