Alessandra (#1, Omega Beginnings Miniseries) Read Free Page A

A spinoff of the singing
competition, American Idol, the talent show was about teenage girls who
thought they could be the next Oracle of Delphi. I sat too close to
the television, not caring if I was caught or not. Mama had refused
to let me watch this when it came on Sunday night, and it was all
the kids at school talked about. Even our teacher had seen
it.
    I punched buttons on the remote control
until the DVR came on so I could record it.
    “Who will be the
next American Oracle? ” the host asked, facing the screen. “Judges have selected
the most promising young women to replace the dying Oracle of
Delphi. Ten hopefuls are present for our debut season, but only one
will be chosen by you to represent America to the gods in Greece! If she wins, she
will become the voice of the gods, the opener of the gateway
between heaven and earth … and so much more! Are you ready to meet
the candidates?”
    “YES!” I screeched along with the crowd.
    Ten teenaged women were led onto the stage,
and each was told to give her name and what her magical power
was.
    I strained to see the ribbons around each
girl. Some said they could read minds or move objects with their
thoughts. Others claimed they could give inanimate objects life or
absorb magic or other magical powers I didn’t understand.
    “No, no, no, no, no,” I
said, pointing out each girl. “No, no … maybe.” I tilted my head.
Only one girl had four ribbons. The girl labeled Lilian had a green
ribbon so faint, I could barely make it out. “Mrs. Nettles, what do
you think?” I twisted to see her lapping up the creamer at the
center of our tray of tea. “Mrs. Nettles! Pay
attention!”
    I took the pot of creamer away.
    She joined me.
    “Her.” I pointed once more.
    Mrs. Nettles shook her head.
    “Hmm. They all look normal,” I said. “Maybe
the Oracle has normal ribbons, too?”
    Mrs. Nettles shook her head again. She
climbed to her feet and waddled to the scrapbook collection I had
hidden away about the Oracle of Delphi, the only human in the world
with the power of a god. Once found and tested, she disappeared.
Mama said she went to work with the gods doing good. Daddy said the
Oracle should never be spoken of.
    Which was why I hid the newspaper and
magazine clippings Mama brought me, so he wouldn’t find them. He
always got upset when I mentioned the Oracle.
    Mrs. Nettles brought me one of my scrapbooks
and set it down. I picked it up and flipped through it to find
pictures of the current Oracle of Delphi. She hadn’t been seen in
thirty years. The pictures of her were all older and her clothing
was funny. Normally, I wasn’t able to see ribbons on pictures, but
I saw hers, because she was magical.
    “Six,” I said and counted. “I guess you’re
right. None of them have six.” The Oracle had a green ribbon like
mine. I put the book away. “But maybe they still can do wonderful
things.”
    Mrs. Nettles brought me a toy dragon.
    “You want to play?” I asked.
    She set it down on the scrapbook.
    “Okay, but don’t bite his tail off this
time. You really hurt him.” I brought the dragon to life for her to
play with and returned to watching the show. “I bet the Oracle
never gets yelled at by the principal,” I said grumpily.
    I watched the
two-hour American Oracle premiere over. And over. And over. Four times
total, before Mrs. Nettles’ snoring jarred me out of my utter
fascination with the girls.
    Pushing myself off my belly, I looked around
my dark room briefly before crossing to turn on the lights. It was
nine o’clock. My parents hadn’t yelled up at me to say they were
home. Mrs. Nettles was lying on her back, the toy dragon curled on
her stomach. Both were asleep.
    I left my room and stood at the top of the
stairs. The house was completely dark. Flipping on the lights of
the stairwell, I held the railing as I made my way to the bottom
floor. This had happened once or twice before. My parents sometimes
had to work late. They usually called