Jennifer Mason was a headstrong little six year old. No one made or told Jennifer to do anything that she didn't want to do. You could ask just about anyone in Haven about "that Mason girl" and damn near every single one of the citizens would tell you the same thing.
"Too stubborn for her own good."
Her mother, when asked, or more accurately, when told that her daughter was too stubborn for her own good, would only smile and say, "Oh I know. She's coming along quite nicely, if I do say so myself."
She was also quite independent. More often than not, she could be found at the park in downtown Haven, sitting in the gazebo there and reading something that was often well above her age level. But, again, no one told Jennifer Mason what she couldn't do.
Plenty of people would mumble and grumble about how a girl her age shouldn't be walking around alone, but few people did anything about it. Besides, enough people cared about "that Mason girl" that she was never truly left unsupervised. And when her Great Uncles were the Teague brothers, there wasn't much she could do that they weren't aware of.
One day, while she was sitting and reading like she usually did, a boy approached her. He was a few years older than her, but not by much, he was scrawny with skinned knees and missing teeth. She knew him, distantly, as the Crocker boy. She had been told, by numerous Havenites who thought themselves to be her substitute parents because of the hands off approach that her mother seemed to have about raising her, to avoid the Crocker boy if at all possible. She had not once been told this by her mother, and it was only her mother's advice she ever heeded—that is, if she ever chose to heed such advice.
He stood there, watching her, his hair too long and obscuring his eyes slightly, and not saying anything. Jennifer continued to read her book, not trying to ignore the boy, but not quite sure what to say to him either.
Finally, he was the one to break their silence, "Why're you always readin'?"
Jennifer looked at him and shrugged, "I dunno. And I ain't always readin'. I do all sorts'a stuff."
He shook his head and flashed her a gapped tooth smile, "No ya don't! When I see ya, you're always readin'."
She narrowed her eyes at him, "But do ya always see me?"
He considered this for a moment, studying her, "No."
She smiled at him, very self-satisfied, and marked her page. She closed the book and stood, "So how do you know that I don't do all sorts'a stuff?"
The Crocker boy glared at her. She just kept smiling at him and held her hand out to him as she clutched the book to her chest, "I'm Jennifer Mason."
He looked at her hand and then back to her, "I know who you are. Don't you know who I am? What're ya doin'?"
"My momma says it's always good to introduce yourself to people you talked to." She stated matter-of-factly, still holding her hand out to him, "So hi. I'm Jennifer Mason."
He looked from her hand to her again before taking it and shaking it once, "Duke Crocker."
She beamed at him and and pumped his arm solidly. She let his hand go and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "It's nice to meet ya Duke. I have to go home now. Got stuff to do other than readin'."
Before she was completely out of ear shot, Duke yelled after her, "I'll believe it when I see it!"
She stopped, turned, and yelled back, "Then you better start payin' attention, Duke Crocker!"