Getting It Straight

26th♀

26th ♀

No.

For once, I wished that I was not who I was right now. All I wanted at this moment was to disappear. Completely. Leave no trace, or even the tiniest bit of scent behind.

This was awful. Everything that my dad was saying was irrevocably risky. Could I go just back to my mother's womb, and maybe hang out in there until tomorrow? In that way, my dad wouldn't be forced to do all this.

"Stay still, will you?" KN said, holding me down.

I struggled again. Dad had to stop. He seriously had to stop whatever he was saying and take back what he said. I had no clue how he was supposed to do that, or how insane he would look. He could even end his speech by saying, 'I was just kidding. Show is over. Okay kids, go back to class.'

Swear. I wouldn't love him any less if he would do that. I mean, I personally couldn't imagine our principal doing that kind of thing in our school assembly. It would be too comical. And besides, Mr. Roche was never the one who'd joke around. He was stern, serious about educational matters, and the typical principal you'd see in most schools. He even wanted me to think about my future. He was really serious.

But my dad was not. I was certain he could pull a joke right now, but he didn't. He continued on being remorseful. And that was such a huge mistake.

There was no denying that nothing good would come out of this. It was heart wrenching enough to hear Dad's words, especially in my case. I fully knew that it was me, not him. If someone had to be in that spot, that would be me.

No one else.

'Let me go,' I wanted to say. But seeing that KN's hand was firm on my mouth, I wasn't really able to get a word out.

His hand was like telling me, 'Good luck with that.'

"Give it a few more minutes. You'll make things worse if you don't. And if you say a thing now, that will kill all the chances you have in finding your brother. Look at the guys' direction." He moved my head to where Daniel and the gang were. "There. That's where you need to look right now. That's all you have to do."

No, that wasn't.

What I should do right now was to throw myself into the Dad's situation and talk the sense out of him. And to further clue KN, I could do that by running to the stage, and tackling my dad to stop him from saying another word. All these apologetic remarks and hearing how sorry he was about this scandal, I couldn't bear to listen to them anymore.

I wasn't really into staring at Daniel, Jayden or the others. Why should I care about what they were doing? I could see that they were shocked. I knew that they felt betrayed, as well. But in this dreadful situation where my dad was still taking the blame for me, should the rest of humanity inside the gym matter?

"Keep looking at their direction, Fiona!" KN said firmly, for some inexplicable reason. "I know you're dreading to be the hero, but you can't undo what Mr. Pearce had said. This is your last chance to at least find out who your brother is."

"Meow?" That came out wrong. Thank you, KN's hand. I actually wanted to ask him how, but his hand did a job well done in improvising my previous intent.

"Will you quit gibbering? You're not helping at all. I'll snap your neck if you don't stop. Just look at them, okay?" KN said, seemingly angrier than the usual.

So even if it was hard, I did what KN said.

Not because I actually feared he'd snap my neck. It was just that, he sounded unshaken that I should definitely look at the guys' direction, despite the obvious option of keeping my eyes on Dad, who was destroying his career and losing his job and maybe in the verge of going to prison. I breathed. There must be some earth shaking reason with KN's command.