Yeah, sorry it's been so long since I've updated. School takes up a lot of time...

Considering the many years this story will take place over, there should be a lot of character development, in both Maddy and Grace. This will become obvious, at some point.

The next day, Maddy woke up feeling apprehensive. She put on a panda bear t-shirt and a matching skirt, then put on her sandals and brushed her hair.

"This is my first day of school," Maddy said to herself, looking in the mirror. "I wonder whom I'll meet. Whether I'll make friends."

A knock was heard at the door, and Maddy went to open it. It was Grace, all ready for school, with her backpack on.

"C'mon, Maddy!" said Grace. "Aren't you excited!? Today's our first day of school!" Maddy just nodded slowly.

"Where shall we eat breakfast?" Grace said, as the girls walked down the sidewalk.

"Um... how about we go to the cafe at Poseidon's Hangout?" Maddy suggested. "The one you mentioned yesterday."

"Oh, yes!" said Grace, clapping her hands together. "Let's go!" She took Maddy's hand and pulled the poor girl roughly down the street and all the way across MainStreet, through Windy Hollows, and to Poseidon's Hangout. The two of them entered a large building with a red carpet leading up to the door.

Maddy was surprised with how many people were there this early in the morning. Most of them were much older than them, too. Maddy wondered if they were still in school.

Maddy and Grace sat down at the cafe. Maddy was bothered by the loud music there.

"Gimme a donut," Grace said impolitely to the employee in front of them on the opposite side of the counter. The employee looked annoyed, and Maddy couldn't blame her as she leaned over and pulled a donut from the display case.

"And you?" said the worker to Maddy.

"Muffin," said Maddy. "Please."

The employee pulled a muffin from the display case and gave it to Maddy. Maddy began eating it, and Grace was already eating her donut.

"Hey, what are two little Newbies doing here?" a voice said from behind the girls. Maddy and Grace turned around. There was a boy standing behind them, and he looked like he'd graduated years ago.

"Donuts!" said Grace, with her mouth full.

"Breakfast," said Maddy calmly.

The boy laughed. "This place is for big kids."

"I am mentally much older than I am physically," said Maddy, irritated.

The boy looked confused and a bit stunned. He turned to Grace, who was licking her fingers having finished her donut. Then he turned back to Maddy, who was giving him a narrow-eyed stare. Then he turned and walked away, mumbling something to himself.

"Wow, Maddy!" said Grace. "You were really something! I've never seen you stand up to someone like that!" Maddy shrugged, bored. "C'mon, we should get going to school now." Maddy nodded and slid off her seat.

Eventually, the girls arrived in StoryLand. A crowd of three-year-old Newbies were gathered in a circle on the ground with their legs crossed, Frankie in the middle. Maddy and Grace walked over to the group and joined the other children on the ground.

"Good morning, Jumpees!" said Frankie.

"Good morning, Frankie!" said the children.

"Today, we're going to learn many things about StoryLand," Frankie began. "First, let's do something fun! Paint pictures! C'mon, everyone!" All the children began to get up and follow Frankie. Grace looked excited, and Maddy was just whatever. The group reached their destination and began to spread out on the ground to paint. Many lied on their stomachs to get comfortable. Frankie gave the children paper and paint and paintbrushes and sat down to watch them work.

Once all the children finished their paintings, Frankie asked them to take turns sharing their paintings with the class.

"Ooh, I wanna go first!" said Grace, waving her arm in the air.

Frankie smiled, glad to see Grace's healthy enthusiasm. "Okay, Grace."

Grace stood up in front of her class and held her painting proudly in front of her so that the other children could see it.

"This is a flower," said Grace. "It's a daisy. These are the petals." Grace pointed to parts of the painting. "This is the stem."

"Do you like flowers?" said Frankie.

"Certainly!" said Grace. "They're beautiful!"

"I'm glad you think so," said Frankie, smiling. "Later on in StoryLand you will get to plant your own. Any kind you like." Grace did a little happy dance and took her seat again.

"Maddy? Would you like to go next?" said Frankie, looking at the small, shy girl.

Without saying anything, Maddy walked up to the front of the group and held up her picture.

"It's a house," said Maddy.

"Very nice," said Frankie. "Is that green part the roof?"

"Yes," said Maddy. A girl in the class raised her hand, and Frankie called on her.

"I've never seen a house with a green roof," the girl said.

"Well," said Maddy, "the people who used to own the house were strange people who thought a green roof would be attractive. The people who live there now are too lazy to change the color."

The children seemed to find Maddy's explanation reasonable. No one said anything else about her painting.

"Okay then," said Frankie, after a brief silence. "How about we go to the library now?" It was as if he'd somehow forgotten the other children still needed to share their paintings. But no one said anything about it. They just followed Frankie to the library.

Grace walked beside Maddy. "You're strange," she said. "Aren't you?"

Maddy shrugged. "I suppose. Perhaps."

"That's fine with me," said Grace. "I hope you'll be able to make friends."

Maddy was beginning to wonder whether she even wanted friends. The other children seemed uninteresting to her. She looked at Grace, who was staring at her, probably waiting for some sort of response.

Finally, Maddy said, "I don't need any friends besides you. You're the only friend I really need."

Grace slowly began to smile. She took Maddy's hand. "And we'll be best friends forever." Maddy affectionately gave Grace's hand a little squeeze, and the two ran to catch up with their classmates.

Can't say when I'll be able to update again, with all this schoolwork. Anyway, in case you can't tell already, this story will focus more on the characters than on a single plot. Maddy is going to be an interesting character to write, considering how I have her future planned out and what kind of a person she is. She will become even more different from Grace than she is now. That will likely be the most important aspect of this story; the way Maddy changes.

Anyway, perhaps I'm revealing too much. See ya~!