It's your dad!

"Sue," a familiar voice says, freezing you in your tracks. "You can't possibly be thinking of wearing that to...."

"Dad?" you blurt, turning to see the unmistakable face of your father staring at you with an expression you're sure you've never seen on his face when he looked at you. "Uh, I was just, uh..."

"You forgot about the appointment, didn't you?" he says, sighing in a more familiar fashion. You've heard that overly patient sigh too many times in your life, but rarely have you heard it in relation to his step-daughter.

"Appointment?" you say in a small voice, looking down at yourself in dismay. "I'll change."

"No time," he says, putting the car in reverse as you reach for the seatbelt. "We're almost late as it is and we can't reschedule."

Casting another dubious glance, with perhaps a hint of something else in it, he drives with casual recklessness to God knows where.

Remembering the boy you'd called you whip out your cell. You can tell Richie's pissed, but you hang up on him before you can hear him say too much. Right now you just want to know what's going on.