Chapter 1

"Tophyr! Dinner's ready!"

Tophyr Grace Hurst sighed as she finished grading the papers that were in front of her. It was a family dinner and there was no way she could miss it. Her brothers and sisters as well as her nieces and nephew were going to be there. If she missed it, her brothers would nag her about being a bookworm like they had done when she was a kid.

The bedroom door opened and her twin brother stuck his head in. His blond curls bounced heavily as he popped around the door. His blue eyes suddenly sparked as he saw her. Though they were the same age, Percival Allen Hurst, Percy for short, had a wild streak. After graduating from high school, he grabbed his sister and jetted off to Europe. They had returned and Percy had gone to college. At the age of 22, he was a sophomore at NYU and loved it.

"Hey, Mama's having a conniption. She said if you're not down in two minutes, she's going to come up here and break down the door. Personally, I don't want our bedroom door knocked down because I'm going to be the one to fix it."

"Percy, I love you, but shut up," she replied as she looked at the paper she was currently grading.

Percy, not being one to back down easily, ventured over to look over her shoulder at the papers. He scrunched his brow up as he looked at them. "What is this?"

"It's a creative writing essay. Dr. Thompsen wants the students to learn how to think outside the box by writing a story that comes to mind. Then he's going to send them out to get the scoop."

"Looks like a bunch of crap."

"That's because you know nothing of writing which is why you're a history major."

"Hey, history is a good subject. You're just mad because you had to go to college earlier than I did."

Tophyr sighed as she turned around. Percy stepped back because he knew what the sucked in cheeks meant. Tophyr had gone through many bad things when they were kids. She was excessively smart and that put many of her friends in school in a difficult position. She was tested and when her I.Q. proved to be ten times that of the valedictorian, she was able to graduate early. At the age of sixteen, she was a freshman at NYU while her older sister Lily was a senior. They carpooled together, which was a big help to their mother. Tophyr double majored in philosophy and journalism and graduated with honors. Now she was going back for her masters in journalism.

Percy sighed again as he rubbed his blond curls. If there was one thing they had

in common it was their features. Both were blond and blue eyed, their entire family was except their dad. He was a brunette. Percy was the only one with thick springy curls. Tophyr's curls were loose and wavy. She was even so bold to put blue dye on the underside of her hair to make it look different than her sisters.

"Tophyr Grace! Percy Allen! Get down here!"

Both winced as their mother called them by first and middle names. It was rare that happened but they both knew what they had to do. Tophyr abandoned her pen and papers to follow her brother out the door and down the stairs into the kitchen.

Around the table was their entire family. Their father sat at the head of the table. Alain, their oldest brother, and his wife Mia sat with Alonso between them. Britani and Jason finished on the other side. Their two year-old-twins were at Jason's parents for the night because they hadn't seen them in forever. Their mother sat at the other end of the table. Beside her were Lily and her husband Everett. Their German Shepards, Lilo and Stitch, lay at their feet under the table. On the other side of Everett were Alex and his girlfriend Kathleen. These two were the ones who fought the entire time. The last two seats were for them.

"Hi, Dad," she said as she sat on the right hand side of her father.

Jim Hurst smiled happily at his youngest child. He was a lawyer at one of the city's most prestigious firms while his wife was a doctor at an impeccable hospital. They were the reverse of the famous Huxtables of the Cosby Show, plus there was one more child.

"Tophyr, how was your class today?" he asked as he placed his napkin in his lap and picked up his fork.

"It was…interesting. One of the students decided to explain libel and slander wrong. I was trying not to laugh as Dr. Thompsen's face turned a bright red before he calmed down and then proceeded to explain it correctly. To the student who got it wrong, he commanded a one and a half page explaining it correctly," she said happily.

Mr. Hurst nodded his head as he forked some of his wife's roast in his mouth. After chewing and swallowing, he glanced up. "How is your dissertation coming?"

"Well. I am trying to bring the thin line of libel and slander into focus and prove that libel and slander can be one in the same."

"Not an easy thing to prove, love, but I am certain you can do it. When is the final product due?"

"November 11th and then I find out if I get my masters a few weeks later."

"I have faith that you will get your masters. Just be patient and work hard."

"Tophyr, would you like some vegetables?" Mrs. Hurst asked. Tophyr cast her

blue eyes in her mother's direction with her eyebrows raised. "You need to eat your vegetables, Toph."

"Since when have I ever eaten my vegetables, Mom?" she asked.

"She's right about that, Mom. You never could force her to eat her vegetables, even when she was a kid," Alain said as he helped Mia feed Alonso.

"Remember the time Mom made pureed peas for Tophyr and Percy and they ended up with oranges faces?" Britani asked.

"It took weeks to get the green stain out of those cushions," Lily added.

"But Mom never gave them peas again."

"After that she let me handle them," Alex said.

"And look how that ended up. Percy went out and about in Europe, dragging Tophyr along as he always does. Now he's finally in school," Alain responded.

"Alain Jackson, that is enough," Mrs. Hurst scolded her eldest child. She was in the mood for using middle names tonight. "You all know that Tophyr has a higher I.Q. than all of us. It was only right for her to be able to do as she wished."

Tophyr lowered her eyes. She was always so outspoken when with her friends but with her family she was the most talked about person and there was nothing she could say to stop it.

"My dear, all talk of Tophyr should cease at once. She is perfect the way she is and you would be wise to drop the entire spiel about her," Mr. Hurst said. He only ever called any of the ladies in his family 'my dear' when he was aggravated at them.

Mrs. Hurst looked at her husband then shifted her gaze to her youngest child. "I'm sorry, Toph. I was only saying to your brother…"

"Lucille."

Britanni took the sudden lull in conversation to bring up something very important to all of them. "Mom, did you hear? David Stark and his family have moved into the penthouse of the Plaza hotel. His oldest son is marrying Caroline Rochester in a few weeks and his youngest is enrolled at NYU this semester."

"Mom, are you going to add Mrs. Stark to your list of persons to invite to this season's book club?" Lily asked. All the girls, except Tophyr were involved in the book club set up by their mother or mother-in-law. Every now and then the boys would join if it was a decent book or a classic.

Mrs. Hurst looked about her two eager daughters and daughter-in-law. "Oh, alright. I will call Mrs. Stark when she is settled."

The rest of the night was spent talking of some of the books that would be allowed into the club this season. Tophyr and Percy sat and talked but it wasn't the same as talking with their friends.

Mr. Hurst watched his youngest two with severe thought. They had always been the ones to seclude themselves from the rest of the family. Ever since they had gone off to Europe they had been even more secluded. Something was going on, or would go on and there was nothing they could do.

He lifted his gaze to meet his wife's. She tilted her head in question but he shook his. He would not divulge what he thought was going on until he had more information.