Alright, everybody load up." Angelica twirled the keys around her finger as she waited for her sisters to get into the car. School had just ended, and the three Schuyler girls had too much to do and not nearly enough time.

Eliza swung into the front seat and closed the door while Peggy dove into the backseat and lay herself across it. "Hey," Angelica warned Peggy, who stuck her tongue out at her older sister and sat up.

Angelica stepped into the driver's seat and started up her Cadillac.

"Daddy said to be home by dark, you know." Peggy reminded Angelica, popping her gum.

"Dad doesn't need to know." Angelica rolled her eyes and put the car into gear.

Peggy peered at the address Angelica was punching into the GPS app on her phone, "Dad said not to go to New York." She chided.

"You're free to go." Eliza gestured at the car door.

Angelica had no doubts that Peggy would somehow call their father and tell him that they were going into the city just to annoy her two older sisters, but it had been too long since she, Eliza, and Peggy had all had a bonding session. Thought they had six other siblings and two other sisters, the three of them had always had a special bond. One that had fallen apart, and that could be revived now that Peggy was finally a freshman.

"No—stay." Angelica grabbed Peggy's arm as she maneuvered out of the parking lot of the school. "We all need to talk."

"And put on your seatbelt, for Christ's sake," Eliza added.

They drove down the street and onto the ramp leading up to the highway. Peggy popped her gum again and tapped her fingers on the window impatiently. "Are we there yet?"

Angelica's eye twitched. And it hadn't even been five minutes in the car yet. "No."

"Peggy, how are your classes—"

Peggy cut Eliza off with a loud bubble pop. "Don't be rude," Angelica warned her.

Peggy rolled her eyes. "I should have gone home with Cornelia."

"You would have had to watch her make out with Esther," Angelica pointed out. Their older sister Cornelia, a senior, was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Esther DeBerdt, which made it annoying to be around them.

"I could have filmed it. Would've been great blackmail material."

"Fucking psychopath," Angelica accused.

Peggy giggled.

"Fine. Get out of the car. Call Cornelia to pick up. Eliza and I will have fun out on the town."

"No!" Peggy protested. "I'm one of you guys!"

"I'm not sure what that means," Angelica said.

"I mean, I still want to spend time with you! No matter how lame you are."

"Aaaw! That's so awesome!" Eliza encircled Peggy in a hug. Peggy groaned, but didn't push her older sister off.

The three girls sank into a comfortable silence. Angelica kept her eyes on the highway, but whenever she could, she snuck a glance at Eliza. Her younger sister had been acting strange lately, and Angelica was worried about her.

"Did Cortlandt tell you about what happened during lunch today?" Peggy asked them, referring to Eliza's twin brother.

Eliza rolled her eyes. "I'm in fourth period lunch too, Peg."

"LOL, I forgot."

"Do you have to use chatspeak when we talk?"

"Yes."

"So what happened?" Angelica pointedly asked, getting them back on subject.

Peggy answered. "You know the trio of weirdos that always do everything together? There's this new kid that's joined them. Way too loud, but he was saying some cool stuff."

"That new kid—Alex—they're going to do big things at this school. I can tell," Eliza said.

"There are new ideas floating around the school," Angelica agreed. "Even if Principal Dickhead refuses to let us get anything done…" as a member of the student council, Angelica was annoyed by how Principal King ran the school.

Peggy snorted. "And I thought that only Jefferson could get you this pissed off."

"Gah!"

"New ideas in the air." Eliza agreed, helpfully changing the subject from Thomas Jefferson. "And this Alex kid is going to make them a reality."

"Wait—what kind of ideas are we talking about? I feel like we're talking about different ideas here." Peggy paused.

"We are talking about the same idea, Peggy!" Angelica pushed down on the gas pedal. Talking about Jefferson, or King, or about the deadlock in the student council, made her very angry.

Peggy ignored her older sister's obvious consternation, enjoying riling her up. "Are we talking about George King? Like how people want to get him fired?"

Eliza answered for Angelica. "Well, yes, that, but you know how we've been talking about a GSA for a while now? But we've never had enough support? I think Alex could be the person who has the mind to sway the rest of the school."

Peggy rolled her eyes, "In this podunk, backwards old town? Please."

"But think about how revolutionary it will be the school! Think about how much it will help the closeted people in this town!" Eliza's eyes were bright with excitement.

Peggy shifted in her seat, "Yeah I know. I'm not trying to discourage you guys or anything, but I really don't think it's realistic."

Angelica snorted, "From what Cortlandt was saying, Alex can do anything. And besides, they'll have our support, Mulligan, Lafayette, Laurens—and a whole bunch of other people."

"Yeah, and I think he'll have more than just support from Laurens at the end of this. Did you see the way they were making gooey eyes at each other?" Peggy snickered.

Eliza paused, "What do you mean?"

"Alex has a crush," Peggy singsonged.

"You see sexual tension everywhere," Angelica accused.

"Ten bucks says they've fucked by the end of the year," Peggy maintained. "And hey, the GSA could help with that. Eliza? You have a wager to add?"

Eliza looked up from her lap, "Uh, no. Hey, how do you think Alex is going to get the GSA started, even? Don't you need to be on the student council to have any say in school organizations?"

Peggy shrugged, "The way he was acting, he'll be president of student council by next week."

"Hey!" Angelica snapped.

"Sorry. I forgot that Angie here is going to be principal by the end of the month. Our dear, infallible Angelica, the pride of the Schulyers…"

"The only straight one…"

"The prettiest—"

"The wittiest—"

"The New York City-est," Peggy and Eliza finished together.

Angelica rolled her eyes. "Shut up." She might have had dreams of living in NYC, but she could do without her younger sisters constantly making fun of them.They parked the car a few blocks from the Museum of Modern Art, one of Angelica's favorite places in the city, and walked the rest of the way. Dad didn't know that they had a membership there, but they had paid for it using money they had made over the summer, so it really wasn't his problem anyway.

They went into the glass exhibits that day. Peggy suggested that the three of them take a glassblowing class, which Eliza agreed with and Angelica didn't say no to. After spending an hour or two in the museum, they walked about a mile to a cafe that they liked.

The three sisters loved being in the city. They loved the variety of people and buildings, so different from their home in Yonkers, but the chaos could get a bit intimidating sometimes. Still, the girls weren't used to the slurs, the catcalls, and the people who seemed able to tell that they were from the richer areas outside of the city and gave them special—or worse—treatment because of it. And the disrespect of seemingly everyone that they came across in the city. That was bad to hear.

Eliza sighed as they got to the cafe. "I just wish that people...wouldn't."

"Elaborate, dear," Peggy ordered her.

"Stop bothering your sister," Angelica said. Peggy made a face at her.

"I wish that people would respect each other," Eliza clarified. "I hate hearing insults and stuff, you know?"

Angelica took Eliza's hand. "And that's why we're going to change the world. Every one of us."

"The four assholes in the lunchroom," Peggy interrupted.

"Us," Angelica said. "We're going to prove that all people are equal. Maybe not soon, but at some point, it'll happen. And we're lucky. We get to be a part of it. We get to be here, in the greatest city in the fucking world."

Angelica's watch beeped. 4:00 PM. "Let's go," she told her sisters.

They made their way back to the car, all of them already looking forward to next Wednesday, when they would be able to get back into the city.