"Parents night tomorrow.. 'Food; art; fun, fun, fun'. Taranee Cook was squinting at the Institute's notice board and wondering why Principal Knickerbocker insisted that her posters be worded and decorated as though for kindergarten pupils. It was just insulting.
"Oh yeah, ngh-" Irma headed a ball, grunting as it hit off her head and went flying in the wrong direction. "Parents at school.. Nothing else says 'fun, fun, fun' like that!"
"I know right!" Taranee grinned as Hay Lin bubbled with happiness. Hay Lin really was a child at heart. "I can't wait to show my parents my art project! And my science project! And, oh, my-"
"Mine'll spend the whole night pushing back my hair and saying, 'Why'd you wanna hide that pretty face!', could anything be less cool?"
Taranee grinned as Irma kicked the ball at Cornelia, who stepped forward to stop it, and kick it back. Irma yawned, "How is it uncool for your parents to do that, but it's perfectly acceptable to you to do that to yourself?" Irma pushed her own hair behind her ears mimicking Cornelia, "'Why would I ever want to hide this pretty face?'!"
"Oh you're funny."
"Thanks. But try your mother bringing cookies with your name on them. Your pet name from when you were little!" Taranee knew that Irma's step mother tried to do as much as she could to involve herself with Irma. She also knew that most of the time, Irma loved this extra attention; Irma was known to get on exceptionally with Anna Lair.
Hay Lin received and picked up the ball, bouncing it experimentally before she kicked it again, "Does 'schroopy pants' fit on a cookie?"
"Droopy pants."
"Oh." Hay Lin smiled comfortingly, "That's much less humiliating!"
"You think you guys have problems?" Taranee jumped a little, not having noticed Will arrive, never mind realized that the redhead was standing right behind her. "Check this out."
The other girls started to walk over as Taranee took the paper Will held out to her. A math test. It looked very.. Will. Cornelia's long fingers pulled the paper out of Taranee's hands, and Taranee smirked as Cornelia raised her eyebrow. "You still dot your 'i's with smiley faces?"
"No. I was bored okay?" Taranee shook her head as Will pouted, snatching back her work. "But look at the grade. I got a C! I can hide this or shred it or eat it or something, but on parents night, when my mom talks to Mrs Rudolph.. I'm grounded."
Realization struck Taranee, "But without you, we can't transform! Whe-"
"Oh, hi! Elyon!" Taranee scowled; Cornelia's elbow jabbing into her stomach. She smiled though, and waved along with the other girls. Elyon didn't return the gesture.
"Don't let me interrupt you!"
"We need to tell her!" Taranee felt sorry for Will; having to constantly deal with Cornelia. Cornelia didn't oblige to rules. Cornelia made rules.
Will didn't seem so flexible to Cornelia today though, and Taranee wondered if it was something to do with all of Caleb's encouragement. Taranee got that he had originally tried to control Cornelia for Will, but Will didn't seem as afraid of Caleb as she was of Cornelia. Now Caleb was stepping back and Will finally seemed to be holding her own. "No. She'd freak. Which is just what Phobos needs to swoop in. Caleb and Blunk have it under control."
"Ehem." Taranee laughed out loud as Will's shoulders shot to her ears; Principal Knickerbocker was right behind her. "Family tree charts, donated by a local bookstore. I want you to fill them out with your parents, attaching photos of your relatives!"
"I'd rather shave my head an wear crown shoes to the prom!" Taranee grinned as Cornelia sneered at the chart, Will digging the item into her pocket and making the paper crumple and probably tear.
"Hey, at least you don't have to fit your bloody step-family in here.." Irma use her fingers to inch up the page; trying to see if she'd have enough room.
"Yeah.." Will grinned, "What exactly can she do if we don't take these in?"
"Wow.. Why wouldn't you want to!" Will's face fell as Hay Lin's eyes glittered - she supposed Will's reaction was from shock of someone actually being excited by this. "This is gonna be-"
Hay Lin never got to finish her sentence as Irma slapped her palm to Hay Lin's mouth.
...
"Dad! Mr Hoffman has taught me so much about family histories, and how important it is to know your roots!" Elyon was pacing toward her parents, who sat at their plain kitchen table, but made a quick turn as she felt tears pricking at her eyes. It was silly. She had no reason to be upset. Neither Cornelia, nor Will or any other ninth-grader was taking this seriously.. But no matter how Elyon tried, she couldn't let it go. "He especially wanted to see my family tree chart."
"Honey, we did the-"
Elyon whirled around, slamming her fists against the table between her parents. She was sick of excuses. "There are no pictures here except from ours!"
"Oh! Elyon!" Elyon didn't care anymore as tears washed down her freckled cheeks. Her mother stood to hug her, but Elyon stepped back; stumbling away from them. They weren't her family. They'd never been her family. Strangers, with blood as their only commonality. The only thing keeping her here.
"Where are all the Aunts and Uncles and cousins! How come we don't have pictures! How come none of them visit!" Elyon stopped retreating when her mother sat back down, her father sighing and shifting his tie as though it were too tight. "WELL?"
"It's a small family.. Your mother and I were both only children.."
"There was a fire.. Fifty years ago.. Your great aunt Silvia; she lost a lot of.. Documents.."
It didn't make sense. It still didn't make sense to Elyon. Wasn't she worth the bother? Surely they had something.. Not one photograph? Elyon pushed open the door to go to her room, only stopping to yell down their rickety plain stairs. "FORGET IT!"