Sitting alone at the dining room table, my elbow propped against the smooth wood surface, I type the phrase ‘How to fundraise’ into my phone, waiting impatiently for the next screen to load. The results I get back are varied and overwhelming, so I add in the phrase high school to my search.

There's still more options than I can ever possibly get through, so I click on the first article I find and start reading. Rummage sale. Okay, that's an option. I go back and click through to the next piece, and the next, and the next.

My phone beeps out an alarm after what feels like only a few minutes, looking down at the screen proves just how thoroughly I've lost track of time.

There are only fifteen minutes left until midnight. Fifteen minutes left until our sixteenth birthday.

My body aches a little as I stand up, angry with me for having sat in the same position for well over an hour. I'm not even sure I have anything to show for it yet.

All of that will have to wait. First, I need to find my sisters.

For as long as I can remember, each year on our birthday, the four of us have made a point of being together. Reagan and Reilly are usually the ones taking charge, making sure we never miss a year. Honestly, I love our routine just as much as they do. I haven't really had a chance to look forward to it this year, but knowing I'm about to ring in my sixteenth year right alongside my three favorite people is comforting in a way I've never been able to explain to my friends.

There have been a few years where some of my sisters or I have had friends sleepover on the night leading into our birthday, and for the first few years back in Richmond, we'd always get a few raised eyebrows when we'd all disappear right around midnight. Eventually, it just became a part of who we were, something that all of our friends knew to expect.

I hear someone else's alarm go off as I reach the second floor of the house, following the noise into Reagan and Rhiannon's bedroom. Reilly is already squashed in at the base of Rhi's bed, so I pull Reagan's blanket up, eliciting a hiss from my sister while climbing inside. In return, she immediately slips her ice-cold feet up the bottom of my pajama pants in retaliation. Molly is sleeping on the floor in the middle of the room, half on top of an open book. She already looks so much bigger.

"Reagan, why don't you start?” Reilly says from across the room, taking control of our birthday ritual like she always does. "How was fifteen?"

"Busy." Rea answers immediately from beside me. "It was our first year living here again. It feels like we all did a lot, just by trying to figure this place out."

"Oh, come on. Don't be modest.” Rhiannon says with a muffled snort, an uncomfortable sounding laugh that fortunately none of the rest of us share. "You can say it."

"What?" Rea asks in mock innocence.

"You got a boyfriend."

"Kept the boyfriend too." Reagan adds, no longer playing coy.

Reilly, Rhi and I burst into a quick round of applause. I had a few boyfriends last year as well, but since there's no one recent, I don't bother pointing it out.

I'm the first person to admit that Reagan getting a boyfriend is way bigger news. This time last year, I hadn't thought there was any chance at all of it happening. Technically, Reagan is the oldest of us, but she's also usually the least sure of herself too. Or at least she used to be.

It's probably fair to say that Fairview has changed my sister. She's no better or worse, she's definitely different and for the better. She probably took the distance from her friends in Richmond even harder than I did at first, but she's made an awesome group of new friends and she's stepped out of her comfort zone. She even fell in love!

It's all pretty unbelievable.

No, I don’t mean that. It's just… surprising.

It's officially a strange year in the Donovan household when Reagan's love life is the most interesting.

The reality is, that might not actually be true. I found out about halfway through last year that Rhiannon had a secret, older boyfriend back in Richmond that she'd stayed in touch with after moving, even though she really didn't talk about him to anyone. It was only once she'd sort of run away that we'd realize just how serious she'd been about him, and why she'd been extra miserable ever since we’d moved.

"Well, it's safe to say that I liked Fairview last year.” Reagan says. "I know it was harder for you guys to move away than it was for me, but after a year… what do you think?"

Reilly answers first. "I like it. The people are nice. I kind of like the whole knowing your neighbor rather than ignoring them thing."

"If you'd asked me last week, I would have said I was a fan.” I say, thinking out loud. "What kind of school doesn't have sports?"

"They have sports." Rhiannon points out, "Just not as many of them."

"Not helping.” I grumble.

As always, Reilly has to jump in and point out the bright side. "Mom says you guys will have the chance to raise some money and support the team yourselves."

Yeah, not much of a bright side.

"I don't really want to talk about this right now." Looking down at my phone, we only have two minutes left before our birthday officially starts. "I know another good thing that happened in the last year though."

"Molly.” the four of us say as one. At first I think maybe my sisters are teasing me, but by the sound of it, they're already as in love with our family dog as I was from the first second I saw her.

"Seriously!" Regan adds, "I can't believe we got a dog!”

"I think Dad wanted her." Reilly says, speaking a little more quietly now. "He's here by himself during the day more often than not. So now he has Molly to keep him company. You can tell how much he's loving having her around."

"She's been good for Mom too." I hear Rhiannon sit up in bed a little as she speaks. "They've been walking together every day. Not long distances or anything, but I think as Molly gets bigger, the two of them will keep pushing farther. At least that's what I'm hoping for."

"I wonder how big she'll get.” I wonder, speaking the thought out loud. No one has an answer, so we fall into a brief and comfortable silence. I can't help but smile as I look over at the lump of a puppy silhouetted on the floor, now sprawled out on her back. In my head, I've still been thinking of her as my dog, even though she already means a lot to my entire family.

Still, I'll always get to be the one that introduced her to our family.

"Okay, I'm going to go ahead and assume that all of this soccer crap is going to work out." I say, bringing us all back to the moment we're about to face. "I'll give fifteen a four and a half out of five stars. I still made the team this year, so I'll call it a win." What I don't say but everyone probably realizes is that this is the first year I can remember that I haven't given a full five stars.

It really doesn't take much to keep me happy, but our first year in Fairview was harder for me than I thought it would be. It was the first time I'd had to start at a new school without all of the same friends I'd grown up with. I hadn't been able to play soccer. A few of the guys I'd been interested in had seemed more interested in me as an identical quadruplet, one of the Fairview Four, than as an actual human.

Really, it was probably a three star year. I'm not going to say that out loud though.

A week ago, I would have at least been able to cheer myself up thinking that at least it looked like I was all set to go back to a full five stars from here on out. Now with no dating and potentially no soccer, I'm a little less convinced.

"Five stars.” Reagan says behind me.

Both Rhiannon and Reilly speak up at the same time. "Four stars."

While for Rhiannon, that rating is practically dripping in optimism. For Reilly, it's something else entirely. Usually she's right there with me, rating every year five stars. So if this is the rating she's giving us out loud, what is it she's really thinking?

From the outside looking in, Reilly settled into Fairview as well as we all expected her too. She's the nicest of all of us and gets along with anyone. It already seems like she's friends with everyone at school and the teachers love her. She's even managed to stay in touch with her friends from Richmond more easily than the rest of us.

So what is it I'm missing? Or, what is it she's missing?

The second alarm on my phone rings before I have a chance to ask her, which comes as a relief. I'm not sure this is the right moment to get into anything that could possibly sour the moment we all turn sixteen.

Which is right now! "Happy birthday!" All four of us yell together. From their room across the hall, our parents repeat the phrase back at us, sounding muffled and significantly less excited.

Sixteen. Wow. Only a few seconds in and it already feels like the most important age we've ever been. Maybe it's just because every movie and TV show ever insists that sixteen is the biggest year of any teenagers life, especially if they're a girl.

Or maybe it's because this year really is supposed to be special.

"Does anyone have any predictions about what's coming for us this year?" I ask. "Wait, no. I have one! The next week goes insanely well! All the sports teams are saved! Rah, rah, go team, awesome year for everyone."

"Not just the sports teams." Reilly points out.

I don't bother answering. It's not like if there's not enough funding for the art club or whatever that anyone can stop them from drawing or painting.

"Molly will grow up to be a big, strong puppy," Rhiannon says. "She will learn all the tricks and be the fastest, smartest dog on the block."

"Obviously." I answer back.

"So, what about you guys and dating?" Reagan asks. I think this is the first time she's ever been the one to bring the subject of dating up.

"Kind of hard to guess at." Rhiannon answers. "So far, there's no one I'm really interested in here. A year is a long time."

Reilly responds before I have a chance to tease Rhi. "At least you have lots of guys to choose from. So far, I'm pretty sure there isn't a single gay girl in this entire town."

Frowning, I'm glad my sisters can't see my face in the dark. Is that what's been bothering Reilly? While she was technically out back in Richmond, she's never really seemed that interested in anyone. She's had a few crushes but if anything, she'll mention them once and then never bring that same girl up again.

"Statistically..." Rhiannon starts to say before Reilly interrupts.

"Statistically, it sucks to be LGBT in a small town. But hey, only two more years until college, right?"

I want to go over and give Reilly the biggest hug. Somehow, I don't think it will really help.

"Well that brings us to the big question.” I say, kind of desperate to change the subject. I flip over to face my sister. "Is this going to be the year Reagan loses her virginity?"

I'd been expecting Rea to start squealing denials and poking me in the ribs, but instead she stays silent.

Suspiciously silent.

Reilly gasps from across the room. "You had sex?" She cries out.

"Shhh!" Reagan says with a groan. "No, I haven't. Maybe I don't know… it could happen."

Okay, this is just too weird. I had always kind of assumed that I would be the first one of us to lose her virginity. It was something that in a weird way I kind of prided myself on, even though it hadn't actually happened yet—I hadn't even really gotten that close with anyone. Now I wasn't even allowed to date for a while.

Weird.

"Weird." Rhi says, echoing my thoughts.

"Like you said, a year is a long time. Maybe you guys will too."

"Not Reece." Reilly points out. "At least not anytime soon."

"Oh come on." Rhiannon says, "do any of us really think Reece is going to be able to go a whole year without finding a new random make out buddy?" Her tone of voice isn't judgmental. Still, it's a little too matter of fact for my liking.

"Hey! I'm sitting right here. I made a promise, a trade. I got Molly so... no dating."

"Making out isn't dating.” Reagan says.

"I think Dad would have actually died on the spot if he'd had to talk to me about whether making out with people counted. He looked uncomfortable enough even with mom being the one to talk to me about dating.” I continue, even though I'm already trying to figure out if this is a loophole I can work with.

For the last few days, soccer has been such a huge distraction that I haven't even thought about the deal I made with my parents. I haven't forgotten about it completely. I still fully intended to keep my side of the bargain.

Once we figure out how to save our team and life gets back to normal, that's when it's going to be something to think about. Especially if Noah keeps looking at me the way he did tonight.

For now, I need to figure out how to come up with a whole lot of money in basically no time at all.