Angel's books clattered to the floor as she rushed up the stairs. Great, she thought, I'm late again. Mrs. Marks, her biology teacher, wasn't kind to students who weren't on time. By the time she got to class, everyone was already seated. 

Mrs. Marks was taking attendance. Angel cracked open the door and tried to slide inside as quietly as possible, but Mrs. Marks saw her anyway. 

"How nice of you to take time out of your busy day to join us," Mrs. Marks said with an unfriendly smile. 

Angel took the walk of shame to her seat and slumped down, trying to be invisible. She felt a sharp jab in her back from a bony finger and knew her best friend, Kara, was going to hand her a note. 

Kara had texted early this morning to say a friend of theirs was skipping school and wanted them to join. Angel was already in trouble with her mom for making a "D" on last week's math test. No way she was going to take a chance on getting a detention for skipping. Her mom would ground her for sure. 

She reached slowly behind her back to take the scrunched note from Kara's sweaty palm. No worries. Mrs. Marks was writing on the board with her back to the class. Kara's note was scrawled in giant letters. "Leah is knocked up!" covered the entire page. Underneath the words, Kara had drawn a stick figure girl with a giant stomach and X's for eyes. 

Angel ripped a sheet of paper from her notebook and quickly wrote, "The girl is crazy. Her parents are going to snap when they find out." She folded the note into a tiny triangle and reached behind her chair waiting to feel the scrape of Kara's long nails against her hand. 

Mrs. Marks was facing the class again. She began to discuss genetics and inherited traits. "Think about the color of your parents' eyes and hair." Mrs. Marks was pulling up a chart on a PowerPoint presentation. "Now think about your own eye and hair color and that of your siblings if you have any." 

Angel felt her face grow warm, then hot. It never failed. Every school year for as far back as she could remember, there were assignments linked to family. First grade: make a card for Father's day. Second grade: make a family tree. Third Grade: write a report on your family history. 

Angel didn't know her family history. She was adopted. She'd never had a father either because her mom had never been married. 

Even worse, she didn't look like her mom at all. Angel's skin was the color of almonds, and her eyes and hair were dark. Her mother, on the other hand, was a pale, freckled woman with green eyes, and a short blonde bob. 

The day began to seem endless. 

When the release bell rang, Angel ran for the door. Her bus was at the far end of the P.E. field, so she had to hustle a little to make it on time. Leah was in the back next to her girls. All of them wore too much makeup and acted like most people in the world were too stupid to live. At least they kept to themselves, unlike the pack of animals who sat near the front. Dustin, a senior, headed up that gang of fools. They spent their bus time looking for younger kids to humiliate. 

Dustin's group sprawled out on the seats dangling their feet so that those trying to pass had to brush up against dirty sneakers. 

One slid beside a nerdy looking kid and started peppering him with questions about sex. Dustin took a video from his phone. 

Since there was no actual violence, the bus driver remained silent. Angel carefully avoided making eye contact with Dustin's crew as she made her way to the back of the bus. 

Mario, an oversize tenth grader who had recently become a part of the group, called out to her. "Hey Momma, why don't you bring some of that sugar my way." 

The rest of the group hooted. Angel ignored them and scanned the bus for a friendly face. Oh good, Pauly was gesturing from a few rows back. He moved over to make room for her. 

She flashed him a quick smile and asked, "How's it going?" 

He raised his eyebrows. "Better now that you're here." 

She nodded. "Me too." 

She had known Pauly since kindergarten. They used to ride bikes, go swimming, and build forts. Now that they were older, they had different friends. They didn't see each other much outside of school. Still, she knew if she ever needed him, he would be there. When her stop came, she pecked Pauly on the cheek before heading home.

Angel's house looked a bit rickety on the outside. It needed a paint job, and the porch sagged a little. Even so, the house felt cheerful. Marigolds and pansies grew in enamel pots grouped on the steps. A bright red hummingbird feeder hung from a hook near the front door. 

Angel unlocked the door and pushed it open with her hip. A long black snout followed by a longer black body came shuffling out of the kitchen. Nosy, the family Dachshund, was old and fat, but he always came when Angel got home. She put down her backpack and bent down to rub Nosy's soft ears. "You're a good boy," she said. She went in the kitchen to fix a snack, and Nosy followed. He looked up at her hopefully as the bread bag was opened. 

Angel took her sandwich to her room, and Nosy padded behind her. Her bed wasn't made, and clothes were flung across the floor. Her desk, however, looked neat enough to be in a house beautiful magazine. She flipped open her laptop and put in her password. She had never needed a password, but for the last month, she had been doing searches she thought might upset her mother. 

She Googled "find your birth mother," and a list of sites appeared.