Lyra listened with a growing frown on her face as the boy - Sif - explained that his father made he dress the way he was dressed so he would [i]pick up girls[/i]. "Whatever!" she said, rolling her eyes before turning away. Sif didn't matter; since Lyra no longer had a reason to stay at school, her only choice was to hurry back home. If she was late, she'd be grounded for forever, club or not. 

Gloomy clouds filled the sky as she walked briskly along the pavement, veering past chatting students and ignoring some jerk who whistled at her as she passed. His type had always pissed her off - he was exactly the sort of boy her parents were afraid of. If it weren't for people like him, she might actually be allowed a little freedom even without resorting to deceiving her parents with permission slips to join clubs she had no interest in attending. She hoped he tripped and broke his nose on his way home!

By the time she turned the corner onto the street she lived on, Abby had already come up with four other clubs she could try to join the next day. Immersed in her thoughts, she walked straight into her big brother, Jason.

"Watch it, kiddo," he said with an easy smile as he grabbed her by the arms, preventing a collision. "If I hadn't been keeping my eyes open, you might have tripped over my spare." He gestured toward the driveway, where a tire rested parallel to the pavement. Jason had been obsessed with his car ever since he got one for his 17th birthday. Lyra's other brothers had received vehicles of their own on their birthdays, but Lyra would never have any such luck - her parents didn't trust her to take care of herself. 

"Just go away," she said sullenly, pushing past Jason and entering the house. Living with these people was gonna drive her insane!