"Come on Astra, deal out the cards!" My oldest sister, Elektra, yelled from her boyfriend's lap across the room.

"Calm down" My other older sister, Nyx, said like the peace keeper she was. "She's Shuffling"

Ah, Texas Hold Em', my personal favorite card game, maybe my most favorite game of all time, well next to BS that is. If you haven't noticed I'm the one who is being yelled at, being the dealer and youngest of three girls. Of course we all have… how do I put this… weird names. For example Elektra, my oldest sister at 16, her name means "Bright and radiant" and she is. With White blond hair, Bright red streaks and orange eyes she stands out like a sore thumb, no wonder her boyfriend is an "Emo". I mean puh-lease, who the hell would wear girl jeans even if you were a guy. It's not right. Oh, and she's a pyromaniac. Yeah, she's fun on the fourth of July. Next on the list of weird names is Nyx, the middle child at 15, her name literally means "Night". No I don't know why our mother named her that. Nyx is pale, with Black hair and dark blue eyes that are flecked with silver like the night sky. Nyx likes to sit in dark rooms and go paling. It's like tanning except you get paler. As For me, I'm the youngest at 14, and my name, Astra, means "Star". I have brown hair with purple tips and my eyes change colors depending on my mood. I like to draw, mostly Night skies and landscapes. I'm pretty damn good at it. Also all of our names are Greek except for mine, it's Latin. Yeah, nice way to make a person feel special. Thanks, mom. And if you haven't noticed by our descriptions we look nothing alike! People are like "Your Related!" It's funny.

"Here come the cards" I started to deal out the cards when there was a knock at the basement door.

"Who is it?" Elektra asked in a loud voice.

"It's your father," A gruff voice answered, "And I need you girls here now"

"Okay be right up" Nyx yelled as the rest of us stood, Elektra walking up the stairs first then Nyx and then Me. We have developed over the years a sort of hierarchy. Dad is the Supreme Overlord of the Carson Clan, then Elektra, then Nyx and lastly me. Mom would be in there somewhere but being dead…..yeah. Wait, you didn't know that you. Crap, you know nothing about us. Well might as well start from the beginning. My Father's name is Marcus Andrew Carson and he met my mom, Amelia Caitlin Adder, at WVU when they were both freshmen. They started dating when they became sophomores and by graduation they were engaged. After that he got a job as a bio-medical engineer and they lived in an apartment in West Virginia. Then a year after they got married Amelia got prego and 9 months later out pops Elektra Ardea Carson. Her name, all together, means "Bright and radiant" "Fire" makes you think mom planned it that way. Then a year and a day, exactly, after that Nyx Parthenia Carson arrives. Her name means "Night" "Maiden". And I always thought that the night maiden was the moon. A year and a day after that something goes wrong with my birth and my mother dies minutes after I was born. She never saw me. My name is Astra Phaedra Carson. It means "Star" "Bright". We now live in Maine on the coast. We own the light house nearby and make money by its tourism. Yeah it's sad but hey it could be worse….I shouldn't of said that.

"What's up, Dad?" Elektra asked once we were all settled around the coffee table and Elektra's boyfriend had left.

"I'm sending all of you to boarding school" He said, not looking any of us in the eye, "The light house just isn't making enough money and I can't support three growing teenagers"

"What?" I shouted, "You're sending us away!"

"Yes, Astra, I am" He sighed, "Look girls, I didn't want to do this but it was either that or having you guys separated into different places. And I don't want to that either" He added almost as an afterthought.

"When will we be leaving?" Nyx asked calmly

"The term starts in two weeks," He said, "You'll be leaving to go in two days"

"Don't boarding schools cost, like, a lot of money to go to?"Elektra narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"I have a," He thought about his word choice for a moment, "Connection there that can get you girls in for free"

"Okay," I exploded at this point, and when my temper goes off it's like a supernova. Ha get it Star joke 'cause my name means… oh forget it. Oh and for any little eyes reading this I cuss like a truck driver, just so you know. "So why don't you ship us off now and save a penny in feeding us and giving us a place to stay!"

"Astra!" Nyx gasped in shock, yeah right.

"Shut the Hell up!" I shouted, "You mean to say that you aren't pissed off too? This bastard just said 'hey sorry goodbye' and your gasping at what I'm saying?"

"Oh and I have another thing to say about you guys" our father looks up again the pain in his eyes quieting my anger, "I'm not your father"

We looked at each other in shocked silence before one of us spoke up.

"Um did you take your meds this morning, Dad, 'cause last time I checked you were our father" Elektra said before being interrupted.

"I'm not your father, I'm your Uncle" He said sadly, "Before your mother died she told me that the father of her children had left her and, pretty much, dropped off the face of the earth"

"Okay, Uncle Marcus," I said sarcastically, "Who is our real father then?"

"Blake Univer," He said standing up, "and he is the mythology professor at the Carmichael House of learning"

"So that is our last name?" Nyx asked quietly, "Univer?"

"Yes and that is what I signed you up as. So go and pack all your things." He walked away. Leaving us girls to think about what to pack and how to act in front of a man we now know is their father.