A TV School (Auditions)

This story starts here.

Saturday was crazy. Two hundred children had been notified to come the this audition. Penny felt uncomfortable in the clothes her mother had chosen. If she'd kept her mouth shut about Childrise being Sonrise they might not be here, but here they were. All the children were sorted by age and photographed. Ms. Michelle made a special effort to get group shots of siblings.
To Penny's surprise the audition process was fun. First, they put you in front of the camera and recorded your answers to interesting questions. Then they put you in groups with the other kids and filmed while you worked together to solve problems. Periodically, children would be reorganized and some children would be sent to wait with their parents. Penny and Quade were the first Thistles sent to wait. Dolores came next. She put her head in Helia's lap and went to sleep. Penny leaned against Alistaire wishing she were young enough to follow Dolores' example. Finally all the children returned to the large auditorium and Ms. Michelle's assistants passed out sealed envelopes. Ms. Michelle congratulated all the children and told them they were all stars. She reminded that that lots of other kids hadn't even been invited to audition. Then everyone was dismissed.
Alistaire collected everyone's envelopes unopened. When the children protested, he announced that he would not open them until they were all at home. The atmosphere in the car on the way home was tense. The children's emotions swung from exhileration to disappointment, and everyone kept asking about the envelopes.
The children packed themselves onto the couch. It felt good to be close together while they awaited the verdict. Alistaire and Helia went into their bedroom to open the envelopes. Demetra reached for Penny's hand. Penny reached for Niko's. Dolores and Quade grabbed each other. Everyone was very quiet.
"You're all in." Helia said, finally emerging from the bedroom. The couch erupted with cheers.
"I knew we'd get in!" Niko shouted.
Penny smiled and gave him a high five. "It was kind of fun" she said.
"Ha! I told you so, this going to be the best year ever!"
There was a knock at the door. Hera had heard the commotion and brought up a cake. The cake was decorated with five director's chair with each child's namely carefully displayed on the back.
"Mother, what would you have done with all this if the children hadn't been accepted?" Helia asked.
"Reject my grandbabies? They would have to be crazy!"
Alistaire put his arms around both women. "You're right, Hera. They would have to be crazy."