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ootage of the save and an exclusive interview with Archangel Mark Godspeed coming up within the hour, right here on ANN.”
At the word Angelcams, the woman in the booth sat up straight and watched the screen with wide, excited eyes as it previewed the tantalizing footage of a misty hairpin curve on the Pacific Coast Highway.
“Oh my gawd! Can you imagine?” she said, her eyes fixed on the screen. “Can you imagine having one of them Guardian Angels always watchin’ over you, keeping you safe no matter what? And wakin’ in in their big, strong arms, with everybody having seen it?” Her eyes remained on the TV. “One day I’ll be saved.”
But Maddy was already walking away. The truth was, she just didn’t understand the big deal about Angels. Ever since they had revealed themselves to the world over one hundred years ago—the Awakening, as they called it—and turned their lifesaving abilities into a business, the Immortals seemed to be the only thing anyone cared about. Everyone, that was, except Maddy. It’s true she lived in Los Angeles—the Angel capital of the world—but she had never been able to go along with the crowd around her and get caught up in the mystique of their fame, fortune, and lavish lifestyles. She didn’t buy clothes from their clothing lines or sample their Angel-themed perfumes, and she certainly didn’t read about them in Angels Weekly. When you can’t afford any of that stuff, it’s just easier not to be sucked in, she had long since concluded.
The morning rush passed quickly, Maddy expertly wielding her pen and notepad to scratch down orders, dealing plate after plate of eggs, French toast, and sausage to the steady breakfast crowd. Near the end of her shift, when Maddy went back to the kitchen, she found another steaming plate of food waiting for her on the counter. There was no ticket with it. She frowned and looked at her pad.
“Kevin? Who ordered this?” she asked, flipping through her tickets. Kevin looked at her over the counter and smiled, the skin crinkling like paper around his eyes.
“You did.”
Maddy looked down at the plate again, her mouth flooding with water. Scrambled eggs with seared peppers and onions. It was her favorite dish at the diner.
They sat in one of the booths in the back, the customers having thinned enough that Kevin could hang up his apron for five minutes.
“Thanks again,” Maddy said as she scooped another forkful of egg into her mouth. “You didn’t have to cook for me.”
Kevin shrugged as he glanced out the window. He took a sip of coffee. “Sometimes I still can’t believe you’re a senior, and that you’ll be graduating in the spring. You’ve always been my little Mads, but you’re not little anymore. My niece has grown up into a smart and beautiful young woman.”
Maddy blushed and looked down, fiddling with her fork. She wondered why she could never stand to have anyone compliment her looks. She didn’t think she was unattractive, but as a realist, she knew she was average. She had shoulder-length brown hair, brownish-green eyes, and a normal, if slender, body. The only makeup she had were some things that her best friend, Gwen, had given her for her birthday, and she almost never used the stuff. Gwen also launched an exasperating campaign every six months or so to get her to dress “cuter,” which Maddy always evaded—she didn’t care about all that. She had to work the morning shift, get good grades, and maybe, just maybe, get into college on a scholarship. No time for clothes and makeup—or boys.
But if she was honest, part of it was that if she even began to think about what would happen if she put on makeup and dressed “cuter”—about the attention she would get, or maybe worse, the attention she wouldn’t get—her stomach flipped in anxiety. So she mostly just hid behind her gray hoodie and her iPod earbuds. It seemed easier that way.
“I want you to know I’m proud of you,” Kevin went on, “and your parents would be proud of you too.” Maddy paused, another bite of egg poised in front of her mouth. Kevin rarely mentioned her parents. They had both been killed in an accident when Maddy was a baby. Kevin was a kind man, and a good man, but if she was being honest with herself, she missed having parents. She missed their role in her life, and she missed them, even though she had no memories, no recollection to hold onto at all.
Kevin was still talking. “I know it hasn’t always been easy in our little family. I know working at the diner isn’t your favorite—”
“It’s fine, Kevin,” Maddy interrupted, feeling guilty.
“It’s no dream job, I know. But I want you to know that I really appreciate your help.” Maddy smiled at him over her cup. “And besides,” he went on, brightening, “I think our luck is due to change this year. I really do. Just you watch, Maddy, this place is finally going to take off!”
Maddy’s gaze drifted out the back window, out once again to the view of the famous sign on the hill. Giant white letters, fifty feet high, spelled out the iconic words ANGEL CITY. To everyone else the sign was a symbol of glamour, an icon of the Angels’ wealth and power. Maddy just couldn’t bring herself to care. Housing was actually pretty cheap up on this side of town, and all the sign really meant was that she had to endure those annoying Angel Tours tourist buses coughing blue exhaust on her walks to and from school. People all over the world would kill for a chance to live in the middle of the action—in the glorious Immortal City—but as far as Maddy Montgomery was concerned, she couldn’t wait to get out.
Suddenly Maddy realized her uncle was staring at her.
“I’m sorry?” Maddy asked.
“Our luck, Maddy,” Kevin said, “I feel like it’s finally going to change.”
“Right. Me too,” Maddy said, and tried her best to believe him.
The door jingled as more customers came in. It was starting to get busy again.
“I better get back to it,” Kevin said, “But have a great day at school, okay?” Maddy nodded, and Kevin rose and left. After he had gone, her eyes fell once again on the view out the window and the famous sign. Maybe her uncle was right. She was a senior now, and next year hopefully meant college. Maybe things were looking up for her.
Then, realizing she was about to be late for school, she ran to the back to change.
• • •
The walk to school took Maddy down Vine Street and through the heart of Angel City. She passed under the towering billboards of Angels selling jewelry, sunglasses, designer handbags, and luxury cars. Half-naked Immortal bodies were the alluring backdrop for labels like Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Christian Dior. Maddy only casually glanced up at them. She had never had fancy things, not that she was complaining. Most of her clothes were from Target or were secondhand, and she didn’t own any jewelry, or even a proper handbag for that matter. She was also one of the only seniors without a car, and if you didn’t drive in Angel City, you didn’t exist.
Listening to her iPod shuffle, Maddy barely noticed as she turned onto Angel Boulevard and strode down the famous Walk of Angels. She unconsciously stepped over the names bronzed in the sidewalk, the names of the most famous Guardian Angels placed in stars to be forever celebrated. She passed the souvenir shops selling little plastic Angel statues, fake wings, and T-shirts with slogans like SAVE ME! on them. She wove her way through the wide-eyed tourists looking around excitedly, hoping to catch even a glimpse of a flawless Immortal. Eyeing them, Maddy wondered if there was something wrong with her. Why couldn’t she bring herself to care about what the rest of the world seemed to be so obsessed with? What were they seeing that she seemed to be missing?
Suddenly Maddy had to stop herself from crashing into a throng of excited tourists blocking the sidewalk. They had gathered around a shiny new star with no name on it—the star of a soon-to-be Guardian Angel. A couple girls let out screams of delight as they posed for a picture next to it.
“What’s going on?” Maddy asked.
