Hey, there! First of all, let me introduce myself. The name's Mike. Mike Orange, and I am a 19 year old college student, born and raised here in Amsterdam. I like to think of myself as a social butterfly, since I like being around people, making new friends, and just smile. Smile. Smiling is as important to me as air and water. Growing up, my parents thought me to always smile, even when life knocks you down. That's always been my approach to life ever since. Now, here's the funny thing about me: I'm Senegalese-American-Dutch-Indonesian in heritage. Yup, that's right. Let that sink in. Now, you might be thinking, 'What, the- how's that even possible?!' Well, it's simple, actually. My dad, whose name is Mack, is a first generation Senegalese-American from Algona, Washington, while my mom, Jackie, is a third generation Dutch-Indonesian who, like me, is born and raised in Amsterdam (well, actually she was born 2 cities away). Alright, now that that's out of the way, we can continue with the story.

I happily walk out of the airport's plaza and towards the parking lot (where a friend of mine is waiting), a skip on my step as usual. It's so nice to be back home after a long trip. Oh, I bet you're wondering where I was before, right? Well, I was in Germany to pick up, uh..... a few things, have a small vacation and also to check in on a few friends there. They gave me a bag full of an assortment of sweets, chocolates and cheeses that I just love so much.

Speaking of bags, that guy, Dante, is quite the character. His reaction when I came up to him, his shy demeanor when being around people, the face he made when he's surprised. He sure is interesting. I surely hope that I get to meet him again. I would love to be his friends, since eventhough we had a... should I say, unique, encounter, we didn't really officially became friends. 'No matter. I will do my best to make him my friend the next time we meet. Daar kun je op wedden!'

Arriving at the parking lot, I look around for any signs of the person who's suppose to pick me up, or at the very least his car, but my search is interrupted when an arm suddenly wraps around my neck. I try to break free of the hold, but before I could, a fist collides with the top of my head!

.........and gives me a nuggie.

"Fuck, Danny! Laat los, idioot!" I scream-laugh as I kick around for a little while longer before he finally lets me go. I playfully punch him in the arm in response. "Ouch. Nice to see you, too." I only roll my eyes before enveloping him in a big hug, which he welcomes. After a good few minutes of being in the embrace, we let go of each other and make our way towards his car.

Oh, right. Where are my manners? I want to introduce to all of you: Danny Berg, twenty, geeky, a great violinist, and one of my best friends. We met when I was working as a waiter for his mom in her bakery back when I was in high school (we didn't went to the same school, though). Everyday, he would stop by the shop after his violin lessons, around the time I was taking breaks. At first, he was super shy and we didn't really talk or anything, but after a conversation about Gravitech, I managed to break through his walls and we became fast friends through our mutual love and admiration for the hero. Okay, okay, I'll admit that I'm a nerd, too.

Halfway through the drive, and through our favorite album, Danny starts up a conversation. "So, how was Germany?" I begin to tell him about everything I did, the people I met, and places that I went to.

"So, I was walking around downtown and then, while I was buying a kebab, I saw this middle-aged dude selling newspaper. I bought him a kebab, too and we sat down and he starts telling me about himself. He had a daughter that came out to him. Now get this, you would think that he'd be pissed, right? Well, he wasn't, but she thought he was, so the next day, she literally walked up to him with a suitcase, flipped him off and just ran away!" "The hel- Really?!" Danny looks at me in disbelief, to which I only nod my head. The two of us bursts into a fit of laughter due to the hilarious story, which causes the car to swerve left and right (thankfully there are no cars around, since we choose the section of the highway that isn't too crowded). Our chuckling session is cut abruptly, however, when a loud honk from behind caught us by surprise. In an instant, Danny's hands fly from holding his sides to grabbing the steering wheel and steadying the car, gripping it with so much force that I'm surprise that he didn't rip it off. Danny pulls the car over at the highway's shoulder, allowing the vehicle behind us to pass through. Danny tries to calm himself down by taking deep breaths, his hands not leaving the steering wheel for even a second. I, on the other hand, had a slightly different reaction.

"That.....was.....AWESOME!!"

After about 10 minutes, Danny has finally calm down and his complexion changes from pale white back to its limestone color. We continue our drive, and after about 12 minutes, my stomach rumbles, telling me that I need to eat. We pull over once again at a small West African restaurant for a late dinner.

As we step through the doors, we're greeted by a Beninese girl who escorts us to our table. The place is quite spacious on the inside, but the large number of people in here makes it a bit hard to move, but hey, at least that means that the place is nice and the food is good. The waitress leads us to a table close to the back of the room and gives us a menu. Me and Danny both took a seat across from each other and look at the menu. Oooh! They have a lot more dishes here than I expected. They have Ivorian, Ghanaian, Guinean, Burkinabe, Gambian, Malian, Togolese, Nigerian, and of course, Senegalese dishes, and they have my favorite one! Jackpot!

"Ja, ik zal de Thiébou yapp hebben, alsjeblieft." she writes down my order and turn towards Danny, who orders a plate of Attiéké. We also order two glasses of coconut water. "Oké, je bestelling is binnen ongeveer 20 minuten klaar."

The waitress walks away from our table and towards the kitchen. Me and Danny decides to continue the conversation we had at the car (you know, the one that almost made us crash) to pass the time.

"So, how's Gary and Marianne doing? Did Gary finally manage to finish that project of his?" "Yup, in fact, it is so successful, they were able to move into a bigger home! And with a nursery room for the baby!" "Well, that's great for them."

Okay, okay, I know you're wondering who is Gary and Marianne, right? Well, don't worry, you guys are gonna meet them later. All you need to know for now is that they're a friend of ours.

"So, what have you been up to while I was gone, Mr. Regional-Violin-Champion?" "Wha- how do you know that?" Danny questions, a red blush dusting his sheepish, yet confused expression. I only giggle and say, "Oh, come on, you think I wouldn't know? I have a lot of sources. I'm like that guy in movies who the protagonists go to when they want something or when they need a guy who knows a guy." "That's true." "Of course it is, and congrats, man! I'm so proud of you!"

Soon, our food arrive and we start to dig in to our delicious West African dishes. Oh My God. You guys need to give West African food a try, since I guarantee you guys would love it, and I'm not just saying that because I'm Senegalese, but it's just a fact that African cuisine is amazing, plus the options are as plenty as the number of cultures there.

After we finish our meal and chugged down our coconut water, me and Danny washed our hands in the back of the restaurant and paid the bills before getting back in our car and continuing the drive to my house.

20 minutes passed by before we finally arrived at our destination. My house. I unfasten my seatbelt and immediately engulf Danny in a big hug and thank him for driving me. "Hehe, no problem, Mike. Anytime."

I grab my backpack and hand my best friend a big gift bag filled with the chocolate, cheese and sweets that Gary and Marianne gave. "Oh, sweet! Thanks, man."

Getting out of the car, we wave goodbye before Danny drives away back to his house. I walk towards the front door, ring the doorbell and wait for someone to open, but I think it's gonna be awhile since they would probably be asleep by n-

"Oh, it's you. About time, you little shit."

Meet my big brother: Max Orange. Don't worry, you guys didn't misread it, but it's okay, it's just his way of greeting me. "Hey, Max. Nice to see you, too."

He just scowls and make his way to his room, probably going back to doing his late night Instaglam raid. I walk in and quickly head to my own room, walking down the hall and passing by my little brothers and sisters' rooms, the sounds of their light snorings telling me that they're already fast asleep.

I finally reach my room and fish the key from my bag before twisting the piece of metal, unlocking the door with a click. Opening the door, I immediately take in the warm and comforting sensation of being back in my own bedroom. "Ahhh.... it's so good to be back."

Setting my backpack down on the floor next to my dresser, I grab my favorite pyjama and a towel and walk out of the room and towards the bathroom. I spent about 10 minutes taking a shower, brushing my teeth, and going number 2 (of course, not forgetting to flush). After all is said and done, I walk out wearing an orange feety pyjama with a hood and cat ears attached to it. Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm childish, but hey, at least I look adorable, comfortable and warm.

I hang my towel on the towel rack and head for, not mine, but my parents' room. I gently twist the knob, open the door and walk in on my tiptoe so that I wouldn't wake up my baby brother, Matt. I tiptoed towards my dad and lightly shook him awake.

"W-Wa- oh, Mike? Ben jij dat?" "Mhm. Hi, dad." mom suddenly stirs awake. She rubs her eyes and sees me standing next to the bed. I brought the back of both their hands to my forehead as a sign of respect and greeting. It's a common thing to do in Asian and African households.

"What took you so long, honey?" my mom ask, grabbing the glass of water on the nightstand next to her and start to drink. I start to tell them about what happened today, making sure that my voice is not too loud so that Matty wouldn't wake up.

"Oh, alright. Well, you should get some sleep. Come here." mom moves to the middle of the bed, freeing a spot next to her big enough for me to fit. I quickly lay down on the bed and tuck my mom with the blanket, leaving me without the cover, but it's okay. All that matters is my mom being warm. Besides, it's not that cold.

"Don't you want the blanket, too, sweetie?" "Oh, it's okay, mom. I'm fine. It isn't that cold, anyway." mom only nods her head and goes back to sleep. I smile and snuggle close to her. Who needs blankets when you have someone to hug?

The Next Morning~

5 AM soon arrives and I stir awake. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and stretch my arms, a yawn escaping my lips. I hop out of bed and approach the kitchen to start making breakfast, but not before stopping by my room first to grab my earpods. Walking down the hall, I past by the others' rooms and is met by the sounds of their snorings. Good, that means I still have time before they wake up.

Arriving in the kitchen, I put my earpods on and play the album "NAKAMURA" by Aya Nakamura, aka, one of the greatest French singers EVER, plus one of the greatest R&B albums IN THE WORLD, and start preparing the food.

I fill two bowls with white rice, as well as grabbing two bananas, a small bowl of raspberries, blueberries, and an apple out of the fridge. I plug the blender and cut the bananas and apple into small slices, put them in the blender along with the berries, pour in half a cup of milk and turn on the machine. Luckily, this blender is not so loud so I wouldn't have to worry about waking up the others. After 2 and a half minutes, I turn the machine off and pour the content into a bowl for my baby brother.

Next, I grab a bottle of sweet soy sauce, hot sauce, oyster sauce, 2 teaspoons of pepper, 4 teaspoons of salt, five spice powder and mix them with the rice. After that, I grab a large pan, turn on the stove to a medium-low heat and pour in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. While waiting for the oil to heat up, I grab 5 chillies, 8 cloves of red onions, 12 cloves of garlic and finely chop them up.

When the oil starts sizzling, I begin to stir fry the onions and chili for roughly 1 minute, then add the rice and start to fry them together. As soon as the rice has absorbed all of the flavors, I turn the flame off, grab 13 plates and start to plate the food.

"Alright, food's finish, and I'm only halfway through the album." I smile at the breakfast I've prepared and know that it's only a matter of time before the smell wakes everyone up.

I decide to change Matty's diapers before he eats. I walk back to my parents' room and pick up my baby brother, who is already up and playing with the toy ambulance in his crib. He turns his attention away from his toy to me and immediately starts to make happy baby noises as he sees his big bro bro approaching him.

"Hey, Matty, you miss me? How's my little buddy doing?" I pick him up and brought him to the changing table in the bathroom. I lay him on his back and grab the box of baby wipes and a fresh diaper. I remove the dirty diaper and throw it in the trash, wipe his bottom with the sanitary wipes, and start to prepare his bath. I turn the water on as it starts filling his little bathtub. I grab Matty's favorite bath toys, as well as his baby shampoo. 10 minutes later, after a fun and soapy bath, I towel him dry, put him in a clean diaper, and take him to the dining room for breakfast.

However, when I arrive, me and Matty are met with an empty room. I tilt my head to the sides in confusion. They should be awake by now. I decide to feed Matty while waiting for the others.

I place him on his high chair and grab the bowl of fruit puree and a small spoon. I sit on the seat next to Matty's and start to scoop a spoonful of the puree. "Come on, Matty. Open up, cause here comes the airplane." After 2/3 of the food gone, the others still hasn't woken up, yet. "Well, I guess I have to wake them up, too."

I finish feeding Matty his breakfast and bring him to his crib, only to find that mom and dad aren't up, too. Why is everyone still asleep? I put Matty in his crib and grab his ear muffs, put it on him, and nudge my mom and dad awake. They soon get up and went to the bathroom.

Next up, waking up my siblings. I head to the kitchen and grab a wooden spoon and a saucepan. I bet you already know what I'm planning to do, right?

I first approach my brothers' room. The moment I open the door, the smell of farts invades my nose and making my eyes water. I'm not sure if I should laugh, faint, throw up, or all three. I brave myself and enter the stink dungeon, holding my breath as I did. I walk to the middle of the room and lift the utensils above my head and, "BANGUN!!! WOI, BANGUN SU!!! SUDAH PAGI!!! BANGUN!!!! CEPAT!!! GET UP!!!"

Everyone in the room, except for me, immediately jolt awake, screaming as they fall flat off their beds. I let out a hearty laugh in response. The first one to get up from the floor is the third youngest child, Kyle Orange, who is known as the ill-tempered, ticking timebomb of the family. "Anjrit! What the hell, dude?! Was that really necessary?! You just got back! We know! You don't have to went and tell the whole damn world! You're not Kim Kardashian, damnit!" See? I told you. "Yeah, yeah, I miss you too, Kyle."

The next one to get up is the second youngest sibling, Josh Orange, who as soon as he's on his feet, grabs me by my right arm and brought me to the floor, pinning me down with his knee as he traps my arm in an armbar hammerlock. As you can see, or read, he's the martial artist.

"Ouch! I give! I give!" I tap out. Josh breaks the hold and lifts his knees from my back. He helps me up to my feet and playfully punch my arm. "Owie. That hurts, hehe. Now go and eat, you two."

They step out of the room and I open the window to air the stink out. Oh my god, how these two sleep with this stink is beyond me!

I walk out of the room and head to the next one, the girls' room, open the door and poke my head inside to see them already stirring awake. Probably because off all the noise earlier. The wall is pretty thin, after all.

"Hey les filles. Nettoyez-vous et dirigez-vous vers la salle à manger. J'ai fait le petit déjeuner." "Oh, salut Mike. Je ne savais pas que tu étais déjà à la maison." my sister, Olivia Orange, lets out a yawn as she gets up from her bed and hugs me. She's the affectionate one.

We part ways from the hug and see the twins, Jane and Jannet Orange, who looks to be half asleep, getting up from their bed and greeting me in sign language before wrapping their arms around me, as well. That's right. They are mutes. They've been like that ever since birth. Their speech muscles weren't fully developed.

"Hey, how's my favorite twin doing? Anything exciting happened while I was away?" they nod their heads, and signed, 'Yes. Danny came by for weeks and thought us how to play the violin!' "Really? That's great! Je suis si fier de vous deux."

I observe the room and saw that the last one in the room who isn't awake is Mackenzie, who idly snores away with her pillow over her head. I tell the others to go and join their brothers and have breakfast, while I wake her up. They nod their heads and walk out of the room as I approach my sleeping little sister. I know you're all probably wondering what kind of method I'll be using to wake her up, right? Will I use the saucepan and wooden spoon again? Shake her till she wakes up? Yell at her? Well, the answer is none of them. Mackenzie here is a heavy sleeper, unlike our mom. And I mean HEAVY. I'm pretty sure an atomic bomb could drop and she wouldn't even wake up. So, instead of wasting my voice and energy getting her to open her eyes, I just carry her over my shoulders.

You might be wondering why I used Indonesian with my brothers, but French with my sisters, right? You see, unlike me, they chose between learning French or Indonesian, instead of both. But, we always just use Dutch and English in the house.

We arrive at the kitchen and I place the still sleeping girl on her chair next to Olivia and- wait, I just realize that there's two sisters missing. "Guys, where's Skye and Gucci?"

"Oh, Skye is staying the week with her girlfriend and should be back tomorrow. While Gucci is staying with Aunt Afomia." answers Josh as he spoons his rice before eating it. I sit down at my chair next to Jannet and the empty seat of the eldest sister and the second eldest sibling, Skye Orange. Skye is like a second mom to us. Don't get me wrong, I love all my siblings, but I especially love her. She's been there for all of us, always filling in mom and dad's shoes when they're not around, taking care of us, giving us advices, making sure that we're always taken care, and I've always admire her for that. We're really close.

And of course, the youngest sister is Gucci Orange. I know, right? With a name like that you just know that she's a diva, and to be fair, she is.

Now, if you guys haven't figured it out, yet, we're seating in order from oldest to youngest, with our parents being at the heads of the table. "Alright, everyone, finish your rice. I brought something special for all of you from Hamburg."

After all the food is gone, we put the plates on the sink as Kyle begins to clean them, of course not forgetting a trail of cusses along the way as he does, all in English, Dutch, and Indonesian.

Well, that's all for this chapter everyone. See you all soon!