11-year old Ava Romero, along with her mother, Nina, and her 4-year old twin brothers, Carlos and Diego, climbed out of their car and they all took a gaze at their new home in East Los Angeles. It's not the best house in the world, but is pretty decent with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, a basement, and a garage big enough to hold two cars.
"Well, here it is. Our new home," Nina said trying to be positive given what they went through for about a year. Nina is a tall 35-year old woman with long black hair and tan skin while Ava is a mini version of her but her skin is a little pale than her mother's. Carlos and Diego on the other hand are small and identical though Carlos has long shaggy hair while Diego has short hair which is spiked up in front. Nina carried Carlos while Ava carried Diego inside the house to show them their new bedroom which is empty for now except for their bunk beds. While Carlos and Diego run around to check out their new surroundings, Ava goes into her new bedroom which now only has a twin-size bed and a desk for studying. As she unpacks the stuff that she has taken with her while her other stuff is with the moving company, she pulls out a framed photo of herself, Nina, the twins, and someone who is not here anymore...her father, Javier. "I miss you, papa. Even though we are moving on, I love you with all my heart and never forget you," she said to herself while also clutching her gold heart-shaped locket which opened inside, is a photo of just her father and herself.
Just as they got the last of their stuff out of the moving van, a bald and muscular man along with a smaller and thin black-haired woman walked up to the house from their house across the street with some kind of baked goods on a plate on her hands. "Hey, there," the woman greeted Nina, Carlos, and Diego.
"Oh, hi," Nina greeted back as she shook both the woman and the man's hands. "I'm Nina Romero. And these little monsters are my sons, Carlos and Diego," Nina introduced herself and the twins.
"Hi, my name is Mia Toretto-O'Conner. And this is my brother, Dom," the woman introduced herself and the bald muscular man. "How are you doing?" Dom said. "So, where's your husband?"
"Oh, actually...my husband isn't exactly with us anymore," Nina said sadly which got Mia silently gasping.
"I'm sorry, Nina. I can imagine how hard it is for these little guys," Mia said.
"It has, Mia. But it was especially hard on Ava," Nina said which got Mia and Dom confused.
"Oh, right," Nina said then called for her daughter and Ava stepped out to meet the new neighbors. "This is my daughter, Ava. Ava, these are our new neighbors from across the street, Mia, and her brother, Dom," Nina introduced Ava and the new neighbors to each other.
"It's nice to meet you," Ava said politely to Mia and Dom as she shook their hands.
"It's nice to meet you too, Ava," Mia said and when Ava walked away to continue unpacking, she noted, "You have very beautiful children, Nina. They look a lot like you".
"Maybe on the outside. But, they definitely have their father inside of them. Especially Ava, unfortunately," Nina said quietly laughing.
"If you don't mind us asking, what was their father like?" Mia asked curious.
"Well, by day, he's a doting stay-at-home dad while I work as a lawyer and by night, he was a car racer," Nina said what she remembered about her late husband which got Dom's attention.
"He was a racer?" Dom asked.
"Yeah, he would work on a car every day and Ava would help him out. It was so cute," Nina said as she smiled. Then, Dom had a look which meant that he had an idea.
"So, Ava knows all about cars, huh?" Dom asked Nina.
"Pretty much. Her father taught her all there is to know and she wants to be a racer herself when she gets a little older," Nina answered.
"We have an auto shop/garage nearby. We could use some extra hands if Ava is interested," Dom offered to which Ava overheard.
"Oh, well, I appreciate the offer, but you know...we just got here and...," Nina said about to turn down the offer until Ava interrupted.
"No! No, Mom! I want to take this job!" Ava begged which made Dom and Mia laugh a little.
"I guess the girl has spoken," Nina confirmed with a smile.
"Okay, Ava, you can start this Saturday. You'd be working full-time on the weekends since on weekdays, you've got school and homework," Dom said to her.
"You've got other kids working in the garage?" Nina asked half-joking and half-surprised that they know the hardships of juggling school and work.
"I have a son, Jack. He also works there on the weekends. And his three best friends from school also help out. They're the same age you are, Ava," Mia explained. "You'll probably see them at school, so they can give you the ropes then, okay?"
"Okay. Thanks so much for this," Ava said then went back into the house to unpack more. A few hours later at night as she looked outside her window to get a good sense of her surroundings, she spotted someone coming out of the Toretto house with a trash bag. While he's under the street light, Ava got a good look at him. That someone is about her height, has short blonde hair styled like Diego's, has crystal blue eyes, and has a pretty athletic body. Wow! That boy is cute! That must not be the Jack they talked about earlier, is it? Although it does make sense, he just came from their house. I'll know for sure tomorrow. Ava thought before she changed into her pajamas and went to bed thinking about the possibilities of what her new school might be like.