9.

I feel a hand gently pulling me up. I open my eyes and see Dylan's smiling face. I look out the window and see that we are no longer moving. Thank pancakes. Dylan hands me my backpack and leads me to the exit.

We walk to the reclaim area and I am now regretting not taking advantage of the quietness in the plane. This place is a total chaos. So many people. So much movement. So much chatter.

I spot my suitcase on the rotating belt and pull it off when it comes around. Dylan's one was not so far from mine. He also takes an extra suitcase that's blue and green.

"You had two suitcases?" I ask him as we walk away from the luggage reclaim area.

"Nah, this is Lyha's." I haven't seen her ever since we were preparing for landing.

"Where is she?"

"She went to go change. Should take her about," he looks at his wristwatch briefly, "4 more minutes." I nod and debate whether I should call Mrs Grand. I do not want to be left here alone once they leave.

"There you are," I turn around. I exhale softly, quite relieved, actually.

"You just disappeared," I say to Lyha as she hugs me.

"I'm sorry, " she says as she takes her suitcase from Dylan. "I had to go change. Wouldn't want to leave in uniform." She's wearing a grey t-shirt slightly tucked in into a pair of short jeans with white converses and a red flannel to complete the look. She looks great. An impressive makeover.

"You called dad?" Dylan asks Lyha and she nods.

"He said the driver should be here soon," she says as she takes out her phone and checks the time. I take my phone out as well. I look for Mrs Grand's number, and just as I'm about to call, I hear someone shouting my name. We all turn to look for the person. My eyes rest on a lady waving in my direction and I squint my eyes to try and identify her.

A black range rover pulls up next to the car the lady is standing in front of and Lyha squeals. She holds my hand and pulls me forward, Dylan right by my side. As we come closer, I start to recognise her and a small smile forms on my lips.

"Kira, right?" she asks me as we stand in front of her. I nod my head and stretch my hand. "Mrs Grand," I say confidently. She reaches my hand and shakes it firmly, turning to look at the two by my sides.

"Hello," she offers her hand to Lyha. "I'm Vanessa, who are you?"

"Lyha Deuw," Lyha says as she shakes Vanessa's hand.

"Dylan Deuw," he says as he shakes hers as well.

"What a beautiful pair you are," Mrs Grand smiles at them.

"Thank you ma'am. If you'll excuse us, we have to go," Lyha speaks politely.

"Have a safe one." They nod and go to the black range rover, leaving me with Mrs Grand.

"You'll have enough time to stare at me," she smiles. "Can I help you with your luggage?" she asks and I shake my head no. She nods and walks to the back of the car and opens the boot. I effortlessly lift my bags and suitcase into the boot and close it firmly, careful not to shut it too hard.

"Kira," Lyha's voice speaks behind me and she looks at Mrs Grand as if asking permission. She nods and gets in the car. Lyha sighs when Mrs Grand is out of sight and pulls me into a hug. I hug her back tightly.

"I'm gonna miss you," she whispers. Dylan appears behind her as she pulls away.

"Step aside sis," he says as he lightly pushes Lyha to the side. "Watch how it's done," he winks at her before turning to me. "Can we keep in touch?" he hands me his phone. I chuckle as I type my number in his phone. Lyha scoffs beside him. I give him his phone back.

"Lyha, can I get yours?" I ask her as I hand her my phone and she beams, typing on the screen.

"At what times can I call you?" she asks.

"Anytime you are free," I tell her as I wave and walk away. They wave and walk back to their car as well. I watch through the mirror how they fight for who to enter the car first. Lyha puts her foot in the car and Dylan pulls her out. She hits him on the head and he sticks his tongue out at her. This goes on for a while until she decides to take shotgun. I chuckle lightly as I buckle myself and Mrs Grand looks at me, still smiling. I feel slightly self-conscious as I sit beside her.

"How was your flight?" she asks as the car starts moving. Her tongue is flawless; word projection radiant. Jeez, what am I saying? That doesn't make sense. She glances at me swiftly. Oh yes, she asked me something.

"It was...fun. I enjoyed it. Thank you."

"Fan-tastic," she exclaims. "I didn't want to put you in first class," she says with a tone of concern. "It's really boring in there. My son legit walked out of first class when we were going to Scotland."

"And they didn't stop him?" I ask her. As far as I know, you aren't allowed to change classes on the plane.

"Well, they tried to, but he didn't compromise. He insisted on seating in business or economy. If there's one thing about him, he always gets what he wants."

"Then how did he do it? How did he end up sitting in the other class?"

"He traded seats with a young boy," she chuckles, "I think he, kid, was 9 at the time."

"He sounds nice."

"He has his days," she looks at me, "you excited?"

"About everything? Yeah," I giggle.

"I'm glad to hear that," she pauses and I look at her, "you're starting school on Monday," she says coolly. Shut the front door. What in the world?

Before I could say anything else, she pulls up into a driveway. I look out the window and suddenly forget how to breathe. This house is insane. Are those glass swans around the fountain? Talk about the pool. That's big enough to be a lake!

There are two staircases outside that lead to glass doors at the top. I swear, I could stand at that balcony all day. I look past the 'pool' and into the house itself. It's giving off this happy blue vibe complimented by the yellow lights shining through the windows. Talk about taking pictures of it. The view is incredible as it is.

"Breathe," Mrs Grand touches my shoulder as she laughs. This is a joke, right? In no time, she'll say we are going to her real house. No way-

"Shall we go inside?" she asks me as she opens her door.