I lay flat out on my bed, staring at the ceiling with a blank facial expression. It was difficult not to over-think my current situation. Every morning was the same; I woke up, I tried to remember my name, realised I couldn't, then gave up.

They say I lost all memory of my childhood. They tell me that I'm American, that I'm twelve years old, that my father died when I was young and my mother is an alcoholic who can't remember ever having a daughter. I didn't want to move to Scotland, but I had no choice. They seemed to think I was in some sort of danger, and that I'd be safer here.

I can almost hear you asking, "Who are they?"

The truth; I have no idea.

All I know; I ended up in Glasgow, Scotland, with a family I hardly knew. I couldn't even remember my real name.

Groaning irritably, I threw my legs over the side of the bed and ran a shaky hand through my hair. For as long as I could remember – only the past couple of months spent here in Glasgow – I'd had been plagued by dreams I couldn't decipher. They were blurry and distorted at best, and what I could make out made no sense.

For one, I seemed to recall having an older sister – maybe four or five years between us – yet I'd been told repeatedly that my only family was an alcoholic mother I wasn't allowed to see. For another, I had a recurring dream of a birthday party, mine I think. Mum had had an incident with the candles and her alcohol, and someone was yelling at her for being irresponsible, most likely the older sister I couldn't remember. In the background, I could hear a baby crying, but yet again, I'd been told there had never been a baby in our house, unless you included me when I was young. None of it made any sense.

I'd lived here now for two months. Mary Cunningham was only twenty nine years old, and had a three year old daughter of her own. But she hadn't been planned, and she couldn't cope with it on her own. She thought adopting another girl to influence Felicity would take some of the pressure off her. I suppose that was one way to explain the following result.

I was transferred from America to Scotland and put in the care system. Less than a day later, Mary took me in, as if she'd been waiting for me to arrive. A week later, her daughter paid more attention to what I said than what she did. I immediately thought Mary would have gone mad, and tried to make amends discreetly, but as it turned out, she was relieved. It wasn't that she didn't love Felicity. It was that she wasn't cut out for having kids, and she didn't know how to handle her. Luckily, I was quite mature for my age, and knew how to look after myself and Felicity well enough to make up for it.

Staggering to my feet with a deep breath, I stumbled toward my wardrobe and dodged the random things that lay across the floor, a result of Felicity's nightmares. She'd tried to convince me during the night that some monster had been following me last week. Mary started getting worried about her mental health, but I gathered it was just the kid's imagination.

I yanked the door open and pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans and the rest of my school uniform. Technically, I wasn't supposed to wear jeans to school, but I couldn't help it. Anything that separated me from the rest of the kids was a blessing in disguise. But, catching my reflection in the mirror behind the door, I couldn't help rolling my eyes irritably.

I hated my appearance. For some reason, it brought back bad memories. My black hair fell down to my elbows in loose, thick curls, and a wavy fringe sloped across the left side of my forehead and framed that side of my face. Beneath it, stormy grey eyes flashed back at me. I was reasonably short for my age, built like a long distance runner, which would probably be why I was so fast.

Shaking myself wearily, I turned and slipped out of my bedroom, hesitating when I heard Mary stumbled out the bathroom. Ignoring her curses and angry comments about her unmanageable hair, I hauled myself down the stairs and into the open plan living room and joint kitchen. At the far end, Felicity was sat at the dining table, her little seagreen eyes peering over the top curiously. When she saw me enter the room, she leapt off the chair and raced straight toward me.

"Kelsey!" she squealed, giggling her head off as she collided when my legs. I laughed at her, bending down to scoop her into my arms.

"You eaten yet?" I asked. She shook her head slowly. "Then how about I make you some scrambled egg?" She nodded furiously, and I let her down as I started toward the fridge to make breakfast.

In the time it took Mary to finish in the bathroom, I'd fed Felicity, myself, cleaned the kitchen, located my homework, and hurriedly sorted my hair into something that resembled a ponytail. As she stepped into the living room, I was slinging my school bag over my shoulder. Smiling, I planted a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Felicity's had breakfast, but I said I'd meet Dan and Ethan on the bus, so I can't walk her to the baby-sitter. Can you drop her off on your way?" Mary nodded, wincing as she stabbed herself by accident with her earrings. "I'll see you later." Letting myself out the front door, I spun around and bolted for the bus before it was too late.

I just managed to get to the bus in time, leaping on board and greeting the driver with my usual head nod. I headed straight for the back and sat down in the corner quietly. Pulling the hood up on my jacket, I took my iPod out of my bag, picked my favourite band and plugged my ears with the headphones.

Five minutes hadn't even passed before I felt someone prodded my arm. It would have made me jump, but I was far too used it. Already knowing who it was, I pulled one headphone out and looked up.

Ethan – a tall, gangly looking boy with glasses and red hair – stood clutching the straps for his backpack. His shirt was tucked into his pants and his face was covered in freckles. All in all, he was your average geek, if you were one for stereotyping. And believe it or not, he got picked on a lot, which was part of the reason I was friends with him. I didn't like people bullying others because they were different, or into different things. He couldn't stand up for himself, so I did it. Though he didn't say it, I was sure the other kids had a god when I wasn't looking because a girl stood up for him.

"Hello Kelsey," he said, sniffing loudly. I pursed my lips to stop myself laughing and smiled at him as he sat down beside me, pulling a PDA out of his pocket.

"Hi Ethan," I replied. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," he answered, same as always. I smiled, reverting back to the quiet music blasting in one ear. My eyes scanned the bus as usual, almost willing someone to be stupid enough to start. Samantha Close, the school bully, glared at me, but didn't move.

"Hi Kels," another voice came, and I smiled again as I looked up at Daniel. He and Ethan couldn't have been more opposite if they'd tried. Dan had short, tatty dark hair and a heavy tan, with a lean figure and brown eyes that seemed to get a flash of red when he got angry. He was the only other person in our school that didn't have a Scottish accent. Grinning with a mischievous wink in Ethan's direction, he pushed himself between the two of us and shoved his bag down by his feet. "So, how you doing with Mary? Finally settled in yet?"

I pursed my lips tightly and shrugged. "I suppose so."

He frowned, scanning my expression. "Dreams again?"

My eyes tightened at the mention of them. I almost regretted telling him about the sister I didn't have, or the baby that never existed. Worse still, a voice that sent shudders down my spine. But then, Dan was the only one that seemed to realise these things held any sort of significance for me. If I hadn't told him, I might've thought I'd gone made.

"They're getting worse," I admitted under my breath, making sure no one was listening in. "I don't understand what they mean. Do you think I'm just torturing myself? Making things up in my sleep because I'm paranoid?"

Something like pity flashed across his face momentarily, but he quickly smirked and nudged me with an elbow. "Lighten up, Kels," he smiled. "We all knew you were mad anyway." I smiled tightly, trying to twist the meaning of his words in a way that made me seem less mad. It didn't work very well.

The bus pulled up outside the school, and Ethan staggered to his feet first. Dan automatically caught his arm as he tripped over the step, rolling his eyes back at me dramatically. I scolded him with a quick scowl, following them down to the pavement silently. As we neared the school building – a low-built, dull, hellish place – I immediately noticed Miss Ingis, my Science teacher, hanging around the entrance. She stood perfectly straight, watching the students entering the building with her beady, black eyes.

"Hide me," I hissed at Daniel. He smirked slightly, but nodded at me and shifted to stand in front of me, shoving his hands into his pockets and trying to make himself look as big as possible. Considering he was only twelve, it wasn't difficult.

I walked close behind him, my head down as I pulled my hood back up to shield my face. We would have made it past the witch without a problem, if Ethan hadn't decided to open his mouth. "Kelsey? Did you bring back that USB I leant you?" he asked casually, and I watched Miss Ingis flick her eyes on our direction instantly.

My lips pursed. "No, sorry," I replied in a mutter, nudging Daniel with a roll of my eyes. "Forgot."

Daniel grimaced at me tightly as Miss Ingis stepped forward, a sly, evil smile splitting across her face. "Ah, Miss Connor," she said slowly, in her usual sickly sweet voice. "I assume you've finished your Science work?"

"Yes Miss Ingis," I sighed. "But it isn't due until tomorrow."

Her eyes flashed dangerously, and I cursed myself mentally. "Are you questioning me, Miss Conner?" she asked carefully.

I pursed my lips again. "No, Miss Ingis," I answered quietly.

She looked mildly disappointed by my lack of fight, but snapped her fingers sharply in front of my face and pointed through the doorway. "Inside," she spat. "Now."

Daniel suddenly had me by the arm, dragging me inside before I could do anymore damage by accident. The moment we'd passed outside her earshot, he let out a low whistle. "You really know how to get on that woman's nerves," he commented with a glint in his eyes.

"Don't," I groaned. "Just . . . don't."

We headed straight toward our form room, where Mrs Linsey was already halfway through the register. She tutted at us when we entered, almost five minutes late, but as usual, her eyes fixed on me. I carried on to the back of the room, ignoring her as much as possible.

The rest of the morning past by in a similar manner. My teachers seemed to give me a wide berth, and the students seemed to be trying their best to stay away too. In fact, the only one to come anywhere near me all morning was Daniel, and even he picked up on the distance everyone seemed to be trying to keep.

It wasn't until Science – my first lesson of the afternoon – that things started to get bad. As usual, Daniel and I were working on our Chemistry project at the back of the class. Or at least, we were supposed to be. Instead, we were mumbling under our breaths about the fight that had happened at lunch, when Samantha Close decided to talk to us.

She and her best friend – Natalie, I think her name was, but I couldn't be sure because all she ever did was stand behind Samantha and sneer at us – were sat at the table behind us. Fifteen minutes before the lesson was due to end, Samantha leant forward and prodded my spine with a sharp nail.

I straightened with a slight gasp of surprise, ignoring the sniggers as I turned to stare over my shoulder. "What?" I asked, a little harshly. Daniel rolled his eyes at me with a smirk.

"Oh, someone got up on the wrong side of the cage this morning," she cackled quietly, wrinkling her nose.

I took a deep, calming breath. "Get to the point, Close."

She glowered at me. "Heard you're coming on the New York trip next week," she commented, and I felt my hand tighten into a fist. Beside me, Daniel's expression had should become very set. "Aren't you afraid of losing it again?"

My jaw locked. In the back of my mind, I knew what she was getting at. But something made me ask, just to make sure she really was that stupid. "Lose what?"

She sneered again. "Your mind, idiot."

I couldn't really explain what happened next. I wasn't really an aggressive person, but Daniel had to literally hold me back as I twisted toward her. She and Natalie laughed loudly at me, and in the distance, I could just see Miss Ingis turn toward us with her beady eyes.

The next thing I knew, Samantha's Chemistry set blew up.

I was nowhere near it, but a surge of electricity seemed to run through my arms, so strong I shuddered with a gulp and Daniel released me with a loud yelp of surprise. There was a smash as the glass tubes exploded in front of us, sending chemicals in every direction but toward me. Samantha's and Natalie's laughs had turned to screams.

"Right!" Miss Ingis shouted, racing over as fast as her scrawny legs could carry her. Her eyes were locked on me, shining in a misplaced delight. I didn't care. My heart was pounding furiously in my chest, thudding in my ears. "Miss Connor, outside." Suddenly, her Scottish accent didn't sound so Scottish.

"She didn't do anything!" Daniel spat, hiding his hands behind his back. Trying to calm down, I peered at his palm; the skin was red and irritated, bordering on burnt. A twist of guilt I didn't understand made me gulp hard.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Mr Law," she spat at him, in what I know realised was a perfect American accent. "Clean up this mess! Connor, outside, now!"

I didn't look at Daniel as I scooped my bag off the floor and followed her out of the room, but I could feel his furious gaze trailing after me. Samantha was sniggering again, mumbling something I couldn't make out at Natalie.

Miss Ingis found a deserted classroom at the end of the hall and shoved the door open, grabbing me by the collar and hauling me through the door. I stumbled slightly when she let go, my blood still boiling as I dropped my bag and slumped into one of the seats.

"I've waited a long time for this," she told me, eyeing my expression. "But I have to say, Miss Grace, I expected more."

I flinched back into my seat, my frown deepening into a worried scowl. "What did you just call me?" I managed to mutter.

She laughed – short and harsh. "Don't play games with me, child! You got away from us once, but you won't do it again!"

I gulped hard, cautiously slipping out of my chair and backing up a few steps. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She ignored me. "I have to say, you've hidden well," she commented, wagging a finger at me like I was a four year old caught with my hand in the cookie jar. "Scotland? Nice choice. A little ironic, all things considered."

"Ironic?" I questioned. I had no idea what the hell this woman was prattling on about, but anything that distracted her was a godsend.

She snorted darkly. "Yes, child, ironic. The fights the gods had about it when they settled in England were a nightmare. Odd that they should choose this place to hide you."

I blinked, speechless. I couldn't help it. I was almost positive that she'd said the word gods.

Before things could get anymore weird though, someone barged through the door. Miss Ingis went rigid as the Headmistress, Dr. Hearth, strode into the door, her eyes flicking from me to Miss Ingis repeatedly. I couldn't put into words how relieved I was to see her. It wouldn't be exaggerating to say that she was the only reason I hadn't already been kicked out of the school.

"Kelsey," she greeted quietly, before turning back to the teacher. "Miss Ingis, I believe your Science class is on the verge of destroying the school. Please settle them down again."

Miss Ingis glowered for a moment, then stalked past her with something that sounded oddly like a hiss. Dr. Hearth's lips pursed tightly, but she just fixed her gaze on me and indicated for me to follow her. Gulping again, I hurried forward and snatched my bag back up on my way out.

Dr. Hearth didn't say a word until we were inside her office on the other side of the school. It wasn't a very large room, the window was shut tight, and summer was just on the horizon, but she apparently felt the need to keep the fire on too. I knew Scotland wasn't the warmest place on earth, but it certainly wasn't that cold. The moment I stepped into the room, the heat hit me and I almost staggered back out again.

Dr. Hearth, on the other hand, sat herself down behind the desk casually and waited for me to take my seat in front of her. Taking one last deep breath of fresh, cool air, I slipped into the room and closed the door behind me.

Leaning forward, Dr. Hearth fixed me with a stern gaze, peering over the rim of her stylish glasses. She was a friendly woman, with a slim figure and tumbles of caramel coloured hair framing her face. Her warm eyes shone slightly as she looked at me. Something about her gave off a kind of warning, as though the friendly face she had was masking something almost dangerous.

"This is the third time this week, Miss Connor," she said, her voice dripping with disappointment.

I grimaced at her. "It's less than last week," I offered feebly.

"It's only Wednesday."

I sighed and shifted in my chair, dropping my gaze to my knees. It wasn't like I tried to get into trouble, it just . . . happened. She grimaced at me tightly. "Something had to change, Kelsey. I can't keep protecting you like this." She said it with a tone of urgency that worried me a little.

"I don't mean to," I groaned. "And I didn't even do anything this time, I swear! I had no idea how that chemistry set blew up like that, I-"

"Kelsey!" she interrupted with a misplaced smile that made me blink in surprise. "I know. After all, how on Earth could a young girl such as yourself blow up a chemistry set without so much as touching it?" She looked at me like she was expecting an answer.

"Erm, they can't?" I answered slowly, unable to stop the confused frown from flitting across my face.

Her lips twitched into another smile, almost relieved. "Right," she agreed. "However, I don't believe it's a good idea for you to go back to class. Maybe you should wait in the library and head to your next lesson when it starts." I nodded at her, collecting my bag again and heading for the door. "Oh, and Miss Connor?" I peered back at her questioningly. She grimaced. "Perhaps you should relax a little before you attend that trip to New York. We wouldn't want you in any trouble while you're there, would we?"

She made it sound like my life depended on it.

"No, Dr. Hearth," I agreed. "I'll, err, take it easy." She smiled broadly at me as I let myself out of her office.

Daniel was waiting for me at our usual table at the back of the History class when I finally managed to get away from the librarian. He almost leapt out of his seat when he saw me enter the room, and I found myself frowning at him, remembering the injuries on his hands.

"What did Ingis do?" he asked furiously as I sat down. I blinked. "Say," he amended, shaking his head with a curse I couldn't make out. "What did Ingis say?"

I shrugged, gulping as a shudder ran down my spine. "Nothing much. Dr. Hearth walked in."

Daniel let out a low breath, nodding. "Good." I sent him a questioning gaze, but he just shook his head at me. Pursing my lips, I angled myself toward him and lowered my voice.

"Let me see your hands." He stared for a second, as if I was completely mad, but something twitched in his expression. I scowled, snapping my fingers at him impatiently. With a sigh and slight shrug, he complied.

They were completely healed.

I blinked in surprise, glancing up to meet his gaze, but he was still looking at me like I was insane. Shaking myself, I turned back in my chair and ignored him.

At the front of the class, Mr Graham was already waving the text book in front of us and telling us to turn to page fifty two. I had to admit, he was an alright teacher. We had others that were a lot more laid-back and friendly, but he was still a vast improvement on Miss Ingis. He taught History, but usually only subjects like the Greeks or Romans. As he started to ramble on, I slouched down and leant my chin on my arms.

"Miss Connor!" Mr Graham suddenly snapped.

I jumped, lifting my head off the desk. "Um?" I asked sleepily.

He frowned at me. "Can you explain to the rest of the class why the Titan Kronos ate his children and how they defeated him?" he asked carefully.

I blinked, my mind suddenly blank. "Erm, no, sir."

In the corner, Samantha scoffed and my eyes tightened.

"He ate them because he feared they'd try to overthrow him like he had his father," Mr Graham explained to me patiently. "Does this help?"

I was about to ask, help who? It sounded like a lot of gods got ate. Then I realised he wanted me to answer the rest of the question, and I shook myself. "Erm, didn't Kronos's wife, Rhea, hide Zeus and gave him a rock instead?"

Mr Graham considered me for a moment. "Are you asking me, or telling me?"

I pursed my lips. "Telling?"

He smiled slightly, nodding. "Yes, she did. Do you remember how the gods defeated him?"

"When Zeus grew up, he tricked Kronos into throwing up his brothers and sisters," I answered, relieved I finally remembered something. "They went to war and the gods ended up slicing him into pieces with his own scythe and scattering the remains in Tartarus."

"Excellent!" Mr Graham beamed, as though the thought of slicing up a Titan intrigued him. "And do you know what Tartarus is?"

I glanced around, wondering why he wasn't asking anyone else this seemingly pointless questions. "Err, the darkest, deepest part of the Underworld?" I guessed.

He nodded, but I got the feeling the quizzing wasn't over. "You seem to know your stuff, Miss Connor," he said, only mildly impressed. "Erm, could you name the god of the sky?"

"Zeus," I answered.

"And Poseidon is the..."

"God of the Sea and Earthquakes," I replied.

"I'm sure you can guess the last one," Mr Graham said, now grinning broadly.

"Erm, Hades is the God of the Underworld?" I guessed. Mr Graham clapped loudly and slowly and unenthusiastically, the class joined in.

"Excellent Miss Conner," Mr Graham smiled. "Now, as for the rest of you ..."

Figuring I was off the hook, I rested my head back on the desk and closed my eyes. I didn't know why he bombarded me with random questions. He never did it to anyone else and it always seemed to make Daniel more uncomfortable than it did me. There were just some things that I'd never understand, so I gave up trying.

"Conner, this includes you to," Mr Graham called.

"Yes sir," I sighed heavily, sitting back up and slouched back into the chair. He smiled a little, but turned back to the class.

"Next week is the class trip to America's Metropolitan Museum of Arts in Manhattan," he started.

"I thought we were going to see sightseeing stuff," Samantha said dumbly. I groaned, rolling my eyes. Mr Graham nodded.

"Well, this is one of them. Whilst we are there, it seemed appropriate to visit the museum," he said. "So I expect you all to know what you're talking about by the time we get there."

"This should be fun," I muttered to Daniel. He nodded, frowning slightly. I pursed my lips, shaking myself.

To be honest, I was dreading it. Only ten of us were going, but this included Samantha Close, and her two best friends, Natalie and Ciara, as well as Daniel, Ethan and I. The other four weren't really that bad. To top it off, as well as Mr Graham, Miss Ingis was going too.

Should be fun.