Across town, Amanda and Sirius’s daughter, Katrina, hooked some dangly earrings through the hole in her ear.

Lily poked her head around the corner of the door. “Where are you going?” she asked, noticing that Katrina was all dressed up.

“To a party,” Katrina replied, not tearing her eyes from the mirror in front of her.

“Can I come?”

This time Katrina did glance at her. “Sorry kid, this ain’t your kind of party.” She returned to studying her outfit in the mirror. She had selected a knee length lacy black dress, with see through sleeves that just covered her shoulders. She often wore black, black was the classiest and sexiest of colours after all.

“Katrina!” her older brother, Bobby, called from down the hall. “Have you seen my physics book?”

“No,” Katrina replied absently, then she paused. “Wait, yes...” She reached for a book she’d been using to flatten out an art project. She handed it to Bobby.

“Thanks,” he replied. He paused in the doorway on his way out and glanced back, “You’re going out?”

She nodded, as she compared necklaces in the mirror. “Trip’s throwing a party.”

“Katrina won’t let me come,” Lily complained from out in the hall.

Bobby chuckled, “Well you can do something fun here, maybe watch a movie or something.”

Lily wasn’t satisfied with that. She gave a loud “Hurrmphf,” and then she stalked off toward the bathroom at the end of the hall.

Bobby watched her go then he turned back to Katrina, “You could take her...”

Katrina’s eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up. “To a party?! There will be alcohol there.”

“Well...” Bobby hesitated, “I was just hoping on inviting other Lily over tonight.” It just so happened that Bobby’s girlfriend was also called Lily.

Katrina shrugged, then held up a different dress in front herself, trying to decide if she should change her outfit or not. She settled on not. “Well, see if Gemma wants to entertain her.”

“Gemma’s got her hands full with Kate.”

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Just at that moment Gemma appeared out of her room and strode down the hall towards them. She was dressed in her usual casual jeans and tight, collared, purple t-shirt. She stopped when she got to Bobby and handed him a sheet of paper.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Instructions. Can you please watch Kate for a few hours? Tobias and I have a thing.” She fiddled with a small hooped earring in her ear, and without waiting for his answer started off down the stairs with a, “Thanks.”

“What! No...” Bobby started to object.

But before he could complete his objection, Gemma spun mid stair. “Where are mum and dad?” she asked as if she’d just noticed they weren’t home.

Bobby blinked at the change of subject. “Um, at some house across town. They’re helping Kass with something.”

Gemma’s eyes narrowed briefly at Kass’s name, then she nodded, and continued on her way. She was out of sight before Bobby managed to gather his wits about him.

“Oooh, do you think she’d getting a car ride with someone?” Katrina asked as she pushed past Bobby and started down the stairs herself. “I better go see. It’ll be much faster than riding there if she has. They’re going to Trip’s thing as well.”

“How are you going to get back?” Bobby called after her.

“I’ll figure that out later,” Katrina called back.

Bobby sighed. He listened to the door slam leaving him alone in the hallway. Wait, where were his other brother and sister? He walked down the hall towards the north-east end, and checked their rooms. There was no sign of them. He checked downstairs at the computer. No sign there either.

Then the front door opened and Katrina came dashing back inside. “Opps, forgot something,” she explained as she ran flat-tack back up the stairs in her strappy, high-heeled shoes.

“Where are Salem and Sasha?” Bobby asked as she came careening back downstairs again.

“Oh, they’re with the twins. I think Salem said they might come to the party later.” The twins were kids in the same year as Salem.

“Wait! Sasha’s going to the party?”

But Katrina was already gone, disappeared out the door again.

Bobby sighed and went to check on Kate. The baby was fast asleep. A glance at a message on his phone told him his Lily wasn’t going to be able to make it until after 8 pm. He looked back down the hall toward the bathroom. Well, he supposed there was time for a movie with young Lily then. It might cheer her up and he could send her off to bed when older Lily arrived.

In the bathroom, Lily was scrubbing at her arms. Her skin had been really itchy lately, sometimes she felt like her skin was going to burn off. She scratched at it and some small flakes peeled away. Was that normal? She wasn’t sure.

“Hey Lily?” Bobby called from out side the bathroom door, “You want to watch a movie. I’ll let you pick if you promise to go to bed straight afterward.”

Lily thought about it. That meant she could pick a long one. Or maybe, something with a sequel, and then right near the end she could ask Bobby to get her a snack. She knew he would because Bobby was very nice. Then while he was getting snack she could start the sequel and pretend it was the same movie. She almost giggled to herself. It was such a good idea.

“Okay,” she called back.

“Where are your mum and dad tonight?” Lily asked Bobby as he set up the TV to play the movie she’d selected.

“They’re helping out a friend.”

“When will they be back?”

Bobby glanced at the darkening sky outside. “I dunno.”

“Are you worried?”

“Nah, I’m sure they’re fine.”