Alias: Cierra Kore [Chapter 2]

NOT FINISHED ------- DON'T BOTHER READING1

"Who are you?" Jana repeated, a little more calmly, as she struggled to her feet. The boy on the couch didn't seem to be much of a threat right now. Even less, with the wind knocked out of him.2

"I was Matt. Now I'm not so sure," the boy replied, a little sarcastically, as he rubbed his stomach ruefully. "Who're you?"3

"What're you doing here?" Jana bypassed his question easily, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. The boy shrugged, looking at her with the same mixture of suspicion and interest that she was viewing him with.4

"I thought I was living here. That's what they told me, anyways."5

"Jana! Are you home?" Jana jumped at the sound of her dad's voice, coming from the top of the stairs.6

"Yeah," Jana called back, but her dad was already coming down the twisting stairs. Half-way, he looked up, saw the two teenagers standing, either side of the couch and stopped.7

"Oh." He smiled, a little forcefully. "So I see you've met Matt. He'll be staying with us for a time."8

"I'd gathered that," Jana said flatly. She was feeling more than a little annoyed at not having been told about this beforehand. A total stranger was coming into their house, and her mum hadn't thought that important enough to mention? At any time? They knew the kind of problems she had with strangers. Had they even considered those?9

Some of what she'd been thinking must have showed on her face; or maybe her dad just knew her too well. In any case, he sighed and ran his fingers through his short hair.10

"C'mon, we'll discuss this over supper."