• Chapter 7: Changing Perspectives

    Kari woke up, rolled over in the dark, silky brown sheets, and looked over at her clock. 7:30 Oh No! She had to be there in 15 minutes, and it’s a 10-minute drive, which left her with 5 minutes to get ready. She threw back the covers and ran to the bathroom. She quickly brushed her hair and teeth, and then went back to her room to select her clothes. She grabbed the first shirt and pair of pants she saw and put them on. She did her makeup as quickly as possible, eliminating eye shadow, since she didn’t find it necessary. 7:38. She grabbed her book bag, put on shoes that didn’t match as well as she wanted them to, and sprinted to her car. She took the back roads so she wouldn’t have to deal with traffic or police catching her speeding. She pulled into the parking lot, and then ran to her homeroom. As soon as she walked into the room, the bell rang. Maybe having ‘ninja speed’ is more helpful than I thought. As announcements were going on, a person walked into the room with a hall pass and a small sheet of paper.
    “Kari is needed in the office. She’s supposed to bring all of her stuff with her.”
    Kari walked down the hallways to the office. As quiet and old as the hallways were, she felt as if she was walking to her death sentence. She turned and saw both Lance and Boss sitting there. Why would Boss possibly be outside of his office? They turned to look at her, and then stood up to leave. When he was right in the doorway, Boss used a hand signal to tell Kari to follow him. Why do I bother coming to school? she thought as she followed them.
    They reached the NYPDDE headquarters; lead into Boss’s room by Boss himself. No one had been taken into Boss’s room by Boss, or taken out of their school or work. In fact, Boss had never been seen outside of the NYPDDE building.
    “Why have you brought us here?” Lance questioned.
    “I need you to protect Kari with your life, is that understood?” Boss answered.
    “Of course. That was part of the partnering oath I swore upon.”
    “Why? What’s going on?” Kari began to worry. Sure, Boss was a serious man, but, surprisingly, he had never seemed so serious in his life. He wasn’t even wearing his sunglasses, for he was looking both of the children in the eyes with a look that screamed his worries.
    “GIAOC has a plan, and I know it. I have no idea what it is, but I’m pretty sure it directly involves you, Kari. This may be very dangerous, and if you want, you can resign from your position at NYPDDE, although I’m not sure that it will help you any.”
    “No, I wish to stay,” Kari replied. NYPDDE was the only place that seemed to give her purpose. She was actually good at things here, and she knew the people. The only person she sat with at lunch was Lance, because that was the only person she knew. She began to fight back worried tears. What could they possibly want with me? What have I done to them?
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    Later that evening, Kari and Lance were in the park, going for a walk together. “Hey, Kari, this might be random, but what’s your mother’s full name? Before she was married.” Logan asked, hoping she wasn’t a Kranstit.
    “Wow, that is random. Ummm… her name was Jasmine Marie Kranstit. Why do you ask?”
    Great, I’m probably going to have to go through with this. Why does she have to be so sweet? “I told you, it was random. I had to fill out my mom’s name on a paper for school, and I realized that I don’t know her maiden name, or her middle name. So, I was just kind of wondering if you did, since you’re way smarter than me.” Wow, I’m a BAD liar.
    “Oh, well, I guess it’s sweet you think I’m so smart, but you and I both know I’m pretty dumb. You’re talking to the only person who can trip UP the stairs.”
    “Uncoordinated and dumb are two completely different things.”
    As he finished saying that, Kari was giggling while he smiled. They both looked each other in the eyes and saw something they had never seen before. Something that seemed known, yet was a mystery. They both started to lean in slightly. They began to get closer and closer. Suddenly, right before either touched each other, both of them looked downward.
    “I… got to go. It’s getting pretty late,” said Lance
    “Me too. I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.”
    “Bye.” Lance knew things couldn’t be like this. He couldn’t believe it had gotten that far. He tried his best to change his mind about her, but he knew it was too late. It wasn’t an act, although he almost wished it had been. He knew the truth about how he felt, and he hoped no one on GIAOC would ever find out about this, unless they decide it was just a very convincing act.