Page 54 of The Moment I Knew

“Sebastian,” Mum said in her calm voice, which meant she was five seconds away from snapping. “If that ball touches my waffle iron⁠—”

“It won’t!” Sebastian said, attempting a fancy spin move. The ball flew off his foot, clipped a chair, and shot straight toward the counter.

Time slowed. Mum gasped. Lavender jumped up, magazine flying. Ainsley screamed. I ducked instinctively, still holding my waffle.

The ball hit the cabinet instead, then bounced harmlessly to the floor. Everyone froze.

Sebastian grinned. “See?”

Mum stared at him. He stopped smiling.

“Paper towels,” she said, pointing. “Now. And then the ball goes outside.”

Sebastian saluted and jogged away, scooping up the ball like it was a baby. Lavender crouched to pick up her magazine, pages splayed everywhere. “This is why I can’t focus. I need calm.”

Ainsley was back to Pinterest, undeterred. “Okay, shoes,” she said. “Heels or boots?”

“Heels,” I said immediately.

Mum turned, nearly colliding with Sebastian as he re-entered, ball gone, arms full of paper towels. Batter overflowed down the waffle iron again.

“Oh, come on,” she groaned. “Why today?”

Sebastian dumped the paper towels on the counter and immediately started shadow-dribbling an invisible ball, feet tapping against the tile.

“Do you ever stop?” Lavender asked.

“No,” Sebastian said cheerfully. “It’s a gift.”

Ainsley leaned in again, phone inches from my nose. “Okay, last one. I swear. Burgundy or purple?”

I swallowed my bite. “Burgundy.”

She beamed. “I knew it.”

Mum finally sat down, pressing her fingers to her temples. The kitchen was a mess—plates stacked crookedly, batter everywhere, chairs pushed out at weird angles. Everyone was talking over everyone else. The waffle iron hissed again, demanding attention.

“Oh my—why?” she cried, spinning around. Batter had overflowed again, creeping toward the edge of the counter like it was making a break for freedom. She grabbed the spatula, scraped wildly, and accidentally flung a drop onto the floor. Sebastian stepped directly in it.

“Cool,” he said, lifting his foot and grimacing.

“That’s it,” Mum said. “Everyone out of the kitchen. I need space.”

“No,” Ainsley said automatically, still scrolling. “I need your opinion on sequins.”

She shoved the phone at me again. I leaned back in my chair to avoid it, nearly tipping over.

“I already said burgundy,” I said. “Burgundy is done. We’ve locked it in.”

“But look at the neckline,” Ainsley insisted. “Look at it.”

“I am looking,” I said, even though I wasn’t. I took another bite of waffle and immediately dropped half of it onto my plate when Sebastian jogged past again, apparently incapable of moving at a normal speed. Lavender had abandoned the table entirely and was now standing by the fridge, magazine tucked under her arm, staring into the shelves like answers might be hiding behind the milk.

Our voices overlapped as Ainsley started talking about earrings and I started arguing about shoes, both of us talking louder to be heard over the waffle iron and Mum and Sebastian and Lavender slamming the fridge door shut.

My phone buzzed on the table, vibrating dangerously close to my plate.

“Don’t you dare answer that,” Ainsley said without looking up.