Four of a Kind Part 4

I expect her to go on some big spiel about all the things we could probably convince our parents to do for us out of guilt, but she casts her eyes down and says nothing.

"I don't hear any better ideas," Rhiannon says. "What options do we really have? Everything in Fairview is tailored to old people. Maybe there's something going on in town, but do we want to go and have everyone gawk at us on the anniversary of the day the Fairview Four were brought into the world? h.e.l.l, they probably already have a parade scheduled. Right, Reagan?"

Her fingers poke me in the back. "Not funny," I snap halfheartedly. I am so not ready to joke about my rant on Fairview's obsession yet. Yes, the rest of our first week was less awful than I'd expected it to be. I still wish I'd kept my big mouth/pen shut.

A gray sky looms overhead as we make the turn off Main Street toward Apple Road and then Oakridge. By the time we reach our house-still no closer to deciding what we want to do with our birthday the next day-a few raindrops have sputtered out of the sky, leaving speckles on the sidewalk.

Eight hours later, the drizzle has grown into a full-on thunderstorm. The wind blows the water away from the front of our house, leaving me cozy and dry on the porch to count down my last few minutes as a fourteen-year-old.

Everyone else in my family finds rain either depressing or ma.s.sively inconvenient to both style and outdoor activities. Not me. There might be nothing I love more than the sound and smell of a storm, even the feeling of it on my skin when the weather is right. Sometimes, the rain leads to me thinking too much, but tonight, it leaves my mind blissfully empty, a blank slate with which to start the new year.

"Hey. What are you doing?" Reilly asks, popping her head out the open front door.

"Rain," is my only answer. I'm half mesmerized by the tiny droplets falling in front of the streetlight and the sound of water pouring through the house's old gutters.

Part of me hopes she'll go back inside, but when she says, "It's almost time," I'm glad she didn't. A thousand thoughts come rus.h.i.+ng back into my head as I look over at my sister. Reilly's hair is tied back in a French braid that falls down to her shoulders, where it meets her bright-purple night s.h.i.+rt.

I can't believe I would have forgotten our birthday tradition. It must be the new house that's messing everything up.

"Which room?" I ask, getting up off the deck chair.

"Yours. Reece is waiting upstairs since Rhiannon is asleep already."

Of course she is. Rhiannon sleeps like clockwork. "What time is it?" she asks, sitting up in bed as soon as we get back to my room, Reece in tow.

"We've got six minutes," Reece answers and then shoves herself into Rhiannon's bed with her.

The two of them lie down and snuggle in beside each other, waiting. Six minutes until our fifteenth birthday and I almost missed it. Not that Reilly would have ever let that happen.

I get into my own bed where Reilly has already curled up at the end like a cat. Before I slide under the covers, I click off the lamp on my night side table and plunge the room into near darkness.

"What do you guys think?" Reilly asks. "How was fourteen?"

"Let's see... We started high school. Literally on our birthday last year. We moved. Reilly had her first kiss," Rhiannon says, listing off some of the more exciting moments of the last twelve months.

Beside her, Reece makes kissy noises. I force a giggle but wish this portion of the recap would end already. This year, like every year, I have nothing to contribute on the romance side of things.

"I fell madly in love," Reece declares with no hint about who she's talking about. I'm pretty sure she fell madly in love four times in the last six months. "I give fourteen five out of five."

"Seconded!" Reilly calls from her spot at my feet.

"You guys give every year five out of five," I argue, though I know they are both the type of people who will make the most out of every single year of their lives. "I'm calling it a three-point-five. Eventful, but not always in a good way."

"Three stars. Tops," Rhiannon says, and I'm surprised it got that high of a rating from her. Although, now that I know she met a guy she actually cares about, that could easily explain the extra stars even if she isn't going to explain her reasoning to Reece and Reilly. "This isn't where we were supposed to be starting fifteen. We went backward instead of forward. Right back to where we started."

From a few feet away, I see the screen on Reilly's phone come alive, lighting up our side of the room. "One minute!" she says, giving my foot a quick squeeze.

It has been a good year for the most part. No complaints-not even one about the move. I'm just not sure it was a year I'll remember ten years from now-minus the whole going-back-to-Fairview thing. Even starting high school didn't end up being that big of a deal. There were a lot more people, but freshman year was a lot like the year before. And the year before. At least for me. I read a little more, started playing City of Ages, and spent most of my time with Nadine and Elise. Same old Reagan, same old life.

"Happy birthday!" my sisters yell out together.

I kind of mumble something that sounds like happy birthday once I realize I wasn't watching the seconds count down with everyone else. For a minute, we lie there in silence, thinking about what fifteen would mean for us or just falling back asleep.

"So, any guesses for fifteen?" Reece asks like she does every year.

"We'll hit the front page of the Fairview Gazette... again," Reilly says, laughing.

Mindy got her precious interview and photo-op once Rhiannon and Dad showed up. Enough for a full front-page spread-a picture of Mom and Reece moving boxes, Reilly chatting with the neighbors, and me and my sisters sitting in birth order on the front step. And I have a sinking suspicion there will be something in the morning's paper, which will only bring my note to Nadine back to the forefront of everyone's minds at school.

"Mom will keep trying to convince us of how great it is to be part of such a close-knit community," I add, using my fingers to form quotes around the last part.

"Dad will renovate every room in the house and start at least four novels, none of which he'll finish." Rhiannon is probably right, but I can't help but wince at that last one.

Our dad had to give up his teaching job at the university back home to move out here for Mom, and there are no post-secondary teaching jobs available within an hour of Fairview. He keeps saying that this is the universe giving him a chance to write his novel, but I'm sure he'd rather be teaching.

"Reagan will finally kiss a boy," Reilly says, before giggling like this is the funniest thing in the world.

An image of Kent flashes through my mind. In my head, he's wearing a s.h.i.+rt that both perfectly ties together the green in his hair and the gold in his eyes while also clinging to the muscles in his arms.

All week, he's been making a point of including me in conversations in drama and introducing me to people like we're already friends instead of people who met for ten seconds on my lawn before school started. And that's something.

But not something enough to report back to my sisters with.

"No, she won't," Reece scoffs. "I'm calling it now. No action for Reagan until seventeen and a half."

I try to come up with something to joke back or poke fun at her for, but everything I come up with of sounds a little too mean, and that isn't what tonight is supposed to be about. It's our birthday, and that's important to me. Even if I never act like the eldest sister, I came into the world first and I've always secretly worked to make sure our birthday is a day about the four of us together.

"I didn't make the soccer team," Reece says so quietly that I'm not sure I heard her right. I didn't even think about if Fairview had a team.

"What? No way!" Rhiannon cries out, indignant on our sister's behalf.

"I didn't realize tryouts had happened yet," Reilly says. "They're insane if they can't see how great you are. Idiots."

"They happened the day after we moved here, before the school year had even started." Reece says this like it's no big deal, but there's no question of just how big a deal this is. It's Reece and soccer.

"Oh," I say, not sure of what else to add. "Well, that's different then, right? I'm sure you're way better than anyone they've got."

"I guess," Reece says. "But that doesn't make it any better. I was already a year behind everyone else since I didn't get to play freshman year. When it comes time to try out for the uppercla.s.sman team next year, none of the coaches will have any idea who I am. This could mean I never get to play again."

I want to point out that there might be local teams she can join, but that's not the point. I don't pretend to know the first thing about sports. Playing soccer is where Reece s.h.i.+nes. She plays rugby and volleyball too, but she doesn't come alive the same way as she does when she's kicking around a soccer ball.

I have no idea what to say, and from the sounds of it, Rhi and Reilly aren't doing any better. We go to cheer Reece on-okay, Rhiannon and I are usually dragged kicking and screaming to her games-and get the basics of how it all works, but I couldn't tell you anything about what's involved in moving up the ranks in the high school soccer world. And she's never said it, but I know she's thought about playing in college.

When no one else says anything, one by one, my sisters' breathing all takes on the rhythmic inhale and exhale of sleep, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I want to come up with some kind of real prediction about what this year could mean for me, but I honestly don't know. And that's kind of exciting all on its own.

A month ago, I would have agreed with Reece's prediction for my love life this year. Like Rhiannon, I'm not exactly known for my romantic adventures, and I have a habit of keeping to myself-which doesn't give me a lot of opportunities to meet guys I have anything in common with. Fifteen would have pa.s.sed unnoticed on the dating side of things. And maybe it still will.

But as I drift off to sleep thinking about Fairview and everything that comes with it, I can't help but think that anything is possible.

"Rise and s.h.i.+ne, my beautiful babies!" Dad's voice booms into our room.

Startled out of sleep, I flail like a maniac, thwacking Reilly in the head with my foot. She must have spent the entire night curled up there.

By the time I open my eyes, my mom has joined him in the doorway to my room. Both are smiling way too much for this early in the morning, no matter what day it is.

Mom is wearing an oversized sweater and looks more comfortable than I'm used to seeing her. My dad is clean shaven and a little taller than average, but the effect is emphasized by long limbs. His deep voice never quite seems to match his thin frame. He has light-brown eyes and thin, brown hair that matches mine and my sisters'. With the exception of our noses, which we got from my mom's side, we look like Donovans through and through.

"Good morning," Mom chirps. Her short frame is practically bouncing with energy. She's usually more excited about our birthdays than we are, and I can't criticize her for it-having four tiny people plucked out of your body in one day is no small accomplishment.

The day flies by like all birthdays do-too quickly but full of silly memories like all the years that came before, this time just in a new location. Reilly and Reece make a point of Instagraming the entire experience. I'm usually the one holding their phones so they can actually be in the pictures they're posting. I make Reece send me a selfie she takes with all of us crammed into the frame.

After dinner, we sit in the living room surrounded by wrapping paper. As expected, Mom and Dad went way overboard in an attempt to appease us about the move, something I'm already all but over.

I got a ma.s.sive gift certificate to the local bookstore, some new clothes that look exactly like everything else I own, a new video card for my computer, and one of four matching new desks that will go up into the still-empty s.p.a.ce in the attic, which our parents have promised we can do anything we want with but still heavily imply that we should be using for studying and staying out of their hair. My sisters all got equally overloaded piles of presents. It's excessive by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm not about to complain.

The conversation finally lulls as we all look over our new things and show off our new stuff around in the makes.h.i.+ft circle we're sitting in, but my mother being who she is can only let the quiet sit for so long before she has to interrupt with her favorite story. It's the story of us.

"It was a dark and stormy night," she starts, eliciting eye rolls from Rhiannon, Reece and me. Reilly and Dad just smile along, encouraging her-suckers for sentiment.

"And by night, she means afternoon," Dad says right on queue. "The surgery was scheduled for the afternoon because most doctors prefer to book these kinds of things during office hours. And you had a lot of doctors. None of which was more excited to meet the Fairview Four than their very own mother."

"Our," Rhiannon says. "Our mother. We were there, remember? You don't have to tell the story like you're still being interviewed by the Gazette." It sounds snarky, but we all know she's only teasing.

This part of the birthday tradition happens at a different time every year, and it goes more or less than same as it did before-only with different parts embellished depending on how nostalgic my parents are feeling when telling the story.

Our job is both to play along and give our parents a hard time as is our sacred duty as their children.

Rhiannon shuts up before snuggling in beside Reilly on the couch at the same time that Reece reaches over to brush my back with her toes, using her insane flexibility to make a connection between the two of us from our spots on the floor. As my parents go on about our birthday, I revel in my favorite part of the day-the history I share with my three favorite people in the world.

Every year on September ninth, it feels a little like it was during those days and weeks after we were born-like we're all still part of one greater whole. The older we get, the more we all stretch into our own ident.i.ties, but I still love the reminder that we started out together.

Chapter 7.

The next Monday after school I log into City of Ages as soon as I get home. Monday is dungeon crawl day, it has been for almost a year now. Back when we first started playing the game, Nadine and I had joined a big guild to find people who would help us figure things out. Most of our friends from the group have stopped playing, but there are still five of us that meet every single Monday, and usually play through some quests most weeknights.

It was a part of myself that I didn't see myself sharing with any new potential friends anytime soon-Reece had made it very clear that being a super nerd isn't a selling point when it comes to making new friends.

Once my character makes it to our usual meeting spot, I spot the others. H3LLFYRE, Frankendogg and Pizzaz are all in college, and had gone so far as to schedule their cla.s.ses around having Monday afternoons off since Nadine and I didn't have any real say in when we had to be in school. Yet. And sure enough, all three were there waiting for me.

Pizzaz: Hey, Kinsey. We're about ready. Any sign of LuckyBug?

Using my keyboard, I scan the area and notice that Nadine hadn't arrived. I tell the others I will check in with her. They already know the two of us our off-line friends as well as guild mates, and while the whole group sometimes communicates plans over email, Nadine's mom refuses to let her give her number to strangers on the Internet. I hadn't bothered to ask my parents if it was okay, but it wasn't like I spent much time texting anyone other than Nadine, so it would probably never matter.

Reagan: Nadddiiinnneee. Where are you? It's go time.

Nadine: Coming! I'm like five minutes away. I got stuck talking to people after school.

Nadine is freakishly punctual, but I try and shrug it off. She is on her way, and that's what matters. At least, that's what I always remind myself. Most people online appreciate that real life always comes first, but since City of Ages is the closest that we get to hanging out in real life anymore, it's hard not to feel like this should be more important to her than talking to randoms after school.

I'm wearing some heavy duty headphones, but when Rhiannon bursts into our bedroom like a hurricane, she's impossible to miss.

She ignores the annoyed look I flash at her over my shoulder and starts digging around in her dresser. I turn back to my computer screen and pretend for a second that I'm an only child. It should only be another week or two before dad has the attic sorted out enough that we can move our computers up there, freeing up valuable bedroom s.p.a.ce. I'll still have to share the attic s.p.a.ce with my sisters, but I'll be able to create my own little corner and pretend like privacy exists in this house.

I wish.

Nadine finally logs in and the five of us set off for the Dungeon of Argrish, planning to battle our way past the spider people before calling it a night. Every time I die in game, I take the opportunity to send a private message to Nadine's character, chatting about my family, school, everything I'm missing back home and whatever else we hadn't already covered while we were texting during the day. It sounds like my old school, Ashmore, is going along pretty much business as usual. It's kind of nice to think it's all still there, exactly how we left it, but also little lame to think the four of us moving away made no impact at all.

Only halfway into the opening section of the dungeon, just as we are facing off against Phillius the d.a.m.ned, my computer dies. I stare at the blackened screen for a second. What happened? The overhead light in my room is still on, so the power hasn't gone out. I poke a few b.u.t.tons but the computer stays dead.

I'm on the verge of freaking out, thinking my computer is broken when I glance up and see Rhiannon staring at me, horrified. I take of my headphones to hear what she's saying and come in in the middle of a Rhiannon ramble. "It was an accident. I was looking for some of my textbooks from last year and this room is a mess."

It takes me a second to understand what happened, not until I notice her foot planted on top of my power cord. My eyes narrow. "You unplugged my computer?"

"No. I accidentally stepped on your power cable and your computer turned off. By accident." Rhiannon had an annoying habit of enunciating every syllable whenever she is being defensive or someone has p.i.s.sed her off.

"Well you were accidentally kind of an idiot. Did you find what you needed? Can you just go?"

"We get it, Reagan. You're in drama cla.s.s now. No need to be such a drama queen. It's not like your game matters anyway. Just plug it back in and get over yourself."

I clenched my teeth, trying to avoid the fight that could become inevitable at any second. I need to get back in game and I don't have time to deal with her att.i.tude. "You're already standing up. At least plug it back in?"

Rhiannon rolls her eyes. And she says I'm a drama queen? But she does as I ask, pus.h.i.+ng aside whatever box she'd been looking through to get me hooked up again. I put my headphones back on and make a point of not looking at her. Hopefully, if I ignore her she'll just go away. It's a strategy I've been trying for years, but so far I still have three sisters.

I'm still texting Nadine apologies for my disappearing act the next day during lunch. It happened at the worst possible moment, leaving my group short one support hero, which resulted in everyone dying off within two minutes. By the time I got back online we were back to the beginning.

Reagan: Maybe we can try again tonight? I'm not doing anything and if everyone else is around then we can make up for some lost time.

Nadine: Can't tonight. I have plans with Elise and Laney.

Reagan: What? Did Richmond suddenly get more fun once we left?

Nadine: I wish. We're going to make our own fun, and get away from my mom for a night.

That much I get. Nadine's mom can be a lot to take on a good day, and she's not a part of my hometown that I miss.

I'm briefly inspired to follow Nadine's lead. There has to be something to do in Fairview that qualifies as fun. Before we moved here Mom couldn't stop talking about all the events and activities that this town puts on. We missed some end of summer jamboree, but I wasn't crying any tears over that one.

The notion to get out there and try something new leaves me as quickly as it arrived. I'll have more fun playing City of Ages and can do it just as easily without Nadine. Plus, I have a book I want to finish reading.