“Way to take away my power,” Troy said to his wife that night in their room. They were both busy changing into their night attire, both tired because of the move and both a bit miserable.

“What are you talking about, Troy?” she asked with a small yawn. She draped a robe around her open shoulders and dragged it closer so that it hugged her body.

“Today at lunch!” he replied, a little annoyed that she didn’t remember. “You made me seem like I didn’t have the right to say anything. I’m their parent too, you know.” He pulled back the sheets.
Diane yawned again. “Of course you’re their parent too, Troy,” She said nonchalantly.

“You treated me as if I were a child—their sibling! Or something like that.”

“I did not. Don’t you think the children deserve to be treated fairly?” She climbed into bed and turned unto her side, away from her husband.

“And I wasn’t treating them fairly?” he asked defensively, looking at her as if he could meet her eyes.
Diane yawned again. “Not really. Look, I’m too tired to talk about this now, Troy. Maybe…tomor-” she drifted off into slumber.
Troy climbed in beside her with an annoyed sigh.
On the other side of the door of the master bedroom, Leisa and Logan exchanged glances.

“Are they done talking about what happened at lunch?” Logan whispered to his younger sister.
Leisa stuck her ear to their door again and listened for a couple of seconds. “Sounds like it,” she answered. They stepped away from the door and began walking down the hallway.

“He sounded mad,” Logan said after a moment of silent walking. Their footsteps were as soft and delicate as if they were little fairies walking on fragile ice.

“I guess,” Leisa responded. “He said something about mom taking away his power. Do you think that’s true?” She looked over at her brother.
Logan shrugged. “Ahh I don’t know. Besides, dad always finds something to bring up when we question him and his precious Anna.”
“Really?” Leisa’s ignorant blue eyes shone in the dim hallway light.
“Yeah, it’s always this way.” Logan whispered with emotion. “Don’t you remember that time when he bought Anna that expensive diamond ring and placed it on her ring finger? You and Joanne weren’t allowed to wear rings on that finger…how come she was?”
Leisa recalled the memory. “…and then he said something about her being too young to understand its significance. That was his reason for excusing her from that rule.”
Logan scoffed. “Maybe mom is right. He’s really not that fair.”
Silence. Leisa didn’t know what else to say. The only sound they could hear now was the faint tapping of Joanne’s fingers over her laptop keyboard in the room they were now standing outside of.
Leisa yawned and stretched at the same time. “I should … probably go to bed.” She found something to say.

“Yeah, me too.” Logan agreed. He walked towards his room at the end of the hall; That room which had short flat steps leading downwards right before you could see the door. He had chosen that room as soon as he met it. He thought it was perfect. It had shelves for his CD collection and hooks for his caps and hoodies. Plus, the steps meant he could do cool tricks on his skateboard—that reason, he kept to himself. “Good night, Leisa.” He said before disappearing.
She turned towards her own room. “Night,” she forgot to whisper.
She had to share rooms with Anna. It was the same way it had been in San Francisco. It turned out that the same four rooms existed in this home as well. Rules had it that the two eldest got their own rooms—how it always had been. Diane’s rules.
Leisa gently pushed her room door open in an attempt to sneak back into bed. She closed it behind her, trying her best to not make a sound, to not wake up her sister. She made her way over to her bed at the other side of the room and climbed in softly. She pulled the covers up to her cheeks and turned unto her side, facing the wall. She closed her eyes and thought about the things she loved. Her father had always told them all that if they imagined they were in a place with all their favourite things, they would fall asleep as soon as they closed their eyes.
So Leisa smiled and thought about ice-cream, her old friends back at her old school, chocolate milk, the rocking horse she got for her ninth birthday, her Britney Spears necklace, her Britney Spears bedtime slippers, her Britney Spears CD collection, her Britney Spears doll look-a-alike, the many new things she would receive for school that fall…

“Why do you guys hate me?”
Leisa’s thoughts shattered like glass as her eyes blinked open. She turned around to face her little sister whose blue eyes were the only things she could see in the darkness of the night.

“Who hates you, Anna?”
Anna drew the covers closer around her body. “You and Logan and Joanne. You’re always talking about me.” Her voice revealed the hurt entrapped in her heart. It shook as if she was going to cry. “You say daddy likes me more and that…”
“Shhhh Anna, no.” Leisa cut her off. “We love you. We all love you very much.” She tried to reassure.
Anna’s eyes blinked and a tear slid down her cheek. “You do?”

“Yes, of course.” Leisa replied quickly.
Anna wiped her face in her sheets. “But you said…” her lips quivered. “I heard you and Logan…”
Leisa threw back her sheets and ran over to bend down beside Anna’s bed. “Shhh,” she said again, rubbing her palm against her sister’s dark blonde hair in an attempt to console her. “The thing is, we’re annoyed at daddy, not you.”
Anna looked surprised. This look brought out her childhood innocence. “Why are you annoyed at daddy? What did he do?” she awaited a response.
Leisa hesitated then sighed. “If I tell you, you have to promise not to say anything.”

“I promise,” Anna held out her pinky finger, as if she was trying to prove to her sister how serious she was.
Leisa locked her pinky with Anna’s. “Ok,” she continued. “It’s just that, daddy treats you differently than he treats us.” She suddenly regretted telling her.

“How different?” Anna pried.

“Better,” Leisa said, getting up from the floor. “We really don’t like it.” She turned back towards her side of the room.

“I could make it stop.” Anna replied suddenly.
Leisa sighed and turned around. “How are you going to do that?”

“I could try…” Anna sounded as if she was falling asleep.
Leisa rolled her eyes at Anna’s decreased interest. “As I said,” she went into her bed. “It’s not your problem to fix. It’s daddy’s. And you swore you wouldn’t say anything.”
Anna nodded with her eyes closed.
Doubt crept into Leisa’s heart. “Promise?”
Anna nodded again, obviously drifting off into slumber.
“Say the words!” Leisa demanded.

“I promise,” Anna whispered. Happy thoughts flooded her mind.

Before the children could arrive at the best moments in their dreams, it was time to get up. The Sunday morning sun shone through their new lofty home, enlightening every crevice, every hall, every room, and every heart.

“Wow, this house is beautiful at 9 am!” Leisa exclaimed dreamily, looking up at the glass shingles in the ceiling which mirrored the sunshine perfectly and sent in pouring down upon them. She looked away quickly, the light penetrating her eyes too much.

“It’s like a castle!” Anna screamed, obviously overjoyed at the striking glory of her house. Her lisp became even more evident than it already was.
Everyone laughed at Anna’s exclamation. They had to admit that she was above adorable.
They were all seated in the living room. Breakfast had just been eaten and Diane had immediately called and scheduled a family meeting.
Troy patted the space beside him on the couch and signaled for Anna to be seated. He wondered if the meeting was about what had happened at lunch the previous day; however he tried to mask his anxiety by tickling Anna and acting as if everything was okay, as if his thoughts weren’t all bundled.
Leisa plopped down beside Joanne who was currently distracted by her cell phone to even care. The twelve year old looked over at Logan who was sitting upright and apparently anticipating the words his mother called them to hear. Leisa wondered if she was the only one who was worried. Probably she was, outside of Troy of course. She wondered if Anna had blurted out anything to their parents. That thing which was whispered from her lips last night beside Anna’s bed. That thing which would get her punished—no doubt that that would be the case. Most likely there would be a speech about how much their parents loved and cherished them, equally that is.
Even if Anna did get to wear a ring on her ring finger…
It was all too familiar.
Diane Bekridge stood in the middle of the living room. Her eyes quickly moved over the four children who seemed unsettled, even if they were. Then to her husband whose legs were shaking as if he was cold. She sighed and then raised her five fingers above her head—spreading them widely and stiffly towards the ceiling, to get their attention.
The room fell silent. No legs shook, no ten year olds spoke.
“Order is restored, mam.” Anna whispered, as if she was scared to break the short silence.
Everyone giggled softly. All except Joanne.
Diane went over to her fifteen year old and held her hand out. Joanne groaned before giving her mother her cell phone.
“I want your full attention, please.” Diane finally spoke. Joanne’s phone vibrated in her hand. She dropped into her pocket before continuing. “I called this meeting because-”

“Are we in trouble?” Anna interjected with a worried look on her face.
Her mother shot her a reprimanding look and Anna sat back and zipped her lips again.

“I called this meeting because,” she repeated. “…as you all know, we moved here because I got a job.”
Leisa let out a loud relieved sigh.
“A job to teach at Third Lane Elementary and Junior High School which is just right around the corner,” Diane continued. “The school which Anna and Leisa will be attending this fall,”
She paced the living room. “Now, Third Lane High is on the other street. Logan and Joanne will go there. You’ll all love it.”
The kids exchanged glances revealing that they were unaware as to where this conversation was going.

“I chose Third Lane because their standards are very high, the teachers there are outstanding and the buildings on a whole are well structured and high classed. The other schools around here aren’t proficient enough for my darlings. You have to go to Third Lane and you will.” She finished her speech.

“But,” Joanne said, confused. “Why wouldn’t we want to go there if it sounds so awesome?”
The others mumbled puzzled words that all approved Joanne’s question.
Diane sighed and looked over at her husband, nudging him to help her break the news. Troy got up and stood beside Diane, placing an arm around her. “Because, here’s the thing,” he began. “The school’s curriculum and magnificent standards demands students who are well advanced and up-to-date with the class’ standards.”

“And in order for them to be reassured that you kids are advanced enough to attend their school, you’ll have to attend some classes-” Diane blurted.
They all groaned.

“Two weeks. Only for two weeks. Then you’ll get a two week break before actual school starts.” Troy tried to reassure them. “It’ll fly by.”
“Plus, it’s only for half day, and you get Fridays off.” Diane added.
Logan threw his hands up, disappointed. “I thought I had escaped Summer School,”

“When do these classes begin?” Leisa asked with a frown. Her eyebrows arched and her lips pouted out like a demented pucker. Something inside of her felt like she already knew the answer. It was all too smart. They had pounced this on them now so that they wouldn’t be able to oppose. Leisa covered her ears as if they had actually said it out loud.
The classes would begin tomorrow.