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“You treat her like your maid by making her clean your room,” she complains. “I would treat her much better than you.”
“Mia, I don’t have time for this.”
“Right. You have no time for your own sister. Got the message loud and clear. I’m out.”
She leaves the room and slams the door behind her.
“Ugh.” Willow rubs her hands down her face. “I don’t mean to push her away. I’m just so stressed…Maybe the app isn’t even worth it.”
Lily rubs her back. “Don’t say that. Of course it’s worth it. Mia understands how hard you’ve been working, and she’s very supportive of you. After you win the competition, you’ll have all the time in the world for her.”
Willow chuckles softly. “AfterI win? You think too highly of me, Lily Hastings.”
Lily gestures to WillowBot. “Did you not build that awesome robot all on your own?”
“Well, yeah. But so did all the other kids who entered the competition.”
“But only one of them won!” Ava says as she squeezes Willow to her chest. “Our Junior Musketeer.”
Willow returns the hug. “Thanks for all your support, guys. It makes all of this much easier. I’m sorry I’ve been so caught up in my own world. It feels like all I do is eat, drink, breathe the app.”
“We get it,” I tell her with a smile. “But you’re not caught up in your own world. You just helped me discover the identity of my secret admirer.”
She laughs again as she adjusts her glasses. “True.”
“We can’t get rid of you that easily,” Liam says.
“Haha.”
There’s a knock on the door.
“Come in!” Willow calls.
Her dad, Asher Park, sticks his head inside. “Am I interrupting?”
“Of course not, Dad. Come in.”
With a grin, Asher steps into the room. “Hey, kids. Mia told me you had your Musketeers over, Willow, and I wanted to stop by and say hi.” He sits down on an empty chair and smiles at us again. “How are all of you?”
We spend some time catching him up with our lives. There’s not much to update him on my life, though, only that I am now editor-in-chief of the school newspaper.
“No kidding,” he says. “Pursuing journalism like your mom? That’s great.”
“And she’s done an incredible job so far.” Willow beams. “She’ll be the best editor-in-chief the Edenbury High Times has ever had.”
My cheeks are roasting. “I’m not that great.”
“You’ll be amazing just like your mom,” Asher tells me. “Do you know she helped clear my name when we were your age?”
“Yes!” Ava gushes. “People started rumors that you were difficult to work with and you weren’t booking jobs. That’s why you moved back in with your grandmother and attended our school. You met Charlie and fell in love.”
“I’ve heard that story a million times,” Willow mutters.
Asher chuckles. “It wasn’t easy winning over your mom, Willow. She was so stubborn.”
“So were you.”
“True, true. But in the end, true love conquered all. Eh, Lily?”
