Churchson.
“Let him stay.”
CHAPTER 8
M addy’s alarm woke her from a strangely dreamless sleep. It was her first day of training to become a Guardian Angel. Turning her head, she looked again at the Angel City sign perched above the Hills. It seemed different today.
Maddy stepped into the bathroom, turning the shower on scalding hot. She looked at herself in the mirror as the water heated up. You are not scared, Maddy. You are not scared.
She shook her head. She couldn’t lie to herself. You are totally scared, though!
Taking off the T-shirt she slept in, Maddy turned her back to the mirror and looked over her shoulder before she stepped into the shower. Her Immortal Marks, delicate and fair, shone on her bare back. Recently the marks had become even more pronounced, and Maddy could swear she even saw them give off a sparkling light every now and then.
After showering and towelling dry, Maddy had to choose what she was going to wear for her first day of training. Against her best efforts to discourage him, Jacks had insisted on taking Maddy shopping with his money – she would be getting her first Guardian-training stipend cheque soon, along with an enormous signing bonus, which itself would be more money than she’d ever dreamt of seeing in her life, but the Angel lawyers were still working on the contracts. Maddy was still trying to decide how far to give in to Darcy’s insistence on various photo shoots and endorsements. She had heard that Nike was interested in a special “Maddy” shoe, even.
She’d laid some of the new clothes Jacks had insisted on buying her across the back of her old wooden desk chair. She slipped into a skirt and then squeezed into a finely cut shirt by a designer whose name she couldn’t pronounce. She closed her bedroom door and looked at herself in the full-length mirror that hung on the back.
She had to admit that the clothes had a certain charm. If she were really going to admit it, they looked great – the sales girl had definitely known what would look good on her. But Maddy looked at herself behind the clothes and saw how uncomfortable she appeared, like she was afraid she’d rip something just by sneezing. She seemed stiff and awkward.
Walking to her wardrobe, Maddy rummaged around for a bit before ultimately coming up with what she was looking for, her old favourite pair of jeans. She slipped off the skirt and put the jeans on. Now just to find the other piece. . . Pawing through a small pile of clean laundry near the door, Maddy found it: her grey hoodie. Finishing her trademark uniform, Maddy looked at herself in the mirror. She was so much more relaxed, it was almost shocking. Jacks may complain, but Maddy wasn’t going to start her first day as an Angel wearing clothes she didn’t feel like herself in.
She did grab one of Jacks’s purchases, a pair of Dior sunglasses she secretly loved. Sticking them on, Maddy flipped off the light switch and headed downstairs. Stealing a quick glance out of the front window, she was shocked to see the largest crowd of paparazzi she’d had to contend with yet.
When the Archangels announced last week that Maddy would start training to become a Guardian, the response from the media had been quick and overwhelming. The press had been focused on the shocking bombing of the Angel offices and the grisly casualties, but now a scintillating and unheard of story started replacing the sombre coverage of the violence: the future Guardianship of an ordinary girl from Angel City. A! and ANN and almost all the other networks quickly put together hour-long specials about Maddy. Fox ran a new episode of American Protection as a lead-in to their “Maddy” special. The networks had got their paws on old yearbooks and showed the worst possible pictures Maddy could have imagined, including a disastrous one from seventh grade, or “The Year of the Braces”, as she shuddered to think of it. Old classmates she didn’t even really remember
“Let him stay.”
CHAPTER 8
M addy’s alarm woke her from a strangely dreamless sleep. It was her first day of training to become a Guardian Angel. Turning her head, she looked again at the Angel City sign perched above the Hills. It seemed different today.
Maddy stepped into the bathroom, turning the shower on scalding hot. She looked at herself in the mirror as the water heated up. You are not scared, Maddy. You are not scared.
She shook her head. She couldn’t lie to herself. You are totally scared, though!
Taking off the T-shirt she slept in, Maddy turned her back to the mirror and looked over her shoulder before she stepped into the shower. Her Immortal Marks, delicate and fair, shone on her bare back. Recently the marks had become even more pronounced, and Maddy could swear she even saw them give off a sparkling light every now and then.
After showering and towelling dry, Maddy had to choose what she was going to wear for her first day of training. Against her best efforts to discourage him, Jacks had insisted on taking Maddy shopping with his money – she would be getting her first Guardian-training stipend cheque soon, along with an enormous signing bonus, which itself would be more money than she’d ever dreamt of seeing in her life, but the Angel lawyers were still working on the contracts. Maddy was still trying to decide how far to give in to Darcy’s insistence on various photo shoots and endorsements. She had heard that Nike was interested in a special “Maddy” shoe, even.
She’d laid some of the new clothes Jacks had insisted on buying her across the back of her old wooden desk chair. She slipped into a skirt and then squeezed into a finely cut shirt by a designer whose name she couldn’t pronounce. She closed her bedroom door and looked at herself in the full-length mirror that hung on the back.
She had to admit that the clothes had a certain charm. If she were really going to admit it, they looked great – the sales girl had definitely known what would look good on her. But Maddy looked at herself behind the clothes and saw how uncomfortable she appeared, like she was afraid she’d rip something just by sneezing. She seemed stiff and awkward.
Walking to her wardrobe, Maddy rummaged around for a bit before ultimately coming up with what she was looking for, her old favourite pair of jeans. She slipped off the skirt and put the jeans on. Now just to find the other piece. . . Pawing through a small pile of clean laundry near the door, Maddy found it: her grey hoodie. Finishing her trademark uniform, Maddy looked at herself in the mirror. She was so much more relaxed, it was almost shocking. Jacks may complain, but Maddy wasn’t going to start her first day as an Angel wearing clothes she didn’t feel like herself in.
She did grab one of Jacks’s purchases, a pair of Dior sunglasses she secretly loved. Sticking them on, Maddy flipped off the light switch and headed downstairs. Stealing a quick glance out of the front window, she was shocked to see the largest crowd of paparazzi she’d had to contend with yet.
When the Archangels announced last week that Maddy would start training to become a Guardian, the response from the media had been quick and overwhelming. The press had been focused on the shocking bombing of the Angel offices and the grisly casualties, but now a scintillating and unheard of story started replacing the sombre coverage of the violence: the future Guardianship of an ordinary girl from Angel City. A! and ANN and almost all the other networks quickly put together hour-long specials about Maddy. Fox ran a new episode of American Protection as a lead-in to their “Maddy” special. The networks had got their paws on old yearbooks and showed the worst possible pictures Maddy could have imagined, including a disastrous one from seventh grade, or “The Year of the Braces”, as she shuddered to think of it. Old classmates she didn’t even really remember
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