The next morning,
Betty was taking full advantage of a Saturday to sleep off both her
school work and her duty as a Galactic Guardian. As she woke, she
vaguely heard the television on downstairs, turned to the news, and her
father’s hushed voice murmuring, “How are we going to tell Betty? ” It
was that phrase that made her sit up, wide awake. Pulling on her robe
and slippers, she went downstairs. As Betty opened the door to
the living room, her mother gasped, fumbling for the remote. “What’s
going on? ” Betty asked, but then she saw it for herself. On the
television screen, a serious looking newsman was staring back, and
superimposed beside him were the words “Amber Alert”, and a picture of
Noah. Betty’s heart sank. “Oh no… ” she muttered, too shocked to
make it sound articulate. She soon got her wits about her, though. “What happened? Why are they talking about Noah on the news? “Her
father came and knelt beside her. “Betty, Noah’s gone missing. ” He
said, sympathetically. “The news said he didn’t come home last night. Now, you were going to see him, weren’t you? ” he asked. Betty nodded, weakly, still watching the screen. “Y-yes. ” she said. “But, he went home on his own afterwards. “Her
father nodded, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I think you
should tell the police that. ” He continued. …to be continued!