I couldn't wait to see him. Tamara had been picking me up and taking me to school all last week and now finally I was going to see my boyfriend again. It sounded so weird to call him my boyfriend, but that's what he was and I couldn't wait to see him. Mom promised me she'd get me a car though, but I needed to pass my driver's license first, something I hadn't been able to do. I had already passed my written exam, but now I'd have to take the practical to complete my examination and then I'd be earning my license. However, I didn't have anyone to practice with, since Tamara, her mom and mine were so busy and now Brad was wounded, so I had to hire an instructor to teach me and I did. I hired Preston Smith.

"Hi Natalie. I'm so glad you called me. It'll be fifty bucks a class," he said. Preston was direct. He reminded me of Tamara.

"Okay, but I get the class first and then I pay you," I replied.

"Sure, no problem. Now, I think it's a good idea if we practice in a parking lot. So, get in and take me to a parking lot," he said.

"Are you serious? I don't even know how to drive."

"Well, then now is a good time," he said and he taught me about the clutch, the stick and the gas. Then he said I had to check my rearview mirrors and make my entire deck was clear.

It was strange to drive and scary all at once. Sometimes I stopped the car with full brakes on and Preston would freak out on me, but the way he did it was so calmed, that I knew that I had made a right decision to hire him as my driving instructor.

"You need to hit the breaks more gently. Doing it that rough will cause an accident and if you ruin my car, you're going to have to pay for it and I'm not refunding your classes," he said. Preston wasn't shy when it came to business apparently. He was a killer negotiator.

"Okay, okay. Sorry," I said and I drove again until I miraculously reached a parking lot. I drove there for almost an hour. I was taught to use the breaks and to drive, to go left, right and stop, to look at my rearview mirror and signal my turns.

"Not bad Natalie. We're going to do this a few times until you get the hang of it," he said.

"Cool. Thanks for taking the time to do this. I know you work at your father's sports store and everything."

"It's alright. I owe you one," he said. I frowned confused.

"You owe me one? I don't understand."

"Umm... your friend Tamara, she asked me to go to the Halloween dance with her."

"Seriously? Oh my God. I didn't think she would," I said. Preston smiled. He looked really nerdy, but in a nice way.

"Well she did and she told me that it was your idea," he replied.

"You're welcome."

"Still these classes aren't for free," he reminded me.

"I know," I replied. If my mom met Preston, she'd totally be swept off her feet with him. She'd force me to marry him. After an hour, my driving class was over and I went home. I practiced ball and then started to work on my English assignment. It was so stupid. I felt like if I was in elementary school. What did Mrs. Kransisky want, a poem?

"Natalie, Nate's calling. He says he wants to pick you up today," mom said. Nate was my dad. Oh no. I didn't want to go with him.

"Can't you tell him I'm sick or something?"

"Natalie, he has joint custody and he'll give me some serious shit if I tell him that. I've already excused you twice. He's picking you up in a hour," my mom said. Bummer. I didn't want to spend the weekend with my dad because he wouldn't really spend time with me. He would just go out and have me babysit Christian, my half brother who was such an annoying child.

"Ugh!" I complained and rolled my eyes. Then, I prepared my backpack. I placed my book, a dress and some underwear. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to spend the night over there with my dad and his new wife Christina Green or like he used to call her Chrissy. Chrissy wasn't a bad person, but she was boring as hell and she treated me like if I was six.

Anyway, I hoped that I wouldn't have to stay over, but I brought my undies, just in case. My dad had toothbrushes, soaps, PJs and the rest for me so I really didn't have to pack heavy. After I packed my things in a nice hot pink backpack, I walked downstairs, grabbed the cupcake that Brad had bought for me in the bake sale and I walked into the living room. The TV was on, but nobody was there.

"Mom, are you watching T.V," I asked her out loud, but I got no answer. I figured that maybe she was busy. I rarely watch the news, but it was on display by the time I sat down in my dark chocolate sofa. I licked the pink frosting and took a bite from the cake. Diana was an excellent baker. If I ever needed a cake I already knew who to call.

"Last week there was a serious animal attack in Tynn Valley Boulevard. The victim was identified as a forty year old woman by the name Barbara Carol Sanders. Neighbors said that they heard her cry for help, but when they came out of their homes it was too late."

Then, the reporter who looked like a twenty year old model pressed her microphone on a tall, dark man about in his forties, wearing a red checkered shirt. Below was his name printed in digital, Jason Walker.

"It was about eleven thirty when I heard a scream coming from the back of her house. At first I thought it was the TV, since she liked watching horror films and such... anyway it wasn't until I heard a strange sound, like a growl that I decided to look out my window. There was an animal attacking her. I called the cops and went into my safe to go get my 9 millimeter..." The man's eyes were moist and he started to pause when he talked. I wondered why didn't this stupid reporter just stop asking him questions. I could tell that he was breaking apart. She was so insensitive, but something told me that he wanted to talk about it too.

"When I came out..." he gasped again reimaging the horror that he had seen.

"She... was... completely," a stream of tears rolled over his cheeks.

"Mutilated," he finally said after a rough gasp. Then, he waved at the reporter and walked out on the interview. The interview was amazing, but I thought that the reporter had taken it too far.

"To our audience, as you can see the man is completely broken down from what happened and who's to blame him? The poor woman's skull was found shattered and half of her body was missing. The images are so disturbing that we cannot air them for you, but we must wonder, what kind of an animal could do this to a person? Forensics think that there may be a bear on the loose. The authorities have given us these phone numbers for emergency contact," she said and then an 1-800 number appeared below next to another number.

"If you see, hear or know about anything concerning this animal's whereabouts please contact this number below, 1-800-968-4322," she said and then repeated the numbers several times.

"This animal is still on the loose. In other news.."

"Natalie! Your dad's here," my mom called me out. She was upstairs. I heard my dad's horn.

"Okay mom. See you later," I said.

"Bye!" I walked out of my mom's house. My dad was in his white Jaguar waiting for me. He was a large, bulky man with a beer belly and a flat top over his head. He wore big, dark sunglasses in the middle of the evening and he was wearing a black and green sweater. He was alone in the car and he honked again. I knocked on his window.

"Okay dad, I heard you the first time," I said and then sat on the passenger's side.

"Hi sweetie pie, what's up?" He said with a husky voice. My dad thought that he was superman. He drove out of my mom's driveway and waved at her. He didn't really hate my mom or anything. The reason for their divorce was that they simply had stopped loving each other.

"Nothing much," I said wondering how would he take the news of me having a boyfriend.

"Nothing much, huh? How's school, still shitty?" He asked me. A light drizzle wet the window and my dad turned on the wipers.

"Yeah. Well, I did get accepted in the basketball team," I remarked and he chuckled joyfully.

"Really? Wow. My daughter the basketball captain. Are you going to the N.B.A. for women?" he asked me. I shook my head.

"Not really. I'm just... having fun," I replied.

"Having fun, huh? Make sure to market yourself, you never know. A million dollars can come in handy," he said.

"I guess so," I replied.

"Well, I'll be damned, my little girl's now a basketball player. When do the games start?"

"I don't know yet. They haven't given us our schedule. I suppose they'll hand it out soon. For now we'll be practicing," I replied and looked out of the window. We started to drive through the business district where Brad had been bitten.

"Dad..." I said uncomfortably, but I figured that he had a right to know.

"Yeah?"

"I have to tell you something else," I said swallowing hard. I hoped I didn't get into trouble.

"What is it baby? You can tell me anything," he said. He looked at me and then he looked back at the street. Soon we were leaving the business district and arriving to a high class neighborhood where I was told many businessmen lived and even a few movie stars had properties in this area.

"I have a boyfriend," I blurted out. I figured burning around the bush wouldn't do much anyway. If I didn't tell him now, he'd find out eventually. I just thought that the less secrets we had with each other the better.

"A boyfriend? But you're like what? Fifteen?"

"I'm seventeen dad. I'm already a senior," I replied.

"Oh. What's this guy's name?"

"Brad... Brad Wolfram. We went out on a date last week. He got bit by a gorilla though," I replied.

"A gorilla?" He asked me.

"Yeah. I was there and I saw the whole thing. It was terrifying," I told him.

"You were there?" He asked surprised and pissed off.

"Yeah. It was our first date and it just happened," I replied.

"Why didn't you call me? Why didn't your mother call me?"

"I didn't call you because I didn't want to worry you. Mom was already worried enough. I suppose she didn't call you for the same reason," I replied in a rush. My dad snorted annoyed and then he toyed with his sunglasses. We reached his house, which was officially a mansion. I got out of the car and waited for him. He got out, opened the door with his house key and we walked in. My step mom Christina Green was in the living room watching a soap opera.

"Hi Natalie. How's school sweetheart?"

"Fine," I replied. Christina had perfect, clear blue eyes and long blond hair. She could easily be confused with a Barbie doll. She was young, busty and slim. She had on a black and white suit with white high heels. She never got out of the sofa though, she had her legs up and seemed too comfortable to move.

"Christian is in his room playing with his toys. If you could go watch over him a little bit. I just don't want to miss this episode," she said.

"Dad," I begged.

"Go see your little brother Natalie. He's been asking for you."

"Yeah, I'm sure," I replied. At the end of the living room there was a huge staircase shaped as an arch. The staircase had two sides, left and right and it opened like a reversed u. I grabbed the handler and walked up to my brother's room. He was playing with his toy cars.

"Hi Christian," I said. He turned around and ran to me. I hugged him.

"Natalie," he said.

"How are you doing?" I asked him.

"Fine. Wanna play with my cars?" He asked me.

"Not now Christian, maybe later," I replied.

"Okay," he said and I closed his door. Then, I walked into my room. It was pale pink and purple, it was generic and it didn't really feel like my personal space. It felt like a guest room. I closed my door and placed my bag in the corner of the room. I spent my time at my dad's reading and watching my brother. It was something I did everytime I came here. But something told me that things were going to change. My dad thought I was fifteen and only know did he know I was seventeen which meant that he was going to be off the hook with his pension soon. I realized that these could be the last weekends for me here... maybe.