Prologue

Ring around the Rosie,
A pocketful of posey,
Ashes, ashes,
We all fall down.

"Alright, Susan, I’ll be back at five to get Alexandra. Don’t worry, she ate before we came." Both women smiled, a little wearily; Alex was notoriously finicky, even for a seven-year-old. Laura, the one speaking, was a cheerful brunette woman of about thirty. She had a warm smile, which began to fade now at the thought of leaving the little neighborhood.

Impulsively, she hugged Susan, adding softly, "I don’t know what Peter and I would have done without you, here in Vermont. You’ve been such a sweetheart since the first moment we came. Remember the fire alarm, our first night in the house?"

Susan, a wispy blond woman with large blue eyes, smiled wryly, "I thought you were crazy, running down the street in the middle of the night. God, Laura, has it really been eight years already?"

"I know. I feel so… old!"

They grinned, meeting each other’s eyes then turning to look at their two daughters. The little seven-year-olds were seated in the corner, whispering to each other behind their small hands and giggling.

"I wonder how they’re going to take it."

"I’m trying not to think of what a little hellcat Alex will be, without Molly around to keep her sane. Well, I’ll see you at five."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Alexandra was a brash, precocious little girl of seven with dark eyes, spiky black hair, and freckles. She was often mistaken for a boy, and her nickname—Alex—didn’t improve matters. Molly, on the other hand, was the perfect little lady at the age of seven and a half. She had her mother’s clear blue eyes, a delicate, pale face, and impossibly pale blond hair.

They balanced each other perfectly; Alex had a penchant for getting them into trouble, but could get them out just as easily with one of her winning, toothy grins. Molly, on the other hand, was shyer and more reserved, but she had an unerring sense of what would lead to real punishment.

They sat, now, perched on the balcony off Molly’s house, their legs swinging in the air underneath them. Molly rested her head against the railing, sitting on her hands and staring off into the backyard, but Alex was already beginning to fidget.

"Know what we should do?" she demanded abruptly.

Molly shrugged. "What?" she asked cautiously, inclining her head toward Alex and squinting.

Alex kicked the bucket of sidewalk chalk at their feet, grinning widely. "I've got an idea." Familiar words, repeated many times a day with occasionally disastrous results. "C’mon… follow me!"

They scrambled over the railing, grabbing the chalk and running into the shade behind Molly’s house. There, under Alex’s direction, they began to grind the chalk into orderly piles of dust. It was one of those remarkably mindless, pointless tasks that can absorb a child for hours, and soon they had finished the entire bucket.

Alex rubbed her little hand in the green pile before, grinning wickedly, she smeared it across her face. The chalk dust caught in her eyebrows, and left a long, neon green streak. Molly giggled, reaching out to rub a little off Alex’s nose, then placed it solemnly on her own. They worked steadily, and by the time five o’ clock rolled around, both little girls’ faces were coated in chalk. Green cheeks and foreheads, pink eyebrows, and glowing yellow ears.

When Laura arrived, they dashed out at her, growling. She stared at them for a moment in pure incomprehension, then sighed, laughing. Inside, Susan was given the same treatment, but she had been watching the girls all afternoon, and was prepared. When they leapt at her, she let out an exaggerated shriek, and jumped backwards several feet.

Alex and Molly collapsed in giggles, looking into each other’s green faces. They were still grinning when Laura gave Susan another hug, then, taking Alex by the hand, walked out to the packed SUV. It wasn’t until Alex, nestled down amongst the suitcases, realized what was going on that she began to worry.

"When are we coming back, Mommy? Mommy? Molly and I didn’t get to play monsters."

"We won’t see them again for a long time, sweetheart. Remember? We’re moving to the city."

Alex didn’t respond, but scrambled to her feet, pulling herself up to see over the suitcases, through the dirty car window. The little white house was already beginning to shrink in the distance, and she could just make out Molly, the green chalk on her face smearing as she wiped tears on the back of her hand.

Alex sighed, sitting back down and wrapping her arms around her stomach. Something had started to hurt inside, feeling kind of hollow as though she hadn't eaten in a long time. Her face was hot to the touch, and tears began to drip off her nose. She could taste the chalk on her tongue, but that only made her stomach hurt more.

"Maybe you two will run into each other again, someday, Alex. It’s not like Susan and I are going to lose touch completely. Maybe they’ll come and visit us in New York."

A/N: Don't worry, It does get more exciting. This was just to lay some groundwork. This story may turn out to be quite controversial... I'll see how it goes. Consider yourself warned. In the meantime, back to writing. They'll be teenagers when you see them next (and we all know that teenagers are infinitely more interesting than seven-year-olds. To other teenagers, at least.)