Free Daddy's Little Angel by Shani Petroff

been a lot simpler when I was twelve. This new revelation was completely clogging up my brain. Was it possible that these powers and Lou really weren’t so bad? Or was it the dumbest idea in the galaxy to think that the devil or his daughter could possibly use their powers for good?
    It didn’t seem likely, so I made up my mind. There was no way I was checking to see if I had powers. I wasn’t even going to tell Gabi about any of this. Not after the way she reacted when we left the Mara’s Daughters concert. She would totally try to tempt me to give them a try and whip her up a Tony Award or a really early acceptance letter to Julliard. But I couldn’t do it. Powers from the devil had to come with a catch. And I wasn’t going to risk that.
    Checking to see if I had powers was now 100 percent off-limits.

chapter 19
    For the next day and a quarter it felt like I was one of the group—one of the popular kids. But P.E. was about to end all of that. I stuck my head into the gym to survey the situation, and as soon as Jaydin spotted me, she waved me over. No one (well, maybe Courtney) kept Jaydin waiting, so I made my way to her.
    “Gross,” Jaydin said, slapping my hand away from my mouth.
    I had been biting the skin around my thumb. “Sorry,” I said, and put my hands into the pockets of my one-size-too-small, red gym shorts. Fortunately, the shirt was two sizes too big, so it hid my butt. “I kind of stink at volleyball.”
    Jaydin shrugged her shoulders. “Just let Reid or Lana hit the ball for you.”
    Was it really that easy? I didn’t ask, I didn’t want to sound like an ignoramus, but the truth was I was terrified that my sports skills, or lack thereof, would obliterate my newfound popularity. I stink at anything that involves eye-hand coordination, with the exception of skee ball, which I’ve inexplicably mastered on Gabi’s Wii.
    Mrs. Taylor blew her whistle and told us to line up to pick teams. Max shuffled right over to me. “Hi, Angel.”
    “Hi,” I mumbled, focusing solely on my feet. I didn’t want to be mean, but being seen with Max wasn’t going to help keep my standing in Courtney’s crowd.
    “Did you download the CD I gave you? I have tons more you can have, too, if you want.”
    “Thanks.” I could feel Jaydin’s eyes on me. That was bad. She was going to think I hung out with Max all the time. Everyone was going to. I’d never get picked for a team that way. It was going to be just like always.
    “Just tell me which other bands you like,” Max went on.
    I nodded, but when Max opened his mouth again, I squatted down and examined my sneaker. I looked for the imaginary pebble stuck inside until Mrs. Taylor chose Lana and Reid for captains and told the rest of us to quiet down.
    Max was still standing next to me, but so was Jaydin. I prayed that her status was enough to even out the nerd karma trying to suck me in.
    Reid won the coin toss. I crossed my fingers that he wouldn’t choose me dead last this time, now that he knew who I was. “Angel,” he said.
    Was he asking me a question or taking me on his team?
    “Go.” Jaydin shoved me as I tried to figure it out.
    No way! That meant Reid had picked me first—before everyone . I did a little victory dance in my head as I took my spot next to him. I wondered if Courtney had been in my class, would Reid have chosen her before me? Not that it really mattered. I was getting treated just like one of the popular kids.
    Lana ended up with the last pick—her choice was either this girl Leslie who’s always one of the last to get picked, or Max. I felt bad for them. I definitely knew what it was like to be where they were. They both looked pretty anxious. When Lana called Max’s name, his shoulders slumped, even more than usual, and he let out a sigh. It was like he almost wanted to be last. Then I figured out why. He looked over at me and frowned. He had wanted to be on my team. I pretended like I didn’t notice.
    During the game, I