That night, Emily tossed and turned in the guest bedroom. She sat up. "How do people sleep on these things?" she grumbled to herself, getting out and grabbing the blanket. "They're so soft."

She wrapped the blanket around her , grabbed the pillow and walked down the stairs, the blanket trailing behind her like a cloak. She opened the terrace door and walked out onto the brick. She spied the lawn chairs.

"Much better," she said. "Outside, hard surface. This'll work." She curled up onto the chair and fell into a light sleep.

An hour later, Justin came downstairs for a midnight snack. He yawned, then stopped, noticing the door Emily had left open. He peeked outside and spied the young girl sleeping. "Emily?" he asked.

Emily jumped to her feet, wand pointed at Justin. He jumped back, hands in the air. Emily saw who it was and relaxed. "Oh," she gasped. "It's just you. Sorry, Justin. Sometimes, the boys snuck in our ward at night. We girls had to be prepared. Force of habit."

Justin went pale. "And what did they do once they got inside?" he asked.

"Oh, the usual," Emily shrugged. "Frogs, worms, the occasional chocolate-fed pocket elf."

"Oh," Justin relaxed. "What were you doing outside on the terrace?"

"Sleeping. That bed up there is way too soft." Emily rolled her eyes. "Like sleeping on a marshmallow."

Justin raised his eyebrows. "Did you consider the floor?"

Emily looked at him. "No."

"Then get back up there. I'm sure that's better than sleeping outside."

Emily grabbed her blankets and sighed. "Fine." She waltzed past Justin and hurried up the stairs.

Justin watched her for a second before returning to the matter at hand: Getting a snack.

He crept back up the stairs and peeked into Emily's room. She slept curled up tight, evenly breathing, clutching something to her chest.

He walked back to his room and fell asleep.

The next morning, Emily was up before everyone else. When the family stumbled downstairs, Emily was cheerfully making breakfast.

"Hiya!" she called. "Look! I made you scrambled eggs!"

"Uh, thanks, Emily," Jerry said, taking the plate. "You didn't have to."



"Oh, I was already making my own breakfast this morning. I figured, what the heck." The girl shrugged. "It's how we were trained. We girls were like serving wenches."

Alex took a bite. "Wow! What did you put in these?" she asked. "They're delicious."

"Umm," Emily frowned, thinking hard. "Salt, pepper, a little bit of milk, I think."

The family dug in, enjoying the meal. While they ate, Emily reached into her bag and took out a fat book. She curled up with it in the chair and began reading intently.

"Okay, Max, Alex, Justin," Teressa said. "Time for school!"

"School?" Emily repeated. "Oh boy! New spells, potions! Hurray!" She shut the book and leaped up.

"Actually," Justin said. "We go to mortal school. Math, Science, History, English."

Emily stopped. "Well, I guess that's still fun," she said slowly. "Do we get to do magic at all?"

"Nope," Alex shook her head. "We can't. But today is Thursday. We get to learn a little magic today after school."

"Sweet," Emily said. "Do I get to go to school?"

Teressa smiled. "We'll have to sign you up today," she said. "Then we can get your supplies and you can start in a few days."

"But I can learn magic, right?" Emily clarified.

"Of course," Jerry said. "In fact, here." He handed her the pocket spell book. "Practice these."

Emily flipped through the book. "Wow," she said. "I've done all this." She eventually stopped about 20 pages form the end of the two hundred page book. "But I could use practice on these. Thanks, dude."

She skipped up the stairs.

"Okay, she's a good cook, witty and a better wizard?" Max asked.

"Yes!" came the reply from up the stairs. "Right on the nose, dude!"

Alex rolled her eyes. "How long is she staying?"

Jerry sighed. "I don't know," he answered. "A few weeks, maybe. I'll call the center. We'll have to make sure she has a home to go to. I don't think we'll send her back to the orphanage."

No one knew Emily was listening at the top of the stairs. Her face fell. A tear rolled down her face and she angrily wiped it away, her teeth and hands clenching.

They weren't going to keep her? Not that she wasn't surprised, not anymore.



No one kept her. Never. No matter what she did.

Never.