Jade and Calvin jumped backwards in shock, then opened their mouths to respond. However, Dad was too quick for them.

"You took Megan, isn't that enough for you? Now, you want Claire, too?" He stepped in front of me shielding me from the WGO kids' view.

"It's my house, Dad," I replied boldly, my mind too overcome with delight at the possibility of meeting other people with my power - Glitches, as Calvin referred to us - in the near future to care about what I was saying. I was almost in a trance, so enchanted by what WGO had to offer to even consider the future implications of my actions.

"I paid for it with my money from all the tours, shows, and commercials I've done, so it's my house and I say they stay!"

"Close that big mouth of yours, Claire, and make sure it stays that way!" Dad fumed. I stepped away from the door in shock, pressing my lips together in shock. He was normally such a soft person; I had never seen get him that mad at anyone before.

"Now, out! Off with you!" he yelled at the distraught Jade and Calvin who were already scampering away from the porch. When they were a few yards off, Dad closed the door with a sigh.

"What was that for?" I threw my hands up, very annoyed with my father. He had just ruined what was arguably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, seemingly for absolutely no reason. "Why won't you let me have a life? Or do you think it's too dangerous for me to have friends?" I funneled venom into my words, displaying my fury with his decision.

"You have plenty of friends. I don't see why you need any more. It's not a safe practice to befriend random strangers you've never even met before." Dad tried to stop the discussion, but I continued to pursue it as anger pumped through my veins.

"These people are different, though, they have powers like me! They're Glitches, too!" This argument was my last resort. I couldn't expect Dad to understand the isolation that I felt, but perhaps, he would have more sympathy for me if I explained to him why these particular people were important to me.

Unfortunately, the statement had an effect quite the opposite of what was intended.

"Don't ever use that word in this house again, do you understand me, Claire?" Dad whipped around and grabbed me by the sleeve of my shirt. I gasped in surprise as his blazing eyes met mine, striking a jolt of fear into my heart.

"Why not? What's your problem with these people?" I asked shakily, tensing up in anticipation of another tirade.

Yet, the speech never came.

"They try to make you feel different and excluded because of your powers," Dad said in a softer voice, loosening his grip on my shirt. It was clear that he was trying to calm himself and collect his thoughts. "They have so many words for you, so many terrible words like "Glitch" and "Manipulator". Amanda's the worst of them. If you spend too much time around her, you'll start believing that WGO is the only place you'll be accepted, that the rest of the world hates you and thinks you're a freak. Trust me, I don't know what, but that woman is planning something evil and I don't want my daughter to be part of it."

"How do you know so much about this WGO thing?" I looked up at Dad's face questioningly. As far as I knew, my father wasn't even aware of the existence of the Code, let alone that of an entire secret organization build around it.

"There are some things about me and about this family that you don't need to know right now," he sighed. "But I do want you to know this: the entire portion of my life before you got famous wasn't spent selling used computers online in a tiny apartment."

"Wait, but –"

Before I could ask him to explain his cryptic answer, Dad was already back on the couch, absorbed in whatever he was watching on TV like nothing had even happened.