Third grade.

   There was very little to note at the start of third grade for Bri and Fia, who missed Indy too much to have fun. Beth on the other hand distracted herself with Joanna's company.

   By eight years old, Joanna had found a little niche for herself at school as one of the prettiest girls. She was well-liked and was one of the top students. 

   With Indy gone, her rank in academics had gone up. Her absence pushed Beth to strive too.

   Alfonso felt her absence every now and again whenever Bri moped around him, but other than that, he'd forgotten his kindergarten crush.

   "What's your ninth birthday going to be like, Beth?" Joanna asked during one random lunch day.

   "My mom usually thinks of the theme first."

   "She doesn't let you pick on your own? My mom always lets me decide on the decorations on my own. Remember last year?"

   "You chose those on your own?" Beth asked remembering the sparkly decorations Joanna had. "I wish I got to pick my own stuff."

   "Why don't you do it then?" Joanna cheered her on.

   "That's probably not a good idea, Beth," Fia said.

   "I can pick pretty decorations..."

   Fia shrugged and said, "I've just noticed that your mom likes to choose that stuff. My mom's really into making her own decision."

   "What about you, Bri?" Beth turned to address Bri who wasn't paying attention.

   "Uhh... I usually help my mom. You guys know how we don't decorate much. So, she likes to include me in the shopping."

   "I'm so jealous!"

   Joanna looked away. "Oh, so you picked those..." 

   Bri flushed and said, "Yeah... it's not as pretty as your parties."

   "Of course not. Anyway, Beth, you should start planning your birthdays. You only have so many before they're not important anymore."

   "What do you mean?"

   "I mean, birthdays are only important until the red string appears, right? After that, it's just you getting a year older. Where's the fun in that? The whole point of birthdays is the wait for the string. Don't you agree, Amber?"

   Amber and Tobias were eating nearby.

   "Yeah. My parents stopped pushing me to celebrate after mine appeared," Amber answered.

   Fia raised a brow. Birthdays were supposed to be celebrated regardless of the red string, at least from her point of view.

   "What about for people whose red string never appears?"

   Beth gasped loudly, catching the entire cafeteria's attention.

   "Can you stop being so negative!" Beth expressed.

   Fia stopped holding back on talking about her doubts with God Eros ever since she admitted that she didn't care about it. It got worse when Indy left. She had less incentive to pretend like she was waiting for it like everyone else.

   It was inevitable that Beth would feel attacked every time as Beth was still waiting painstakingly for hers to come. They were nine soon which meant seven years were left before there would be no more chances. For Beth that felt like too short of a time. Weren't they five just yesterday?

   "I don't like it when you talk like that," Beth told her. "You know that it feels like you're jinxing me?"

   "But I'm not," Fia said.

   She had a crooked smile on and a raised brow.

   "Then... just cause you don't care it doesn't mean everyone is the same. Most of us– all of us except you- care about when ours will appear."

   "I'm not waiting," Arian said.

   He came in late for lunch with Louis.

   "You're lying," Patrick claimed.

   "I'm not. I think this whole red string thing is just a marketing ploy."

   "Are you saying we're not really seeing red strings between us?" Tobias asked, pointing to Amber.

   "I don't know what you're seeing, but if no one else can see it, all we can do is either believe you or doubt you. Of course, there's no reason not to believe you.

   Arian was more articulate than most of his classmates. It was given, but whenever he spoke more than his usual few words, it surprised them.

   "I always forget how good he is with words," Fia whispered to Bri.

   Bri shrugged. She'd heard it many times before when she hung out with him in second grade.

   Louis too was used to it, being the best friend and all.

   "What's your birthday going to be like?" He nudged at Bri.

   She smiled softly and said, "Same as before. Simple."

   "Is it okay if I bring my brother this year? I know you don't invite that many."

   "Oh... I'll ask my mom first. Is that okay?"

   "Yeah, of course!" Louis smiled.

   "That reminds me, will your birthday be small this year again, Fia? Your birthdays stopped being good- I mean-" Joanna tried to change her words, but Fia was already trying to move on.

   "Yeah, same boring birthday as last year, Joanna. Just gonna do something small and have a sleepover with Bri and Beth."

   "Oh... a sleepover..." Beth bit her lip. "I didn't think you'd throw one, so I actually have something else planned that year."

   "But we always have sleepovers," Bri said softly.

   "It's just the two of us this year, Bri."

   As promised, Fia's birthday was simple. Greta had difficulty inviting prominent families, afraid of what they'd say about the simplicity. Regina also hesitated to invite her closest friends, Shayne and Maybelle.

   "This is beyond shabby, Reg," Maybelle commented once she entered with her cousin Shayne.

   "You don't have to tell me, May. My mom and I have been agonizing about it all month, but my sister wouldn't budge. She's such a blemish to the Östberg name."

   She meant it too.

   Regina couldn't even look at the minimal decorations that barely changed the look of their house. It was like someone had died. Black balloons and a black table cover screamed death.

   Shayne laughed when he spotted the skull head prints on the balloons.

   "Your sister's got some punk taste. I'm almost wondering if she's really your sister with how different you two are."

   "You don't gotta say that. I'm wondering it too!"

   She meant this too.

   She'd asked her parents about it a million times ever since Fia started dictating what the decorations for her birthdays would be like. At first, the changes were mild. The cake was one tier shorter or the dessert table was one dessert less than the year before. But then, Fia started asking to change the balloon colors and the designs from lace patterns to these hideous skulls. But Regina's biggest problem was the absence of half their usual guests.

   "You know, I heard Sofia's not well-liked," Maybelle told Regina.

   "I bet."

   "No, no- like in all seriousness, Reg. I've heard a lot of things about your sister at my school."

   "You heard about Fia all the way at your school?"

   "That's what I'm saying. She's famous for being the girl who doesn't believe in God Eros."

   Regina's eyes grew wide, almost popping out. Her mouth was open, unable to say anything.

   She had always not liked Fia, but this was beyond anything she would've guessed.

   Not believing was one thing, but to say it loud enough for a neighboring city to hear about it was another.

   She laughed awkwardly, grinning stupidly at Maybelle and Shayne.

   "She's probably not my biological sister..." She laughed.

   Shayne laughed too and said, "Oh, come on, Reg. Your sister's just going through a phase. Remember when I would question it too."

   "Yeah, but you didn't go advertising it!" Regina screamed. "I can't believe that girl!"

   Regina scurried off to her mom to snitch on her sister. Greta's face fell, also equally flabbergasted as her eldest daughter had been. She then told Elric, who only had this to say.

   "Fia has an inquisitive mind. She's hardly one to conform just because we all tell her such a thing exists. She likes to see to believe. You know her."

   Greta could only pray day in and out that Fia's string would finally come to her lest they were forced to raise a nonbeliever. Truthfully, Greta would never have it. She entertained the idea of shipping Fia to her grandparents across the pond, but she didn't wish such a headache for her parents either.

   "I'm sure it's just a phase," Lina told her when she brought Beth over for the party. "Fia's not like the other girls. You know this."

   "Sometimes, I wish Beth was my daughter instead. You raised her so well."

   Lina beamed at the compliment. "Aw, thank you, Greta. Yes, Arisbeth was very easy to take care of. Maybe Fia is better off being Phoebe's daughter."

   Greta almost felt offended, but remembered how Bri did resemble Beth in terms of preferences.

   "I would throw that girl all the birthday party she could ever wish for-" She paused, and the two women turned to each other.

   "That's it!" Lina cheered. "You can just offer it to Phoebe. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

   "Yes, you're right. It's good for Brianna too. I'm sure she'd like it."

   The two ladies smiled, patting themselves on the back for their brilliant idea to work around Fia's growing rebellious tendencies.

edited. Greta's husband is Elric. I accidentally said Frank...