Addison sighed. With each teacher, she knew she would have to write another letter of self-introduction. She glared at the piece of paper the biology teacher had placed on her desk.

"You have a problem, Miss…" asked the teacher.

"No, sir."

"I would like your name, miss."

"That's what this letter is for, sir."

Her classmates giggled around her. She had discovered last year in middle school that being at prestigious all girls' schools was torture for her.

"Correct… I suggest you start writing, unless you wish to stay in for a while," he looked around, "All of you."

"I'll start writing right away, sir," she chirped, giving the charm smile she'd been told was her father's. The teacher frowned, and walked away. As soon as his back was turned, Addison rolled her eyes. She picked up a pen, and wrote.

My name is Addison. That's all I can really confirm. Before you start sneering, and saying "What an idiotic girl", maybe you should know how it came about.

My name is the only thing I have from my mother. My last name is unconfirmed until I'm 18. Then it depends on which last name I actually want. Yeah, my life story is pretty complicated. My mother left me on my guardians' doorstep when I was three. I've lived with Angela and Jack ever since, and I consider them to be my family and their children are my younger siblings, Jemimah, Dylan and Aimee. According to Angela, my father doesn't even know I exist. Only Angela and my mother knows my full name, my full 'lineage', I suppose you could call it, and-

Her hand started to tremble.

-the reason my mother left me. Not that I'm complaining. I mean, if she had the nerve to leave me on her best friend's doorstep, then she mustn't have been a very good mother, right? Angela says that when I turn 18, she'll tell me about my mother, my father, and everything. I'm not in a rush to grow up. When I do, though, I intend to become a forensic anthropologist. It's my dream.

Maybe I should stop the sentimentality, or I'm going to start bawling in the middle of class (that was sarcastic, in case you didn't realise it). I actually haven't cried since I was nine.

I'm 13 years old, and I have auburn hair and ice blue eyes. Angela says I look exactly like my mother, albeit a bit younger. I have an IQ of 203, and intend to put it to full use.

That's really all you need to now about me. Please submit any other questions in writing.

Signed, your's truly,

Addison `

She stopped writing, and raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"May I please have a hall pass, sir?" she asked.

His eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"I need to visit administration."

"Why?"

"Look, if you want this letter done completely and correctly, I suggest you let me go. You aren't allowed to read it unless it's complete. Ask anyone in this room, if you must! It's my policy."

He looked around the room. He pointed at one of the girls in the front row, Siobhan.

"Does she have to go?"

Siobhan brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Sir, if you want the report done correctly, and by the end of this lesson, you'll have to let her go."

"Fine. You may go."

Addison looked gratefully at Siobhan. Siobhan gave a small smile in return.

"Thank you, sir."

She rushed out of the room, but not before she turned her paper over and buried it under her books.

Addison walked down the corridor at a moderate pace. God, that teacher… she wasn't even completely sure what his name was… Mr Stewart, Stires, something like that. He was about 40 or 50. All too soon, she noticed that she was at Admin. With another one of the sighs that she was constantly giving, she pushed open the door.

"Hello, Addison!" greeted the Secretary, Ms Richens. "A new teacher?"

"You guessed it," muttered Addison, not in the mood to deal with the chirpy woman. "I need to now what last name I'm currently enrolled with, please."

"One last name coming right up!" There was a blur of fingers on the keys of her computer. "Here it is! Last name, Hodgins, first name, Addison Christine Temperance Brennan. Date of birth-"

"I don't need that, thanks," Addison gave a small smile. "I might not be up to date on my last name, but I definitely remember my birthday."

"Of course you would! Well, bye then!"

"Bye."

After leaving Admin, Addison took a few steps, and stopped. Temperance? Ange had never told her that middle name before. Never. She'd used Christine, yeah, but never Temperance. Maybe it was one of JJ's plots, to teach her about the conspiracies of the world. But… she had heard that name before. Temperance Brennan. Temperance Brennan. The library was just across from her. Forgetting all about Mr Stires, and the introductory letter, she rushed in. Her target was one of the computers at the back, the ones in the private cubicles. Without bothering to sit down, she turned it on, and glared impatiently at the loading screen. Once it was finished, she logged on and opened up the internet. Google, her favourite website, came up immediately. She had programmed it as her homepage in the first week of school. As quickly as she could, she typed in the name, Temperance Brennan. Dozens of hits came up: Temperance Brennan, world renowned forensic anthropologist; Dr Temperance Brennan, of the Jeffersonian Institute; Dr Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist and best-selling author.

That was where she'd heard the name. She'd read Temperance Brennan's books. That was it. But Temperance Brennan was a forensic anthropologist. That was her goal, wasn't it? Addison clicked on the link for the first website. What she saw stunned her. She was looking at a picture of a woman, about forty years old. They could have been twins, apart from the age difference. Then she remembered something that Ange had always told her when she had been upset; "You're beautiful, sweetie, and don't you forget it. You're beautiful, just like your mother."

No. She could not be staring at a picture of her mother. The woman who had left her on a doorstep and never looked back. She just couldn't be. But… every year, for eight years, on her birthday, she had asked about her mother. And every year, Angela had always told her one thing.

"You look exactly like her. And that's all I'm going to say until you're 18. That's all I promised her I'd say."

Addison couldn't help it. She slid to the floor and she cried.