Corrie Smith was just another average office lady, which was a fact she liked very much indeed. She ran the word again through her mind. Average. Yes, definitely a very good-sounding word. Then, she took another look at the kitchen floor.

There, sprawled on the floor, was her daughter, Jane, with her hair and clothes in absolute mess. All around her were the contents of the Morning Beams meal pack that she only just opened. Not a single Beam made it to her mouth.

Corrie took a deep breath. Just where has she gone wrong? She had made absolutely sure to raise her daughter to be as normal as possible, and even gave her the most normal sounding name she could think of, so as to not repeat the horrible, terrible mistake made by her own parents.

But apparently, nothing she had done had any effect. Here, on the floor and slowly sitting up, was the most unique creature she had ever met. And as the parent, she had to do something about it.

But what? Oh, right.

"Ms. Jane smith, get up right this minute, and clean every last bit of the mess you made! After that, go back to your room to fix your hair and change clothes again. Surely it will cause you to be even more late than you already are, but at least you won't look like the total disaster that you currently are. Oh, and do ask that nice young lady at the door to get in the house, you can't just let her stand outside all day. That is no way to treat your friends. Why are you looking at me like that? Get a move on already!"

Yes! That was parenting done right. *heavy breathing* Ouch, forgot to breath again.

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Rose Lilford woke up at exactly 7:00 AM as per usual. At 7:15 she was was already dressed for school, and 7:30 saw her sitting in the kitchen for breakfast. 

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Her morning schedule did not change no matter what. Be it winter or summer, sunny or raining, school day or a holiday, all of these did not matter to Rose. She would wake up, get dressed and eat her breakfast at the exact same times every day regardless of the circumstances. 

Rose prided herself on her own punctuality, almost to the level of being smug. Well, except for, you know, that, she thought bitterly as she stood, slightly impatient, by the door of the neighbors' house.

That, obviously, referred to the fact that she was often late for school. Not that she was to blame, of course. She was ready for school ages ago, and the school was 10 minutes away on foot. She would never have been late if it wasn't for Jane. How can someone be so slow and lazy, she could not understand.

Well, I guess it's not that important, thought Rose, shaking her head. Sure, waiting for Jane meant she would be late sometimes, but for the person she considered to be her best friend, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make.

Just then, the door opened and Jane appeared, looking distraught and disheveled. Or at least, more so than usual. Rose was just about to sigh in relief, when Jane simply yanked at her hand and pulled her inside the house.

❄❄❄

"So, Jane, what is this about?" Asked li'l Rose after they finally closed the door to Jane's room behind them. The current state of affairs was unusual even for jane, and if the subject matter was not at least as interesting as she expected it to be, she might just throw a fit for being extremely late again.

"Well, it's this thing here," Jane pointed at a bowl full of water sitting on her desk.

"It's just... water, what about it?"

"Look again, silly", Jane enthusiastically pulled her closer to the bowl.

"I see, it's Morning Beams... WAIT, MORNING BEAMS IN WATER? You can't do that!" fumed Rose.

"Eh, why not though? And why the shouting?"

"That's what it says in the instructions, on the box. You absolutely should not put Morning Beams in water, though I don't quite remember the reason."

"I wonder why?" Said Jane thoughtfully, then suddenly straightened up. "Wait, no, that actually makes perfects sense. They don't want you to put them in water because..."

"Because?"

"Of this. Just look for yourself," Jane made a theatrical pose towards the bowl.

Rose got closer and looked inside. The small Beams were... moving? Yes, they were definitely moving around in a lively manner, as if they were living creatures. "Are they... Alive?"

"Aren't you a smart one, Rosie," Jane was practically beaming toward her. "Yes, they definitely are."