Kennedy rolled her eyes and fished her phone out of the pocket of her ever-fading blue jeans. Her mother’s attempts at wrangling the family for a picnic were, as normal, disastrous. It would take at least another thirty minutes for Mom to convince Jed to bring only one book — what a nerd. Then there was the lack of clothes Teddy was wearing, and Leo was still looking for his swim trunks.

She blocked it all out and scrolled through TikTok. Lost in a world of picture-perfect photographs, she ignored the squeals as her three-year-old brother darted past her, still in his underpants, something dangling from his hand.

“Teddy, do not take that frog into the house!” Mom said, chasing him. 

His laughter muffled whatever false threat she offered. A shadow darkened Kennedy’s screen. There was no need to look up, not when she could see Jed’s reflection on the screen.

“What?”

“I can’t decide between Dogman and Humphrey?”

She sighed and held out her hand. “Give me one and I’ll put it in my bag, okay?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but go get Leo’s trunks out of the dryer.”

He ran inside as Teddy, squealing with glee, came dashing out. Kennedy grabbed the back of his overalls. Clearly, Mom had been semi-successful. By the time she buckled him in the car, Leo and Jed were racing her way, Dad trailing behind trying to balance a watermelon atop the cooler. Mom was the last to join them.

“Took you long enough,” Dad said.

Word: photograph | Action: fading