"Ugh, do I have to do this?" 14-year-old Maya Hummel-Anderson groaned.

"Yes - it's for school and it's only for three days," one of Maya's fathers, Blaine Anderson laughed.

"But I'm going to miss the game!" Maya whined, referencing the Yankees game on TV she had been looking forward to seeing until she found out about this dang field trip.

"We've already got the recording set," Maya's other father, Kurt Hummel said, also chuckling at his daughter's dramatics.

"Oh, look - there's Olive, Jesse, and Rachel!" Blaine said.

Rachel St. James, who had been the egg donor for Kurt and Blaine, as well as Maya's surrogate mother, was about six months pregnant with her and Jesse's second daughter. Their older daughter, Olive, was 13 and a grade below Maya. Upon seeing her half-sister, Olive gave an enthusiastic wave.

Maya waved back, but less enthusiastically.

"Isn't this so exciting!" Olive asked.

"For you, maybe," Maya sighed.

"But, Maya - Little House on the Prairie was how we first bonded!" Olive teased. This was true. Up until Olive was nine and Maya was ten, the pair couldn't stand each other, despite multiple attempts by their parents to create bonding opportunities.

The relationship shifted however when Blaine and Kurt went on vacation and Maya stayed with the St. James family. Initially, tensions had been high and Olive had been told to apologize for some mean things she had said to Maya. Her parents did allow her to spend some alone time watching Little House on the Prairie in their room before apologizing. Maya had ended up joining her and the two were now as close as close could be.

"You even went as Mary and Laura for Halloween one year," Blaine added.

"Yes, but I was eleven," Maya sighed. "A lot has changed in three years, Dad B. My pioneer cosplaying days are over. Or so I thought," she muttered.

The seventh and eighth graders at Olive and Maya's school, a private K-12 all-girls school, spent three days living as pioneers in a pioneer reenactment village every spring. Last year, Maya had had her tonsils removed during the time she was supposed to go on the trip, and as painful as the recovery had been, she was relieved she didn't have to make the trek to rural New York and live without modern conveniences for 72 hours. She mentally chided her appendix for still functioning properly.

"Just go into it with an open mind," Kurt laughed, squeezing Maya on the shoulder.

"We're going to have so much fun!" Olive added. Olive, while not quite as into the Little House franchise as she used to be, still enjoyed reruns, and was very theatrical, just like her parents. The chance to dress up and pretend to be someone else always thrilled her.

Jesse, Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine took the girls to the building where they were to get their housing/family assignments.

"Bye, Oli," Rachel said. "Have fun and we'll see you on Friday morning!" Rachel kissed Olive's forehead.

"Can't wait to hear all about it," Jesse added, also giving Olive a hug.

Rachel also gave Maya a hug, as did her dads.

"You're going to be just fine," Blaine kissed Maya's forehead, as did Kurt and the two couples bid their children goodbye and left with the other parents.

Maya and Olive walked up to the table where the 7th and 8th Grade history teachers, Mrs. Morris and Ms. Jason were sitting along with a man who Maya and Olive assumed worked at the village.

"Hi girls!" Mrs. Morris greeted the pair. She turned to the man.

"Hummel-Anderson and St. James," she told him.

The man thumbed through a stack of index cards. "Maya and Olive?" He asked.

The girls nodded in confirmation.

"Mary and Martha Anderson. Here's a map of the village. The Anderson house is right there," the man said.

"Thank you," Olive smiled. Maya forced a smile as well but said nothing.

"How fun girls, you get to be sisters this weekend!" Mrs. Morris said. Mrs. Morris had now had both of them as students and while she didn't know all the details, she did know they were really good friends and had pushed for having them put in the same house, knowing Maya wasn't thrilled about the whole arrangement.

"Did you hear that - we get to be sisters this weekend!" Maya said. She liked Mrs. Morris, but her enthusiasm was almost sickening.

Olive laughed. "Thank God it's just for the weekend."

"Oh I know," Maya chimed in. "Ugh…I guess we're really doing this."

"Oh, you even get to keep part of your last name - I think you'll be okay," Olive rolled her eyes.

The girls soon arrived at the house they'd be staying in. A middle aged man, woman, and two teenage boys came out of the house.

"Hello," the man greeted. "I'm Dan, and I'm going to be your 'Pa' for the next three days. This is Ruby, she'll be your 'Ma', and these are your brothers - Michael and Matthew."

"I'm Olive but I guess my name is Mary for the next few days," Olive grinned and happily shook the hands of every member of her fake family.

"I'm Maya but you can call me Martha," Maya sighed, also shaking everyone's hands.

"You girls best get in the house and get into your dresses before school starts in an hour!" Ruby said.

"Yes, ma'am!" Olive replied, quickly getting into character.

Ruby showed the girls the bedroom they'd be sharing and brought them their dresses. Maya insisted on changing in the boys' room, as they were outside doing chores. Olive was not completely convinced Maya wouldn't climb out the window and make a break for it, but just as Olive was twirling in her beautiful pink calico dress, Maya entered wearing her blue one and glaring.

Olive opened her mouth to say something, but Maya cut her off.

"Shut up," she said.

Olive feigned a gasp.

"I'll tell Pa and he'll take you to the woodshed!" She said dramatically.

"Very funny," Maya rolled her eyes.

Ruby entered again.

"Your school bags are on your bed over there," she said gesturing to two small leather bags on the bed. "They have everything you need: your slate, chalk, eraser cloth, books. Here's your lunch pail - cucumber sandwiches, apples, and a cookie each,"

She smiled. "You best be on your way," she handed Maya the pail and Olive picked up their school bags and handed one to her sister.

"Be good for Mr. Hawthorne!" Ruby said. "You still have your map, right?"

Maya nodded.

"The schoolhouse will be on there. Off you go!" Ruby led the girls to the front door and after bidding their fake mother goodbye, Maya and Olive were off.

Maya and Olive soon found the schoolhouse and saw several other students milling about in the schoolyard. Many they recognized from school, but others they didn't - these were the volunteers portraying siblings of their classmates.

Olive and Maya found Olive's friend Sara.

"What's your name?" Olive asked.

"Betsy Robinson," Sara replied. "You?"

"We're Mary and Martha Anderson," Olive replied. "We've also got two brothers."

"I've got a baby sister," Sara said. "Like a literal baby. My pioneer parents are 31 so they would've been eighteen when I was born. I know that was normal back then but wow. It just feels so strange."

"This whole thing feels strange," Maya absentmindedly kicked up some dirt in the schoolyard.

Sara laughed. "At least it's just for three days."

Before Maya or Olive could respond, a bespectacled man came out ringing a hand bell.

The students filed in - with Mr. Hawthorne directing the boys to enter through the boys' door and the girls through the girls' door.

"Great - I manage to get away from school for three days only to end up at a different school," Maya said.

Olive laughed and followed behind her sister.