So, I ignored her. I gave myself utterly, wholly, to the Sheffields and their way of life. I would have done it whether or not I enjoyed it, but the more I learned about them, the more I liked them. It wasn’t a chore for me at all- in fact, as the days passed I realized more and more that I couldn’t have chosen a better family if I’d had years and years to find one.

My new father, Johnathan Michael Abraham Sheffield, was the owner of a multi-million-dollar international investment company, one his own grandfather had built from the ground up and which had only grown under Johnathan’s expert management. He and my new mother, Rachael Angelina Sheffield, whose family also came from money, had carved out a lovely home in Salt Lake City, and even after three days of living there I had yet to sufficiently explore my new home.

Both Rachael and Johnathan, who within hours I was calling Mom and Dad at their instruction, were aloof people, but I liked it that way. I had never been one to cuddle or seek physical or even very much emotional support from others, and though Rachael especially doted on me and bought me all sorts of clothes and jewellery and belongings, I could sense that I was more a trophy than a child. I was happy with that arrangement- they were my way to a better future, and though I was open to the idea of becoming affectionate toward them, I wouldn’t care if I never did.

The only wildcard was their son- Jeremiah. He was away at boarding school, in his second-last year of high school. It was May when I came to live with him, and he would be home in late June. That gave me almost a month to settle in and attach myself to this family before he had a chance to drive me out- I didn’t know at all what he was like, but I knew that my new mother was his stepmother and that they hated each other. I also knew that my new father believed his only child was on the fast-track to graduating from a teenage delinquent to a failed adult who, if he took over Sheffield Investments Inc., would drive the company straight into the ground. I didn’t know how Jeremiah would feel about me, but I wasn’t willing to take the risk that he would use what little power he had over these people to remove me from their home.

He returned home early from school in late May, catching me off-guard, which annoyed me, so I dressed carefully and combed my hair, French-braiding it the way my mother liked. I descended the stairs as I heard their voices greeting each other, Johnathan’s welcome far more warm than his wife’s. I was an expert at walking silently without effort, and it wasn’t until I was standing next to them that they realized I was there. Rachael actually let out a little squeal, and I made a mental note to be careful about my footsteps next time. I wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize my life here while my adoption was still up in the air.

Jeremiah looked confused, and then he exclaimed indignantly, “Wait, is this the kid? What the hell, Rachael- I thought you were getting a baby!”

I hadn’t heard this before, though I had noticed that before they had approached me, the Sheffields had been examining many of the infants and toddlers in the orphanage. Now Rachael waved a hand at her step-son and walked over to me, putting an arm around my shoulder. “This way there are no diapers to change or bottles to deal with.” Secretly I thought that even if I had been a baby, she wouldn’t have touched those particular chores. Now she smiled at me and pressed her face up close to mine, saying with a smile, “Don’t we look like mother and daughter?”

Jeremiah looked from me to my new mother and then laughed. “What is she, anyway? Black?”

Rachael hissed, “For heaven’s sake, Jeremy,” introducing me to his nickname for the first time. I would later learn he was only called Jeremiah when he was in trouble. My mother gave my shoulders a squeeze. “Don’t listen to him,” she said in my ear, in a tone even I recognized as scathing. “Jeremy wouldn’t recognize true beauty if it punched him in the face.” In response, Jeremy picked up his bags and started mounting the stairs two at a time. “Jeremy, let the maid get those!” Mom called after him, irritated.

“I can walk, Rachael,” he threw over his shoulder, continuing up the stairs.

As if she was retaliating, Rachael said, “You’re taking Penelope to the cabin tonight.”

Halfway up the stairs Jeremy stopped and turned slowly. “Who’s Penelope?”

Exasperated, Mom said, “Your sister! Pay attention.” I actually thought she hadn’t mentioned my new name, but I didn’t say anything. Far better to be on her side than his- though I wasn’t excited about spending time at their cabin alone with Jeremy. At least it would, I was sure, be spacious, so maybe I could escape him there. At the top of the stairs, he rolled his eyes and disappeared from view.

Rachael squeezed my shoulders gently. “Don’t worry about him,” she said. “He just doesn’t like the competition.” She gave me a little nudge and said, “Get packed up. Your father and I have to go on some business in Greece. You’ll be staying at the cabin with Jeremy until we get back.”

If there was anything that impressed me about Rachael, it was the ease with which she had fallen into thinking of me as her daughter. I couldn’t even tell if she was pretending or not- she reminded me of me. I went upstairs and found Jeremy in his room, sitting at his desk and looking intently at his computer. I was fascinated for a moment, and walked over behind him, looking over his shoulder at his websites for a while.

The pages featured nude men and women in various strange poses I had never before imagined. I wondered what on earth he was looking at- perhaps it was some form of martial arts training for flexibility? I opened my mouth to ask him about it, but he suddenly reached up to scratch his neck and his elbow brushed my waist. He nearly jumped out of his skin, and let out a loud yell, jumping to his feet and fumbling with one hand to turn off the computer. I looked at him quizzically.

“Shit,” he said. “Kid- I wasn’t- Dammit-” He didn’t seem able to finish a sentence. Unlike with Rachael, I didn’t care if I had surprised him. But he seemed very upset about it, so I went and sat down on his bed and folded my hands in my lap. Desperately trying to change the subject he said, throwing things quickly into a bag, “Dad and Rachael are going to be in Greece for about three weeks. It’s just like Rachael to adopt you and then abandon you the next day. She’s a pretty shitty mother you know.” He paused. “What happened to your real parents?”

“They died in a fire,” I said, lowering the pitch of my voice and adding a quiver. After an awkward pause, Jeremy crossed his room to me and laid a hand gently on my shoulder with a squeeze.

“This place isn’t really so bad,” he said to me. “I’m just being an asshole because I’m in a bad mood. My school put me on probation.” After a second he seemed surprised and he stood up, chuckling a little. “I don’t know why I just told you all that.” I didn’t venture a guess, but I knew I was easy to talk to- my silence made me a good listener.