Maya Santos was standing in an airport, somewhere in Colorado where she didn't belong. Wireless earbuds in, suitcase handle in one hand and phone in the other. Maya's cousin Jackie Howard was seated next to her, her foot tapping lightly on the tiled floor, nervously looking around with a worried expression on her face.

Noticing the look on her cousin's face, Maya sighed and shut off the Sabrina Carpenter song she was listening to.

"Jackie?" Maya said, looking down. "Are you okay?"

Jackie looked up at Maya. "Uh huh. Just a bit nervous to meet Katherine and George."

Maya slid her phone into the back of her denim shorts pocket, and moved her luggage so she could sit in the seat next to Jackie.

"It'll be fine," Maya assured her, even though she was having doubts herself. Maya had never even met the Walters, and now she and her only cousin were supposed to live with them after their family had died in a car accident a few months prior.

Suddenly Jackie's phone started to ring, and Jackie hurriedly picked up. It was their Uncle Richard, the only brother of Jackie and Maya's mothers.

Jackie held the phone in front of her so that they both could see the video call. "Hi Uncle Richard," Jackie and Maya said simultaneously, as their uncle echoed a hello.

"Hey girls," He said. "Was your flight okay?"

"It was fine," Maya said, which was the truth. She was too nervous to realize anything else about the flight.

"Are you two okay?" He asked, concern etched across his face. The girls nodded, not wanting to betray any other emotions they were feeling.

"Listen, I'm really sorry I couldn't come with you guys to meet the Walters-"

"Oh, I think I see them now," Maya said suddenly, two people came into her view that looked familiar. Well, familiar from the photos she saw.

"We should go," Jackie told their uncle, and they said bye quickly before the Walters arrived. Jackie and Maya put their phones into their bags, just as a red headed woman wearing a long dress walked in their direction.

"Jackie, Maya," Katherine Walter, their new guardian, said breathlessly. "Hi,"

"Hi," Both girls said, smiling weakly.

Katherine hugged both of them and said, "I'm so happy you're here,"

"Thanks Katherine," Jackie said, her voice fluctuating.

before letting go and Maya thought she saw small tears forming in her eyes. Katherine quickly cleared her throat however and said, "You guys remember George?"

"Hi George," Maya and Jackie said together.

"Hi girls," George said with a smile.

Soon Maya found herself in the Walter's car, her and Jackie in the back. Jackie had her earbuds in and was scrolling on her phone, while Maya was staring out the window. Despite her want to be in New York, she was taken aback at the beauty of Colorado as they drove by.

Seeing all the trees and wildlife made Maya remember a place that existed in her earliest memories. When she was a toddler and young child, her family had lived in Vermont, in a little house surrounded by forest.

This was before Maya's mother had left when she was eight years old, and before her father was deployed to another country for the military when she was nine. Because she had no other guardians to take her in when her father was deployed, the Howard's took her in as they were her only living relatives, besides Richard. The little house surrounded by forest was now only a place Maya could visit in her mind.

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The car stopped in front of a big yellow house surrounded by flat land. Maya and Jackie got out of the back seat, while George took care of their many bags.

Maya stared at the house in awe, breathing in the fresh country air and feeling the light breeze push her dark brown wavy hair back. Beside her, she could feel Jackie tense up snd start to breathe more heavily.

"You okay?" Maya asked her cousin, who continued to look at the yellow house.

"I'm fine," Jackie said. "Don't worry about me, Maya."

"You two feeling alright?" Katherine asked them kindly once she had gotten out of the car. Jackie and Maya nodded.

"Let's get you guys inside. We'll introduce you to everybody."

Feeling more nervous then she ever had, Maya opened her palm and offered it to Jackie. Jackie smiled weakly and took her hand, squeezing it like her life depended on it.

They walked up the wooden steps together, not knowing what to expect. Uncle Richard had said they had a lot of kids, so Maya had prepared herself for living with around five other kids.

"Jamal, why are you calling me? I'm not the doctor on call." Katherine said to someone on the other end of her phone call.

"Ready?" Maya asked her cousin, who was still clutching Maya's hand tightly. Though Jackie was nervous, she certainly wasn't dressed so. Her polo shirt and sweater vest were impeccable, not a wrinkle in sight, while her high ponytail had somehow stayed slicked back with no flyaways. Maya had tried to dress the part too; though not as effectively as Jackie. She had left her hair in its natural long waves, and was wearing a pair of black leather pants with a white Ralph Lauren cable knit polo t-shirt, with the first two buttons undone.

"I'm ready," Jackie said.

They hadn't taken two steps towards the door when a boy riding a skateboard almost shoved them out of the way, yelling, "Move!"

Maya shot him a dirty look as he went past, scoffing.

"Hi," A boy wearing a baseball cap said, from his position on a wick couch on the porch. He pointed to himself and added, "Danny,"

"Maya," She replied with a smile, grateful that someone had manners. "My cousin Jackie," Maya nodded to Jackie, who gave a little wave.

Katherine opened the front door for them, while still on the phone. "Well, did you check his vitals?"

George wheeled some of the girls' luggage inside in front of them, just as a little boy no older than five ran from one room into the hallway.

"Whoa, whoa, Benny, no running!" George told the little boy.

"I'm not running!" Benny replied, then ran into another room. Maya chuckled at the antics of the child, but Jackie looked confused at the chaos they had already seen. So far, Maya counted three Walter children.

George led Maya and Jackie to the room that Benny had came from.

"Oh, hey. Guys," George said, trying to catch the attention of two guys playing video games on the couch. "Can you stop that for a second?"

A teenage boy with pale skin, freckles, and brown hair put his controller down and stood up, looking at them. The teenage boy with tanned skin and tousled black hair stayed seated, but looked at them curiously.

"This is Maya and Jackie," George told the boys. "Maya and Jackie, this is Alex and Isaac," He first motioned to the brown haired boy, then the black haired.

"What's up?" Isaac said coolly, his gaze landing on Maya for a second too long before turning back to the screen.

"Hey," Maya said, while Jackie just smiled. The boy named Alex was staring at Jackie for a long time, and Maya looked from him to her cousin. She could already tell that this boy was going to have a crush on Jackie.

George asked Alex if he could take the bags, to which he agreed and then shook Jackie's hand formally. Maya noticed their eyes locking and was immediately on protective cousin alert. Maya heard Isaac snort and then try and stifle his laughter as Alex left with the bags, and Jackie followed George into the kitchen.

Maya looked back at Isaac, who's eyes were on the screen once more.

In the kitchen, Katherine was still taking a phone call about one of her patients, and Maya and Jackie were looking around solemnly.

"Uh, girls, I'm so sorry, I have to go," Katherine said. "Oh, thank God, Will's here,"

Katherine introduced them to Will, the oldest Walter child, and then had to leave. Will introduced them to the Tony Hawk wannabe, Lee, who was the one who almost ran them over on the way in. Maya made a mental note of that. Now she had counted six Walter's, five of which were living with her. Next they met Nathan, a guitarist, Parker, the only girl in the house, Jordan, an aspiring film director, and this really odd guy who came half-naked out of the pool, flipping his hair back and laying on the chaise lounges. Apparently his name was Cole. Now she counted nine Walter siblings that would live with them, which was way over her initial estimate.

Maya noticed Jackie staring at Cole for a while. "Girl-" Maya whispered to Jackie, making her look away. "Don't tell me you think he's hot."

Heat rushed to Jackie's cheeks. "No!"

Then a Bernese Mountain Dog shook water all over Jackie, Maya dodging out of the way just in time. Jackie was slightly freaking out, so Will handed her a towel and Maya linked their arms as they followed Will to their bedroom.

They arrived in a cute room, every wall painted with murals and bright colours. Two twin beds were placed in the middle, with a clothes rack on either side. Apparently it had been Katherine's old art studio before she had so many children that she didn't have time to paint anymore.

On the way up to their room, Jackie had asked, "Will, how many of these kids are George and Katherine's?"

"Oh. You didn't know. All of them, there's eight of us."

"All of them?" Maya echoed.

"Yep. Plus Lee and Isaac are cousins on Dad's side." Will explained. Oh. Well that answered Maya's questions as to why Lee and Isaac looked different from all the other kids.

Once Will had left, Maya and Jackie had sat on their beds, admiring the room.

"Can you believe we're going to be living with nine other kids?" Maya said, with an incredulous chuckle.

"It's...going to be so different from New York." Jackie replied, a wistful expression on her face. "I'm not used to it being so empty outside. It's so peaceful."

"Well, out there at least." Maya joked. "In here is a different story." Maya looked around the room, taking in the place where she lived now. "It does remind me of Vermont, in a way. All the peace. No police sirens or random people yelling."

Jackie looked sadly at Maya. "Does it remind you of your parents?"

Maya's face fell. Yes, it did.