What Happens Next?

Chocolate-Not-Birthday-Cake

                    ~someone, sometime, somewhere~

She picked up today's newspaper. "It's their birthday next week. The triplets."

There was a short silence. There tended to be lots of silence.

"How old will they be this year?" her friend asked, although he knew the answer.

"Thirty-nine."

~1997~

Klaus's POV:

It was the start of the last week of school and I woke up later than normal. I noticed the dorm was quieter than I was used to and I shot out of bed, worried we would all be late. Quigley and Duncan were both still asleep. I wasn't surprised that Quigley wasn't awake yet but Duncan was usually the first one up. I got dressed and found Fiona in the kitchen, eating orange slices.

"Everyone else is still in bed," she said.

"Yeah, what's up with that?"

"Not sure."

We knew something was really wrong when even Violet woke up before the triplets. Fiona and I were sitting in the living room making conversation when my sister walked in, dressed and ready for the day.

"We need to leave in fifteen minutes and Isadora is still in bed! We're going to be late! And where are Duncan and Quigley?"

"Asleep," I told her, "but we probably should wake them."

Violet went back into the girl's room while Fiona and I tried to get Duncan and Quigley up.

Quigley coughed. "I'm sick."

"Me too," Duncan whined, "we should stay home today."

"Well, do you need anything?" Fiona asked, "Some orange juice might help. Or we could pick up some medicine from the store after school. Or we could stop by the nurses office and-"

Quigley cut her off. "No, no, no. Don't worry, we'll be fine."

"You're sure?" I asked.

"Mhm." Quigley laid back down and I was sure Duncan was already falling back asleep.

"Isadora is sick," Violet said, standing in the doorway.

We all walked into the hallway, closing the door behind us. "They're all sick, apparently," I said.

*******************************************

We talked about the triplets as we waited for first period to start.

"What do you think it is?" Violet asked, "The flu?"

"Maybe. But flu season is pretty much over," I pointed out.

"It could just be a cold then."

"Do twins and triplets normally get sick at the same time?" Fiona asked.

"I don't think so."

"Could be a coincidence," I shrugged.

Then our teacher walked in.

"Good morning, Everyone!" She looked over some papers on her clipboard before saying, "Oh! It appears we have a birthday today!" She turned to us and her smile fell, "Where are the Quagmire triplets?"

"They're sick today," my sister responded.

"Oh, what a shame! Well you'll have to wish them a happy birthday on all of our behalf!" Then she began writing today's lesson on the blackboard.

Fiona, Violet, and I shared a look of confusion.

*******************************************

"It's their birthday?" I asked at lunch.