The sound of footsteps almost tripping down the staircase came from inside the house, as Tabby Morgan raced to get to the front door before her five year old daughter managed to cause more trouble.

Being a single mother was hard work, but somehow, Tabitha had been managing well for awhile now. Child support came every month, even though it wasn't enough. Nothing was enough, and now that Megan was living with her for the time being, things were going to get worse.

Tabby got to the front door, sweeping her daughter into her arms. She hadn't had enough time to get ready- her strawberry blond hair a tousled mess, and the sweater she was wearing was wrinkled and creased. Tabby's eyes were heavy, and oh so tired. In another life and time, she would have been beautiful- as lovely as Cinderella with a bright future ahead of her, but that was only for storybooks.

"Corrie, you hush now and be nice. This is Mister and Missus Browning, we met them at the funeral yesterday, don't you remember?" Tabby moved her daughter's weight to her hip so she could extend a hand to the couple. "Mister Browning, Missus Browning, I'm so glad you could make it today. Forgive my daughter Cordelia, she's only five, and already has a bright mind, and a loud mouth to match. Sadly, she doesn't think before she speaks." Tabby eyed her daughter with a look that would make lions cower in her presence.

"No, come inside. That November air must be chilly. I'll pour some tea. Spencer Edwards is already here." She invited the family into the house, hoping and praying the wouldn't judge her from its poor condition. She tried to keep it as clean as possible, but she didn't have enough money to hide that it was practically falling apart at the seams.

"Megan is still upstairs, asleep I assume. Hopefully she'll be down in a few minutes." Tabby smiled, a nervous wreck for both herself, and Megan. Poor girl didn't know what was coming.

Corrie Morgan was not a lion, Lot saw; she was an unabashedly headstrong little girl, and she returned her mother's glare with an oh-so-innocent look.

Jason Browning chose to ignore Corrie and shook Tabitha Morgan's hand, as did his wife Laura. Lot stepped inside the house with his parents, doing his best to hide his dismay. Did Tabby Morgan really have to live here with her daughter to support? Being the son of two successful lawyers, he knew that he was lucky in many material respects. Seeing a house like this, though obviously kept as well as was possible for its state, drove that fact home.

"Yeah, Meggie's sleeping," Corrie piped up, squirming to be put down. "I know, I'll go tell her they're here!"

Lot looked at the little girl and winced again. If he was Megan and had to put up with--well, had to be waken up by the shrill-voiced kid, on top of everything else that had happened, he would NOT be happy. At all.

"No!" He exclaimed before he realized. His parents turned to look at him, and he flushed. "Uh, I mean, I'll go knock on her door and let her know we're here. W-we're in the same class, and--"

His mother nodded, smiling a little. "That would be fine, Lot. We'll be meeting briefly with Mr. Edwards, so don't take too long."

"Sure," Lot mumbled before hurrying up the stairs. Then he realized that he had no idea which room was Megan's. He knocked on the first door. No answer.

"Uh, Megan?" He knocked on the second door down. Still no answer.

There was a small door to the left that looked more like the door to a closet than to a room. Anxious to be done with this and back downstairs, Lot didn't bother to knock before opening it.

Megan's eyes shot open, it was a simple transition from one plane of being to the next. But such a fast change does things to the psyche. A searing pain went straight to the girl's temple, and she groaned in response. The first thing I need, right in the bloody morning. Groaning and grumbling, with a hand to her head, she stumbled towards the bathroom.

In there she found sweet relief in the form of water- really the liquid of the gods'- and a bottle of Tylenol. Megan put two and two together, and began the process of looking presentable for the public. That meant the brushing of teeth and de-tangeling of knots and washing of face. As Megan scrubbed her face, she noticed a zit forming by her hairline. Just my luck, her thoughts echoed, as a sigh escaped her lips.

Heading back into the so called 'bedroom', Megan grabbed her purse from the ground and pulled out her iPod a pair of portable speakers. She connected the cables and powered up, selecting a playlist called "Mother's Favorites Classical". It was six hours of pure classical, a calming selection of piano and accompanying orchestra. Megan knew few of the pieces by heart, but her Mother knew most of them, and could recall them with such a passion inside her, it lit a flame inside others.

Now that flame burned the insides of Megan, bringing hot tears to the surface once again. Would this pain ever go away? Even the thought of her parents, the mere mention of them in her mind was hellish. Meg tried to remember what her parents always said now., Keep Calm and Carry On. Yes, that was it, that old British saying. As the words came floating to her head, she straightened her posture and lifted her chin. If anyone could decently fake being fine, it was Megan Edwards.

She pulled out fresh undergarments and a white tank top, and began putting those on as she hummed to the music. As she finished buttoning the navy blue, short sleeved top, she was la-de-daing to the piano. Megan put on a pair of tight darkwash blue jeans as well as a white cardigan with navy blue stripes. The knock came on her door as she was putting on her navy blue TOMs. Having been drowning out the background noise with the classical music, she didn't realize that there was anyone else in the house. So when the door knocked, Megan replied with a relaxed "come in".

But when that door opened, she was in for a big surprise.

"Uhhh."

Lot could see that he had stumbled upon Megan in the last stages of getting dressed. Probably she'd expected Tabby or Corrie... Not her classmate who happened to be a boy.

"S-sorry!" He made an attempt to hide behind the door without appearing to be doing so. "Uh, uh, Megan, I--"

He took a deep breath. He had to pull it together. Megan was already upset enough about her parents, right?

Coming out from behind the door, he looked at the girl in front of him, though his face was still beet-red from embarrassment. At least she was dressed enough to be decent. "M-my parents are here. Sorry, this must be hard for you, but... they'd like to talk with you and your brother before the reading."

He bobbed his head awkwardly. Staring at his feet, he added, "I'm really sorry about this, Megan."

Then he turned to leave, but just then:

Blue. Pain. Searing emotion that would break even the most hardened heart...

"Augh!" Lot cried out, clutching at his head. Falling to one knee, his eyes clenched shut as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

Megan... Megan...

"Megana?"

What was that supposed to mean?

The feelings gradually faded, enough for him to be able to stand again. Taking several deep breaths, he started to make his way out the door, still disoriented and forgetting for the moment that Megan was there.