Chapter 1: Normality
"Vi! Come on! Mum says it's time for supper!"
Violet Allison St. Clair was sitting on the roof of her house, painting a picture of the sea in front of her. Her light-brown hair blew around her shoulders, and her bright emerald eyes flashed in the setting sunlight.
"Violet!"called her sister again, and seconds later, Sunny Lillian St. Clair landed on the roof beside her sister. She had auburn hair that was slightly longer than Violet's, with rich brown eyes to match.
"I'm not done yet!" Violet protested. "I have to finish the clouds!"
Sunny rolled her eyes. "You and your paintings." She said, but walked over to the red-tipped fireplace and called, "Mum! Vi says she has to finish a little bit. Five more minutes?"
Inside, Chastity St. Clair walked over to the kitchen fireplace. "All right, but only five! And come through the door this time, the soot stained terribly!"
Four chuckles came from the roof and inside the house.
Sunny sat down next to her sister and looked at the drawing.
Though only ten, Violet had managed to capture the Cliffs of Dover, the shore, and the sky almost perfectly. She was still working on the clouds, of course, but it was rather good – at least Sunny thought so. It was warm outside, but not hot, even though it was June. Likely it had to do with the wind blowing over the ocean first, cooling it, or perhaps because it was afternoon.
"Done!" Violet finally announced.
"That's really pretty," Sunny said, holding the painting up to look at it side-by-side with the real thing.
"Thanks," the brown-haired girl smiled. She packed up her supplies. "You first," she offered to Sunny.
Sunny picked up her feet and let herself slide down to the edge of the roof, and fall off. It was a two-story house, but she didn't worry. She floated easily to the ground, her sister right behind her.
Ever since they and their brothers, Griffin and Orion, were around seven years old, they had been able to do…strange things. It had started when they were just angry or scared, like when Griffin was being picked on at school and Orion had somehow made the bully hang by his underwear in a tree, or when Sunny had fallen and broke her leg, and Violet somehow healed it. Their mother accepted them though, and encouraged them to practice their skills when no one else was around, so now they could use these powers almost any time they wanted. It may seem strange, but it was just a fact of life at the St. Clair house.
Violet and Sunny walked into the house from the back door, and saw their mother pulling a small chicken out of the oven. Their brothers walked in from the other side, and everyone chose a spot. Sunny sat next to Griffin, Violet sat by Orion, and their mother sat at the head.
"Did you finish your picture?" Chastity asked Violet.
"Yes, here." she handed the painting to her mother.
"It's beautiful!" Chastity proclaimed without exaggeration, absently running her fingers through her short dark brown hair.
"Are you done with that book, Sunny?" Griffin asked. "I really want to read it…"
"I only have a chapter left; I'll give it to you before bed."
"Orion, did that mixture you were working on go well?"
They seemed like a normal family, certainly. With Orion's bright green eyes and Griffin's orange hair to Violet's brown hair and Sunny's dark eyes, they were definitely un-identical quadruplets, even though Sunny and Griffin shared the same dark red–brown eyes and orange hair, and Violet and Orion shared bright green eyes and messy black hair. There were certainly resemblances, like their noses and ears and pale skin, but not nearly enough to call them look–alikes.
After dinner the St. Clair's spent an hour in the library reading together. Orion was halfway through A Wrinkle in Time, Sunny was reading the last chapter of The Magicians Nephew, Violet was just starting Matilda, and Griffin was just finishing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, while Chastity was reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
At nine thirty, the quadruplets went to bed, and Chastity followed at eleven. It was another normal end to a normal day at the St. Clair's.
The quadruplets slept peacefully that night, which was certainly a blessing. After all, we all know what the next day will hold for them…
