CHAPTER 1 In a matter of seconds parents can change the course of your life. How does a relatively smart sixteen-year-old girl get stuck in a sucky situation she can't get out of? Well, as I sit at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on a Monday afternoon during the one hour and forty-five minute delay, I think about the past twenty-four hours of my now messed-up life. I was sitting in my room yesterday when my biological father, Ron, called. No, you don't get it...Ron never calls. Well, unless it's my birthday, and that was eight months ago. You see, after their affair in college, my mom found out she was pregnant. She comes from money, and Ron ...well, he doesn't. Mom, with her parents pushing her along, told Ron it would be best if he didn't have a big part in our lives. Boy, were they wrong. But the worst part is he gave up without even trying. I know he puts money into an account for me. He also comes by to take me out to dinner for my birthdays. But so what? I want a father who'll always be there for me. He used to come around more, but I finally told him to leave me alone so my mom could find me a real dad. I didn't really mean it; I guess I was just trying to