If it was real

Chapter 1:Trying Never Hurts

"Who makes their kids go to a random boy's house with their other daughter for a school project?" 6-year-old Diya asked impatiently. "I finished all my homework and Kumon, so it's my time to read!" she exclaimed. "Beta, I told you already, your sister's partner has two younger brothers; they're twins just like you and your brother, so her parents invited you two as well to come over and play while they work." Her mother replied with an even tone. "It better be fun." Diya grumbled as she was directed to put her shoes on. Her mom laughed and said, "If you're nice, it will be." "What does that mean?" "I'm always nice," Diya said with a frown on her face. "Of course you are, my smiley!" Her mom said, brightening as she looked over at her. " Diya stared and thought, "She's buttering me up; there are only boys to play with, aren't there?" "Well, I'm bringing my book," she said aloud. "Diya, her mom started-" Her sister butted in, "Mom, she can bring her book, but please let's go now; we're getting late." "Thank you, Amayadidi," Diya said, beaming as she ran out to the car. Her twin brother, Dev, had already belted himself into his car seat. As Diya got in and struggled to belt herself, he reached over to help her, as her car seat somehow always jammed. Their mother came over to check to make sure they had both belted themselves in correctly, then she sat in the driver's seat and got ready to drive. Their sister sat in the back with them, as she was only 11 and had to be 12 to ride up front with their mom. When their drive finally began, it felt so long, but according to their mother's continuous updates to the three children, it was only a ten-minute drive. Diya's eyes widened as they pulled up to the house; she had never seen a house that big. Her house could probably fit into it, she thought. She immediately turned to her twin, exclaiming excitedly, "That house is huge!" "Are we going inside there?" Her twin turned to ask their older sister, but she said she had never been to the girl's house before. So all three of them turned to their mother and asked in unison, "Is that the house we're going into?" Their mom laughed heartily, responding, "Yes, someone's a little excited to go inside, aren't they?" "Three someone's!" Diya replied, eyes still wide. It was a two-story white and black house with so many windows and lots of bright green grass and trees. Her little mind could barely process all of it. Her mom, telling them to get out of the car, shook her from her daze. She unbuckled herself and watched as a lady her mom's age came out the door, followed by a man and five kids. "Wow, no wonder they have a house so big; there are so many of them." Dev said, happy with the information. Their mom gently whacked him in the back of the head and told them all to behave. "All three of you, say hi properly and be polite," she said firmly, in her very no-nonsense, I-will-whack-you-when-we-are-home voice. In Diya-speak, that meant don't ask questions because her curiosity was a little much for most people. She reluctantly forced her many questions away and pushed a smile on her face despite her nerves.

Meeting new people wasn't something she ever liked to do, especially not when her parents made her. It meant saying hi to adults who were twice her size and not hiding behind her parents' legs. It was always easier to hide behind someone so they couldn't see you. Before she was able to cause her mind to derail herself further, her mom nudged her. The new group had almost reached them. The older woman was the first to reach them. She reminded Diya of her own mom—kind eyes, perfect dark brown hair untouched by frizz even in the high levels of humidity of the Houston fall. This was again very unlike her own wavy hair, which was only able to frizz out in a poofy mess when left down. It made her honestly want to go home more because of how shy she suddenly felt about the pretty woman. She forced herself to focus as the pretty woman began to introduce herself. "Hi, My name is Sadia, and you kids can call me Sadia Aunty." "These are my kids: Zain, Zahed, Zara, Aaina, and Aahil." "Zain and Zahed are twins, just like you and your brother!" "They're only two years older than the both of you; I'm sure all four of you will have so much fun playing together today!" She exclaimed both sentences with more excitement than any of them had expected. "This is Zara, our 6th grader; she's in your sister's class." "Aaina and Aahil are our oldest two, our first high schoolers!" She finished beaming. This woman loved her kids to death; you could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. After all the excitement his wife presented, her husband introduced himself in a more calm tone. His happiness for his family was reserved for the warmth in his eyes. His name was Saad, or Saad Uncle for the kids, of course. Aunt and uncle were always used to introduce adults around her parents, as the South Asian community liked to consider themselves all one big family.