"Crystal! Crystal, wake up!"

I groaned and turned over, burying my head in my pillow. "It's too early! Give me 5 minutes."

"There's no time for that! Crystal, it's 7:00 and the bus comes in less than 10 minutes!"

"I told you--wait, what?" I gasped, jumping out of bed. "7:00? I'm going to be late for school!" I rushed past my older sister, Kayla, into the bathroom.

"You owe me one!" Kayla shouted as I quickly brushed my teeth. Within 5 minutes, I'd taken a shower and was running down the stairs, trying to untangle my long, white-blonde hair. I grabbed my backpack and swung it over my shoulder, putting on my high heels at the same time. My mom was standing by the door, holding my lunch in one hand and a bagel in the other.

"Thanks, Mom," I gasped as I snatched it from her hand.

"Have a good day at school! Make some new friends!" she called as I sprinted down the sidewalk toward the bus stop.

Yeah, right, I thought. She knows that I never talk to anyone, and that I have no friends. It's not that I'm unpopular, or one of the nerdy kids, or anything like that. I just don't really talk to others. I blend into the background, unnoticed, and I like it that way. I doubt anyone at school even knows I exist.

I reached the bus stop just in time. Once I got in, I collapsed in one of the seats, exhausted. I just closed my eyes and waited to reach school.

* * *

The bell rang for the end of the 3rd period, and I rushed out of the classroom. It was turning out to be a really bad day for me. I forgot my math homework at home(which has never, ever happened before!), I was almost late for Spanish because I left my pencil case (which had my phone in it) in my math classroom, and I completely blanked out on everything I had studied for the vocabulary test in English(which also never happens). I was entering the girls locker room when I realized my uniform and my sneakers were in my locker. I cursed under my breath as the bell rang. I would have to go out in my regular clothes, which was not good, since I was wearing a skirt and high heels. Even worse, the teachers had told us we were going outside and playing flag football that day.

"Wonderful," I muttered. "What is wrong with me today?" I leaned against the wall, frustrated with myself. I was usually responsible, and never forgot to study or do my homework. I never forgot things at home or in my locker, or even in other classrooms. Look on the bright side, I told myself. At least we aren't running the mile.

"Hey, Crystal. Why aren't you changing? Don't you know we are running the mile today?" a voice asked.

I spun around. "Kayla? Since when were you in my gym period? And--wait, the mile?"

Kayla smirked and walked away. "Good luck!" she called over her shoulder. As if it couldn't get any worse. Now I had to run the mile in a skirt and heels.

That wasn't even close to the worst part. There's this one part of the field/track that is bumpy and uneven. If you're not careful, you can fall and twist your ankle pretty easily. I wasn't too worried about that--I'm pretty graceful, because I learn ballet, and do figure skating. But, like I said earlier, it was turning out to be a really bad day for me. So, of course, I just had to stumble and trip, and fall heavily on my wrist.

I cried out in pain, clutching my hand to my chest. Most of the kids just kept running, without stopping to give me a second glance, but a couple kids started to move toward me with a look of concern on their faces.

Suddenly, I got a strange feeling in my hand. It started to get cold and numb, like it was turning to ice. I looked down curiously, and realized that the grass below me was starting to get covered in frost, even though it had to be over 80 degrees out. I gasped and jerked backward, shocked.

Just as fast as it had come, the numbness and cold in my hand vanished and the pain returned. It was hurting more than it was before, and my head was aching too. Did I imagine the frost? Was I hallucinating? I looked at the ground again, but there was nothing. It was exactly like it had been before--not a trace of ice or snow to be seen.

* * *

When I got home from school, Mom was waiting. She ushered me up to my room and arranged a whole bunch of fluffy pillows around me, and covered me with blankets. She got me some ice cream, ordered some pizza, and got the Frozen DVD so that I could watch the movie in bed. She was fussing over me like I was a baby. I pretended to be annoyed, but honestly, I liked the attention.

Unfortunately, when Kayla came home, I didn't have Mom to myself anymore. But when Mom asked her to go get some more ice cream, Kayla refused and retreated to her room to do her homework. I had no idea why she wasn't concerned about me, but I figured she could just have a lot of homework. Mom, however, worriedly rushed out of the room to check on Kayla. I took it as an opportunity to think, now that I had some time alone.

I leaned back on the fluffy pillows that were propped up all around me, and for the first time since I got home, thought about what had happened out there on the field. I was absolutely certain that the grass had gotten covered in frost. But how come it wasn't there when I looked again? Maybe it melted, Crystal. I told myself. Don't be so stupid. It was so hot outside, of course it melted. Satisfied that I had come up with a good explanation for why the frost disappeared, I decided to discard the idea that I was going mad.

Until I realized that I had no idea how the frost had gotten there in the first place.

Lost in thought, I didn't hear Kayla and Mom arguing until they were so loud the entire neighborhood could probably hear them.

"You never pay attention to me!"

"Pay attention to you? I always pay attention to you! What are you talking about?"

"You never order pizza for me. You don't let me eat ice cream in bed. You don't bring up movies for me to watch."

"She's injured!" Mom shouted. "What do you not understand about that?"

"It's a sprained wrist, for god's sake! Not a broken leg!"

"Kayla--"

"Sometimes, I feel like you have forgotten that I'm your real daughter." Kayla's voice was cold and hard. I had no idea what she was talking about. Real daughter? What was that supposed to mean?

When Mom responded, she sounded really angry. "Kayla, I won't have you speaking like that about Crystal. She is my daughter. You both are. I love her just as much as I love you. If you are going to talk like that, then maybe you're not my real daughter. No daughter of mine would speak about their sister like that."

"She's not my sister! Get out of my room. I hate you!" I heard the door slam, and then my mom was rushing back into my room with an obviously fake smile plastered on her face.

"What was Kayla talking about?" I asked, not giving her a chance to say anything.

Mom's smile faltered. "She's just upset, honey. We just need to give her some time."

"Mom, are you sure you and Dad and Kayla are my real family? I mean, obviously, Kayla doesn't love me like a sister should."

"Oh, honey, of course she loves you. Sisters fight or get jealous of one another all the time. And of course we are your family! We love you and we care about what happens to you, and we want you to be happy. That's all that matters."

I noticed she said nothing about giving birth to me, but I let it slide. Of course they were my real family. I was just being stupid--and so was Kayla.

* * *

"Mom, I don't feel like going to school today," I said, picking at my breakfast. Things had been really awkward during dinner last night with Kayla and Mom. It didn't help that Kayla was being mean to everyone, like she always is when she's in a bad mood. I had eventually just excused myself when I wasn't even halfway done, insisting that I was full.

"Why wouldn't you go to school?" Kayla snapped irritably. "You know what, don't answer that. I couldn't care less about what you do."

I was saved from answering by the doorbell. Mom frowned. "Who could be at the door so early in the morning?"

I followed her to the front door and looked over her shoulder as she opened it. At first, I thought no one was there. But then I saw the letter on the ground. "Huh," I said, confused. "Why didn't they put it in our mailbox? Who delivered this thing?"

"Apparently, it's from Phoenixwood Institute for the Gifted," Mom read off the back of the envelope. "An invitation for one of you, I guess."

"Oh, it has got to be for me!" Kayla exclaimed.

"No, it's for Crystal."

"What?!" Kayla and I shouted at the same time.

"It's for me?" I asked, shocked. Mom nodded and handed the envelope to me.

"Go take it upstairs. Oh, and by the way, if you want to go to this school I'm going to have to pull you out of your current school. There probably isn't any point in going to school for the next week or so," Mom told me.

I grabbed the envelope and rushed up to my room, and tore it open with my good hand. Shaking with excitement, I read the letter.

Dear Ms. Crystal White,

We are very pleased to inform you that you are one of the few students that have been selected to attend Phoenixwood Institute for the Gifted. It is rare that someone is chosen to come to this school, and if you decline, you will not be able to change your mind. Please give us your reply within one week. In addition, please note that it is a boarding school, and that if you accept this invitation, you will be living away from your family for months at a time. You can find a list of supplies on the back of this letter. We await your response.

Sincerely,

Adrian Prince

Headmaster of Phoenixwood Institute for the Gifted

I flipped it over and read through the supply list. It was pretty much the exact same supplies I was using already. I looked back at the letter and grinned. I was definitely going to this school.