A/N: Hey, all. Here's that new story I promised. I usually suck at coming up with good summaries, but I'm actually sort of happy with this one. lol

I can't take credit for the title; it's lyrics from "Everybody" by Keith Urban. I don't own The Fosters, but the idea for this story is mine. I hope everyone enjoys it.

Chapter 1 - "Busy"

Monday - 6:05 PM

Callie was in her room doing homework when there was a small knock at the door. "Come in."

"Hey, Callie," Stef greeted her as she entered.

"Hey. How was work?"

"Fine. Same old, same old." She joined her daughter on her bed, peering at the textbook and papers in front of her. "How was school?"

Callie shrugged and wrote an answer down in her notebook. "Fine, I guess."

The blonde nudged her. "You guess?"

"Yeah," Callie said.

"What are you working on?"

"History."

Stef smoothed her back. "We missed you at dinner. Lena said you weren't hungry."

That is what Callie was waiting for. What took her so long? "Yeah. I just have a bunch of homework to do and didn't wanna be up all night," she explained, glancing up at her mom and back at her notebook, scratching down another answer across the page.

Stef didn't fail to notice how the teen shrunk away slightly from her touch, but chose not to mention it. "I see. Well, there are leftovers in the kitchen if you decide you want some. Don't work too hard, okay?" Stef left Callie alone.

Callie sighed, knowing that was Stef's way of checking up on her. She was so obvious sometimes. She didn't see the big deal; it was one dinner, one meal. She wasn't lying, she did have a ton of homework to do. She just had no appetite is all. She sighed again, clearing her throat and settling back into her work.

[][][][][][]

Monday - 8:23 PM

Callie exhaled sharply, frustrated at the seemingly unsolvable Algebra II problem, and convinced that it was taunting her from where it sat on the page. She set the textbook aside and decided to go downstairs for something to drink.

Lena was at the sink when she entered the kitchen. "Hey, sweetheart."

"Hey." She filled a glass with ice and water, sitting down at the table.

"How's the homework going?"

"It's going, slowly but surely. I'm just taking a break."

Lena sat down across from her. "One of those days, huh?"

"Yeah, when every teacher decides to give an hour's worth of work that's due the next day," Callie adds with a laugh.

"Wait 'til you get to college, you'll be begging for a mere few hours of work in place of a fifteen-page paper that's assigned and due in a week."

Callie's eyes widened. "Wait, seriously? Fifteen pages in a week?"

"Yep. It was hell, to say the least."

"That sounds…fun."

"Oh, that, my dear, it was not, I promise you."

Callie took a drink, coughing a bit and clearing her throat.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, wrong pipe. I'm gonna get back to work, math waits for no one. At this rate, I might finish everything by ten," she sighed.

"Okay, hon."

Callie took her glass with her as she passed Stef while going back upstairs.

Stef watched Callie's retreating figure for a moment before looking at Lena. "Do you think something's up with her?"

"No, why?" she wondered curiously as Stef came closer.

"She skipped dinner and was kinda short with me earlier."

"Stef, she's a teenager. I'm sure she's just stressed about school. She just told me that she'll be lucky to finish her homework by ten. It's common for stress to induce a lack of appetite. She's fine."

"You're right," Stef exhaled. "You're right. I worry too much."

"That's better than not enough," Lena reminded her, wrapping her arms around her wife's torso and kissing her softly.

[][][][][][]

Monday - 10:35 PM

Callie chose to move her homework marathon downstairs to the dining room table about an hour earlier. She was reading a story for English and had to answer questions about it. Her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

"Are you still working, Callie?" Stef asked as she stopped at the landing.

She didn't look up as she answered. "Yeah. Algebra took me longer than I thought."

"Let's wrap it up for the night, okay?"

"I'm not done yet."

Stef was more firm this time as she walked up to the girl. "C'mon, it's late. You have school."

"Fine. I'll just tell Timothy the real reason why I'm not turning in my homework: my mom made me go to bed. Be glad I'm not on my phone or something," Callie sassed, her tone sour. She returned her attention to the story in front of her.

Stef decided to concede the point for now and let Callie's poor attitude slide; she was tired and didn't feel like fighting. "Alright," she sighed. "Get to bed as soon as you're done."

Callie finally finished about twenty minutes later, putting her things away, and going to her room. She had such a headache from staring at textbooks for the better part of her day. She gave sleep a chance for about ten minutes before deciding to get some Tylenol from Stef's and Lena's bathroom. She crept in as quietly as possible and found the familiar white bottle in a drawer next to their double sink.

"What are you doing in here?" Stef half-whispered and Callie could see that she was in no mood for games.

"Getting some Tylenol, see?" She held it up. "Headache."

"Well, I'm not surprised. About all I've seen of you today has been your nose in a textbook."

Callie was prepared to make a comment, but wisely thought better of it. She shook out two pills and chased them down with water. "Good night."

Stef let Callie pass by her without another word, turning off the light, and going back to bed.

[][][][][][]

Tuesday - 7:20 AM

Callie went downstairs for breakfast as everyone bustled around, busy with their morning routines.

Stef was packing lunches. "Jesus! How many times do I have to tell you to brush your teeth in the bathroom? Go! Yeesh."

"Good morning, sweetheart. How'd you sleep?" Lena wondered, kissing the top of her head as she sat down at the table.

"Alright." If she was being honest, she was feeling pretty tired. Her headache subsided, but she didn't sleep more than a couple of hours, if that. Even though she still wasn't hungry, Callie got some orange juice, scrambled eggs, and toast for herself and ate anyway. Stef and Lena would really be on her case if she refused two meals in a row.

"What time did you get to bed?"

"Around eleven." She took a sip of juice and winced a bit as she swallowed; it stung her throat on the way down. "Are we driving or walking?"

"You guys are gonna have to walk today," Lena announced. "I have a budget meeting first thing that I need to set up for, so I need to leave right now, actually." She kissed Stef. "Love you, see you tonight."

"Love you," she echoed and Lena left. "How's your headache, Cal? Any better?" Stef wondered as she brown-bagged a few items.

"Yeah, it went away before I fell asleep, thanks."

Jude and Brandon came down next and got some food. Jesus filed in soon after.

"Alright, where is Mariana? Mariana! Shake a leg, Miss Thing! Breakfast!" Stef yelled, even though it was pointless; her youngest daughter was always last to the breakfast table. "You all are walking, so you need to get a move on."

Callie finished her plate and drank the rest of her juice, standing and taking her dishes to the sink, groaning inwardly. She really did not feel like walking to school, but was going to suck it up. She grabbed her lunch from the counter. "Well, I'm gonna get a head start. Bye."

"Have a good day," Stef said and was met by the sound of the front door closing.

Once Callie was out of earshot of the house, she let out a few soft coughs that she'd wanted to release ever since she sat down in the kitchen. Her throat that was slightly scratchy yesterday was becoming increasingly sore with every swallow.

Callie made it to Anchor Beach before the others, going to her locker and first period classroom to start the school day.

[][][][][][]

Tuesday - 11:03 AM

Callie was in the courtyard during lunch, although, hers was untouched except for her water bottle and the 'bites' of food that were in the paper bag so it would seem like she was eating, just in case Lena, Jude, or Brandon came by.

Callie soon decided to give up the charade, throwing away her lunch and heading to the bathroom. The mirror showed how tired she looked; her color, a bit off. She looked like crap, but she just had to hope that no one important would notice.

A/N: Gotta set the stage for what's to come, obviously. Leave me some reviews and let me know what you all think of this introductory chapter.

Behind the Story:

- The working title was "A Lesson in Trust." I wasn't completely satisfied with it, so I knew I was going to have to come up with something else. I love my final choice, it encompasses the story and themes explored perfectly.

- The lines "We missed you at dinner. Lena said you weren't hungry" were what started this. They popped in my head and would not leave me alone; I had to build something around them. It snowballed from there into the rest of the story.

- It's funny when you think a chapter is done and nothing needs to be taken out, added, or changed. I made quite a few last-minute tweaks to this before hitting "Publish New Story," all for the better, I hope.