The waiter left, leaving her and her sisters standing awkwardly in the lobby. All the people at the nearest tables were dressed sharply and looked important. She could only imagine what they thought of her and her sisters in such plain clothes. Maybe she could return home and change? But she didn’t have anything too nice to wear, let alone something to give to her sisters. They’d stand out no matter what she did.

“Right this way, miss,” the waiter said as he returned.

They crossed a room full of little booths that partially hid the people having their meals, then walked alongside the parts of the train engine resting in the middle of the restaurant until, finally, they reached a spot with a rounded booth that had a curved bench around a table.

Melanie was there, sitting back with a pair of empty glasses before her. “Hey, you’re finally here,” she said. “The Hero of the day!”

Emily nodded and eyed the rounded bench. There was plenty of room for her sisters and herself. Teddy slid in first to place herself between Emily and Melanie, then Emily and finally Athena sat down. Teddy was just tall enough to place her arms on the table.

“Um, so, hi?” Emily began.

Melanie grinned at her. “Yeah, hi,” she said. “Who’s the new munchkin?”

“I’m Tina,” Athena said as she tilted her head up and back. “I’m Big Sister’s sister.”

Emily looked for the right words, then settled on doing her best. “She’s like us. That is, uh, Teddy, you, and me.”

“Huh,” Melanie said. “You know, at this rate you’re building up an entire team.”

They were interrupted as a new waiter came by and filled their cups with icy water, then left a few menus on the table.

Emily eyed the two normal menus and the two kids menus, then pushed the latter toward her sisters. “I-I guess. I don’t plan on having a whole team or anything.”

“Hmm,” Melanie said as she leaned back with her menu in hand. “You should maybe think on it. Speaking of . . . did you think of what you’ll be doing?”

“You mean, from now on?” Emily asked. “Um, no, not really.”

“You should. This time of year is pretty ripe for new names to show up and market themselves. It’s the only time where the big names chill out for a bit and don’t mind others hogging the limelight before they jump back in it.”

“Um,” Emily said.

“Just think about it, yeah?” Melanie said.

Emily nodded, then turned to her sisters to help them choose. It also meant putting off her own choice, which was fine. She hated picking things off a menu. She never knew what she would like.

“They have fish sticks,” Teddy said. “That’s good, right?”

“I guess,” Emily agreed.