The walk from school into town is a short one, as the high school sits not far off Main Street. In fact, everything in this town seems like it’s just off main street. Just as we left the school parking lot, we’d been joined by another girl, Rosie. She has black hair and freckles spattered across her nose. Apparently, she has been friends with the other three since elementary school, but she committed blasphemy last year taking art class instead of drama.

"Lizzie's?" Jen asks once the school is out of sight.

"We always go there," Frank says, but the complaint seems halfhearted like this is a conversation they’ve had a million times before.

"I'm sorry. What’s your issue with free food?" Rosie asks as she kicks a stone out of her path.

I'm following behind the four of them, trying to blend like I'm part of the group and not just some tagalong. However, I haven't been able to jump into the conversation yet. At least I know the place they’re talking about since it was our hideaway on our first day in town.

Our destination is impossible to miss, a big sign reading ‘Lizzie's Diner’ hangs over an older-looking brick building. Rosie pushes the door open and holds it while everyone else pushes inside. A few other people from school already beat us there and sit clustered around tables, talking and doing homework.

While mostly the interior looks like a classic diner, the walls are decorated with hand-painted caricatures. It takes me a minute to recognize the pattern, but it's all women. Every single person who's included up there is named Elizabeth. There are a couple of queens, Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket. Elizabeth Taylor. Also, that girl from Bewitched and tons of others I don't recognize. They're all painted in the same style.

"Well, this place is… cool" I’m sure I sound like an idiot as soon as I open my mouth, but the need to say something was too much to ignore.

Even though the sign says to wait to be seated, Rosie leads us to a table in the back. I cast an uncomfortable glance at the sign as we go by, not liking to be the one to break a rule that’s going to get us chased down at any second.

We take our seats, Rosie deposits her backpack on a chair before disappearing out of sight. She returns a minute later with a stack of glasses and a pitcher, which looks like it's full of cola.

The others are already chatting about some English teacher, Rosie turns to me as she settles the glasses on the table. "I wasn't sure what you liked. If you want something different I'll go grab it for you."

I'm about to ask if she works here, but a second later a gray-haired woman who looks to be about my mom's age, wearing a pink polka-dotted apron appears by our table. "Hey kids. Good day at school?" The woman leans down and plants a kiss on Rosie's head. She definitely has an in here. The two of them share the same oval face and small chin, plus the older woman even has a few freckles. Rosie’s mom, I guess.

Everyone answers at once, filling the woman in on the latest gossip from school before her eyes find me. "Oh my goodness,” she breathes. “We have a new addition today." She looks over at Rosie. "You didn't tell me you knew one of the Donovan girls."

"I didn't until about ten minutes ago. She's in drama class with these guys." Rosie said, gesturing to the others at the table.

Kent opens his mouth as though to retort something about drama class, but the woman shoots him a warning glance before taking over the empty seat across from me.

"Drama, hmm? Bold choice." Before I can say anything back about how it wasn't a choice I should've made, she continues. The way she's watching me is unnerving, like she’s studying everything about me. "Let me guess which one you are."

I force myself to smile and nod politely, expecting yet another Fairview Four fan since everyone my mom's age and older seems to have the same interest. "Reagan." She declares after a minute. "Or perhaps Reilly?"

"You got it the first time," I say, smiling. Just keep smiling, I remind myself. This woman doesn’t seem to mean any harm, and as long as Rosie’s mom is less pushy than Kent’s, I can’t complain.

"I thought so, partly because of the drama class, and partly because of the way you watch everyone around you. I remember when you were a baby, you were always the most eager for attention. You could do much more than toddle around and babble the last time I saw you, but you would do anything you could to draw attention away from your sisters and back to you."

That puts a stop to all of the assumptions floating around in my head. "You knew me when I was a baby?"

"Oh yes, your mother and I grew up on the same street. When she had you girls, I had just had Rosie here. So, tag teaming five babies between all of us lightened the load a bit. They always appreciated the extra pair of hands." She looks down at Rosie and I, as though remembering how much work we had once been. "I still remember those first weeks after you girls had come home from the hospital, your mother was treating the whole thing like some science experiment, creating formulas and systems to keep you all fed and happy. Meanwhile, your dad was all over the place. He meant well, but he didn't understand the first thing about babies. You girls were a crash course like no other, and before you could say quadruplets, your dad was a pro."

Looking over at Rosie, I find it weird to think that this girl I thought I'd met for the first time less than an hour ago, used to share a crib with my sisters and me long before my earliest memory.

"You figured out who I was because I was an attention hog as a baby?" I'm sure she has me confused with one of my sisters. "Because taking a drama class was kind of an accident for me. I'm the Donovan sister least likely to stand in a spotlight for any amount of time."

"Oh, I’m sure. It was like you realized you were the one who had arrived first and deserved to be treated as such." I blush, a little uncomfortable with the unexpected trip down memory lane. "You were adorable. Don’t you worry about it," she says before standing back up. "So what can I get everyone today?" She glances back at me. "One perk of knowing my daughter, is that the French fries here at Lizzie's are always free. But for you, since it's your first time back, and since you were always such a nice baby, anything you want is on the house."

After taking everyone’s order, Rosie’s mom disappears back to the kitchen. Everyone else at the table is watching me like a freak of nature. I shrug, trying to get their attention back off me. "It's weird because I don't remember ever living here before, but everyone who is older seems to remember."

"My mom's got an old picture of me sitting between you and your sisters, right in the middle. We were about nine or ten months old. Beyond that, I don't remember it at all."

"Random question," I say to Rosie. "What’s your mom’s name? Or what am I supposed to call her." It’s kind of weird due to the fact that this woman knows me on sight, but I don’t even know enough to report back to my mom about who I met.

"Call her Lizzie, everyone does. Technically, it’s her middle name—Lizzie was her mom—but it’s always just been easier this way."

Clearly bored with the conversation, Frankie digs through his backpack. A moment later, he produces a stack of a few different graphic novels, handing them over to Rosie. "Thanks. Let me know when you get the next ones in."

"Pshh, do you really think I’d let you go without them?" Rosie answers, already fishing something out of her own bag. She hands him another pile of books. "Rat Queens. Only two volumes so far, but it’s good."

Frank stares down at the cover. "Are all the characters girls?"

"Yes. Which I’m sure will be no problem for an enlightened human such as yourself." Jen gives him a hard look.

Frank grumbles but immediately starts reading. It’s not long before our food arrives and the conversation dies down, everyone piles into burgers and sandwiches into their mouths. The BLT I ordered tastes even better than it looks, I’m already planning on getting my family to come out here. I wonder if my parents reconnected with Lizzie already. They’ve gone out a few times since we moved here, but I never really asked for details.

Before my sisters and I were born, our parents whole lives were here. How many other friends did they have that they never mentioned? Had they been keeping in touch with anyone? My mom had lived here until she went away to school, and then had come back, my dad in tow after graduation.

"You seem lost in thought," Kent says, leaning toward me as I pop a French fry in my mouth. My pulse quickens a little, but I try to ignore it. He’s just being nice, all I have to do is act normal.

"So many people around here knew me as a baby, or they knew my parents. This place is new for me, but we’re old news for everyone else."

"I’m guessing it sucks to be news at all. Have I apologized yet on behalf of my mother? She definitely doesn’t see you guys as old news."

Well, that doesn’t sound promising. I narrow my eyes, trying to figure out if I should read something more into this conversation. "Is there something I should know? Because we did the baby pictures in the paper for our birthday thing, I’m sure there has got to be something more interesting going on around here. I figured she would be over us by now."

"You’re clearly new," Rosie interrupts with a sympathetic smile. "Nothing is ever going on in Fairview."

"Ignore her. Fairview is fine. There is almost always something going on. The Rhubarb festival is coming up, and one of the craft fairs, I think. You just need a guide to show you what to avoid and what’s worth getting involved in," Kent says, leaning back in his chair.

"Getting involved? I’m not really a joiner."

Kent’s eyes stay locked on mine. "Well, you didn’t think you could be an actor until today, so there you go." I want to point out to him that I still don’t think I can be an actor, or that what I did in class today could be considered acting, but he carries on. "Unfortunately, getting involved is basically a must here."

Jen nods, knowingly. "There are all sorts of volunteering and community involvement requirements for graduation."

How has nobody mentioned this to us already? Or had Mom been waiting to drop the bombshell until we’d already settled in a bit more? I try to swallow back my panic, save it for later.

"How is everything?" Lizzie asks, coming back at the right moment to keep me from getting up and fleeing the table.

I mumble another ‘great, thank you’, swallowing a French fry for effect. The food here really is amazing, but I can’t shake the idea of having to get involved in any way shape or form. Group assignments are already torture enough, and those are all with people my age who hate the idea as much as I do.

"Do you all have your costumes sorted out for next week?" Lizzie asks as she and Rosie started clearing away everyone’s plates.

I look over at Kent, hoping for an explanation. The costumes part I understood, but Halloween is still a couple weeks away, and while my sisters all decided what they wanted to be a month ago, I hadn’t given it much attention yet.

"Every year the week before Halloween, the town puts on a costume party. It's pretty much an excuse for everyone older than ten to eat candy and dress up too. The town square gets decked out in all sorts of Halloween gear, usually someone nearby offers up their house for a maze or spooky house. You should come!"

I mumble an answer, but I don’t commit to anything. I’m pleased that they thought to invite me but not convinced this is the kind of thing I’d like… at all.

We spend another hour sitting around Lizzie's and eating free French fries, and since drink refills are also on the house. I take more than my fill, hopefully Dad wasn't planning anything good for dinner.

As we're leaving, all set to go our separate ways, Jen and Kent turn back toward me. "Are you usually in the library for lunch?" Jen asks.

I shrug, not eager to confess anything.

Kent takes a step back toward me. "We probably only have a couple weeks left of decent weather before we start eating inside, so if you wanted to come hang out with us during your lunch, you should. I promise, we are not all as insane as we seem."

Yes. "Umm, I…" I struggle to find my words. I want this so badly, but I don’t want to accept in a way that makes them re-think inviting me. Jen has already seen me sitting alone and reading during lunch, so it's not like I can pretend I have better plans. But I also don't want to sound like I'm taking some sort of pity invite, if they don't actually want me around.

"No pressure," Kent adds. "You can find us around the side of the building by the portables if you're up for it. Lizzie sometimes sends cookies, so there's that to consider."

"I'll definitely keep that in mind." I end the conversation with a wave. Did that come up too bitchy? Do I sound like I think I'm too good for them? They must've heard about the debacle with the note in science class, but they still offered to hang out with me anyway. I guess that something. It's not like they needed to invite me out after school. Our presentation today didn’t even come up.

As I walk along Oakridge, I attempt to find the best way to tell my sisters I may have found a group of friends to hang out with, without sounding lame. As I approach the house, I see that my mom's car is already in the driveway. She’s home from work early.

Before I even step inside, I can already hear raised voices coming from somewhere inside. The front door glides open as I lean against it, trying to sneak in without making too much noise. From the sounds of it, at least half my family is pissed off at one another. The last thing I want is to get involved.

I drop my bag in the front hall on top of Reese's and head for the kitchen. So far, there's no sign of anybody else down here, meaning they are all upstairs arguing about something or other. "You’re such a hypocrite sometimes," someone shouts from upstairs, and I’m guessing it’s Rhiannon.

Do not get involved. Do not get involved.

But I only manage to pour myself a glass of orange juice before my curiosity gets the better of me. If Rhiannon is the one yelling, this could go from bad to nuclear level family drama in a matter of minutes. I make my way upstairs and see Riley leaning against a wall at the top of the landing. She’s silent and watchful, keeping an eye on something that's going on at the other end of the hall. Once I make it up, I realize what's happening. Mom and Rhiannon are going at it. Reece and Dad seem to hover on the periphery, ready to jump in or try to calm things down respectively.

"You knew I didn't even want to come here in the first place. You should give me a little of slack. I'm adjusting."

"Drop the attitude, I've already given you plenty of slack. Skipping classes is just unacceptable. It's completely unlike you."

"So what? Because it is like Reece that makes it okay? She's allowed to skip class and I'm not? How fair is that?"

I can see Reece deflate, stepping away from Rhiannon. "Don't bring me into this. I’ve gone to every single one of my classes so far this year."

"That’s an accomplishment?" Dad asks. "We should take a breather here. Feelings are running hot. Rhiannon has been nothing but a model student, if she needs to blow off a little steam from time to time, it's not the worst thing."

"So much for our united front," Mom snaps. "Saying we’re okay with this now sets a precedent for everyone. We are not okay with this," she finishes, looking over at all of us. I'm already wishing I'd stayed downstairs. No one ever mentioned my missing a class on the very first day of school, but since everyone knew what had happened, I guessed that they were taking pity on me.

"Why are you even here?" Rhiannon asks, not willing to back down. "Aren't you supposed to be at your stupid job? The one that was so damn crucial for you to take that you had to uproot your family."

"Rhiannon, don't. Don't go there. We've had this discussion so many times already."

"No, you had this discussion! You tell us what you think we need to know, you don't bother answering any of our questions! Then you just make declarations for our entire family. Newsflash, that's not a discussion!"

Before anyone can say anything else, Rhiannon backs into our bedroom and slams the door. The rest of us stare at one another for a long minute before Reece slips into her own room, leaving the door open, making it clear she's not looking to continue the conversation either.

As our parents start talking to one another, Reilly turns towards me. "So, how was it? Was everyone awesome?"

I take a second to realize what she's talking about. In all the chaos here, everything else has already been pushed aside. Kent, his friends, Lizzie having known us as babies, all of it. In less than five minutes, my family has ruined my mood, and I'm not even surprised.