As I pulled a long brown hair out of the cookie dough I was making, I checked over my shoulder to see if anyone saw me fish out my lost strand. No one else was in the kitchen. Crisis averted.

If the triplets would have caught me doing something so unsanitary, they probably would have killed me. But while I typically made my cookies for them, I was making this batch at the ungodly hour of six in the morning for the Swedish foreign exchange student moving in, who also happened to be my older brother's best friend. Matt and Viktor met at a hockey camp in Minneapolis, and after maintaining their friendship almost nine years with Skype and texting, my mother got the brilliant idea of having him live with us. Because five kids just weren't enough.

Of course, Dad just went along with it. He always supported Mom's crazy ideas.

"Amanda, are the cookies in the oven yet?" Mom asked me from the living room. Although there were several walls separating us, I could envision her kneeling on the couch, watching over the back of it for Dad's car. He and Matt were waiting at the airport for Viktor's arrival, and they certainly wouldn't be back for at least another hour, but a long wait never deterred my mother.

"Not yet. Just give me five minutes." I scooped the dough onto the cookie sheet, but it felt stickier than usual. I ignored it and kept scooping. Mom would get upset otherwise, and I was not going to be the one to bring her down from her state of excitement.

"Hi, Matt! What's up?" Natalie, the oldest of the seven-year-old triplets, said loudly as she walked down the stairs with two other pairs of feet following.

"Go back to bed. He's not here," I said, turning to see the triplets FaceTiming our brother on my phone. "Hey! Give that to me!"

"We're still waiting on Viktor. He said his flight got delayed for a little bit, but he's probably flying by now. What are you guys doing?" I heard Matt ask as Natalie lead the triplets just out of my reach, so I couldn't take my phone back, but close enough that I could hear their conversation with our brother.

"Well, we're waiting for you guys. I think Amanda's making cookies," Leah, the youngest triplet, replied. Melissa, the middle one, almost never spoke on the phone.

"It's my turn to talk on the phone, not yours!" Natalie cried, pushing Leah away from the screen. Leah let out a huff, then glared at Natalie.

"Hey, stop it. Why don't you ask Amanda what kind of cookies she's making?" Matt suggested.

I didn't wait for them to ask before responding, "Snickerdoodles."

I looked at the phone, and Matt nodded. "Sounds great."

"So are you excited? About Viktor?" Leah asked, taking another shot at camera time. Natalie shoved her away again, so Leah pushed her back.

"Careful with my phone," I warned them.

"I can't wait for you guys to meet him. He's the only person who's stuck with me over the years. He's pretty nice and friendly, maybe a little too much if you ask me," Matt replied to the triplets.

I bit down on the inside of my cheek and took in a breath. My phone would definitely end up broken, but how long would it take? I mentally bet twenty minutes.

Melissa sat down right beside me at the kitchen table in the seat meant for Viktor. Since Mom got it from the dining room, its elegant design was different from the regular chairs. I hated the way it stood out.

"How can you be too friendly and nice?" Natalie asked with a giggle.

Matt laughed too. "Oh, for Viktor, it's easy. He almost got himself beat up at hockey camp for it."

"What'd he do?" Leah asked, earning another shove from Nat.

I looked at Melissa. She shrugged and shook her head, so I gestured for her to extend her hand. When she did, I plopped a spoonful of cookie dough into it, then put my finger to my lips. She nodded with a smile.

"Well, there was one kid, Lukas Hynes, I think his name was, who absolutely hated sports," Matt said. "His mom signed him up for the hockey camp, and he hated everyone that tried to help him feel a little less miserable. So what did Viktor do? After the last drill of the third day, he went up to Lukas and asked if he could help him, by being a friend or even just helping him learn the drills better. Lukas told him to leave him alone, but Viktor was too stubborn and kept pressing. So Lukas threw off his gloves and punched Viktor right in the nose. It's still kinda crooked today, if you look at it close enough."

Nat and Leah laughed.

"What happened to Lukas?" Natalie asked.

"Who knows? He never came back to the camp, and no one's heard from him since. Probably 'cause no one even liked him," Matt replied.

"Lukas wasn't a bad kid," Mom jumped in, even leaving the window to join us in the kitchen. "He just could never communicate how he felt. But that's not his fault. His mom was always the pushy type, and she should have just accepted her son for the hockey failure he was."

"Well, that's just hilarious coming from you, the woman who forced me to do Girl Scouts for five years," I said. Mom ignored my comment. So satisfying.

I plopped the last cookie on the tray, then put both trays into the oven. I still had enough dough for another half dozen cookies, but eating it seemed like a more appealing option. I grabbed a spoon and tasted my creation. Cinnamon was my favorite, and the slightly spiced dough was only tainted by the terrible stickiness. 7/10.

"I'm getting another call. I gotta go. Bye, girls," Matt said, then ended the call before Natalie and Leah could say goodbye.

"Stop interrupting my FaceTimes!" Natalie yelled at Leah.

"It's Amanda's phone, so they're not your FaceTimes, you doofbutt!" Leah shouted back, and I covered my mouth to keep myself from laughing.

"Girls, we will not be using the word doofbutt in this house," Mom admonished. Normally their made-up curse words were acceptable, but because Viktor was coming, the girls had to be on their best behavior. The probability of that happening was about 3%.

"Sorry," Leah muttered an apology she didn't mean.

"Are you eating the dough?" Mom asked when she realized what I was doing. "That's supposed to be for Viktor."

"Sorry," I muttered, also not meaning it.

"We'll be lucky if he survives a week in this house." Mom sighed.

"I can't wait for him to get here. I bet he's super tall and good at sports," Natalie said, clapping her hands together.

"Not all boys are good at sports," Melissa pointed out.

"And he probably is popular and has lots of friends back in Switzerland," Leah added.

"Sweden," Melissa corrected.

"Shut up!" Leah and Natalie cried together, then glared at each other, probably for stealing the other's idea. The two of them could be irrational in their struggle for independence at times.

"Well, he'll be here soon enough, so try not to expect too much from him. He's just another person that you're going to have to live with," I said, scooping the last bit of dough out of the bowl and into my mouth.

"Aren't you just a hopeful ray of sunshine this morning?" Mom laughed, her eyes shining.

"No more than usual," I replied, then put the bowl in the sink. For once, there were no other dishes in it. It was almost unsettling.

My phone began to buzz, and Natalie and Leah both lunged for it, but Leah was barely quicker. I sighed. Absolutely zero respect for my privacy.

"Hello!" Leah said cheerfully as Natalie sulked. "Canceled? So we cleaned the house for nothing?"

"Canceled? Viktor's flight was canceled?" I asked. Leah put her finger to her lips to shush me.

Well, then we'd just have to carry on with our lives like normal. How unfortunate.

"So what are we going to do? Do you want to talk to Mom? Okay," Leah said, then handed the phone to her.

"What's going on?" Mom asked. I couldn't tell if she was more irritated that her perfect plan was possibly falling apart, or excited that it would be a bit more of an adventure than she originally planned.

"There was something wrong with Viktor's plane, so they had to reschedule the flight from Chicago to here until later," Leah explained to Melissa, Natalie, and me.

"He's stranded?" Natalie gasped. "That's so scary! What if someone tries to kill him? And then kidnap him? And then sell his organs on the black market?"

"You need to stop watching so much TV," Melissa said.

"Plus, they'd probably kidnap someone before you kill them," I added. "Wait, what kind of shows are you watching? That sounds pretty good."

"Okay. I'll let the girls know. See you soon. Bye," Mom said, then hung up the phone. "Get dressed, because we're going on a rescue mission!"

Each of the triplets wore a different expression: Natalie's eyes grew twice as large, Melissa's expression didn't change, and Leah had a smug smile on her face, as if she had predicted this a year ago. But that couldn't possibly be the case since Mom only first asked Viktor to move here five months ago.

"Go get dressed, you three," Mom said, and the triplets scampered upstairs to their room, then she turned to me. "Well, we can't just leave him. And besides, it'll be a fun little road trip for the family. Don't you want to finally meet him?"

"I mean, I guess, but can't I just stay here?" I replied.

"Amanda, come on. This will be fun. It's just six hours there and six hours back."

"I don't see why I have to go, though. I'll meet him when he gets here."

"This isn't about Viktor right now. It's about family. Next summer, Matt's heading off to college, and the summer after that, you will too. We just don't have much time left together." She sighed, and her eyes became glassy.

"Mom," I said softly. She almost never cried, and I never saw it when she did.

"Plus, he's European. You gotta claim him right away."

"Mom!" I smiled. She was back.

Mom laughed. "Kidding, kidding. You better not try anything with that boy."

I certainly didn't plan on it, but I nodded anyway. "What's the deal with the plane anyway?"

"Well, I guess something broke, and they can't get another plane there until tomorrow. I can't stand to leave the sweet kid stranded in Chicago. He might get shot."

"That'd be a nice American welcome," I said.

Mom smiled. "Go get dressed."

"But I like my pajamas," I replied. They were soft and cool, which at this point in the summer, was invaluable. Even here in Minnesota, the summers could get pretty warm.

"Go," Mom said, pointing upstairs.

I listened and made my way to my room. It was my second favorite room in the house, right after the basement, because I could lock myself away from the rest of the world and focus on whatever my mind was obsessing over at the time. I could dedicate myself to my ideas, my theories, my hobbies without interruption. And while my room was messy, it was the only place I could concentrate, whether it be on my schoolwork, my favorite books, or whatever Netflix series I was watching. As for the basement, it had an air hockey table. There was just no beating that.

Already-worn clothes littered the floor, as well as crumpled up wads of paper, but I paid them no mind as I changed into a pair of ripped jeans and whatever shirt looked the least wrinkled.

I tore a brush through the knots in my hair and put on my glasses, not even bothering to check my reflection in the mirror before I went back downstairs, where my brother and Dad had just arrived.

"Look who finally got dressed," Matt said as if he hadn't just gotten back from the airport without his only friend.

"Shut up," I replied.

"Let's go, guys. Viktor's waiting. The poor kid's gonna be stuck in Chicago for six hours," Dad interrupted.

"But how are we supposed to fit everyone into your van? There's only enough seating for seven," I said. It was my first real argument of why I should have stayed behind, since there was no way we could fit my parents, two teenaged boys, three little girls and me into seven seats.

"Easy. We tie you to the roof," Dad replied.

I bit down on the inside of my cheek. "Funny. But that doesn't answer my question."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Just get in the car," Mom said.

Less than ten minutes later, we were on the road to Chicago. And that was all the time the triplets needed to get on my nerves.

"Ninety-four boxes of juice on the wall, ninety-four boxes of juice! Take one down, pass it around, ninety-three boxes of juice on the wall. Ninety-three boxes of juice on the wall, ninety-three boxes of juice..."

I groaned as I put my headphones on.

"Take one down, pass it around, ninety-two boxes of juice on the wall!"

"Would you guys stop? I'm about to call Viktor," Matt asked.

They took it as a challenge and sang even louder. "Ninety-two boxes of juice on the wall, ninety-two bottles of juice!"

"Stop!" I rose my voice.

The girls fell silent for a moment, then picked up where they left off in a whisper. "Take one down, pass it around..."

"Thanks," Matt mouthed to me. I nodded, then took of my glasses and closed my eyes, knowing full well I'd never fall asleep.

A little while later, I was still awake but was disturbed by the girls.

"Wake up, Amanda! It's only been an hour, and we're done with our song!" Leah said, kicking my seat.

"Why don't you guys make bracelets? Didn't you bring your kit?" I suggested, and their eyes lit up. Their favorite hobby: stringing beads that didn't match into bracelets they'd never wear.

"Yeah, I brought it," Melissa said, picking it up from the floor.

"Make Viktor a bracelet or something," I said, and Leah nodded enthusiastically.

"What's his favorite color?" she asked.

"I think it's red. I'm gonna make him a red bracelet," Melissa said.

"It's definitely blue," Natalie said, collecting as many blue beads as she could, so no one else would be able to make a blue one.

"What about green? He probably likes green. And trucks," Leah said. Because trucks were definitely relevant to bracelets.

"There. And if you finish those, make one for me," I said, feigning interest in their crafts.

"And we'll make some for Matt, and Mom, and Dad, and Grandma, and Kasey," Natalie said.

Kasey lived right next door to us, and she was the younger sister of my best friend, Arti. Kasey was a few years older than the triplets, but they looked up to her like she was a goddess. And she was beautiful for a ten-year-old. Her whole family was gorgeous. Brown, unblemished skin, perfectly aligned teeth, and curly hair that was beautifully chaotic.

"Good idea. I'm sure they'd all love a bracelet," I said, closing my eyes again.

Maybe I'd fall asleep this time. Or maybe I wouldn't. Either was fine with me as long as I had my music. 

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Hi everyone! Just a heads-up, I really like talking at the end of my chapters (and talking in general), so it'll probably get out of hand soon enough. But anyway, thank you so much for reading! I plan on posting chapters as soon as I finish rewriting them, so we'll see how that goes.

What do you think of our narrator, Amanda, so far? What about the other characters?