Libby

Dear Diary

Dear Diary,

I can't believe I'm keeping a diary! It's just after this horrible and crazy week, I need to get some things off my chest, plus the social worker suggested this. To be honest, I have nobody I can talk to, so for now, I'm going to listen to that woman and keep this updated.

So, where do people start these diaries, an introduction, I suppose? I'm Libby Chessler. I am fifteen years old, but my birthday is coming up soon. Believe me when I say I'm not bragging, but I am way above average in the looks department, if I do say so myself. Some people think I'm conceited, but I just say it like it is. Here is where it sounds like I'm bragging, and I guess maybe I am a little; I'm the head cheerleader at my school, most of the teenage boys want me to be their girlfriend, or at the very least a one night stand, but I find I do not have the energy or desire to put up with the typical high school loser. I'm not a prude that says a person should wait for marriage or anything, but I just don't care for how they are all hands and assume because I am a cheerleader that they can do whatever they want with me.

I quickly put them in their place, believe me. I prefer to keep my reputation intact, thank you very much. I am a respectable woman, or so I tell myself. I will date here and there, one or two dates tops, hold hands and some kissing, but nothing after that, just to keep up appearances.

I am sure I have broken many hearts and I kind of hate myself for doing it because it makes me feel guilty. I know, feeling guilty! But I do have a heart, despite popular belief that I am a stuck-up ice queen. I am the way I am for a reason. If my secret were to get out, if people were to know who I really am- I must be thought of as normal. I do not want people to think I am different or-

In truth, I know that there is nothing wrong with me, and it is silly to have such a secret, but you know how high school kids can be, even in this modern time.

Never mind. Enough of that, back to the weird week I have been having. Let's see, where do I start? Duh Libby, how about at the beginning!

My family has vanished off the face of the earth, my mom, stepdad and my little brother. In situations like this, a person would be sent to live with their next of kin, but my grandmother is the only other person I have and she is in a retirement home. I can't go stay with her. Child protection came and collected me and put me in a foster home. A foster home! The social worker I mentioned before gave me this notebook and said it would be good for me.

I have never felt so dissected. Everyone has been staring at me, pointing and whispering behind my back. The police have interviewed... more like interrogated me several times already. They think my parents might be into something illegal, I'm guessing, by the way they are hounding me. I'm just so thankful things are being kept under the radar, meaning nobody at school knows. This is only because it is summer break.

Of course, I am also worried about my family, even though we never get along and I am sure my stepdad hates me.

After staying at the foster home for a few days, I was contacted by my caseworker. She did some digging and found out something that I can't even believe! My whole life has been a lie. I am not really Libby Chessler. I was adopted. It is so painful to find out this way. My family is missing and I find out my mom isn't even my true mother. I'm torn between being afraid I will never see them again and being angry at them for keeping the truth from me.

My caseworker also threw another curve ball at me; someone actually came forward and claimed they were related to me and had been keeping an eye on me all my life. Tests were done and paperwork was drawn. They were telling the truth!

I am a Spellman! I am related to crazy Hilda and Zelda Spellman. The weird sisters who live alone in a huge house that is practically a mansion. A creepy, old house, too. Ugh! I can't even believe it. I've been living with them for a couple days now.

Even though they are strange, and my reputation is going to take a hit once school starts, they are also kind of- Well, nice. They hardly never fight, for one and when they do fight, it is not heated like the type of fighting I am used to at home. It is more like sisterly bickering that is resolved in no time. They are nice to me and I hate to admit it, but the inside of their home is huge and comfortable, and not as creepy as I judged it to be. It is called Spellman Manor for a reason.

Get ready for the weirdest thing yet, the day I moved in, another girl also moved in. Her name is Sabrina Spellman. Her father is the brother of the sisters. She is also 15 and, this is freaky, her birthday is the same as mine.

The sisters say we're not twins, thank God, not that there's anything wrong with Sabrina, per-se. I'm just so not ready to have a long-lost twin sister on top of everything else! I am not even sure how we're related, but it is easy to think of them as my aunts and Sabrina as my cousin.

Anything else is too confusing. Sabrina is okay, I guess. She's blonde like the sisters, tall and slender. She has the body to be a cheerleader or a dancer. She is cute, maybe even prettier than me. I mean, she doesn't even have to try to be cute. I take precise care in dressing and doing my hair and makeup to look my best, but Sabrina rolls out of bed looking like a Goddess. No joke. It's not fair.

Her eyes are blue. There is a lot of depth to them and they are gentle and sweet, not the fake sweet I am used to with my so-called cheerleader friends. I'm embarrassed to admit her eyes make me want to be her friend, but I would never tell her that.

I do not sound like Libby Chessler at all, but maybe I'm starting to sound like Libby Spellman, the person I was meant to be. The person who is somehow related to a bunch of freaks. Does that make me a freak, too? Do I care? I'm not sure, but it is nice to have a place to not feel judged twenty-four-seven.

Libby closed her notebook and looked around the huge room she shared with Sabrina. She yawned, rubbing her eyes and checking to make sure Sabrina was still asleep, before getting out of bed and walking as quietly as she could to her dresser. She put the notebook in the bottom drawer under her intimate apparel. Somehow, even though she had only known Sabrina for a few days, she believed the other would not be the snooping type. It was kind of weird to trust someone so soon, though it felt natural.

Not that I will ever tell her, Libby thought. She brushed her long brown hair out of her eyes and went back to bed. It was pushed against the far wall, under the window. Sabrina's bed was closer to the closet. A breeze fluttered through the room and gave Libby a chill. She shivered, even though it was warm outside. There was a strange feeling in the air that gave her goosebumps.

"Mmm, magic," Sabrina mumbled in her sleep.

"What are you dreaming about now?" Libby said, rolling her eyes. Sabrina was not a sound sleeper. She tossed and turned a lot and talked in her sleep, though Sabrina claimed Libby did the same.

It's probably because we have had our lives turned upside down. We're restless. She never sees her father and her mother practically abandoned her to dig for bones. Gross. My family seems to have taken off without me and I'm not even related to them. I wonder if mom ever even loved me? No wonder we never got along.

Libby sighed, blushing as a tear fell down her cheek. She looked over at Sabrina to make sure the girl hadn't woke up and noticed. Libby wiped it away and glared at her hand where the teardrop glistened.

Do not show weakness! You will not be liked if you act abnormal! You must be strong! You're a Chessler, act like it!

The words of her mother came back to her, as they often did. She had heard similar lines ever since she could remember. Her mother demanded perfection from Libby. Weakness and abnormality were not allowed. Everything had been a lie. Libby was not even a Chessler. She was a little girl Mrs. Chessler tried to mold into a perfect daughter.

Who am I? How do I fit into the Spellman family tree? Who are my real parents? Why did they give me away? Libby crawled under her covers and pulled her knees to her chest. Mrs. Chessler's words pounded in her mind, making her wince as if someone was actually yelling at her.

"Are you okay?"

Libby froze at the sound of Sabrina's groggy voice. She peeked out from under her blankets and looked at Sabrina, who was now sitting up in bed, her shoulder length hair tangled around her face, though she still looked good somehow to Libby.

"Huh?"

"I don't know. I was dreaming and then I felt strange." Sabrina sounded confused. "It sounded like someone was calling for me to wake up. Did you?"

"No!" Libby snapped. "Of course not. Why would I?" She turned away from her before she could see Sabrina's hurt expression and bit down on her lower lip.

"Okay, sorry," Sabrina mumbled.

No, I'm sorry, Libby thought, but she didn't say it out loud. Get a grip, Libby!

A/N I don't have a beta, so I edited this myself. Please feel free to point out any errors I missed. I'm open to constructive criticism.