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agreed that she would mentor us and ensure our safety, or rather, my safety, as Gabriel could look after himself.
    “The important thing is not to lose sight of why we’re here,” Ivy said. “Our mission is clear: to perform good deeds, acts of charity and kindness; to lead by example. We don’t want any miracles just yet, not until we can predict how they would be received. At the same time we want to observe and learn as much as we can about people. Human culture is so complex and different from anything else in the universe.”
    I suspected these ground rules were mostly for my benefit. Gabriel never had difficulty handling himself in any kind of situation.
    “This is going to be fun,” I said, perhaps a little too enthusiastically.
    “It’s not about fun,” retorted Gabriel. “Haven’t you heard anything we’ve said?”
    “Essentially we are trying to drive away the evil influences and restore people’s faith in each other,” said Ivy in a conciliatory tone. “Don’t worry about Bethany, Gabe—she’ll be fine.”
    “In short, we are here to bless the community,” my brother continued. “But we mustn’t appear too conspicuous. Our first priority is to remain undetected. Bethany, please try not to say anything that will . . . unsettle the students.”
    It was my turn to be offended.
    “Like what?” I demanded. “I’m not that scary.”
    “You know what Gabriel means,” said Ivy. “All he’s suggesting is that you think before you speak. No personal talk about home, no ‘God reckons’ . . . or ‘God told me’ . . . they might think you’re on something.”
    “Fine,” I said huffily. “But I hope I’m at least allowed to fly around the corridors during lunch hour.”
    Gabriel threw me a disapproving look. I waited for him to get my joke, but his eyes remained serious. I sighed. Much as I loved him, Gabriel could be totally lacking in any sense of humor.
    “Don’t worry, I’ll behave. I promise.”
    “Self-control is of the utmost importance,” Ivy said.
    I sighed again. I knew I was the only one who had to worry about self-control. Ivy and Gabriel had enough experience of this kind for it to be second nature—they knew the rules back to front. It wasn’t fair. They also had steadier personalities than I did. They might as well have been called the Ice King and Queen. Nothing fazed them, nothing troubled them, and most important, nothing upset them. They were like well-rehearsed actors whose lines came to them without effort. It was different for me; I’d struggled from the outset. For some reason, becoming human had really thrown me. I wasn’t prepared for the intensity of it. It was like going from blissful emptiness to experiencing a roller coaster of sensations all at once. Sometimes the sensations crossed over and shifted like sand so the end result was total confusion. I knew I was supposed to detach myself from all things emotional, but I hadn’t worked out how. I marveled at how ordinary humans managed to live with such turmoil bubbling below the surface all the time—it was draining. I tried to hide my difficulties from Gabriel; I didn’t want to prove him right or have him thinking less of me because of my struggles. If my siblings ever experienced anything similar, they were expert at suppressing it.
    Ivy suggested she go and lay out my uniform and find a clean shirt and pants for Gabe. As a member of the teaching staff, Gabriel was required to wear a shirt and tie, and the idea wasn’t exactly appealing to him. He usually wore loose jeans and open-neck sweaters. Anything tight made us feel too constricted. Clothes in general gave us a strange feeling of being trapped, so I sympathized with Gabriel as he came back downstairs squirming in the crisp white shirt that hugged his well-built chest and tugging at the tie until he’d sufficiently loosened the knot.
    Clothing wasn’t the only difference; we’d also had to learn to perform grooming rituals like