• Prologue
    Jesse hesitated. Her life was at a standstill – she had to do something, so, perhaps against her better judgment, she said one simple word that would forever change the course of her life.
    She said yes.
    ***

    Chapter one
    “Angel? Are you awake, honey?” Angel moaned in her sleep. “Come one, sweetie. You don’t want to be late on your first day.”
    Thirteen year old Angel wasn’t so sure of that. She’d been dreading going to her new school for the “Unusually Gifted and Talented” since she’d been told she had to. Angel had had plenty fo friends ah her other school. She didn’t want to go to this school which would be full of pople who didn’t know her, who may not even like her.
    “Angel!” Her mother called sharply, loosing patience.
    Sighing internally, Angel pushed herself into a sitting position, calling out to her mother.
    “Alright!” All that was heard in response was the soft thump of her mother’s shoes as she walked back down the hall. Groaning with her reluctance, Angel shuffled over to her tiny closet in search of something to wear.
    Twelve minutes later she had dressed and was heading into the kitchen for breakfast. She paused in the doorway, spying her mother nibbling on a piece of toast and staring out the window.
    Pale blonde hair cascaded around her mother’s shoulders, alight with the morning sunshine, accentuated by a golden tan. And if she turned towards her, it was clear blue eyes that would be looking back at her. Angel, who looked nothing like her mother, had always felt ugly. Her hair was ridiculously long, falling past her waist – though that had always been her choice. Her hair was board straight no matter what she did to it and was an inky shade of black, all of which had been inherited from her father. Once the parent she was closest to, her father had died only two years previously in a terrible car crash that sometimes still haunted her nightmares. Now, all she had left of her father was his very petite twin sister from whom she’d inherited her small figure. No, Angel would never be as gorgeous as her mother.
    Trying not to show the effect of her thoughts on herself, Angel grabbed a piece of toast from her center plate and went over to the fridge to get the orange juice.
    “Oh! There you are!” Her mother said cheerfully, noticing her for the first time. Angel only grunted in reply, continuing to pour orange juice into a glass. “Aren’t you excited, sweetie?” her mother asked, coming up beside her and brushing a lock of silky black hair out of her face.
    Angel merely shrugged, twisting the cap back on the orange juice jug anad returning it to the fridge.