The streams of sun coming throught the slits in her miniblinds woke Panda. She pulled the covers down off her face and stared at the ceiling for a moment.
"Another birthday." she said to her self climbing from under the covers to the edge of the bed. She gathered up the will power to go downstairs. Steve, her step-dad, and Darla, her half sister, were already ing the kitchen. "How's the birthday girl? The big one six, eh." Steve said. "The birthday girl is hungry." Panda said sitting down beside Darla. Steve placed a plate of pancakes and sausage in front of Panda and procedded to feed Darla. Panda's mother and father had divorced when she was 11. Jenny's death was just too much. Her mom had started dating when Panda was 12 and married Steve when she was 13. At first Panda hated it. Not anymore thought. Steve was nice and he made her mom happy. Not to mention she got her little sister Darla from all this. Darla had just turned two three monthes ago. She filled a small portion of the emptiness Jenny had left. "So are you going to your dad's today?" Steve asked taking Darla out of her high chair. "No he is away on business. I think he is in London, maybe Paris. He said he would try to call." Panda said a twing of hurt in her voice. "Are the guys coming over?" Steve asked. "No. I don't need anything." Panda said starting towards the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs she realised how quite the house was. She walked back in the kitchen. "Steve, where is mom?" she asked. "She had to go to the station. Some new information about one of her cases." Steve said. Panda's mom was a cop. She was the main reason the investigation on Zac was still open. Other's had wanted to shut the case. Good old mom never gives up. "Well since no one is going to be home I think I'll get dressed and go for a walk." Panda said turning to leave. "Ok. Come on Darla lets go get your sweater so we can go bye bye." Steve said picking Darla up. "ByeBye Pan." Darla said over Steve's shoulder. Panda just laughed as she walked up the stairs. Pan was the only name Darla could manage to call her. One shower later Panda was outside walking in her back yard. Which was rather large. There was a swing set that had been there since she was three and the new swing set her mother and Steve had bought for Darla. There was also a swimming pool, which came in very handy during the Tulsa summers. The rest was a giant field with a few trees here and there. All the leave had turned orange red and yellow. As Panda sat down on her old swing set a rain drop hit her nose. It brought back a memory of a nigth that seemed to have been ages ago.
"Panda, what are you doing out here it's pouring?" Isaac asked standing in front of her.
"Did they find him?" she asked looking to his brown eyes for an answer. "No thay don't know where he is. If this is one of his jokes I am going to personally kill him when he gets back. Now come on Panda. We need to get inside your soaking and my hair is going to be a disaster." he said laughing at his own little joke. She saw right through Isaac's veil of humor. He was worried about Zac too.
"No Ike stay out here with me." she said pleadingly. Isaac sat down in the other swing. "I sure hope we don't brake your swing." he said jokingly. Panda couldn't help but laugh. Maybe Isaac was right. Maybe this was one of Zac's jokes. As much as she wanted to believe that something told her this was no joke. This was real. "Why wasn't is a joke Zac? Why?" she said wiping a tear off her cheek.
