Magical Mastersons

  Narrated by Apollo Masterson One thing I'd always loved as a kid was exercise. I'd been intrigued by my parents' treadmill and exercise machine, but Mum had told me that I was too young to use them. Now, though, I was old enough to have a go. Squeezing the giant pads together was hard, and I knew I'd be feeling sore later.  Homework, however, was a lot less fun. But Mum and Dad had always emphasised how important it was to work hard at school, so I knew I had to get on with it. So, with Coco snoring on her back nearby, I sat down at my desk to get going.   On Tuesday evening, Erytheia and Xanthe threw a casual dinner party for some friends. Whilst Xanthe made a salad upstairs in the kitchen, Erytheia greeted everyone as they arrived. I got the "party" bit started by dancing along to the stereo.  Erytheia had made a meal of pan-fried tilapia, which we all enjoyed. Once Dad had come home from work, he came to join us in the kitchen.  "How is school going?...

  Narrated by Xanthe Masterson Both Erytheia and I were creative souls, but where she was more into music (like Dad), I was more into painting. As a birthday treat to myself, I purchased an easel and positioned it in front of the window. Not only was it a great source of natural light, it also gave me a great view of the city and a peek into the garden below.  As I stood in front of the blank canvas, deciding what to paint first, I felt suspiciously itchy. Looking down at my legs, I was shocked to notice a splotchy rash all over them... as well as the same thing on my arms! Creativity could wait, I needed to do something to get rid of the rash. I grabbed some medicine and gulped it down... it tasted gross, but I felt a lot better. Downstairs in the living room, I suggested to Erytheia that we went out to grab some bubble tea. "I hear it's really good. Why don't we go over to ThrifTea?" "OK, yeah, good idea. I wonder what flavours they have?" "Well, Evie...

Third-person  Autumn had arrived, and on the Tuesday was Spooky Day. The family duly dressed up and threw a party. Xanthe, under supervision, decided to carve a pumpkin. She was a creative girl, and was excited to carve a funny face. Although the outer skin was very tough, she had a lot of fun, especially since it was a lot messier than she'd anticipated.  A couple of days later, Xanthe woke up one morning and decided to head to the living room for a quick morning dance, which was always a fun way to start the day. To her surprise, she saw a giant red bear by the stereo! "Um... hello?" she asked. "Hello, Xanthe," came a muffled voice which sounded very much like her father's. "Oh, Dad," she said, feeling relieved. "What on Earth are you doing?" "Apollo was in a bit of a Bear phase, like you had when we were in Selvadorada," he explained. "I thought it'd be fun to join him." "Oh right," she grinned. "...