In the hours preceding her after-school pick-up arrangement, Sarah found herself standing on the doorstep of long-time neighbor and best friend, Hafsah Habeeb. On days that she didn’t work at the Gold Coast Hospital, Sarah had Amir’s Autism therapist/tutor hold sessions at home, and usually afterward, both Sarah and Amir felt drained and (in Sarah’s [...]

Aisha and Mena stepped out of the weathered white Toyota Camri and stood on the kerb, their schoolbags resting dejectedly on their shoulders. “Right,” said Sarah leaning out of her car window, “You girls have a great day and I’ll see you after tennis practice.” “Thank you very much for the ride, Aunt Sarah,” said [...]

Walking along Megalong Street and heading toward Leura Mall, Sarah Penrose looked like any other mother walking her two teenage daughters around on a warm and sunny Saturday morning. Except that for Sarah, the blond ‘teen queens’ beside her weren’t her daughters, and the whole fuzzy ‘motherly’ feeling was beginning to wane, as all the [...]

It all lasted for a second-no more; the shock, the freeze and the hesitation. Then time ticked and everything became fluid again. Mariah was standing up and shaking hands with the newcomer, Sophie was clearing her throat and attempting to do the same, while Lex felt like a total ignoramus for unnecessarily kicking her emotions [...]

Aisha Ahmed morosely watched her brother noisily slam cars into one another, on the ground before her. Complementing the racket was her mother’s irritating tirade on “Alexandra is this,” or “Sophie is that,” to Amina, who Aisha was wishing would put her foot down and shut her mother up. “ Couldn’t you get the little [...]

“Ok, does my head look too big in this?” Sarah Penrose swung around in the doorway and tilted her head from side to side so that her daughter could form an opinion on her latest scarf. Aisha rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, from where she was standing by the window. “C’mon mum!” she [...]

Sophie and Lex Cameron first learn that they have a living aunt who will probably take care of them and they dont have to shuffle from foster home to foster home any more. thrilled though they are at first, things are not what they expect…