Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the recognizable characters in this story. The only characters I own are the OC's.


A young girl held onto the outstretched hand of an older woman. Gripping it as though it was her only lifeline. The rain was pelting them from left and right. The umbrella only covering so much of them. Their feet soaked because of the various puddles that littered the sidewalk. Iron clad gates swung open upon their arrival. They ran up the steps and opened the big stain glass doors. A petite woman with wispy blonde hair walked down the stairs.

"Hello, my name is Mrs. Emily Warner and I am the Dean of Students here at St. Su. And may I ask your name young lady?" She said with a polite voice to the little girl, bending down so she was at the child's eye level.

"I'm Mickayla Taylor," the young girl said, looking at Warner without a hint of fear.

"What a beautiful name. Is it alright if you go and wait in the lobby while I talk to Mrs. Boiyd?" Mrs. Warner pointed towards the oak door at the far end of the little hall. Mickayla shook her head and walked towards the lobby. As soon as she was out of earshot the two women looked at one another. "Mrs. Boiyd, how is her behavior usually?" She asked as they made their way to her office at the other end of the hall.

"Well behaved at her foster center, she was very well liked by the other girls," Mrs. Boiyd said as they stopped in front of the office.

"Splendid." Mrs. Warner said, opening up the door and gesturing for Mrs. Boiyd to take the seat next to another woman who was writing on some forms.

Mickayla let the oak door close behind her and took in the sights of the room. Everything was a deep crimson color. Another girl was sitting on the sofa staring out the window. Mickayla walked up to her. She stuck out her hand. "Hey, I'm Mickayla, but call me Mick." She said when the girl looked at her.

"Hi, I'm Robin, I prefer to be called Rob or Robs. New here?" She said with a strong Philly accent.

"Yea. My social worker just brought me here."

"Huh. Mine did the same thing forever ago. She's still in the office signing papers to get me transferred here."

"How old are you?" Mick plopped down on the couch next to Rob.

"8, you?"

"Me too. Don't you think it's just a little bit odd that two girls are the same age and are basically in the same situation?"

"Uh-huh. Parents die?" Rob said brushing a stray hair back behind her ear.

"Nope never knew them."

"Me too. Did they send you away 'cuz you were 'too smart' to handle?" Rob said using air quotes around too smart.

"Yea. I took an IQ test like two years ago and they have been sending me from school to school to see if I can go there, but not a lot of them accept wards from the state."

"Yea, I know that too. God this place is boring." Rob said getting off the couch and walking up so she was right next to the window.

"You from Philly?" Mick said walking up next to her.

"Guess you can tell. You?"

"I think I might have been born in Florida."

"Long way from there."

"Yup. This couple was going to adopt me so we came here, got everything ready. Disaster struck and a fire destroyed everything. The couple balked, and so Mrs. Boiyd has been taking me from private school to private school." Rob turned to meet Mick and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry." They stood like that for a few silent seconds. Both of them just staring outside at the monstrous storm. "Wanna go outside and play in the rain?"

"As long as we don't sing in the rain, sure." They both ran to the oak door and pulled it open slightly. They peeked around the side and checked to see if anyone was around. Silently running through the hall, they pulled open the door and dashed outside. Within just a few moments they were soaked down to their bones. Neither child cared and they continued to run around. They splashed through the puddles, mud sliding down their legs. The way that the two were playing, it was as if they had known each other since they were born.