Dawn

She opened her eyes.  "Nancy, do you believe in premonitions?" she asked.  "You know, like seeing into the future?"

Nancy thought about that one a moment.  "I guess I've never really had a premonition or anything like that, but that doesn't mean they can't exist, I suppose."  She looked over at Dawn.  "Is that what you think this feeling is, a premonition?"

"I don't really know," Dawn said.  "I'm just trying to figure it out."  She hesitated.  "Sometimes, before, when bad things have happened in the past, I've gotten this feeling, a kind of sixth sense, I guess."  She rose and flopped down on the sofa.  "I just hope it's something else this time, a false alarm or whatever."

James Taylor sang quietly alone for a few minutes, as the girls were lost again in their own thoughts.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me about this Marc Daniels," Nancy said suddenly.  "Where have you been hiding him?"

Dawn smiled and blushed lightly.  "I haven't been hiding him anywhere.  I never even talked to him before the dance."

"Honest?" Nancy asked in disbelief.

"Honest," Dawn replied.  "He just came up to me and we started talking.  It was really weird."

"So, has he called you or anything?" Nancy asked curiously.

"Yeah, he called this morning," Dawn answered, her blush deepening.

"So, do I have to drag it out of you?  What did he want?"

Dawn shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.  "We just talked a bit and then he asked if I was busy tonight and I told him yes, so he asked if I wanted to go to the pool with him on Monday instead and I said okay."  Her blush deepened even more.

"Wow, a date!" Nancy exclaimed.

"Not really," Dawn countered quickly, "We're just going to the pool."

"That counts as a date in my book," Nancy replied.

A firm knocking at the front door put an end to their discussion.  The girls looked at each other, concern written all over their features.

"Your parents wouldn't knock, would they?" Nancy asked quietly.

Dawn shook her head.  "I wonder who it could be?" she thought aloud as she stood up and headed for the door.

"Be careful, Dawn.  Don't let anybody in, even if you know them," Nancy called after her in a loud whisper.

The front porch light was already on in anticipation of her parents' arrival, so Dawn walked up to the peephole in the door and looked through it.

On the front porch stood a police officer and what looked like a fireman.  Dawn knew the policeman.  He was Officer Pinkens, a cop friend of her father's.  I wonder what he wants here this time of day, she asked herself.

"Who is it?" Nancy asked, still whispering.

"It's a policeman and someone else," she replied.  "The cop’s a friend of my dad's."  She opened the door.  "Hi, Officer Pinkens."

The cool night air made Dawn shiver, but she had a strange feeling that it wasn't just the delta breezes which had given her a chill.