prologue

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"Yes, daddy." I sweetly said to my dad.

"Alrighty, princess. Get some rest." he kissed my forehead before leaving out of the room.

I sighed. It was only eight. How was I supposed to get to sleep? I just stared up at my lavender ceiling. Soon, many things started to race my mind. My little sister who's now perished, my free twin brother who doesn't attend a snobby private school, my preacher daddy's prayers to me everyday, my counselor mother's 'you can talk to me's every evening, my hospitalized granny, my country, yet quiet cousin, the boring site of Dallas, Texas every day. My mind raced.

Oh, how I hated private school. I just want to go to a public school. In private school, you get kicked out simply for saying 'I don't understand'. We have to wear these ugly plaid uniforms with ties and knee-high socks. We wear the same things everyday. The teachers talk like snobby French people. I want to tell my parents, but I don't want them to feel bad.

Now, don't let me start on being 'the preacher's daughter'. Most people expect me to be a sweet angel. And I am. But I hate it. I want to be outgoing. I was a dancer. A ballerina to be exact. Dad loved it, but me? No. I just wanted to try something different like hip-hop or majorette. But in dad's words it was 'too provocative' and 'made young, innocent girls look like strippers'. Typical preacher. There is not one day that passes by that my daddy doesn't try to pray for me.

And my little sister. God, how I miss her. Hailey. Her name was Hailey Lani Lindsey. She was so sweet and friendly. More outgoing than me, for sure. She never frowned. Even in her sleep she smiled. On her 6th birthday, she ate something at her school that contained two things she was severely allergic to. Peanuts and almonds. She didn't know. Her throat began to swell up and she couldn't breathe. She was at the same school as me, this stupid private school. The nurse urgently ran in as I tried to find her Epi-pen but it was nowhere around her. The ambulance came and the school called my parents. Later that night we got the news. My family weeped for days. But me, weeks. A complete year later I still cry. Poor, Hailey. Never even got to attend her on party.

My brother, Aidan, lives the good life. He went to private school with me before. He was tired of it so he purposely did things to get kicked out. My parents kept paying more and more money so that he could stay. The principal soon told my parents that no matter the amount of money they paid, he couldn't stay. Now, he attends a public school with no uniform.

My mom is really laid back. She picks me up from school everyday. I always have a completely annoyed look on my face. Not because someone is bothering me, as my mother questions, but because I hate that school. She always says 'Baby, you can talk to me.' But there isn't much to talk about. If I tell her what's really bothering me, I'll feel bad.

Then Granny. Lord, how much I pray for Granny. She's in that hospital. The worst place to be. She's there day in and day out. I always want to go visit her, but I can't build up the courage. If I go, I'll cry. I just want to paint her nails baby blue, her favorite color, and have our normal girl talk. But Granny's sick. Real sick. She can't come home, sick. Every Sunday and Wednesday at church, when Daddy says his prayer to the church, I think of Granny. I pray that she gets better. I want her to see me graduate. She only has about two more years, but that's about 600 something days that she has to hold on. God will give her the strength. I just know he will.

Thinking of all this brought tears to my eyes. I look over at my sparkly pink clock as the time read nine thirty p.m. I should really get some sleep. School starts at 8. Another day in hell.

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