I woke to the smell of coffee.

With a sleepy smile, I dragged myself down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Cassiel stood, arms crossed, watching Ariel pour himself a cup of coffee. When we first arrived on Earth, Cassiel had tried to keep us away from coffee.

To his dismay, after only a month, we used the drink as a morning ritual.

I grabbed a mug with little blue flowers decorating the cup, and a pretty turquoise handle. "Coffee." I half-moaned, putting it down next to the pot.

"It's nice to see you too, Flora," Ariel teased.

"Sorry," I relented.

The Seraphim poured some into my cup anyway.

"Good morning!" I amended my mourning greeting.

"Here," Cassiel handed me a scone, "We have to leave for school in a half-hour, so be fast."

"I don't like school," I groaned, "Can you at least change my science class to botany?"

"I'll do what I can." Cassiel smiled, "but I have already made sure that you're in my music class, so I don't know how many more strings I can pull."

"On a bugle?" I could probably play just about anything, but bugle is my favorite.

"No," My brother said with a slow smile, "On a trumpet."

"Hey," Ariel cut in, "Look on the bright side."

"What bright side?" I scowled.

"At least you're not stuck being the school gardener."

"You're right, Ari." I smiled, "At least I'm not you."

"Very funny." He huffed, "Why don't you go get dressed, and then we'll see whose luckier."

Ariel was right. Cassiel and I had to dress up. Me in a white oxford shirt, and navy blue skirt that didn't go far enough down my leg, and Cass in a suit and tie.

Ariel drove since neither Cassiel, or I felt like it in our confining clothes.

When we got to the front office of Archibald Academy, the receptionist jumped up from her desk. She flushed when she saw my brothers.

I couldn't blame her. My brothers look like, well, they look like Angels.

Ariel is my middle brother. He has stormy grey eyes, and hair the color of a ginger cookie. He is tall and muscular, with eyebrows that frame his big eyes, and thin, red, lips.

Cassiel is my oldest brother. He is about an inch-and-a-half taller than Ariel. He has deep blue eyes and sandy blond hair that reaches his jawline.

My brothers are utterly irresistible, and I can't stand it when people "check them out". It's undignified. I the only thought that makes up for it is the fact that the angels would – could, never reciprocate affection from humans.

"Hello!" The receptionist chimed in a rehearsed manner, "Welcome to Archibald Academy! I assume you're Mr. Chapel."

"You would be correct in that assumption." Cassiel said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "This is my sister, Flora." He laid his hand on my shoulder, "Today is also her first day at this school."

"Lovely to meet you, Flora." The woman said, bending down as if I were a little child.

"The pleasure is mine." I returned, with a smile as fake as her bright red hair.

"I'll go tell the principal that you're here," her smile faded as she turned around.

A few minutes later, a tall man in a navy blue suit and diagonally-striped tie stalked into the office like a cat. "Good morning, everyone." He said with a smile, "I am Doctor Charles," His dark brown eyes slid over us until they rested on me, "You must be Miss Flora Chapel."

"Yes, Sir."

"Well, I'll get you paired up with someone so that you don't get lost on your very first day."

"Thank you, Sir. I appreciate it."

"Hey, Doctor Charles!" A boy, with hair the color of dry grass, walked by us to get to the reception desk.

"Icarus, can I borrow you?" Charles stopped him.

"Sure, Doc!"

"This is Flora," He turned to me, "Flora, Icarus will help you find your way around campus for this week."

"Nice to meet you, Flora." Icarus offered me a hand.

I took it, "Same here." I gave him a real smile.

"Here's your schedule." Doctor Charles handed me a piece of paper, "Good luck."

"Bye, Squirt!" Ariel patted me on the head, between my twin French braids.

"Bye, guys!" I waved to my brothers and turned to follow Icarus to my first day in Hell.

I was glad that I had Icarus to help me navigate the twisting, stone hallways. He tried to make conversation but gave up because I couldn't keep pace with anything modern.

It wasn't my fault. I had only been on Earth for a month, and my brothers, namely Cassiel, wouldn't allow me any technology more advanced than a book.

To avoid the uncomfortable subject of angels and devils, I told Icarus that my parents were Amish, and didn't believe in technology.

"Oh," He commented, "That's cool."

The only other thing he said that morning was, "You're a sophomore, too? We might have some classes together."

My English teacher glared at me when I walked into the room and slipped into the last open seat which, of course, was front and center.

Ms. Watkins became even less happy when she found out that I didn't have a computer.

Uncomfortable laughter rippled through the classroom when I gave the same explanation that I had given Icarus.

"In that case, Miss Chapel, I expect a note from your guardian by next class," Was she said.

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully. The only subject that seemed to come naturally to me was Italian. The teacher was Mr. DeGrassi. A short, round man with exhausting enthusiasm. He praised everything that came from my mouth.

Hello, Lovely People!

Thank you for deciding to join Flora and me. I want to introduce myself.

Hi there, Byohorn, here. I am an English major, currently in community college. I work part-time at an ice cream shop, and during my free time, I love to read, and play music and, of course, write.

I welcome all reviews! The good, the bad, and the ugly. I appreciate suggestions for grammar or spelling improvement, character development if you want more, or less of something, or someone. I have a thick skin, when you are a creative writer in high school English, you learn to let criticism that isn't constructive bounce off.

Thank you again!

Byohorn

byohorn