Soon though, Teddy and Athena were both watching as two of Trinity set up the toaster, put the bread in, then waited until the toast popped out. They could make four slices at once, which was one less than there were sisters in the room. It was nearly perfect.

Some hours later, when Best Sister Emily returned, one of the first things she did was stop by the entrance to sniff the air. “What’s that?” she asked.

Then she noticed the toaster, the empty bag of bread, the empty tub of peanut butter, and all her sisters piled up on the bed with round tummies in a glorious cuddle pile.

“What the heck?”

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

Single with End Unseen

Emily’s classes had gone well enough. She was still in the early phases of the school year, where half the lessons were simplified to the point of near absurdity. She found her mind wandering a lot more than it once had, but in her defense, she had more things to ponder.

Trinity was . . . a lot.

Emily had a little less than two thousand dollars from Handshake, and another thousand owed to her. That was . . . not nearly enough money to do anything. She was essentially a single mother of five. When buying clothes for herself, even with her rather conservative tastes, she could rack up a two-hundred-dollar bill with no issue. Food for herself probably cost about ten to twenty dollars a week if she indulged mostly in ramen noodles and cheap meals.

If she took all that, and multiplied it by six to count herself and her sisters, that was . . . a significant amount of money. She could maybe cut some corners here and there. Maybe find a part-time job. Those were popular for students . . . she hoped.

Class ended and she wasn’t sure she had absorbed even half the lesson. More reason to find time to study later.

Emily had about as many friends now as she did when she started the school year, and twice as many reasons not to speak to anyone. So she rushed back to her dorm. She’d need to feed her sisters, threaten them into taking their showers, then do some homework, and maybe study ahead. She needed to call Alea Iacta, too.

And then she opened the door to her room.

On her desk was an empty jar of peanut butter next to a shiny silver toaster marred by peanut-buttery fingerprints. A bread bag was left on the floor, seemingly licked clean of crumbs.

The suspects to that particular crime were all conveniently piled up on her bed, with exposed tummies and arms and legs poking out every which way.

“What the heck?” Emily asked, quite reasonably.

Trinity . . . one of Trinity at least, popped up over the others and grinned. “Hello, Best Sister!” she cheered. “Do you want to join?” Another Trinity wiggled over to the side, exposing a more or less Emily-sized space on the bed.