"COMING!!" Ashley called back, grabbing a ponytail holder and running down the stairs.
She had grown a lot in the last 2 years. She was even taller than Taylor. Her intellegence was higher than any of the other 7-year-olds she knew, besides Taylor. This was the thing that held Taylor and her together the most; their brains. They loved the conversations they had. They said things other 7 year olds didn't know how to prononuce. Part of this may have been due to the fact that they were both homeschooled, so they could have more individual teaching. The other half could be that they were both pretty used to watching court TV whenever possible, where everyone used big, professional words.
"Ashley I'm getting in the car. You better hurry," her mother told her as she appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She ran to find her baseball cap, which was thrown haphazardly on the bar.
Ashley ran out to the car wondering what Taylor and she would talk about today. The ride seemed extremley short. As soon as they pulled up, Ashley was out of the car and to the door.
Mrs. Hanson let them in. Mrs. Phillips and Mrs. Hanson had become close friends since the 'play group' incident.
"The boys are outside, Ash," Mrs. Hanson told Ashley, who was sprinting to the back door already.
"Thanks, Mrs. Hanson!!" Ashley called over her shoulder
"Don't get too dirty, Ashley!" her mother shouted. Ashley barely even heard her.
Ashley hurried outside. Isaac was sitting on the ground with Zac, pointing out a roley-poley that was crawling across the patio. Taylor was playing with someone over by the big tree. Ashley walked over to them.
"Hey, Tay!" she shouted.
"Hey Ash," he said as she came closer. "This is Jenni." He pointed to the girl standing next to him. She was shorter than Taylor with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes. Her eyes weren't as pretty as Taylor's though. This was one of the first things Ashley noticed about Taylor, he had really pretty eyes.
"So what are you guys doing?" Ashley asked.
"We were looking for pine cones, but now that you're here I don't know," Jenni told her, snidely.
Ashley decided right then and there that she didn't like Jenni. She and Taylor just continued doing what they were. Taylor was ignoring her and it bothered Ashley...a lot. She heard them laughing she knew that was supposed to be her and Taylor laughing not Taylor and Jenni. She could tell she was getting mad, but what happened next was not even what she expected.
She was listening to their conversation when she heard Jenni say that Taylor was her best friend. She got up walked over to Jenni and hit her.
"Wrong, Jenni. He is MY best friend," Ashley yelled.
Jenni got up and ran to her house next door, crying.
"Ash why did you do that?" Taylor asked furiously.
"I don't know," Ashley said, ashamed and embarrassed by her actions.
"Well I'm telling Mom," he said accusingly. Taylor ran towards the house, then paused to open the sliding glass door. He disappeared inside. A few minutes later her mother came out mad.
"ASHLEY LYNN PHILLIPS!!!! We are going home right now," she yelled, grabbing her daughter's hand and pulling her around the house and into the front yard.
Ashley got into the car, thinking, Oh man, is this gonna be a bad day...
"You hit her?" Martha asked, incredulously.
"Yeah. She had a black eye for a couple of days," Ashley said with a shrug.
"You were one mean little child," Martha joked, pulling a comb sharply through Ashley's wet hair.
"When it came to my friends, I was very protective," Ashley said, slightly snubbed.
"Well, come on. I wanna hear more."
