Finals. Gods she hated them. The teachers at her school didn’t think it was enough to give them homework and daily lectures. No they had to give them essays and tests. This time it seemed they were going the essay route to save time on taking tests during classes. Some classes even had projects. Her dance lessons for instance, had assigned a project for her to come up with a dance routine. Fortunately she had a dance-crazed sister who was fairly easy to rope into her assignment. Then there was the history essay that she managed to get Lucas involved with. The rest of the essays and projects had to be done by herself. Fiori had forgotten about her assignments until the last week, despite the fact she had three months to prepare for finals. In between her own side projects, mother’s monthly kidnappings, and lazing off doing absolutely nothing productive, there was little time for thoughts about school. However bad her procrastination, she was able to carry through. Her satchel held the finished essays and projects in neat little folders so the devious little fashionista would look as though she had taken lots of time and care into her schoolwork. Fiori stretched her arms and pushed her chair back, leaving her desk. The child dressed for bed then flopped onto her massive cushioned bed and snuggled underneath the blankets. Her heart felt light with satisfaction as she began to think to herself about what she would expect for classes tomorrow.

“At least I know crafts and arts will be easy-”

Fiori’s eyes bulged open and fear gripped her heart. She pushed herself to a sitting position, gripping the sheets of her bed tightly.

“Oh no oh no oh no.”

Jumping out of bed, she ran to her satchel and opened the file that was labeled crafts and arts only to find it was empty. A sense of dread grew in her heart as she could feel her heart pounding faster. She racked her brain trying to remember what her original plan for this project was. The project was supposed to be an arts or crafts that she had to make by herself. Simple, right? No! Her teacher had been very clear that anything without thought or care wouldn’t pass. Translation: Don’t make it look like you created the project last minute. Fiori couldn’t just throw a drawing or a half-assed embroidery project together. It needed to look legit. Pacing around the room, she desperately tried to think of a solution. Then, it hit her.

A necklace! All she needed to do was put some beads on a string and then she was done. The teacher couldn’t get made at her for necklaces as long as she used something fancy. Rushing over to her bead collection, she opened it and a look of despair fell on her face once more. There weren’t enough beads to make a bracelet, let alone a necklace! Slamming the box shut, she sank onto the floor and held her head in her hands. What was she going to do? It wasn’t like she could just collect more beads in the forest or on the beach.

“The beach…” she muttered to herself.

Her head popped up and she had a devilish grin on her face. She wasn’t done in just yet! Grabbing a shawl for warmth and putting on some boots, she grabbed a bag from her massive closet.

“Wait, mom and dad would…” She thought out loud. 

She knew they would be worried if she went out late at night. But if they never found out… then what was the problem. She quickly shoved some pillows under her blanket and turned off the lights, pretending that she had gone to sleep. Pressing her hear up to her bedroom door, she listened for the sounds of people and once there was silence, she tip-toed out of her room. Fiori knew she couldn’t do this on her own. She needed to recruit one of her siblings. There was only one person with a water ability who would be kind enough and reckless enough to join her on this midnight adventure. She didn’t bother to knock and quickly opened Mira’s bedroom door. Fiori quietly shut it behind her then looked around for her big sister. 

Mira was sleeping soundly in her room, her arms and legs sprawled out and the blankets a mess. Ever since she was little she always had a lot of energy and she would move around in her sleep. Her long, dark curly hair was everywhere like messy tendrils and her orb was on the second pillow next to her. Her bedroom was full of boxes containing her precious shell collection, which now extended into a seaglass collection too. Terrariums and aquariums dotted the shelves with all sorts of small animal friends. Most of them were freshwater turtles and colorful fish she had convinced her mama and papa to let her bring back home. Every morning and night she would check on them to make sure they were fed and happy. The floor of her room was disorganized, with her school bag on the ground and her sea animal plush toys taking up space. One of them was a fish doll with a small hat and bow tie that Mira dubbed 'Señor Salmón'. On a coat hanger was the cape Simone had made for Mira when she was seven.

When her little sister snuck in, she was none the wiser. She frowned when somebody was trying to wake her up, and rolled over. But when they didn't stop, she sleepily opened her eyes and grumbled. "Mmm? What's up, hermanita?" She was used to seeing Fiori sneaking in, after all the two girls were close in age. Since they were very small, they often caused trouble together or because of each other. Mira learned that the bathtub was too small for an ocean, and that starfish weren't allowed in the sink. But today her hermanita was looking worried, so something must be wrong. Fiori told her she needed to go to the beach for shells, and that she needed them for a school project. There wasn't much time, and she really, really didn't want to get a bad grade. Sitting up, Mira put her orb in her lap and began to think. She looked at the clock in her room and then looked at the window. It was still dark, and it would start to get bright by six. That gave them…at least four to five hours to go looking for shells just to be safe.

Counting on her fingers, she then slid off the bed and gathered some things too. "Ok, let's go!" She said in a low whisper. "I can take you to the closest beach near our house, but we need to be careful. We can't let our clothes get wet or bring back any sand, or we'll get busted." The plan was to fly to the beach, then carefully avoid getting any sand on their clothes or shoes. Mira could make sure that they wouldn't get any seawater on them, then it would be up to Fiori to nab as many shells as she could. She could also use water to wash off any sand on the shells too, but first they needed to get back home without getting caught. Tying her dress so it wouldn't get caught on anything, Mira was going barefoot since she could float. "Are you ready, Fiori?" She asked, her orb hovering in the air next to her. Once they were set, she would unlatch her bedroom window so they could get going.

Fiori tip-toed into Mira's slightly messy room filled with all sorts of aquariums. If anybody was going to be able to help her now, it would be Mira with her ocean obsession. The little seven year old's face started tearing up and she rushed over to her older sister, shaking her as fast as she could. Mira woke up, looking extremely tired and asked her what was wrong. Fiori got on her knees and began to beg dramatically and as quietly as she could. 

"Sister I need help! I forgot about a school assignment tomorrow and I need shells for a necklace for that project but I can't collect them by myself." She explained in a fast hushed voice, "Can you please please please help me collect them tonight? Pleeeeeeaase."

Mira agreed and Fiori had a smile of relief on her face. The girl gave her older sister a tight hug before rushing towards Mira's closet. She grabbed a shawl for her sister and wrapped it around Mira, determined to not let her older sister get a cold. The shawl happened to be yellow so if any sand got on the clothes, they wouldn't be noticeable. Fiori then tied up her own night gown with a hair band to keep it out of the sand. Her boots would simply have to be hidden once they get back, which wouldn't be too hard. The child walked towards the window and looked up at her sister. 

"Yes." She whispered to her sister, "This is gonna be kinda fun too. We're like secret spies. Sort of." 

There was something about sneaking out at night that gave Fiori a nervous but excited feeling. Was this why parents always complained about teenagers becoming reckless? Was this feeling the cause of that? Questions aside, Fiori looked to her older sister with a confident smile. 

"Lets go." 

When they were dressed up and ready to go, Mira hugged Fiori close as she flew out the window. Her orb trailed behind, and she used it to gently nudge the window closed. They flew all the way to the nearest beach with the moons shining bright above, and it was quiet save for the rolling waves. Setting her sister down on the dry sand, Mira surveyed the spot until she found a good place for shellfish to settle in. Taking her orb into her hands, she shook it a little and it began to glow. It hovered above to illuminate the beach so they could see better in the dark. Last but not least, they needed to collect as many shells as they could in the shortest amount of time. Rising into the air, Mira moved her arms as she controlled the seawater, pushing the incoming tide away. The waters parted, revealing the shells and starfish that laid at the bottom. Unfortunately, any fish and small crabs that were swimming around were swept up in the moving tides and were probably screaming in confusion.

"Alright Fiori, the water's cleared away! When you're done with this spot, tell me so I can move the orb too." When her little sister was done combing the current sand patch, she would wait for her to back out before letting the tide roll back in. Then she would repeat the same procedure to open up a new spot. One good thing about coming to the beach at night was that there weren't any of those annoying seabirds. There were less people during the night than during the day too. It really was a shame they had to go back so soon. Mira loved the smell of the salty air and the cool sea breeze. When her siblings were on vacation from school they could all come here and play. She wanted to try making water geysers and platforms with Lucas and Ezili. Keeping an eye on the sky, Mira did her best to pay attention to the time.

As they soared above the ground, Fiori stared at the world around them. Her eyes held a mixture of fear and awe as she looked at the stars above them. Maybe Mira could fly up to the stars? Was that even possible? In a few moments, they had landed on dry sand. Fiori could barely see anything until Mira shook her orb and a glow surrounded the magical item. Now able to see, the seven year old looked at the sand in hopes of finding the shells right away. Unfortunately it seemed most of the shells were hidden among the sands and Fiori was hesitant to get her clothes in the sand. Instead, she watched her older sister part the waves. Fiori's jaw dropped as she watched the powerful tides part at Mira's simple commands. A small part of the seven year old was a bit envious. Mira's magical abilities were always impressive. 

Fiori shook her head, shoving those thoughts away. Her older sister was being gracious enough to wake up in the middle of the night. Rushing forwards, Fiori began to pick up the uncovered shells from the wet sandy ground and from the waters that had been parted. The ocean was cool and a beautiful thing to behold. The girl worked fast, trying to snatch as many as possible, using her shawl as a bag for the shells. Her eyes spotted a crab floating helplessly and she snatched it up, tearing the crab from its home and placing it back in the ocean. 

"Sorry Mr. Crab but you'll find a better home I'm sure." Fiori said selfishly. 

Her conscience began screaming at her for doing such a cruel thing, so she took the shell out and threw it back at the crab. From then one she only grabbed the shells that were empty. Soon the girl had gathered many beautiful shells, enough for any pretty necklace. She secretly decided she would make one for Mira when this was all over, as she knew her sister's love for the ocean. The girl ran back to the dry part of the land, away from where the ocean was parted. 

"Ready Mira!" She said with a smile. 

The only problem now was how to get back home without getting caught. Fiori did her best trying to keep the sand off her nightgown. The shawl she used for a bag was wet and her boots had a moderate amount of wet sand clinging to them. Walking over to a rock, the girl tried to scrape off some of the sand. A portion of the sand was gone. She would have to hide the boots when they got back. 

"Ok, let's go home!" Mira said with a beaming smile. Watching Fiori collect shells was fun; too bad they had to get them all in a hurry though. The sky was still dark so at least they could sneak in before everyone else woke up. Now they had to get rid of some sand before they went back. Mira used some seawater to wash her feet and was glad she decided to come barefoot. She'd have to dive into the bathtub in the morning to get rid of any hidden grains stuck between her toes. As long as nobody found out about the sandy clothes and boots, they could secretly wash them off later. With a big haul of shells in tow, Mira stopped her orb from glowing and picked up her little sister again for the trip back. It was a little more difficult with all the shells Fiori brought, but they finally made it to Mira's bedroom window. Her hands were full, so she used her orb to float over and push the window open. When they were inside at last, Mira flopped on the ground in relief. "Whew….Alright hermanita, the rest is up to you now." It was still dark out but she noticed the moons were in a different position. "Hurry!" She whispered as she opened the door to let Fiori return to her room. Closing her window, she quickly spread out her stuffed animals to hide any sand that might've fallen on the floor and dived into her bed. Stretching her arms with a yawn, she hugged her orb and fell asleep. It was a good thing she sometimes overslept or the maids would get suspicious. "Goodnight Mister Turtles…I will feed you in the morning…" 

The two girls made their way home, sneaking back into the house as quietly as they could with more than enough shells. When they made it to Mira's bedroom, Fiori gave her older sister a hug before going back go her own room. Her boots were off the moment they were inside and she was holding them carefully so nothing would fall on the floor. Once she was safe in her room, she tossed her boots under the bed and dumped the shells onto the floor next to the beads and paint she pulled out earlier. The child got a string and began tying the shells to the necklace with a mixture of glue and threads. The final result was quickly made and decent enough to get a passing grade. Fiori was just about to clean up when she noticed a particularly beautiful large shell. 

An idea popped into her head and she rushed over towards her jewelry box and opened it, revealing a chain decorated with a few pearls but it was missing the centerpiece. She had broken the necklace a few weeks back and destroyed the centerpiece. The girl kept the chain since it looked unique and she didn't want to admit that she accidentally broke it. Taking the chain to her workplace, she chose the beautiful large shell and began to paint it. The first layer was a basic but beautiful blue, the second was an iridescent blue paint that would help the whole thing look more magical. She attached pearls and sparkles and continued working on the project late into the night. Once it was finally done, she drew a quick little note on the inside of the necklace before flopping into her bed and falling fast asleep. 

In the morning she was exhausted and dreaded the school day. Her projects were all done and she was prepared but her lack of sleep led to a rather grumpy girl. Her hair was messy and bags hung under her eyes. She yawned at every moment and could only drag herself out of bed. The only time she even looked a little energetic was when she picked up the second necklace she made last night. Pleased with the results, she got herself dressed and prepared for school. Before heading out, she went to Mira's room and hung the second necklace over the doorknob as a thank you gift for last night. 

With that finished, she went off to school to take her finals and deal with her teachers. The necklace that she hung up for Mira had a beautiful blue iridescent shell as the centerpiece with pearls and glitter decorating the rest of the shell. The chain was pre-made and structurally able to hold up the shell without causing too much drain on the wearer. Inside the shell a little scribbled note was left in ink for her older sister to find. 

It read, Best Sister Ever