Annie grabbed the phone and dismissed the Alarm. Just as she was about to put it down, she remembered that she had planned to go see Frederick in the evening. A gasp pushed past her lips and Annie

oom after going down the stairs, Annie was met with the questioning gape of her both parents. Just as she was about to whip around, their voices reached her ears. "Where are you going all dressed up by this time?" They spoke at the same time to make matters worse. "Damn!" She whispered under her breath. Was it weird to say that she'd totally forgotten about the fact that she was spending the weekend with her parents? She had forgotten about that and so she didn't cook up any story to tell them. There was only one option—to lie on the spot. Annie cleaned her sweaty palms on her trousers and turned around slowly. Feigning a smile, she lifted her head to face both of them. "Uh… hi mom! Hi Dad. I… didn't know you'd be awake by this time. Wha-what are you d-doing here?" "We should be asking you that," her mother said folding her arms across her chest. Annie bit her lips. What would she say? If they refused her going there the consequences would be disastrous. That was not even an option. She cracked her brain for a lie, a story to come up with while still maintaining her feigned smile. If she didn't answer fast they would suspect that she was lying. At that point she decided to say whatever left her lips. "I-It's nothing, you know, I… just wanted to dress up-"