A/n: first chap is pretty boring, I'll get more into it in the second. And thanks for telling me about the anonymous reviews. Didn't see that.

I have lived with my mom my whole life and have never known my father. He knew I was alive, he just never came to see me. But one day I had to go live with him.

I kind of freaked him out when I showed up on his front doorstep. And my stepmother's mouth fell open. Guess daddy dearest forgot to mention me.

But he left a few weeks after I arrived for some job of his. So I was left with my stepmother and stepsisters.

The youngest one, Olive was stupid as can be. I swear it took her ten minutes to figure out I was from a previous marriage my father had had.

But the older one, Hattie, was not so keen to have me in the house. She would glare at me mostly until I would ask her if I had something in my teeth. She would politely say no, then go back to glaring.

But there is one thing I do not like about my stepfamily. They soon figured out a secret that I was keeping from my father. When I had left home my mother told me that my father was never to know, but somehow MADAM Olga found out.

She threatened me that if I didn't do everything they said she would tell my father and I would be done for.

So I do everything around the house, mostly cleaning. But Mum Olga (as she has me call her) hired someone to cook because all I can cook is toast and microwavable things.

Oh, well. One less thing for me to do.

But the good thing is that I have my own computer. I had recently received a laptop from my mom for my last birthday and had brought it with me when I came here.

So every night I would get on there and talk to all my friends back home.

But the person I most talked to was my best friend Arieda. Everyone always called us the Siamese twins because we were always together.

So one night I was talking to her on my cell phone when she introduced me to her cousin.

"Hey Ella, I want you to meet my cousin. Char! Pick up the phone and say hi!"

Ella heard more sounds come in through the other end and a voice said, "hello."

"Hi" I said laughing.

"Ella, this is my cousin Char. He's been visiting my family for the past two days."

"Its nice to meet you Ella" Char said.

"Nice to meet you to."

And that was basically it. After that we kept in touch even after he left Arieda's. He was someone I could just talk to. He was like Arieda in some ways, but completely different from her in others.

I guess now is the time to tell you about the cook. Her name is Mandy. She cooks the best food you would ever think of. She could turn the worst possible soup into mouth-watering food.

I'm quite fond of her and she seems to like me. She likes the way I do my own thing instead of what other people tell me to do. She also knows about my secret. And she knows how desperate I am to not have my father find out.

So Mandy is like my best friend in my new town. She's nice and will always cook us things in secret. Delicious foods like white cake.

I am the official outcast at school. Nobody likes me because my rep was ruined by my stepsisters before I even had one.

But unfortunately, life goes on.