"Would you like me to bring some people to help you carry all of your things in?" the realtor asked. My father shook his head, following the lady into the house. It was one of largest houses I had ever seen in my life and we were going to live in it. Three stories high, it towered over the young trees in the yard which were most likely no older than me. When you looked at the house from the front, there were two doors, nearly twice my height, in the center. Two windows, large ones, we spaced evenly on either side of the house, making it perfectly symmetrical. The second floor was three large balconies, one centered and the other two spaced on either side. The third floor was back a little from the front, showing some shingles, and it was mostly windows. The only other place was the attic which was shown by only one round window in the center. The house did creep me out but I could not do anything about it. My father was rich so he bought the house thinking it would show what pride he had while enjoying himself. I had a large family.

I have two sisters who are fraternal twins and nine years old. Their names are Beth and Lucy. Lucy has short, chopped brown hair and freckles covering her nose, she also has brown eyes. Beth is much different than her. Lucy talks a lot but Beth is very shy. She has long, black hair that reaches her waist and blue eyes. Beth will only talk with me and I understand her the most.

I am the second eldest child, my brother, Seth, is a year older than me. He has brown hair and grey eyes. He watched over me the most, making sure I don't 'let the boys hurt me.' Personally, I think he may be over-protective but I feel safe when I'm around him, he always makes me laugh.

My twin sister is Abigail. Her hair is bleach blonde and cropped off the side like someone pushed her hair up the side of her head. I never talk to her much because she is rude and irresponsible. Lucy looks up to her sometimes which angers me because I know she shouldn't look up to, if you don't mind me saying, a slut.

There are also the triplets who are all twelve years old, Jacob and Connor. They also make it eight of us. Two are identical boys and one is a girl. The boys have blue eyes and long, dark brown hair that touches just above their eyes. They do have some freckles but not many. Both play basketball and look up to Seth who is a great role model. They are the common boys who love sports and hanging around with their friends. Although it seems that they aren't around much, it doesn't matter to me. When they are out, they are with their friends and when they are home, they behave properly. Are house was getting too small.

The other twin, Corinne was the most kind-hearted girl to ever live. She was always with nature and only talked to Beth on occasion. Her hair was red and in graceful curls all over her back. She would always take pictures of little mice or squirrels she happened to come across when outside. I don't think she could hurt a fly.

We were all moving into a huge house. I loved my family, excluding Abigail, something fierce. I was closer with them than I ever had thought possible with anyone.

When you walked in the big doors, a two feet length wall was on either side of the door before both sides opened to rooms. The two rooms in front were the family room on the right and the dining room on the left. There were no doors in the whole level of the house. The rooms behind them were the library on the right and the kitchen on the left. If you were standing at the doors, there would be an open area where anything could be put before you reached the stairs.

The stairs were the most grand part of the house. They wound up the whole height of the house, even to the attic.

The attic was on it's own floor and filled with many things from the previous owners. I knew the house was going to be a mystery, I could see all the hiding places and cracks in the walls where secret passageways would be. The second floor had the master bedroom, a full bathroom and three bedrooms. The floor was home to all of the boys, including my father, except for Abigail who took a room.

The third floor was home to the rest of the girls and Seth. My bedroom was right across the top of the stairs, Seth adjacently right from my bedroom and Lucy on the other side of him. Corinne and Beth shared a room on my other side. There were three bathrooms which is why the girls got the floor. There was one in Beth and Corrine's room and two between other rooms.

-=-=-

That night, we were all sitting down to dinner. My father sat at one end of the table, the rest of us on the sides. Seth, Corinne, Beth and I were on one side, the rest on the other. The chair opposite of my father was my mother's seat. She passed away when giving birth to the twins. Most of us fell hard after that, mostly Corinne, but Beth and Lucy were unharmed. It seemed like Lucy could care less actually. Beth longed for a mother and clung onto me as if I were one.

When I had finished eating, I excused myself from the table and went to my room, looking at the vacant walls. They were all white and the room was a perfect square except for the closet on the wall to the left of the door. My bed was beautiful. The posts reached nearly to the ceiling and a thin cream cloth lay over the top as if a mosquito net. There were two wooden dressers which matched the color of the bed frame, on opposite walls. The smaller dresser was on the same side as the closet and the taller one on the same side of the door. A large window was on the opposite side of the door, a mirror next to it, and my bed on the remaining wall.

I was putting photos around the room and filling my drawers with clothes when Corinne came in. I hardly noticed her because her footsteps were as quiet as a mouse.

"Corinne, is something the matter?" I asked her, half leaning on my bed. She nodded and walked over to me, sitting on the bed with me. She came to me when there was something my father wouldn't be good at talking about or Beth wouldn't know about. Although Corinne was older, she talked to Beth as an equal.

"I miss Mommy, Allyson. This whole house seems empty without her," she said sadly, her voice as soft as a cloud. I took her in my arms and waited for her tears to come. Surely enough, they did, and I rocked her on my lap until she was finished.

"I know that it is hard, I really do. I miss Mom so much too. You just have to remember that she will always be with you, protecting you, no matter what. Would you like me to help you set everything up? I am sure Beth wouldn't mind," I offered. She nodded and jumped gracefully off my lap, off toward her room. When Corinne was in the mood to talk to me, I would be able to do the things that sisters should to together. Normally she would just shake her head and decline but I always know whether the shake of the head is truthful. Her blue eyes were as clear as looking into a puddle and seeing your reflection.

I followed her into her room and Beth was on her bed, folding her clothes.

"Why didn't you do that before?" I asked her, shutting the door behind me.

"She did," Corinne answered. Corinne was three years older than Beth however she was only about an inch taller, a cute little girl.

"I am redoing them for the drawers. Can you hang up my pictures for me? I'm not tall enough to reach and I'm afraid of the hammer and nails. I'm sure Corinne has some too," Beth said, not looking up from her work. She sounded so mature when she spoke and I nodded and found the screws and hammer, nailing the nail into the wall. Corinne brought over the pictures and a chair, hanging them on the wall as I moved on to the next nail.

"Allyson?" I heard Seth calling.

"I'll be back hopefully. Set out the pictures below where you want them to go, I'll try to get them after school tomorrow," I said, setting down the hammer and nails before walking out of the room, finding Seth in my room.

"Hey, I was wondering if you needed any help," he said politely. I laughed because I knew that when he offered to help me with anything, it mostly meant he needed my help with something.

"What do you need?" I asked, still suppressing giggles.

"Well, I was wondering something. We said we were going to be with the little ones when they got on the bus. If we go to school earlier, how are we going to do that?" he asked, tilting his head the way he always did.

"Well, we don't have to be at school early. We could just have dad take us instead of walking. I'm sure he wouldn't mind for a day," I answered.

The school was close enough to walk to in fifteen minutes. I really didn't want to ride the bus on the first day of school and because it was warm out, we were going to walk. If I forgot to add, which I know I did, I am practically Corrine's twin. I am very short and my hair is red and curly, down to my waist. My eyes are the same blue what makes it hard to hide my emotions. I look like an older version of Corrine and she looks like I did when I was her age. It is sort of weird but I love her the same.

-=-=-

I jerked awake as my alarm woke me up. My heart beating fast, I got up quickly and pulled on my robe, stepping in front of the mirror. If you would have seen what I saw, you would have gasped, I was a mess. Thankfully, I was already used to looking terrible in the morning so it didn't bother me much. I brushed out the curls and put on my clothes. I wore a pair of flair jeans and an awesome shirt with a penguin on it that says 'penguins rock!' It's my favorite shirt ever.

I put on my sweatshirt and put on my makeup before leaving my room. I heard Seth's door open and he smiled at me as he walked out.

"You got up fast," he teased, knowing I never usually get up easily.

"It's the first day of school, of course I got up early," I replied, turning on my heels, making my hair fly, and walking down the stairs. He chuckled and followed behind me until we made it to the kitchen.

"We're going to get a lot of exercise in this house," he noted, pouring pancake mix into a bowl. I smiled and got down plates and glasses.

After the table was set, I left the kitchen and went back upstairs. On the second floor, I woke up the boys, knowing they took a while to get moving. After they were awake and groaning into their pillows, I went up to the third floor. I woke up Lucy and brushed her hair out for her so she could style it before going to Beth and Corinne's room. Corinne was already up, trying to comb through her hair. Beth was drooling all over her pillow.

"If you wait, I'll help you with that," I told Corinne, lightly placing a hand on Beth's shoulder. She stirred and sat up, blinking a few times before noticing me.

"Hi," she said quietly, rubbing her eyes and lazily getting up. She walked to her mirror and brushed out her hair as I went to help Corinne. She always had the worst hair in the morning but I wasn't any better. I carefully removed the comb from her hair and started from the bottom up.

I finished her hair within about ten minutes and left the room, going to wake up my father.

As I entered his bedroom, I carefully walked over to his bed. I kissed his cheek softly.

"Time to get up Daddy," I whispered. He smiled and turned over, looking at my face.

"Thank you for waking me up, now go eat breakfast," he said, rolling over and going to his mirror to comb out the hair that was barely there. I smiled and left the room, walking downstairs.

Everyone was in the kitchen except Abigail but I wasn't planning on waking her. She was old enough to have responsibility for herself. I poured the drinks and all the kids poured syrup on their pancakes.

"Easy there," I warned Jacob who was pouring half the syrup bottle onto his pancakes. His lip turned into a pout before he saw the whip cream. I frowned at him before putting it on myself, repeating the process for Connor.

-=-=-

We all waited for the bus and my father agreed to take Seth and I to school after. Corinne was frowning and Beth was clearly excited although she most likely wouldn't talk to anyone anyway. The two boys were having a sword fight with two twigs which Lucy twirled her hair absentmindedly. As soon as the bus started down the long street, Corinne ran over and hugged my side. I put my hand on her head and pet her hair until the bus came up.

"Just follow behind Beth and you can sit with her," I whispered into her each.

"Okay," she said, her voice muffled by my leg. I smiled over at Beth while she was practically jumping for joy. The boys finally decided on who won the sword fight as the bus squeaked to a stop in front of us.

The two boys ran onto the bus first, followed by a seemingly uninterested Lucy and finally, Beth and Corinne. Corinne looked terrified. I felt so horrible for her but couldn't do anything to make her feel better. Getting on the bus with her would just make things worse. The boys sat with the boys in the back next to each other and Lucy sat in front of them. Beth found a few girls who looked nice and sat by them, Corinne sitting across from her. Beth did speak to the girls. She would talk to anyone if she knew right away that they would be nice. I saw Corinne look at me and I smiled at her. She couldn't hold back her smile as the bus pulled away. Seth and I turned as the bus pulled away and my father was waving from a few feet behind us.

"Ready for school?" he asked us, raising an eyebrow. Seth and I exchanged a confused look as we got into the car with my father. Seth would soon be old enough to drive but we only had one car. Once he turned sixteen, he would get a car.

-=-=-

When we got to the school, Seth and I walked in together, going to the front office. The lady smiled at us before handing us our papers for the teachers. It was, after all, a last minute registration.

We both walked partway together before we had to go to different homerooms. Most of our classes were the same but he was a year older then me so he had different teachers. We did have lunch together though.

When I reached my homeroom, I handed the teacher the papers and he pointed to a seat behind some guy, who was sort of cute, and next to a girl who looked shy. I walked down the aisle, looking at the faces in the room before I sat at my seat. I noticed Mr. Cute look at me and smile before I sat down. The girl next to me straightened, looking me up and down.

"Hi," she said quietly. Her voice was like Corrine's.

"Hi, what's your name?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. Seth's gesture was rubbing off on me.

"Kara. What's yours?" she asked. Her grey eyes were sparkling and her hair was black, matching the color of her glasses.

"Allyson, nice to meet you," I said politely, smiling at her. She smiled back and shied away as Mr. Cute turned back toward me.

"I'm David," he said, holding his hand back behind himself. I shook it awkwardly.

"Nice to meet you, David," I replied, turning to get my books out of my bag. David turned around fully and his large, brown eyes looked me over. His hair was long and brown, it looked like the boys'.

"So, Allyson, what can you tell me about yourself?" he asked, glancing kindly at Kara as if inviting her to join the conversation. She did but didn't speak yet. I answered with the first thing that came to my head.

"I have seven brothers and sisters." Both of their eyes widened slightly.

"Seven?" Kara asked. I nodded, counting on my fingers.

"Yeah, Seth, Abigail, Corinne, Connor, Jacob, Beth and Lucy."

"Woah," Kara mumbled.

"How old are they?" David asked, clearly interested in my enormous family.

"Seth is a year older than me, Abigail is my fraternal twin, Corinne, Connor, and Jacob are triplets who are twelve, and Beth and Lucy are fraternal twins who are nine."

"A lot of little people," David muttered, turning around as the teacher called our attention. I smiled to myself.

Maybe things would work here.