“Dinah, did you buy the streamers I asked for?” Kacey called from upstairs.

Dinah frowned as she glanced away from her phone. “You didn’t ask for streamers.”

“Actually, she did ask for blue and white streamers if I recall.” Claude tried to stifle a smile as Dinah’s eye grew wide with remembrance.

“Oh crap, I totally forgot,” Dinah whispered.

“Not to worry,” Elijah said as he entered the kitchen and lifted two bags onto the counter. “I bought enough streamers for everyone.”

Dinah huffs in relief as Kacey rushed down the stairs and into the Kitchen. Before Elijah can unpack the bags Kacey digs into them, pulling out the streamers.

“Oh yea, Terra, have you thought about school yet?” Elijah glanced at me as he unpacked the shopping bags.

“Yea, sounds like a real bad time,” I muttered and picked up a container of face paint.

“I’m so glad I graduated last year.” Dinah rolled her eyes and quickly typed something on her phone.

“Look, if you’re going to live here, you’re going to have to go to school eventually.” Elijah gave me a half smile and rested his hands on the edge of the wood counter top.

“Then I won’t live here, problem solve!” I said in triumph and put the paint on the counter.

Elijah sighed in defeat and looked to Claude for help.

Claude cleared his throat. “Uh, school could be a really good place for you to hide, and you know, blend in.”

“Ah yes, because I’m still possibly in the run from an unknown entity.” I grimaced as I poked through the items on the counter top.

“You have no memories, but maybe going to school could bring something back,” Elijah suggested lightly. “I could enrol you in the same year as Kacey and Delilah, you look to be about that age.”

“How is she supposed to know what classes she is supposed to be in. I mean, she’s lost her memory, dad. It’s not like she knows what she likes to study.” Kacey came to my defence.

“Yea, she’s got a point. I mean, sending a girl with no memories to school is like setting her up to fail.” Dinah joined in, finally putting her phone down.

Elijah sighed as he looked between his two daughters. “I know what you are trying to do, and it’s not going to work. I’ll just explain the situation to the school, and they will ensure that Terra will it right in. They can give her extra classes and-“

“Ugh!” Kacey and Dinah groaned.

“Nobody likes extra school work, dad!” Kacey protested and tossed some white and blue hair lackeys at me.

“If it was my choice, I wouldn’t make you go to school, but it’s not. The government says anyone underage has to go to school, so.” Elijah held his hands up in surrender.

“I guess it couldn’t be that bad, I mean, I can read and write so I must have had some kind of education.” Fiddling with the hair ties, I stared at the label, reading the words.

“There you go, she’s going to be fine in English.” Elijah waved a hand at me.

Dinah and Kacey gave me an apologetic look. Claude just smiled and rocked on his feet.

“Are you dressing up T?” Kacey asked as she opened up the blue face paint.

“Dress up for what?” I asked and watch their confused expressions turn to realisation. “No memory, remember.”

“Australia Day, there’s a big event happening on the show grounds,” Elijah explained as he popped a blue and white top hat.

“Everyone paints their face in blue and white paint, wears the colours of the Australia flag. People paint the southern cross stars on themselves. People go to the beach and get drunk all day and night. There there is a fireworks show at the end of the night.” Dinah tapped her fingers on her phone twice and grinned at me,

“Except, we live an hour away from the beach, so we go to this stupid carnival thing in the middle of a paddock and get really bad sunburns.” Kacey rolled her eyes in distaste.

“And nobody is getting drunk,” Elijah said as he gave Dinah a stern look.

Dinah looked at her father innocently and then to Claude, pretending she had no idea what her father was inferring. Kacey just smirked and continued pulling out Australia Day shirts and skirts.

“Alright, it’s already ten o’clock, so you guys better get ready or I’m going to leave without you.” Elijah threatened as he picked up a t-shirt and climbed the stairs.

“I’ll meet you there later tonight, Dean.” Claude gave Dinah a light kiss on the cheek and then left.

“Are you coming T?” Kacey held up t-shirts and skirts as she motioned for me to follow her upstairs.

With a smile I followed her upstairs and we get dressed up for the event. She lathers blue paint on one half of my face and helps tie my hair back into a braid, white and blue ribbons entwined with my blonde hair. Although she let me get away with not wearing the skirt, she insisted that I wear the Australia Day t-shirt. I pair it with a denim pair of shorts and we wear matching Australia Day thongs. The rubber band embedded with a small pin the ship of Australia.

Within the hour we parked up in a paddock, hundreds of people roaming through stands and stalls. A small ferris wheel is set up on the field among a few other rides. Under the shade of the scattered trees families sit on towels and picnic blankets with their Esky’s and cold bags. We helped Elijah carry out food and drinks as we searched for a nice place to set up our picnic.

Near a wire fence, a distance away from the main event, we set up under a eucalyptus tree. Elijah sets down the gas can and the black canvas bag he’d been carrying, a small BBQ inside.

“Who wants sausage sizzle for dinner?” Elijah asked as he connects a gas can to the BBQ.

Dinah finished rolling out the picnic blankets and opens the Esky to grab a bottle of water. The white and blue bangles tinkling on her wrist every time she moved. Kacey is already lying on one of the blankets with her eyes closed. The yellowed grass crunched as I sat on the edge of the blanket and watched the people weave in between the stalls. Children ran across the paddock and played chasy, some older kids were throwing frisbees and kicking soccer balls.

I wonder if…my family…?