Even though it was a school day, Daniel stayed in his room, recovering from the headache that had kept him awake the night before. Lily wanted to talk to him about his attempts to hack into Committee software, but Dan was lethargic and unwilling to engage. Eventually, Lily left him alone. At dinner Daniel sat with his head down, staring at the table. He usually helped with the cooking, but tonight he was listless and gloomy, as though every movement was an effort. Lily and Alice were dishing out spaghetti when their parents joined them. These days it was unusual for Pym and Megan to eat with them. Tonight Lily had been hoping for a quick meal, then bed. Last night’s dinner with Max had been hard enough to endure, without having to face her parents over another strained meal. Pym was holding three chocolate bars. They had blue wrappers with old-fashioned scrolled writing. A flush of silver stars swept across the blue like a milky way. ‘These are for you kids.’ Their father held out the chocolate.
