Second Chances

Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE:

On the stage. It was her place in the world, where she belonged. On the stage, with the crowd roaring, the smell of hot stage lights and makeup permeating the air, the sweat plastering the back of her hair to her neck, the bouncy clothes tight and perfectly fitted, she felt like she ruled the world.

Microphone in her hand, she brought the device to her sparkly, cherry red lips. She opened her mouth and a beautiful melody poured out.

"I see the sky!" she sang, "The clouds pass me by! And all I wanna do, is spread my wings...

and fly!!"

The crowd burst into a flurry of adrenaline. The song! "Fly" was the top of the charts, the "it" song of the time. Girls were screaming, jumping up and down as fast that you'd think they were hummingbirds. Even a few boys were mixed into the crowd, wildly ripping their throats out with bellows.

The girl, she walked up in her glossy pink high-heels up onto the front of the stage. The sweaty band members were blasting their music from behind her, the wind fluttering her short dress. The band's introduction was over, it was time to sing.

"The thermals lift me up, while gravity brings me down. It's a constant battle of, how hard my wings can pound."

The enormous sound of the band, the girl, the crowd, echoed across the room and made it shake with pure energy.

The girl took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. "And through the struggle of life I feel my hands being bound, by reality...and, me.

"I'll face my fears, and put them in the place where they belong! I won't let them hit me any more! I'll put it all on the floor!"

She began to belt the chorus loud, proud, and strong. "And I'll fly! So high! You'll be cranin' your neck, tryinna look into the sky, Oh My! She can fly! I won't let my wings be broken, no, I'll fly!"

The crowd went crazy as she held the last "fly" to the best of her ability, which was pretty plentiful. She was a talented young girl, obvious enough. She was beautiful, with silky blond hair down to her waist and baby blue eyes that would make your heart melt. She was slim, with fair skin and rosy cheeks. She had curves in all the right places, after all, she was already sixteen years old. She had sung since she was a child, and had been discovered at age eleven. For years she'd dominated the top of the charts with cutesey songs that would make your heart melt. Recently, however, she'd grown into a more bluesy, deeper tone that had a more mature tone to it. "Fly" was the first of her hits to stay in the #1 spot for over two weeks.

As she hit the last note, the crowd screamed maniacally. She'd never gotten quite used to it, the sounds, the lights, the screams. But she didn't care. She liked it like that; a new experience every time.

"Thank you everybody!" she exclaimed, spreading her arms out as if expecting to give the entire audience a hug.

They began to chant her name.

"AN-GEL! AN-GEL! AN-GEL!"

Angel closed her eyes and smiled, the screams and the songs and the music overwhelming her, making her heart race. She never felt more alive than she had now.

She didn't know it wouldn't last.

At that point, Angel didn't know anything.

~~~

Everything was tugging and wiping and walking.

The woman tugged her clothes off. The man wiped her makeup off. And then, Angel had to walk all around to make sure that her little brother hadn't ran off somewhere. Not to mention tugging her brother along, wiping his runny nose, and having to walk him to the limo as her mom was nowhere in sight.