It was a very breezy morning in Woodsville, the year was 1990 and it was mid-summer time. A small farmhouse on a narrow dirt road in a small barn awoke a girl 12 years old named Kenzie. She awoke from the sun glistening though the glass window. She got up from the hay and shook the hay out of her long curly strawberry blonde hair. Kenzie walked over to the back window of the barn and started into the forest that surrounded her whole backyard behind the farmhouse. Then a sound of footsteps came from outside. Kenzie's mother dressed in a white frilly nightgown and messy red hair up in a twist. "Kenzie Look at yourself, did you sleep in here AGAIN!" asked her mother. Kenzie seemed not to be paying attention and said "yes mom, it's so inspiring to wake up in a barn though, it would be good for the story I'm writing". Her mother looked at her confused but with a smile. She really didn't understand Kenzie a lot of the time. She walked over to the window and looked outside. "Yes the forest is beautiful in the morning Kenzie but enough of this nonsense. if you sleep in here it must be cold even in the summer and you could get sick and when the summer is over your going to stop this daydreaming and writing stories and concentrate on school work do you understand Mackenzie Kathleen!". Kenzie looked at her mother with frustration, she hated when she used her real name. she also hated that her mother didn't understand her passions for writing stories. "Mom you don't understand I love writing stories and I hate school nobody there likes me and they think I'm weird and I don't have any friends and I don't want to talk about school because it's still summer time!". Kenzie took a deep breath and said "Also it's not even cold in the barn at night". Her Mother looked at her like she was from another planet then she said "Fine Kenzie we will not further discuss school until you have to go back. But your not to sleep in this barn again, your not an animal. Now go inside dad made breakfast before going to work on the buffalo ranch". Then her mother opened the door and went inside the farmhouse. Kenzie went out and slammed the red barn door and went inside the house. She walked into the kitchen. There sat her sister and brother, Kris then Erica. Erica was sitting there already in her best dress, Erica was 7 years old and very smart for her age she also played the violin. Kris was 15 and always worked on the farm in the summer time. She also had a baby sister, Kassie who was 6 months old. She was sleeping Kenzie guessed. Kenzie did have another brother Colby but he moved away when he was 18 to the city. There Kenzie sat beside Erica at the large wooden table. She smelled eggs and bacon even before she sat down. As usually Kris was done before Kenzie started eating. Kris then put his dishes in the sink and grabbed the chicken feed bag and brown coat and off he went outside to start his day. Kenzie got her plate of breakfast and got some milk. She looked at Erica then she said "Erica your dress is nice, but what's so special about today?". Erica took a sip of her milk and told Kenzie in a matter-of-fact "Mom told me that we have new neighbors! I think they have a girl mine and your age. Wouldn't that be so great if she was my friend? Mom also told me that we are all meeting after lunch". Kenzie smiled then went into the den to see mother holding Kassie. "Mom is it true that we are going to have new neighbors?" Kenzie didn't notice until after she said this that she screamed the sentence outloud. Mother kissed Kassie's head and said "Well yes and they have a daughter Samantha who is your age and Samantha's cousin who lives with them is named Julie, she is Erica's Age. They live with Samantha's Mother and grandmamma". Kenzie was so excited she yelled out "ALRIGHT!" Kenzie then rushed upstairs to her room. Her room was Pretty small and had a desk that her father had made with lots of stacks of papers on it (for her writing of course).Her bed was a light lilac bed trim and the bed frame made of smooth oak. Then she flew open her dresser and got out her best dress. Her grandmamma brought it for her before she passed away last year. The dress was a dark navy with a light blue trimmed lace on the front. Kenzie put on her dress and did her hair up in a twist. Her hair was so long and curly it took a few tries to get it neat looking but today on her fourth try she got it. She was on her way out of her room when she tripped on a grey covered book that was standing right side up near her door. She chucked the book onto her bed and walked out of her room into the upstairs hall came Woofie. Woofie is Kenzie's five year old French bulldog. Woofie loves going into the forest with Kenzie. Kenzie then told her mother that she was going outside and she would be back for lunch time. So off she went skipping towards the forest. The blue clouds were very bright today thought Kenzie. She walked slowly into the forest to a huge grey rock near a small stream then a deep pond beside it. When Kenzie was little she used to swim in the small stream but now she was too tall and she was too short and not allowed to swim in the deep pond. The water was always over her head even on a dry day. Kenzie sat on the huge grey rock and took out a piece of paper from a dark hollow spot inside the tree beside the small stream. She began scribbling away until she heard footsteps from behind her. The only one who comes here is me and Woofie, and Woofie is inside thought Kenzie. There a short girl who looked about 10 with short straight black hair, deep blue eyes and dimples. She was wearing a yellow sundress with her arm folded holding a rat. She smiled and said "hi". Kenzie said "hello who are you?" The girl answered "Hello my name is Samantha, I live just beside that farmhouse over there, I just moved here today". "Oh you're my new neighbor awesome, my name is Kenzie". They both sat and talked about their interests. Samantha told Kenzie she loves writing as well, and how this is the 5th place she moved and all about her rat Tori who she took everywhere she went. she also said that she wanted a pet horse but she wasn't allowed because they kept moving around. also that when Samantha was 9 years old she took horseback riding lessons. Kenzie thought that Samantha was very nice and had never met anyone with the same interests as herself and that she was the nicest person she had ever met and maybe just finally her wish would come true and she would have a friend. Then Kenzie looked at her watch and it was after lunch! "Oh no it's after lunch your family and my family are meeting right now". Both girls ran out of the woods and saw Kenzie's Mother holding Kassie outside with Kris and Erica. Kenzie's Mother looked at Kenzie and said "Kenzie where have you been?" Kenzie told her mother "sorry Mom I went into the woods and I met our new neighbor Samantha! I lost track of time me and Samantha were talking and she is really nice". Samantha blushed and smiled. Then the whole family went over to Samantha's house, a small cottage near the farmhouse. There stood Samantha's Mother and a short old woman that apparently was Samantha's grandmamma. her eyes dark and glaring, she looked like she was hiding something. Also right next to Samantha's Mother was a Small girl who had red hair and freckles and green eyes Samantha's 8 year old cousin Julie. Right away Erica and Julie became friends.

2 weeks later after the family had became friends a very breaking news story for Woodsville a total of over 3,000 dollars missing from the bank of Woodsville! Police search everywhere but nothing is found. the next few days Kenzie is over at Samantha's house and Kenzie finds it very creepy that all Samantha's grandmamma does is sit all alone in the dark and watch a black and white television. Today Samantha's mother, Kenzie's Mother, Julie and Erica all went to the flower planting event held in the town park. While this was going on Kenzie was staying with Samantha for the day. Kenzie looked around Samantha's house "neat kitchen" said Kenzie. Samantha watched Kenzie look at a door that led to the basement. Samantha quickly held her rat tighter and jerked in front of the door. Samantha looked funny and suspicious. "Sorry Kenzie the basement is off limits we are still unpacking it's a big mess". Kenzie and Samantha then planned that next Saturday to go swimming in the deep pond in the woods. They promised to show Kenzie a special story she just got done writing. While Samantha went to the bathroom Kenzie opened the basement door and looked inside. There was wall to wall with gems, gold pieces, safes with the locks off with each safe stuffed with money and checks of all sorts. In that moment Kenzie knew her life would be changed forever, but yet she carried on like it was nothing and no one knew she knew. She was scared that she would get her only friend in trouble so she never said anything, even after 5,000 more dollars went missing. Saturday morning she awoke but still in a dream. She had a dream about the girl she was writing about in her story, the lonely girl was trapped and screaming. She stayed in her room until lunch. Her mother then brought in her lunch and suddenly she remembered her promise to Samantha to show her how to swim. She has forgotten all about it because of her daydreaming. She hurried off into the forest and quickly saw a mess of black moss bobbing from the water in the deep pond. But as she looked closer she saw that it was human hair not moss. Tears sprang to Kenzie's eyes. As she shouted "Samantha". Kenzie leaped into the water and tried to drag Samantha out. Her lungs started to fill with water then she saw Woofie barking and watched him leap into the water and Kenzie held onto Woofie as they all got out of the water. Kenzie listened to hear what she was afraid of…Samantha's heart had stopped beating. she forgot to keep her promise to her best friend because of her stupid daydreams, Samantha was gone and unlike the stories she wrote you can erase the mistakes this was real. There were no erasers. She looked over to the huge grey rock and there was a paper titled "The truth to my best friend Kenzie".There it read;

"Dear Kenzie I wanted to tell you but I couldn't because I've never told anyone before. I hate it that my family steals that's why we move so much because we are poor and my mother and grandmamma always do it even when we aren't poor. It's a shame to see their lives wasted like this but I have never had anyone I could trust like you Kenzie. You are my best friend and I love spending time with you Kenzie. Please don't take this the wrong way if you didn't know about the money. P.s I am looking forward to spending as much time as I can with you here, From Samantha". Kenzie was soaking wet and crying, she went to her family and told them and Samantha's family was just as devastated. Everyone was sad and crying for days and Tori went to Kenzie. The next few days later Samantha knew what she had to do. She read the letter out loud to her family, the police, the mayor and while Samantha's family was there too. Samantha's family had to go to jail for 2 years and after that go to a place that deals with handling this action. Kenzie knew that Samantha would want her family to stop their stealing addiction and Kenzie couldn't stop them on her own. Samantha's funeral was very small and heartbreaking for many people. But now Kenzie learned a lot from Samantha, and not to always daydream and spend every day writing these stories of hers because in a dream you can change things but in reality there are no Erasers.

By Victoria Weir

THE END

Copyrighted.2005