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((Count this as an ORP if you have written at least 500 words and post at least three times.))

Antony had a clip board in his hand as he stood on the beach in a pair of blue and gold swimming trunks only. A pair of blue sunglasses were perched on his nose, as well. He was overseeing the party that his father had suddenly decided to run.

His father, on the other hand, was putting the finishing touches on the stage they had built the week before. It was pretty impressive for such a short term project, but it was still basically a sheet of wood on top of some cinderblocks. It would hold two kids Christian's size, so it would be fine. The karaoke machine they had rented was hooked up to speakers mounted on corner poles.

Tyler and Christian had helped, which was why Antony wasn't worried about the speakers blowing up mysteriously. The other family was putting together the folding tables that would hold the foodstuffs. Now, Antony thought as he checked that off the list, they would just wait for other guardians to show up and offer to help.

At Ze's house Tock had started to strip down to his loincloth, but Ze had stopped him. It seemed that loincloths weren't acceptable swimming outfits when there were young kids around. Polly, now wearing Rory's old swimsuit (it had a tail hole already!) was the only one to be left at the beach with Rory while the others went to go get swimtrunks.

Thus it was just the two girls that approached Chris as he finished putting up tables. "Chris!" Polly shouted, throwing herself at the mountain of a boy. He turned, a look of shock on his face as the little girl glomped him happily.

"Polly?" he asked, pulling back to look at her. She looked tan as could be and happy as hell, he thought. The shadows in her eyes were gone completely. "Polly!"

"You're humongous!!" Polly said, stuck under his chin and hugging him happily. "Almost as big as Daddy!"

"Do you like your daddy?" he asked, having sat down to hug her. She was so tiny, he thought, even tinier than he remembered her to be. Of course he was twice as big, now.

"Yeah!" she said, grinning up at him widely.

"So Chris," Antony said, walking over to the three. "You were going to help run the karaoke stage, right?" He looked at Polly, having no idea who she was. "Rory? Are you going to help him?"

"Polly is, too," Chris announced, not about to let the little redhead go now that he finally got to see her.

"It's at that stage over there," Antony said, pointing at the stage to the left. "The machine's already set up, and connected to the generator, so you can start any time you want. And your friend is...?"

"Her name's Polly," Chris said as the little girl turned in his arms, grinning evilly at Antony. "She used to go to school with us."

"You look like a girl," Polly said, pointing at Antony with that wide grin of hers. "Are you a girl?"

"She's charming," Antony drawled. "Where's her guardian?"

"Thank you so much for defending my masculinity, Rory," Antony said, dryly. "Now why don't the three of you go on and do your job. Chris can start it off. That should bring people to you. And your guardians can help you out."

"She's right though," Chris said quietly. "You do look like a girl."

Antony just stared drolly at him. "And you look like Hellboy, but you don't see me mentioning that, now do you?"

"Hellboy?" Chris repeated, breaking into a wide grin that showed off his fangs. "I like that!"

"Just get going already!" Antony said, rolling his eyes.

Actually, Antony rather wanted to hear Chris sing as well. The band he had seen posters for was mainly hinging on Chris's singing voice, after all. If the kid could sing, it might not be as bad an idea as it seemed.

"I want to hear you sing, too!" Polly said, squirming out of his arms and heading for the stage. "And Daddy will too when he gets back!"

Rebecca was no social butterfly, at least not anymore. But she had felt a little uninvolved with her children of late. She was learning how to be a parent from experience...and this was going to be something different. Offering to help with a party? It didn't seem like anything she'd be helpful at. But, since it seemed there needed to be someone covering the food, she offered to do so. That, at least, she could manage.

She walked briskly along the sand bare-foot, her feet sliding and balancing as it shifted beneath her. Jamie had run forward, excited as he looked out at the ocean, his little robot tumbling off his shoulder into the sand.

"Opps! Sorry RICEE," he laughed, picking up the struggling, whirring creature as its joints crackled a little with sand.

"I'm surprised that thing hasn't broken yet," murmured Alisa dully, as he kept walking steadily along with her guitar, looking rather disinterested in their surroundings.

Jamie looked around, excited already, even though not everything was set up. Which, of course, reminded him that they were here to help. So he ran over to Antony, who looked very offical with his clip-board and all, managing to get sand in his shoes in the process. Oh well, just meant he could take them off sooner.

"Where's the grill?" He asked with a pleasant smile, ignoring RICEE as he wriggled in his hands.

"And the food," Becca reminded him as she came over after a moment. She might not have run, but she hadn't been tripping over herself like Jamie. Not that he had minded; he was young and enjoying the newness of the beach and all. Even Becca began to relax a little. The sea air had that kind of effect.