>You ruffle the page in your book with an index finger and a thumb.
>Page 309. Not too long, and you're finally finished with this damn thing.
>It's a real slog, too.
>"Hiiii Anon!"
>Oh God. The blue one.
"Mm."
>She's smiling. You can see it out of the corner of your eye.
>You risk a quick glance. It really is quick - you know it.
>You were always good at these kinds of things. That's probably why they hired you.
>But she was quicker.
>"Hi!"
>She moves closer to you. Kind of too close, but it's clear she doesn't know.
"Mm. Hi."
>You're sitting squarely at the end of a small red loveseat, arms folded flatly into a comfortable reading position. The blue-haired one takes clear advantage of this and sits right next to you.
>"Sooo..."
>You dog-ear your book and put it on the table to the side. There's no getting out of this one.
>You're facing her now. It's an awkward position to face someone - almost like the both of you are in a play.
"What's up?"
>She smiles at your full attention. Sonata, that's her name. Sonata Dusk.
>"Can I ask you something?"
>You stiffen and attempt to fix the crick in your neck. Sonata was rarely on the listening end of a conversation.
"Sure. What's up?"
>"Well...I was just wondering...we never...us three, I mean...we never..."
>She's unnaturally bashful. You hope the reason won't make you too uncomfortable, but this girl has a knack for doing just that.
>Sonata laughs nervously. Again, strange. You've never seen her nervous before. She looks away and back at you with a flash.
>"You wouldn't eat us, would you?"
>You lean forward slightly, flabbergasted.
"Wh...what?"
>"Well...ya know..."
>She tugs slyly at her ponytail.
>"Aria said that you eat people. During Christmas, I mean."
>You try to form words but they won't come out. You couldn't formulate a sentence that doesn't start and end with 'what?' anyway.
>Sonata leans forward again, blushing. Is she...trembling? 
>"I don't taste good. I taste like blueberries."
>You put your hand up to your chin in thought.
"Well - I actually kind of like blueberries, to be honest."
>She chirps out an adorable 'eep' and scoots back feverishly to the other end of the loveseat. 
>This makes you smile. Maybe you could have some fun here?
>You grin and shuffle closer to her. Grinning is something you never do, and she seems to notice.
>Sonata is shaking like a motel mattress. Her lips are pursed.
>You're right next to her now. Her head is leaning back as yours is leaning forward.
"You know what? Don't. Move."
>The poor girl is petrified. Mouth open, she tries to scream but it takes a few seconds to come out.
>"AAAUUUUUUUUGH!"
>Sonata falls to the ground with a thud and darts away.
>Passing her as she rushes through the doorway is a certain purple-haired troublemaker.
>You face her as she enters.
"I eat people? Really? And she believed that?"
>Aria smirks and walks around you into the master bathroom.
>You give her another couple seconds but she doesn't respond.
>Picking up your book, you feel a smile creep towards the edges of your mouth.
>Now, where did you leave off?

>"Go on."
>Adagio sharpens her gaze at you and flicks her hand towards the blue-haired girl crouched over in the corner.
>Sonata is clearly wary, but your repentant grimace seems to catch her off-guard.
>You clear your throat.
"-hem. Hey...Sonata."
>Adagio ribs you hard with the tip of her elbow.
"*Mrs.* Sonata. Mrs. Dusk."
>Sonata can't help but giggle. Your uncomfortable demeanor is amusing her.
"So...how 'bout them Bears?"
>Sonata is caught off guard but giggles again at this.
>"Hehehe. I think they're gonna go all the way this year."
>Now you smile. You taught her that one.
>Adagio ribs you again. This time it hurts.
>It would seem that the air is more comfortable, however. Even the orange-haired girl couldn't put a stop to that.
>Sonata cocks her head almost playfully to the side. You use this moment to get your point across.
"Hey, so...Sonat - Mrs. Dusk. I just came here to apologize and let you know that I...uh...don't eat people."
>The blue-haired girl frowns and furrows her brow. She punches you - not hard, but hard enough.
>"What? You jerk! I thought you were going to eat me!"
>You look away from her.
"Yeah. Sorry. It was just a joke. People don't really eat other people. At least...not most of them."
>Another rib from Adagio. You were ready for this one.
"Nobody near us, anyway."
>Sonata appears unconvinced. Luckily, Aria chimes in.
>"Yeah, sorry Sonata. It was just a joke."
>Sonata's gaze flits from you to Aria to you again. She pulls her lips together in a pout.
>You would never tell her, but it's actually pretty cute.
>The anger subsides from Sonata's face. Her head lowers a bit, making it kind of hard to tell how she's feeling.
>"You...you really...I really am that dumb, huh?"
>Uh-oh. She raises her head but won't meet your eyes. It's damage control time.
"Hey."
>That was louder than any of you were expecting.
>She looks at you immediately, a bit confused.
"You're not dumb. Don't say that about yourself. You just aren't...from here, you know?"
>Once again, Sonata appears unconvinced.
>"No...no, I'm just...you don't know me."
>Aria thankfully takes the reigns again.
>"Look, Sonata..."
>Sonata huffs. Aria puts a hand on her purple forehead and seems to try and strangle the words out.
>"You're not dumb, okay? You just don't wanna learn."
>A second huff. You take another stab at it.
"More like...you don't have anyone to teach you. When I was a kid, I had my parents, you know? They taught me everything - pretty much."
>Sonata lifts her head up a bit. You decide to pounce on this.
"You know? And if you had someone like that-"
>You crane your neck and gesture at Adagio and Aria.
"-then you could figure these things out in no time."
>You smile optimistically at the blue-haired girl. It seems infectious, because soon her frown is lifting. She looks into you deeply now.
>"Can you teach me?"
>Uh.
"Well...I...I mean....Don't you think your sisters...?"
>Her smile curves down slightly.
>You try and pivot out of this, but...
"...Maybe...one of them...?"
>She's giving you the ol' puppy-dog eyes. For the dumb one, she can really put you under her spell.
>You try to murmur out another defense - anything.
"Mm...well..."
>The eyes.
"Ah...okay."
>Sonata brightens up almost immediately. She shakes her balled hands into the air akin to a girl having a seizure.
>"Yay! Thanks Anon. I won't let you down, I promise."
>In a manner oddly unbefitting, Aria tries to slink away unnoticed. She's soon caught by Adagio, who glares at her until she mumbles a quiet 'sorry' somewhere in Sonata's direction and makes her exit.
>Sonata is pacified, however, and that's what counts. Adagio turns her gaze to you.
>She's almost...looking through you. Then her eyes seem to focus.
>"Don't go along with what Aria tells you, Anon. You'll live longer that way."
>The orange-haired girl departs through the kitchen and disappears into the hallway adjacent.
>You turn to Sonata, who is shaking from excitement.
>"Hey Anon! I gotta go to the little siren's room, but after that let's get started!"
>She zooms across the living room like a blue torpedo and swerves left of the front doorway and out of sight.
>You sigh and comb a hand through your hair. The follicles are greasy. It's been a couple days since you last showered, and longer since you've shampooed.
>Outside, you spot a small, dead patch of grass that occupies your attention. You're having trouble identifying it in the pale light of the back porch - and through the window, no less.
>On your right is a watch, a Casio W-70 with a slightly faded screen.
>It's 8:31.