Kerman's Dad; The Chief

I just couldn't believe it... Kerman's dad; the man currently walking towards us, was the man who wanted nothing more than to see Poppy and I thrown in jail... or worse...

Standing perfectly still, Poppy and I remained in our spots, our hearts racing out of our chests, and sweat dripping down our faces as the chief approached...

Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, the chief stopped dead in his tracks, his smile fading as the older glitter troll looked to Poppy and I in slight confusion.

"Do I... know you?" he asked softly, his eyes locked on the two of us in suspicion.

The room seemed to fall completely silent in that terrifying moment as the head police officer stared straight at us, Poppy and I both too afraid to make even a single sound...

"Oh yes..." he finally began, the answer to his own question seeming to reveal itself in his mind. "You're the kids I met in the woods today, right?"
"No," I quickly blurted out, my fear being heard clearly in my shaky voice as I practically cut off the chief's statement, gaining myself a few strange looks from the three surrounding trolls.

"It must've been some other kids," Poppy added after a short moment of glaring at me for my stupidity, the pink troll luckily sounding much more believable than I had...

"Are you sure?" Sparkleton asked, looking at the two of us very carefully. "You look... familiar..."

Walking closer to us, the chief held one hand behind his back, while the other rubbed his chin in great thought...

Slowly, he began to loop around Poppy and I, trying his hardest to figure out where he had seen us before. All the while, Poppy and I just stood there, remaining perfectly still, our backs stiff as our hearts raced in pure terror...

     Just then... just as the chief was about to figure out our deepest secret... Kerman suddenly punched his father's arm, the young glitter troll giving him an annoyed look.

     "Daaad..." he stated in a firm mutter, gesturing to mine and Poppy's clear terror...

"Oh... sorry," the chief chuckled, shaking his head as he straightened back up. "I didn't mean to scare you two. I'm just not used to having Kerman's friends ov..."
"Dad!" Kerman quickly interrupted, giving his father a look saying; 'stop talking... NOW!'

"Umm... I mean... uh..." Sparkleton started, trying to fix his mistake. "Kerman is always having friends over. I can hardly even keep track of how many of my son's friends I've met. There's just so many of them..." He chuckled again, looking back over at Poppy and I as he took off his reading glasses, whipping the lenses on his shirt, before placing them back on his nose.

     With a soft groan of complete embarrassment, Kerman slapped his own head in frustration...

"Uh... do you have a phone?" I finally asked after a few short moments of silence, trying my best to change the subject. "I should probably tell my grandma where I am. She worries, you know?"

     "Sure. It's right around the corner," Kerman informed, pointing off into the distance.

"Thanks. Come on, Poppy," I instructed in a shaky tone, quickly grabbing hold of my best friend's wrist before beginning to pull her towards the phone with me...

"No!" Sparkleton quickly denied in a frantic shout, the chief of police suddenly putting his arm in front of Poppy to stop her from following me...

Jumping slightly, Poppy and I both froze at the sudden movement, the two of us quickly looking to him in shock...

"I mean..." He cleared his throat, standing up straight once again as he gave the two of us a kind grin. "You go. She can stay so... so I can get to know her better."

With a quick gulp of fear, I looked to Poppy who was staring right back at me, the pink troll clearly mouthing the words; 'don't you dare...'

Slowly, I looked back up at the chief who was now smirking menacingly at me as if he were getting away with something...

     I had no choice...

"O... okay," I finally said slowly, Poppy glaring at me in total rage as I finally released her wrist from my grasp before walking around the corner to the phone.

Needing to get out of there as quickly as possible, and having a clear plan of how to do so locked in my mind, I picked up the landline, immediately pretending to dial my grandma's phone number...

Standing silently with the phone up to my ear for a moment, pretending to be waiting for her to answer on the other line, I soon began to speak as if I had finally heard a 'hello?'...

"Hey, grandma," I said into the mouthpiece. "I... well... yeah... I know it's past my curfew, but I'm... y... yeah, grandma. I know you worry about me, but... yeah... yeah. Okay. Yep. I'll come home right now. Okay. Bye."

Placing the phone back down onto the hook, I sighed, pretending to be upset as I turned around to head back into the living room with my perfectly executed excuse.

"Is something wrong?"

I jumped back, accidentally banging my elbow on the table the phone was sitting on as the sudden voice startled me...

Quickly looking up in fear, I instantly noticed the chief right there in front of me, the red glitter troll having been standing there listening to me the entire time I was 'on the phone'...

"No... n... nothing..." I paused, clearing my throat as I noticed my voice was a little hoarse. "Nothing's wrong," I lied. "Me and Poppy... I mean... Poppy and I just have to go home. That's all... My grandma is freaking out."

"I see..." the chief muttered, nodding slightly as he kept his terrifying eyes locked on me...

Faking a smile, I tried to push past him, ready to get Poppy so we could both leave this terrifying situation safely...

Good thing I was a great liar...

But... as I walked by... Sparkleton suddenly placed a hand on my shoulder, instantly causing me to stiffen as my faked smile faded from my face...

I was panicking even more now than I already had been before, my heart racing right out of my chest, the terrified thing pounding painful against my ribs...

How could I not be petrified right now!? We were in the house of the man who literally wanted us dead! And he was about to figure that out!

His eyes focusing on mine, the chief steadily stepped in front of me, his gaze slowly lowering to my neck after a few short moments of silence...

"That's a nice necklace..." he finally spoke. "I've never seen anything like it..."

    At the sound of his statement, I almost instinctually looked down at my necklace...

     He was right... it was definitely the most unique thing I had ever seen... instead of a chain, the whole thing hooked around my neck with a dark blue and green rope-like material, a pendent tied to the center of it saying #1 friend. No doubt Poppy had worked hours on making it...

     After a short moment of staring at my prized possession, I quickly turned my gaze back up to the chief...

     "Yeah... it was a gift from Poppy," I finally replied a bit skeptically. "I never take it off..." I paused, slowly twisting my hand around the necklace so that Sparkleton could no longer see it, suddenly feeling as if he shouldn't know about it. "Now... we really have to go."

     Again, I tried to push past him, my back right up against the wall as I stared straight at the chief, never once losing eye contact as I squeezed past him...

Once I was past the threat, I ran straight to Poppy, quickly grabbing hold of her arm before beginning to drag my best friend towards the door, un-regretfully breaking the conversation she was having with Kerman...

     Well... more like the conversation Kerman was having with her... He was talking and talking and talking, while Poppy just stood there awkwardly, the young girl wanting nothing more than to get out of there as soon as possible...

"Come on Poppy," I said in a rushed tone, moving as quickly as I possibly could, making my way swiftly toward the exit. "We need to go..."

     "Aw," Kerman whimpered in response to our sudden departure. "Do you have to? You haven't even seen my room yet..."
"Sorry. My grandma is making us. Bye!" I said, pulling Poppy through the doorway, neither one of us looking back as we rushed towards sweet sweet freedom...

     "What about the costumes?" Poppy whispered into my ear to avoid being heard by anyone else, the danger house still in complete earshot of us...

     "We'll get them later..."