"To pritt or not to pritt.." Will smiled as if her lifeless frog toys were listening to her. "For that is the question."

It wasn't very funny, but Will didn't care as she tried to provide herself a little comfort. It wasn't a big deal. No one cared. But yet Will had insisted on forcing herself through the misery of throwing out and rustling through the contents of eight boxes of her mother's documents until she'd found what she was looking for. The living room and her mother's bedroom were in states. If she wasn't grounded for her math scores, this performance would surely do the trick. But even Irma was changing the lines on her chart to fit her step mother..

Will pressed the pritt-stick against the empty box of her page, and suddenly she wish she hadn't bothered. Nothing would come but trouble when her mother walked up to see Tony Vandom pasted next to their faces. Will pressed the palm of her hand against the paper box and tried to swipe away the glue, creating a sticky mess and re-crumpling her already creased family chart. But why shouldn't he be on it? There'd be more questions from the parents if he was missing, but more questions from her classmates if he was there.. "Will?"

Will froze, like a kid being caught in the cookie-jar. Like a girl with a crush being caught posting a card to a valentine. It was hard to breathe, Will realized, and the air felt thick; like something she'd need to chew down as her mother's heels click-clacked on the floor towards her door from the outside. She'd heard the pause, as her mother would be taking in the mess of official papers; preparing her lungs to scream. Will scooped up the image of her father and pushed it to the bottom of her pocket. "I'm in here mom!"

"You'd better tidy that up." The door had opened and her mother had revealed herself. Will couldn't help studying the woman's pretty olive skin. Her dark eyes and long wavy hair. Things she would never forget. But she would, she knew, if she was away from them long enough. Will hadn't recognized her father when she'd found the picture. She knew it was him, but it wasn't how she'd recalled him. For one thing, he was smiling, and his eyes shone brightly, while Will remembered them haggard. His nose was more crooked than she recalled, and his maroon-ish hair was closer to brown than her own vivid red. It wasn't fair. She shouldn't have to forget. But then her mother had tried so hard not to let her remember.

"Yeah.. I'm going to."

...

The day before parents night always goes quickly for those who dread it the most. Elyon Brown was one of those people, and it was hard to see the poor girl drowning, but have the ability to do nothing. Alborn smiled wearily to Miriadel as they looked from the many full charts to their own small one. Elyon didn't deserve this, but as time grew further away it was easier and easier to forget their old lives. "I think our family chart looks very nice!"

Alborn knew how fond of Elyon Miriadel was, treating the girl as her own daughter for more reasons than duty alone. Alborn himself knew that requirement wasn't the reason he, himself was still here. Nor his wife Miriadel. Elyon was purely a wonderful child, and love brimmed from her very soul when she was happy. The poor girl was bound to face tough times though, and Alborn knew he had to support the now sulking child, who's eyes were still rimmed red. "Absolutely! Less is more."

"Yeah," Alborn saw his poor Miriadel's face fall; sarcasm was Elyon's newest past time, and Miriadel didn't enjoy the rude implications sometimes made. "It's not crowded up with a bunch of family members."

...

Caleb was here, watching, but Will still squirmed when she glanced at Elyon fighting with her parents.. Whoever they were. Maybe it was because she could see the tense lines on her mother's face as Principal Knickerbocker told her about the family trees. Maybe it was the subtle comment on her own performance, or the lingering question Knickerbocker was dying to ask about the father's side. About the sticky mess where she'd left the glue to dry without sticking anything on. "I just thought family trees would be a marvellous idea!"

Will let the rest of the conversation slip away as she glanced at the lump of her hand in her pocket. Clutching the photograph. She didn't want it. But she couldn't throw it away.

...

"All this family stuff is awful!" Caleb could hear Elyon's voice from his post, but couldn't see her. He couldn't hear what the other person replied though, if they did; so many voices filled the room, and he didn't know which one to listen for. "I was really excited to show you my chart. But my folks wont tell me anything!"

'Dekára,' Caleb thought: damn. She was getting close.

Caleb leant on the back of the boards the Institute was displaying photos of family on. "It's like I don't even have a family."

"Elyon.." Caleb couldn't hear the rest, but the voice was so familiar.. He started to walk along; toward the other end of the room, but something stopped him. Lord Cedric. Caleb whipped his entire body behind the nearest board as Cedric passed by; his long slender hand on Elyon's shoulder. He would have to do something.

"Wi-" Caleb walked out into the open, but Will was nowhere to be seen. She'd moved. He'd have to collect the others and find her. Fast.