There's a moment in everyone's life when they feel it. All the energy of the universe settling in, taking a deep breath as it watches you. As you take one step, or say one word, or do one thing that sets you, irrevocably, down the path you were meant to be on. There's that one moment when you know that things are changing and that no matter what you do, you can't stop what's coming. The feeling of being drawn through the river, tugged by the current that was the flow of time.

I was feeling more like I was going to throw up.

"You okay?" Angie asked me.

"No."

She patted me sympathetically. "You'll be fine."

"So supportive."

"Would you rather I tell you that you're going to die?"

"To be honest, yes."

"I'll never understand how your brain works."

"Says the person who thinks that peanut butter and peppers go well together."

"It's an acquired taste."

"So is masochism."

"Don't be so dramatic. You'll be fine." She gave me another pat on the head.

And somehow, despite the twisting feeling in my stomach, I feel comforted. Angie's always been there for me. It's fitting that she'd be here for this too.

"Are you ready?" Cassidy came up to the two of us in Dr. Cheng form, one hand absentmindedly adjusting the placement of her square glasses.

Angie looked from Dr. Cheng to me. "Is this her?"

"Mhmm."

Angie looked at Dr. Cheng again, her eyebrows creased. "You're the skin-changer?"

"You told her?" Dr. Cheng asked me, a note of panic in her voice. "Lailah-"

"It's fine," I interrupted her. "I've told her everything. She was the first one who knew about... well, you know."

"I'm afraid this is a serious breach of protocol," Dr. Cheng said, her brows furrowed. "I'm not sure if-"

"Screw protocol," I muttered. Then, louder, "I've never kept secrets from Angie." Well, except for that one time that I helped one of her younger brothers, Mason, steal the cookies that she had made for her dance party. But that was one time and I didn't think that she'd appreciate me telling her that now. There was also the fact that I felt like I was making a huge mistake and was wondering if my entire existence was for naught. I hadn't told her that either. "And I'm not going to start now."

Dr. Cheng shook her head. "This is unprecedented. It's going to be risky if the two of you stay in touch. Phone calls can be hacked and letters are too easily intercepted."

I snorted. "Trust me, if anyone taps one of our phone calls they're going to be seriously disappointed."

Dr. Cheng shook her head. "We're boarding in five minutes. Get your stuff ready."

I blew out a shuddering breath, pushing out of the plush chair in the private room we were in. The walls were concrete and covered with maps of world cities. Across from us was a huge window that ran along the length of the wall. Outside it sat a fancy helicopter. One that I would be boarding quite soon.

"So this is it." Angie was standing too. She tucked a strand of her wild black hair behind her ear. She was wearing it down for once.

I nodded mutely, unable to find the words to express the tornado in my mind.

"You promise you'll call?" Angie murmured as we slowly made our way over to the door.

"No matter what Cassidy says."

"Don't get in trouble, though. Please."

I gave her a skeptical look. "Angie. Be realistic."

"I mean don't get in trouble because of me."

I shrugged as she held the door open for me. "No promises."

"You're hopeless."

"That's why you love me."

Angie let out a laugh that ended way too soon. It wasn't until she stopped that it hit me how much I would miss that laugh. The scratchy laugh that came out in bursts, the one that was more like snorting and that I made fun of every chance I got. The one that Angie used when she was laughing at her own terrible jokes, the one she used when I making a fool of myself.

"This is the last time we'll be together for a long time," she whispered, subdued.

"Don't be silly. I'll come home for the holidays and it's not like this school lasts forever. It's school. Besides, it might not work out."

"Don't say that. You're going to be great."

We were nearing the helicopter now. Mom and Dad were standing there, talking with Cassidy. They turned as we approached. I squeezed the handle of my suitcase tightly. As if it was my lifeline. As if it was the only thing keeping me from falling into the shadowy corner of my mind where I had hidden all the doubts that were slowly creeping back out.

Mom took a step towards me and I released my suitcase, enclosing her in a bone-crushing hug. She squeezed back just as tightly. "I'm going to miss you," she whispered.

"Me too," I whispered back, shutting my eyes and breathing in deeply. In books, your loved ones always have a scent. Apples and cinnamon, or aftershave and pine trees. Mom just smelled like the vanilla perfume that she always wears. The one that Dad bought for her when they were married. (Not the same bottle, of course, but the same flavor.) I tried to remember the scent, but I knew that the second it faded I'd struggle to remember what it smelled like.

"Remember to call. And you can always come home." Her voice broke at the end, and she squeezed me tighter. "I love you."

"I love you too." With one last squeeze, I released her, turning to Dad.

"Have fun, sweetie," he said to me as his warm arms enveloped me. I pressed my face against his chest like I used to do when I was young and thought the shadows under my bed were going to eat me. "You're going to rock at this school."

"I love you Dad." This time it was my voice that broke. I swallowed, trying to push away the lump that had settled in my throat. I pushed past it, trying to keep my voice steady. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too." He squeezed me. "And I love you to the moon and back."

I smiled at that. "I love you to the Oort Cloud and back."

"Well how can I compare to that?" he joked. Just like he had a thousand times before.

I pulled away from him and turned to Angie, who was hovering a few feet away, clearly a bit uncomfortable.

"So this is goodbye, I guess." I gave her a nervous smile. She didn't return it.

"Don't get into trouble," she said as she squeezed me into a hug even tighter than Moms. I didn't complain.

"We know it's inevitable."

"I'm serious, Lailah." She pulled back, staring into my eyes, her hands gripping my shoulders. "You were meant for this. You can do this. Go show them what you're made of."

I let out a small chuckle. "Thanks, Angie."

She pulled me into one last hug. "Don't forget about me. When you're off in New York with your fancy superhero friends, don't forget about me, okay?"

"Angie." This time, I pulled back. "That's never going to happen." She nodded, some of the worry in her eyes dissolving.

I took one last good look at her, trying to memorize every detail.

Her wild black hair that she hated to have down sprawling around her shoulders. Her dark eyes locked on mine, her mouth curved into a half-smile, half-frown (something only Angie could pull off) - the same eyes that I'd looked into a thousand times and the same mouth that had made fun of me a thousand times. Her dark skin mottled with freckles and the moles on her neck that she hated with a burning passion. The scar next to her earring where Mason had stabbed her with a pencil (he was four at the time and they were playing Jedi with school supplies). The ring that she was fiddling with that I had given her for her 14th birthday that she always wore (she had given me a matching one later that year when I turned 14 that I had worn until it got stuck in a tree). Everything was so familiar, a face I'd known all my life.

"I'm going to miss you," I whispered. Miss was an understatement. Feel-an-ache-for-you-that-makes-me-feel-like my-soul-is-being-torn-open was a better way to put it.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "It's time."

I swallowed, looking Angie in the eyes. "Bye, Angie."

"Bye, Lailah," Tears brimmed in her eyes and I turned away before they made me start sobbing. I'm good at keeping myself together, but if someone else starts, I can't help but follow. And I wasn't going to break down. Not now. Not now. Not now. Keep it together, Lailah.

As I walked up the step to the helicopter, I turned around, waving at my family.

Goodbye. Goodbye Angie. Goodbye Mom, goodbye Dad. Goodbye old life, goodbye old me.

And with that, I turned around and stepped into the helicopter, leaving my old life behind.