Maya doesn't remember much about her childhood. What she knows is that her parents were drug addicts and left Lewis to raise her and her sister, something she is very thankful for but wouldn't admit. She doesn't remember their time in foster care and she barely knows other members of her family outside of who she was raised with. All she knows is that they weren't willing to help and she despises them for it. Maybe if they had helped her parents would still be alive and she wouldn't be forced into this life of perfection where she must walk a tight rope and follow the strict rules given to her.

When her parents had passed away she and her siblings were left in the system as social workers tried to find family to take them in and though they were hesitant at first, they took them. William and his wife bit the bullet. They had the money and the huge house but did they have the gene that made them good parents? Maya would say no. In that house everything had to be perfect-like a magazine. The kids were forced to stay in their rooms, they could only play there and if any toys or mess were found outside of those rooms they were punished. William and Estella wanted perfection and to accomplish this they categorized each child. While Lewis was defined as the athlete, Maya was crowned as the perfect one.