Second Chances

Chapter Two

**Angel's P.O.V.**

It's almost like I was in a thick fog in the middle of a blurry forest, surrounded by unfamiliar trees, rocks, and roots that all seem increasingly intimidating with every step I took. Everything was surrounded by a mist, and I had a splitting headache. I remembered, faintly, a time where I had felt unnaturally elated. But, at that moment, all I could feel was oncoming dread.

Then, it was black. Everything was fading to black. The rocks and trees my imagination had constructed for comfort were melting away, replaced with blackness. Nothingness. I doubted that I'd ever felt more afraid.

Had I ever been more afraid? There was a memory that was so close I could almost taste it, but it was just out of my reach. It resonated with fear that begged to escape. Maybe it was a memory that I shouldn't, well, remember.

I was scared, and I knew that much. I was so, so, scared. What's scarier than simply nothingness? I wondered it it would this go on forever. Was I dead?

But no, I realized that I wasn't dead as a soft glow fell upon me, and I craved it. Memories started flooding back to me. My name's Angeline, but I go by Angel. I'm a pop star. I have a little brother and a mother who love me very much.

And oh God. I was stuck by that creepy guy in the back of the alleyway with the mysterious liquid that was probably some kind of drug. I had tried to keep up with my studies by hiring a tutor, but the fame gets to your head sometimes. You feel you don't need an education. I wish I had kept up with my health studies so that I'd have a vague idea of what I was up against.

Finally the light grew to a point where I could see around me. I shielded my eyes, however, as the light was a little too much to manage.

"Oh my God, is that--?"

"It's Angel, isn't it?"

"This could be bad..."

"I didn't know she was on drugs."

The chorus of voices hit me like a meteor, and I clutched my head in my hands and curled up into a fetal position. Pain erupted throughout my skull, but began to slowly throb away as the voices died down.

"She's reacting rather well to the Dreamworld."

"Indeed, most kids don't do so well."

"She does seem in quite a lot of pain..."

"HUSH!" I commanded, and to my surprise, the crowd before me hushed. I cracked an eye open and got a good look at the people around me. There were about ten people, all sitting in a circle around me. I was lying on a circular pedestal that glowed yellowish. Where was I? What was I doing here?

"Is this... am I... dead?" I asked incredulously, my heart beginning to pound with fear.

A woman who looked about 30 stood up. She had short, light brown hair and large glasses on. She smiled at me warmly.

"Hello, Angel. This is entrance to Second Chances," she said kindly. I noticed that none of them tried to get up on the circular pedestal. Was it dangerous?

"I'm... sorry for yelling." I blushed. Normally I tried to be kind to people I hadn't met, in fear that they'd tell the Paparazzi or someone who could harm my social ranking.

The woman laughed. "It's fine. I'm your Administrator. You can call me Julie."

I paused. "What's, um, Second Chances?" It was like an overload of information for my brain to process. People, pedestal, Second Chance, Julie, Administrator... It was almost too much for me to handle.

Julie smiled, the warmth spreading across her face like sunlight spreading across a dew-ridden field in early morning. "Second Chances is mental rehabillitation where you can interact with other kids who want to turn their lives around from drugs."

"Drugs?!" I exclaimed, automatically offended. "I don't take drugs!"

Julie frowned. "In order to come here, you have to have drugs in your system and be at or under the age of 18. If not, then your mind can't function properly in the Dreamworld."

I remembered the dark alley. "I didn't mean to do drugs," I defended myself. "And what's this about the Dreamworld? Is this some sort of a joke?" My head felt like it was going to explode.

Julie sighed. "Listen, I know how you must feel about your drugs use. Most people think that it won't affect them; they won't be the ones to end up in the hospital. But the reason you're here is because you are in the hospital. The way this works is that we get a notice every time a teenager is put in the hospital for drugs abuse.  That's why you're here, though they neglected to tell us the fact that you're Angel." Julie once again sighed. "That might be problematic."

"But where is 'here?'" I pressed. "And what's the circle thingy under me?"

Julie folded her hands together. "We'll get to that," she explained. "Let me start from the beginning.

"We're all from an organization called Second Chances. As I previously said, we monitor teenagers who come into the hospital for drug abuse. When we find someone who fits the bill, we send out waves. Not the kind in the ocean, but the kind that TV's or Radio's function off of. It's a complex procedure, but to put it simply we sort of put you into a common space where you can meet and interact with other people. That's the Dreamworld. It's somewhat like a rehabilitation summer camp, but not out there in the real world. The camp's called Second Chances."

"Wait, what's the difference between Second Chances and the Dreamworld?" I asked quietly, slowly attempting to procces the information that was being shoved into my face.

"The Dreamworld is the place that you're in," Julie explained, "and the camp and the organization are both called Second Chances. It's like Dreamworld is the country and Second Chances is the city."

"Oh." I blinked. "Okay."

Julie laughed. "Don't worry, you'll get it eventually." She frowned once again. "But for now, we need to find out what we're going to do about you..."

Suddenly, I was frightened. Was I not like the other teens because I was famous? "W-what do you mean?"

"Don't be alarmed," one of the men spoke up, "but because you're famous and easily recognizable we may need to tamper with your appearance."

"T-t-tamper with my appearance?!" I exclaimed. Were they allowed to do that?!

The man sensed my urgency. "Not on the outside," he explained. "You image of yourself is typically what you look like on the outside. However, we have the ability to change how you're perceived by others when you're in the Dreamworld."

One of the older men was typing something in on a laptop that I hadn't seen before.

"What's he--" before I got the question out, I felt my body change. I became much shorter, my hair seemed to lighten up a few pounds, and I became a little tubbier.

"Wh-what's going on?!" I exclaimed.

"Don't be afraid," Julie said. Her voice was confident but she had a look of distress on her face. "You facial shape doesn't seem to be changing, though. I don't know what's going on."

"She's still too recognizable," the man grunted.

The elderly man pressed another button on his keyboard.

I began to shrink and become unhealthily skinny. My height increased by a little, and my hair grew to about shoulder-length.

"How is this possible?" Julie asked the man.

"I'm not sure. The other teens know that we tamper with appearance sometimes, they'll catch on right away..."

"What's going on?!" I asked nervously. "Why won't it work?"

"I think it's your facial structure. It refuses to be changed," Julie explained reluctantly. Without warning, a smile spread across her face.

"What?!" I demanded to know. I was so confused I was beginning to lose all of my manners. This weird place suddenly wasn't funny anymore.

She walked over to the elderly man's laptop and pressed a button.

Suddenly I felt my whole body structure change. I couldn't quite tell what was going on, but I seemed two heads taller than my previous height, with a pixie cut, and a little less weedy.

"Perfect," Julie said with a smile that sent chills down my spine.