The door to the prison opened, and Anna looked up from her drawing to see Rachel and Fanny standing near the door. She smiled.

"Hi. What's up?"

The blonde walked over and sat down in one of the chairs, the red-head following close behind. I put down my pencil and folded my hands in my lap, my head slightly tilted in curiosity.

"Anna, can you explain this story to us?" She slid a notebook in my direction, which I immediately recognized as my storybook. I picked it up and flipped through it.

"Which one?"

"Playing pretend."

" Oh, the one with Rita and James. Sure, but… what's there to explain? It's one of the ones I actually kinda FINISHED, so…"

"How about we start with the basics. What inspired you to write this?"

"My own childhood. I played pretend all the time, and my best friend was this boy who wanted to be an inventor. So…"

"What about the part when their adults?"

"Well, to be honest, that part was inspired by a lot of things. My parents, the stereotypical villain/hero relationship…"

"What interests me is ow' much they act like kids."

"Well, the way I see it, adults are just kids with more experience."

The room stayed silent for a few more moments while the two girls processed this new idea. Eventually, Anna went back to her drawing. Rachel stood up and walked around the table to look over Anna's shoulder.

"What's that?"

"Oh! It's just some scenery for my science fiction cartoon, Earth Girl & Space Boy."

"Looks an awful lot like the moon base. Only, with less two by four technology."

"Two by four technology? What's that?"

"That's confidential."

"Oh. Bummer."

"You know, you act a lot like a kid for a teenager."

"Just because I'm a teenager, doesn't mean I'm not still a kid. I have a lot to learn before I go out into the world on my own. I'm only fourteen, after all."

"That's… quite a perspective."

"Yeah. A lot of people don't want to admit that they can't take care of themselves alone."

"So… what's this Earth Girl and Space Boy thing about, anyways?"

"Okay, so imagine that you're stargazing, when all of a sudden, an alien spaceship crashes in your front yard. That's what happened to Katy … hold on, I'll sketch her for you …"

Anna turned the page and, in about 30 seconds, there was a picture of a little girl with tanned skin, long black hair, stylized pointy bangs, and a little black dress over a red T-shirt with a thick red belt with a large circular buckle smiling up from the page with her large amber-red eyes.

"There. See? That's Katy."

"Oy! How'd ya do that?"

"Do what?"

"Draw that there girl so quick?"

"Well, it's not that hard. Especially since I've drawn Katy, like, a thousand different times before."

"That's amazing. I saw your pictures, but I had no idea you did them so quickly."

"Well, I've been making art for, like, thirteen years. With that much practice, anyone would be good at it."

"Wait a minute. Can I see that first picture?"

Anna nodded curiously and turned the page back to the first drawing - the scenic art. Rachel examined it closely, a serious and calculating expression on her face that Anna found eerily familiar.

"Bearing a few minor alterations, I'd say that this looks almost exactly like that corridor we went down earlier. But you've only seen it once. How did you do that?"

"Well, the same way I draw my characters. I imagine what I want to draw, figure out the structure, and then just put it down. Really, the hardest part is finding a place to start."

"So you can take a picture in your mind and copy it down on paper?"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far. I don't have a photographic memory - I'm just really good at visualizing."

Rachel got up and started pacing. Fanny slowly stood up from her own seat, worried.

"Numbah 362? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, numbah 86. Just thinking."

"Why do you guys do that?"

Rachel stopped her pacing and scrutinized Anna.

"Do what?"

"Use numbers instead of names. I mean, you guys are friends, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, then doesn't it seem a little too formal to use numbers?"

"It's kids next door protocol."

"But Cody uses his real name."

"Because he's not used to standard procedure yet."

"Seems like a pretty weird rule for a group of kids to make up. I'd think you'd use super hero names or something. Numbers seem a little… I don't know, boring. And confusing. I mean, I know I can't keep track of all those numbers - I've been thinking of you two as blonde and red-head."

"Oy! You call me numbah 86, and no'tin' else! Got it, teenager?"

"Calm down, numbah 86. I can understand where she's coming from. Perhaps what we need is a proper introduction."

Rachel walked over to where Anna was kneeling, her face softening and her hand outstretched.

"Hi. I'm numbah 362, leader of the Kids Next Door. But you can call me Rachel. And this is Fanny, my associate."

"Oy! Don' tell er that!"

Anna took the outstretched hand, smiling and ignoring Fanny's red face.

"It's an honor to meet you, Rachel. You too, Fanny." She released the hand, and her face became contemplating. "You know, it's funny. I have an aunt named Rachel - AND she's married to a woman named Flannery."

"Oy! What are you suggesting?"

"Nothing, it's just a coincidence. Actually, their daughter Kelly is my best friend. She's kinda mischievous, but she knows how to get stuff done and she's a lot of fun to talk to. Her mother Flannery was the leader of my troop back when I was a girl scout, and she's really awesome - kinda rough, but she knows a lot of cool physical and outdoors-y stuff, even if she's a little mean to the guys who sometimes come to help out. And aunt Rachel's really smart and authoritative - but she's an attorney, so I suppose she'd have to be. And… and I'm ranting, aren't I? Sorry, I just tend to go on and on and… I'm doing it again. I'll shut up now."

"It's fine, Anna. To be honest, the fact that you're so open is kinda refreshing. I'd love to hear more."

"Really?"

"Sure, I-" beep "-hold that thought." Rachel flipped open a wooden cell phone and pressed it to her ear. "Numbah 362, kids next door leader. … uh huh … what? … again? … *sigh* sure, I'll get right on it. Just don't panic, all right? We don't need another noodles incident." She shut the phone closed with a beep, and turned towards Anna.

"I'm sorry, Anna, but duty calls. We should do this again sometime."

"Okay, Rachel. Oh, before you go, do you think you can tell Cody to bring me some food?"

"Sure. But, just to warn you, it's probably all going to be vegetables."

"Well, I'm vegetarian, so that's perfect."

Rachel left, leaving Anna with Fanny. Fanny leaned in close, a glare in her eyes.

"Ummm… hi?"

"Oh, don't you 'um, hi' ME! You might av' got numbah 362 fooled, but I ain't so easy ta convince. I know your type - pretendin' ta be so nice an' innocent, so you can butter us up real nice an' pretend ta be our friends before you turn right around an betray us. But ya can't fool me. I'm the head o' decommissioning, so I know that you can't ever … EVER … trust a teenager. Even if they aren't even a teenager yet. And you can hurt me, but know this - if you dare to even THINK bout' hurting Rachel, you WILL regret it. An' that's a promise … TEENAGER."

With that, she left the room, leaving behind a very confused teenage girl.