Soleil's POV
I was sitting in the backseat of the car, staring out the window as we drove through the streets of Oakland. The city felt alive, like it had a pulse all its own, vibrating through the cracked sidewalks and graffiti-covered walls. It was the kind of place I’d never thought I’d end up, but here I was—18 years old, fresh out of LA, and stuck in a place that didn’t feel like home... yet.
“Mom, how much longer?” Ivy, my oldest triplet sister, groaned from the front seat, her phone glued to her hand as she scrolled through Instagram.
“Don’t make me pull this car over,” Dad, Jaden Thompson, called from the front, clearly amused but firm. “We’ll be there in a few minutes, Ivy. Get it together.”
Ivy rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath. Azalea and Dahlia, the other two triplets, giggled in the backseat with me, not minding the wait, as usual.
“Y’all sure this is Oakland?” Azalea asked, craning her neck to get a better look at the city as we turned onto a new street. “Feels different than I expected.”
Dahlia, who had her headphones on but was still paying attention to the conversation, nodded. “Yeah, not as… glitzy as LA, huh?”
I couldn’t blame them for feeling out of place. I felt it too, the disconnect between the city we’d left behind and the one we were entering. The streets here were rougher, the houses older, and the air smelled a bit like opportunity and danger all at once. I had no idea what this city would hold for us, but I was determined to find out. Or at least, I’d try.
“It’ll grow on you guys,” my mom, Aurora Thompson, said from the front seat, her voice full of optimism, as always. “I’ve got a good feeling about this place. We’ll make it work.” She was always the one with the optimism, the one who could turn any bad situation into something manageable. I envied her ability to keep her head up, even when things got tough.
“Wait until you start seeing the girls out here, ma,” Jaden joked, his eyes glinting in the rearview mirror. “They’re gonna love you.”
“Oh, stop it,” Mom laughed, flicking him playfully on the arm. “You better watch it, Jaden. You know I’m the only one with the looks around here.”
My dad chuckled, but I knew he was just teasing. Mom had always been the queen of the family when it came to style, a well-known hairstylist who could make anyone’s hair look like they’d just walked off a magazine cover. And Dad, well, he had the heart and the discipline of a football coach, with a reputation to back it up. He was going to be coaching the varsity football team at my new high school, which felt like a weird twist of fate.
The house came into view, a two-story corner lot that had seen better days. A little worn but with enough potential to turn into something we could all call home. It was big enough for our family of seven to spread out in. Dad was already talking about getting the yard cleaned up, and Mom was planning how she’d set up a small salon in the basement to keep working her magic on the side.
“Here we are,” Dad said, pulling into the driveway. “Welcome home, kids.”
---
We spilled out of the car, stretching our limbs after the long drive, and for a moment, we just stood there in silence, taking in the new place. The neighborhood wasn’t what I was used to—there was an edge to it, a feeling that everyone knew everyone, and everyone had something to prove. It felt different from LA, but I guess that was part of the charm. New, unfamiliar, and full of promise.
As we unpacked, I caught sight of a girl down the street, standing on her front porch, arms crossed, watching us. She had a strong look to her—like she wasn’t the kind of person you messed with. Her gaze briefly met mine, and for a split second, I felt a weird kind of tension in the air. Like she knew I didn’t belong here. Like she could read me the way my mom read her clients' hair.
I quickly looked away, feeling my heart race for no reason. I was probably just tired, trying to get used to everything. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched.
“Let’s get this show on the road!” Mom called, snapping me out of my thoughts. “You guys start unpacking the kitchen stuff. Dad and I will tackle the bedrooms.”
“Sure, sure,” I muttered, dragging my suitcase up the stairs behind Ivy.
As we walked through the house, Ivy shook her head. “This place is... different. But not bad, I guess.”
“Yeah, we’ll make it work,” I said, trying to sound optimistic, even though I wasn’t sure I believed it.
Azalea was already on her phone, probably texting her friends back in LA, and Dahlia was rummaging through boxes to find her favorite blanket. It was business as usual with my sisters—every move we made felt like an attempt to get some normalcy back after everything had changed.
---
Dinner that night was chaotic, like always. Dad was talking about football strategy and asking my brothers Orion and River about their practice schedules, while Ivy, Azalea, and Dahlia argued over who was getting the best room. Orion was the most excited about starting football at his new school, and River was busy asking Mom if she’d signed him up for basketball yet.
“You guys are gonna love it here,” Mom said, her hands busy serving up plates of spaghetti. “We’ll make Oakland feel like home in no time.”
“You sure about that, mom?” Ivy asked, squinting at the plate in front of her. “I mean, Oakland is nothing like LA. You can’t just walk around with your hair looking like you came out of a photoshoot here.”
“Well, we’ll see about that.” Mom smiled, and I could tell she wasn’t fazed. “I’ll find my groove, you’ll see.”
“Just don’t get into any drama, Mom,” I said, picking at my food. “I heard this city’s got a whole lot of it.”
My dad chuckled. “Trust me, Soleil. You’re gonna see some things here you never expected. But as long as we stick together, we’ll be fine.”
That was the thing about my family—we stuck together through thick and thin. Even if Oakland was new, even if it was different, we’d make it work.
---
Later that night, as I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, I couldn’t stop thinking about the girl down the street. Something about her made me uneasy, like she could see right through me. But I wasn’t going to let that get to me. I had enough on my plate adjusting to this new life.
Tomorrow would be the first day of school. And something told me that this city—and maybe even that girl—was going to be more than I bargained for.
But I was ready. At least, I thought I was.
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The Queen's Game
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