Meanwhile, Estelle was creating a half-crown braid for Christina, who had requested it. She looked at Yvonne and came up with a solution. After a moment, she said patiently, “Yvonne, you don’t need to wear both pairs. How about one strawberry hair clip on one side and one bunny hair clip on the other?”

Yohan required less preparation before going out, so he checked their school bags after getting dressed. He made sure his sisters’ water bottles were secure and put some candies in the ...