Ding dong!

"I'll get it," Mom said, getting up and heading for the door. My heart pounded. Had they shown up already?

"Excuse me, Madam," came a heavily, but very fake accented voice. "Is Miss Pyra Silverwood present in this residence?"

"Josh!" I jumped up and ran to the door, knocking my spoon of cereal to the ground in the process. I rushed past my mom, who let out a surprised "Oh!" and leapt at Josh with a hug while cursing at him under my breath.

"Shit!" I whispered furiously so my mother wouldn't hear. "You scared the crap out of me! I thought you were the press!"

"I told you I'd be here bright and early," he said grinning, cocking his head at me and raising an eyebrow cheekily.

"Well, you certainly woke me up," I commented. "I probably would have burned your face off anyway for scaring me like that. Be glad it was my mom who answered." I was shaking, but I knew I couldn't stay mad at him. His beautiful brown eyes, his warm freckled smile... No, I can't get distracted like all the other girls do. There were more important matters at hand.

"Any sign of the press?" I asked.

"Nope!" Josh said. "Maybe they won't come. Maybe—"

Ding dong!

We looked at each other.

"Dad, will you answer the door?" I asked. "If it's the press, don't tell them I'm here. I don't feel like answering any questions."

"Sure sweetie," he replied, walking towards the door. I braced myself.

"Hey John!" came the voice of our neighbor. "I came to return your book. It was fantastic!"

"Oh, thanks a lot Rodger!" Dad said.

"Sure thing! Have a good day!" Rodger replied as my father closed the door behind him.

"No press," he smiled brightly, setting the book down. "Looks like they're not coming—"

The sound of vans turning down our street made everyone freeze. I looked out the window and withered. On the sides of each of the vans was the logo for News 4.

"Oh no," I said. "Oh s—crap!" If my parents heard me almost swear, they paid no attention.

"Cover me!" I yelled over my shoulder as I bolted up the stairs. I heard Josh pounding up the stairs behind me just as the doorbell rang. I paused at the top and listened tersely to the sound of the door being opened. Josh wrapped his arm around my waist and nestled his chin in the crook of my neck.

"Hello!" came the overly cheerful voice of a reporter. "Are you Mr. and Mrs. Aldon?"

"No," my mother replied. I grinned. Apparently they didn't know she had a different last name.

"Oh, well I was told they lived here," he said somewhat dejectedly. "I was hoping to interview the girl on the news. You know, Pyra Aldon?"

"Pyra Aldon doesn't live here," my mother replied stiffly. My last name wasn't Aldon either. Stupid idiots.

"Can I help you with something else?"  my mom asked, a tone of annoyance creeping into her voice.

"Actually, yes..." another voice peeped up. I glanced over the railing to catch a glimpse of the speakers. The first was a kind of short, chubby man wearing an old-fashioned brown suit that was ugly as—ahem, excuse me. The second fellow who had just spoken was a lanky, youngish man, probably in his mid-thirties. He towered over his buddy, which wasn't saying much considering the short man was like five-foot zero.

"I kinda need to, uh... use the jon," he admitted awkwardly, sounding apologetic. I envisioned Mom's eyes rolling in her mind. The first guy shot him a look.

 "James, why didn't you go back at the station?" James started to reply when Dad cut him off. 

"It's okay, just go," he practically sighed.

"Thank you," the man said, relieved and embarrassed. Dad directed him towards the bathroom.

With a jolt, I realized he was going to pass by the stairwell. I jerked my head back, but it was too late. I bumped into Josh's chest and almost knocked him over too. Luckily, he caught both of us. I held my breath and hoped James hadn't noticed.

He did.

"What was that?" he paused, looking up where my head was moments before.

"What?" my dad asked.

"That movement. Like a flash of red hair. I swear I've seen that intensity before." He puzzled. "Wait, I think I have, on the news? Is that... Pyra?"

Dad hesitated for a second before saying, "No, of course not. Why would she be hiding in our house?" It was for barely a second, but the short guy picked up on it.

"It has to be! No one's hair is as bright as bright red as hers, at least for natural hair color anyway."

"Exactly," my mom said quickly. "Our daughter's being a little shy right now, but if she wanted to come down, I'd show you she dyed her hair red, her full head of hair."

"Do you think you could convince her to come down?" said the shorter reporter who was becoming obnoxious. "We don't bite. Nothing to fear."

I exchanged looks with Josh. We were thinking the same thing. If I didn't come down, they might take it as a sign that I was hiding something. It wasn't even a crime that had been committed, so by not coming down, that clever short fellow who would interpret it as some deeper secret, which of course were my powers. But they couldn't know that. I decided to come down. Josh squeezed my shoulder.

"I'm coming too. I won't leave you to face the eagles alone," he whispered. I nodded, grateful for his support.

"It's ok Mom, I can talk for minute or two," I said, starting downstairs. She looked at me with subtle worry in her eyes. I sent her a glance that said, 'Don't worry, I got this.' She gave an imperceptible nod. As I passed them at the foot of the stairs, I heard Dad murmur, "She's old enough to handle herself, Nora dear," in her ear.

I reach the "gentleman" and froze when the group of reporters let out a collective gasp. I frowned.

"What?"

"She looks just like the girl Pyra in the picture!" the short man rasped emphatically in the lanky one's ear, who recoiled at the flying spittle.

"Wait, what picture?" I asked, wincing at the alarmed sound in my voice.

"School photos of course," the short man said. "You are Pyra, aren't you? You're her spitting image."

I took a deep breath. I couldn't afford to hide any more than I had to.

"Yes, I am," I said steadily, looking at him square in the eye.

He clasps his hands together. "Splendid! Shall we?"

Looks like the press came after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry this took so long to update guys! I've just been so busy these past three weeks. I know I keep saying I won't do it again, but really it depends on my schedule. Research papers, tests, a whole a lot of stuff that I can't really control. So I'll update all the little things like my Ask books and the big updates can be like treats until I can find a way to get my schedule cleaned up and then I'll have more time to write and update. Thanks for sticking with me guys. Woohoo! I passed 100 followers! Thank you guys for all your support , and I love you all! Remember if you enjoy this chapter, please hit that little lonely star, which hasn't been touched probably for the last month or so, and let the other people know that my work is worth their reading. As always, corrections, advice, and comments in general are always welcome. Thanks again and keep being awesome. Gotta run!

-Misty out