Liska bounced in her seat in the back of Ephy’s aunt’s car. The car was old-fashioned and very large. Ephy sat in front with her aunt, and Airin sat solemnly next to Liska in the back.

Ephy seemed more relaxed with her aunt. She smiled more and even laughed. Liska couldn’t imagine what it was like to live in front of a camera all the time.

Ephy’s aunt Iris had invited them out for pizza and ice cream. She resembled Ephy’s mom, except for her steely hair, which was pulled back in a low pony. She wore loose, bohemian clothes that contrasted starkly with Ephy’s wardrobe, which seemed to be inspired by a bubblegum K-pop idol group. Does Ephy pick out her own clothes or does her mother do it?

Liska’s own torn jeans and flannel shirt were hand-me-downs from her sister Eyla. Most of Liska’s clothing had been handed down from one of her older sisters; this shirt was from her brother and Eyla’s twin, Kyle. The boys often got new clothes because they wore them out faster. But Liska had always had a set of new dance clothes, which most of her family wore as street clothes, too.

Iris pulled into a parking spot in front of a red-and-white striped awning. Liska got out and peered into the window of the small pizzeria. There was a blinking neon sign that said “Hot Pizza” in the window, and the red-and-white checked curtains on the windows matched the awning. Liska followed Ephy inside, with Airin trailing behind them. Hit both by the strong smell of pizza and by the warmth of the air, she could almost taste the cheese and red sauce on her tongue.

At school, the air conditioning was run so heavily to counter the Southern heat and humidity that Liska was always cold inside. Some of her clan ran their air conditioners a lot in the New Mexico heat, but Liska’s mother said it was bad for the muscles and kept their house warmer.

Liska bounced on her toes, trying to peer around Ephy. Why does Ephy have to be so tall?

The host motioned them over to the large table by the window, and they all sat around it.

“Let’s order first, and then you can all go play the arcade games. What kind of pizza does everyone like? Or do you want a calzone? This place makes great calzones!” Iris shuffled out the menus, which the host had dropped on the table in a pile. “Liska, what would you like?”

Liska looked up, surprised to be asked first. She was never asked first about anything at home unless it was to do some chore or watch one of her younger brothers. “Um, I like just about everything. The four-meat pizza?”

Iris nodded, her whole head and shoulders moving as one. “The four-meat pizza sounds fantastic! We’ll get one of those! What else?” She pointed at Airin and then Ephy.

“I’d like a salad with vinaigrette,” said Airin. They handed the menu back to Iris. “I’m a vegetarian.”

“A salad—that sounds good. But this place does make vegan pizzas. The owners are... like us, as are many of their patrons.”

Airin shrugged. “I like salad.”

“Fair enough,” said Iris. “Ephy?”

“I’ll share with everyone else.” Ephy said quietly. Her mouth twisted.

“Nonsense! You will get what you want when you are with me. I know you’re used to your mother ordering for you, but you can choose what you want now.”

Ephy shifted in her seat. “Then…pineapple pepper pepperoni pizza,” she said slowly.

“Pineapple pepper pepperoni! That sounds divine! And I think I will have the anchovy calzone!”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Liska wrinkled her nose, then felt embarrassed. But then she realized that Ephy and Airin were doing the same thing. Iris saw their expressions and laughed.

“I’m only joking, my dears! But you should try it sometime; it’s not that bad. No, I’ll have a hot honey pepperoni pizza. It’s new, and I love it.”

Liska thought that sounded pretty good, too. “Can I change my order? I want to try that. I love spicy food.” It was hard to live in New Mexico and avoid spicy food.

“Absolutely! I’m totally addicted to it. They bring a little cup of spicy honey to drizzle over the pizza.”

They gave their orders to the server, who showed more enthusiasm than the host, who had disappeared entirely.

Iris started pulling small items from her purse. She dropped one in front of Liska. It was a roll of quarters. “They have the old-fashioned games here. So, I brought some quarters for everyone.”

Liska picked up the roll of quarters. Ephy’s aunt is giving each of us ten dollars? Liska had always had to use her own money for anything that wasn’t clothing or food. And she had hardly ever gotten new clothes anyway. So Liska had saved her allowance for this outing for a few weeks, avoiding the soda machine in the quad.

“Thank you, Ms. Iris!” Liska picked up the roll of quarters. It felt heavy and cold in her hand.

“Please call me Iris! Or you can call me Aunt Iris like Ephy, if you like.” Liska nodded at her.

Liska stared at the roll of quarters on the table. “Are you sure?” She looked questioningly at Iris. She had never had a whole roll of quarters to herself at an arcade.

“Absolutely. That’s part of the fun. I like skee ball myself!” Iris pulled out another roll of quarters. “C’mon now, y’all!”

“Where did Airin go?” Ephy asked.

Liska didn’t know. The friends walked around outside of the arcade and found Airin standing in front of some photos on the wall of the family that ran the pizza place. They were laughing together in one photo. In another, the owner patted a smiling man on the back.

“Are you okay?” Liska asked Airin. Airin jumped and turned around.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine,” said Airin, but they didn’t sound fine.

Ephy examined the photos on the wall. “My family sucks, too.”

“My family is…complicated. They care about me, but…” Airin sighed. “They have very different ideas about what I’m supposed to do with my life.”

“I think all of us have complicated families,” said Ephy. “Maybe everyone does. I mean, my family thinks reality TV is real.” Ephy snorted.

There was a pause, and then Airin slowly turned, their mouth in the shape of an O. Then all three of them burst out laughing.

When they stopped, Liska said, “Sometimes I wonder if anyone else in my family wanted to be something other than a dancer but didn’t feel like they were allowed to.”

There was a pause. “You’re so good at dance, though. I can see why they might think you’d want to keep dancing,” Ephy finally said.

“I’d probably like dancing more if everything at home didn’t revolve around it. Papa made me go to class even when I was sick. Every family event centers around dance. It’s like I was never allowed to think about anything else, and when I did, they didn’t take it seriously.”

They gathered back at the table when the server brought their food.

“How is school going, dears?” Aunt Iris inquired between bites of pizza.

Liska was too busy eating to reply. This is the best pizza I’ve ever had. My family needs to try this!

Ephy was also focused on eating her pepper pineapple pepperoni pizza (or is it pineapple pepper pepperoni?), but she set her slice down after neatly blotting her lips with a napkin. “We’re a little worried about the quad battle.”

“Your mother wants you to win?” Iris asked.

All three of them nodded. Liska reluctantly set her pizza slice down. “And Airin’s family wants someone else to win.”

Iris wiped her hands on her napkin. “That is a bit of a pickle, isn’t it?” She lightly touched Ephy’s wrist. “Don’t worry about your mother, dear. She knows you weren’t educated in your powers at Heskalon. Despite what she says, I think she knows this is the best place for you.” Putting her elbows on the table, she leaned over to Airin and asked, “What do you want to do?”

Airin blinked, as if nobody had ever asked them that before. “I want to sing. I don’t really care if I win or lose. I thought it would be too scary, but I forgot my teacher is there when I sing during lessons.”

“Hmmm,” hummed Iris. “Ephronia, let me worry about your mother. All of you should do your best, but don’t worry too much about winning or losing. Share your feelings with your audience and tell them a story they’ll remember.”

Liska felt a warmth in her stomach, but it could have been the spicy honey. She turned to Airin. “Let’s try it. Even if we all get sent home, at least we’ll get to perform together just once.”

Ephy burst into one of her biggest smiles, and Airin hesitantly mirrored her expression.

Watch out, Oliver, Zephyr is going to surprise you!