Juliette followed Rebecca upstairs and then out of the house. She smiled at her sister's enthusiasm as they headed down the small path to the sidewalk, wondering what exactly their teacher was planning for the festival.
"Are you going to play an instrument? Or sing?" She asked.
(do we want to skip ahead to them being together or….)
(Eh, maybe not yet.)
Rebbeca shrugged a little. "I'm not sure yet. I might play an instrument or sing. I think it'll be easier if I flip a coin and let the coin decide my fate." From afar, she could see the school. "I wonder how the festival's going to be this year. They always have some kind of theme. Like last year it was country themed."
"I know! Do you know what it is this year?" She never participated in the musical part of the festival but was always excited to see the performances. She was more interested in the activities, food, and decorations that would come with the theme, not to mention that Ziggy was ecstatic about seeing her first big event in a century or two, and she'd be experiencing it with her new holder.
Aurelie drove in the direction of Noah's daycare, then slowed down when her brother started yelling in the backseat. "Beccy! Julie!"
She followed his gaze to see her cousin's walking along towards the school. She pulled up beside them. "Hey, I have to drop Noah at daycare but do y'all want a lift to school?" Noah could still be heard yelling in the backseat. "He seems like he wants you to."
Rebbeca was about to answer her sister's question when she heard yelling coming from a car. She turned around and looked as a car slowed down and stopped completely. The window rolled down and Rebbeca noticed that this was Aurelie who was driving.
"Yeah, that'd be great!" She said with a laugh. "We can't say no to a free ride, right Juliette?" She asked her sister as she turned around to face her.
"Nope!" Juliette chirped, smiling and waving at Noah through the window. She loved riding with her cousins, especially when Noah was in an excited mood - he was a joy to be around.
They arrived quickly at Noah's daycare, the whole time Aurelie seeing him interact with his cousins via the rearview mirror. When they pulled over, he was unbuckled and taken in. After about a minute, Aurelie came back out.
"Ok. To school!"
Rebbeca was sad that Noah had to go. He was fun to talk too and the boy sure had a lot of energy. Which was something both Rebbeca and Noah had in common. She sulked in her seat and quietly responded with an okay. She looked at the daycare through the window and smiled just a bit.
Juliette held her bookbag in her lap, subtly unzipping it on the side that Rebecca couldn't see so she could check on Ziggy. Noah had knocked the bag around a bit, so she wanted to see that the little goat didn't get squished in there. She knew that was unlikely given the kwami's ability to pass through solid objects, but she still wanted to be sure. Ziggy gave her a little wave to let her know she was fine, so she close the bag back up and occupied herself by looking out the window and allowing herself to space out.
"You should be careful that they don't see you with me," Mullo whispered in Aurelie's ear, hiding in her hair.
"No, you need to stay out of sight," Aurelie whispered back, not wanting to look suspicious. She then made it clear that she was addressing her cousins in the backseat. "So how's school going for you guys?"
"School's fine. I've been getting good grades and stuff. I have a couple of missing assignments, but I don't really care about them because they're not really affecting my grades." She stopped and looked out the window. "I'm more excited about the Music Festival that's coming up in a month or so. What about you? How is school going for you?"
"Hmm? Oh…it's…going. In all honesty, I've been considering dropping school. You know how busy Maman and Papa get. What with Maman's fashion shows and Papa's concerts. I think I should drop school to look after Noah and Oscar."
Aurelie sighed, pulling up to the school's carpark. "I know it's probably not good to not have an education, but my family has to come first. It's not like I ever get good grades, anyway."
Juliette's focus zoned back in as she heard Aurelie talking about her grades, and she frowned slightly. "Well, that's a pessimistic way to look at it." She said, waiting for the car to stop before unbuckling herself.