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lightly curled locks of thick auburn hair blew to the side as the breeze ran through it. In her hands, she held her basket, and books that she needed for school. She stood on her porch, staring off into the vast seas of wheat and corn. Her dog shifted positions by her feet, earning a creaking sound from the old wood.

"Anastasia, dear, you must head off to school." Her mother exclaimed from behind her, earning a sharp gasp from Anastasia as she realized that she was staring out at nothing, not heading out to school like she thought she was.

"Right, I should get going. Good day, mother." She smiled, walking down the steps and onto the ground. Her mind was never set on one thing, always switching from one thing to another. She was never really one to focus, so in school, she was not the brightest. She would always stare off into nothing, playing with a strand of dark her absentmindedly.

She was so busy passing through multiple things in her mind, that she didn't notice the red-headed girl, and when she did, it was too late. Her books were sent tumbling down to the ground, and the girl looked quite shocked. Anastasia shook her head at her obliviousness, reaching down and grabbing her books. The girl did the same, handing her reader to her.

"I'm so sorry, I was just so worried about school that I wasn't paying attention and-" Anastasia cut her off with a laugh, earning a confused look from the girl. Anastasia took mind of the girl's beautiful red hair that was pulled into braids.

"No, no, it was my fault. I'm Anastasia, it's a pleasure to meet you." She let out, smiling at the girl. She seemed like she was about to explode with questions, and Anastasia was ready to answer them.

"Pleasure to meet you too, I'm Anne," The girl responded, looking at Anastasia's pink dress, "I love your dress. I wish I could wear pink, but red-haired girls aren't allowed to wear pink, it clashes with our hair."

"Thank you very much. And that is absolutely ridiculous," Anastasia scoffed, giggling along with Anne, "Also, I think your hair is beautiful."

The two continued their walk to school, sharing compliments and useless pieces of information they could remember. And when they reached the school they both parted ways, Anastasia running over to Jane, Josie, Ruby, and Tillie. Smiling as she reached them, Ruby was the only one to notice she had gotten a new dress.

"That is a beautiful dress, Ana," Ruby exclaimed, looking down at the fabric. Anastasia giggled, spinning around, making the fabric twirl. The two continued to talk for a bit until the others started walking over to Diana and Anne.

"This is Jane Andrews and Josie Pye and Ruby Gillis and Tillie Boulter and Anastasia Riley." Diana explained, and each of the girls said their hellos, "Everybody, this is Anne.

"It is a scrumptious pleasure to make your acquaintances and I shall do me most to prove myself worthy of your friendship." Anastasia smiled, taking note that Anne liked to use big words.

"Uh-" Diana interrupted, trying to find something else to talk about, "Anne likes to read, and she knows ever so many big words."

"That's an excellent trait to have, Anne. Big words are very important in one's future." Anastasia smiled at the red-haired girl, earning a smile back. But the smiles soon faded, as Josie made a rather rude comment.

"Does she use them all, in every sentence?" Josie chuckled, earning an angry glare from Anastasia.

"I like to read too," Tillie commented. Anastasia knew something was wrong with that statement, yet she couldn't quite wrap her finger around it. As the thoughts in her head were all jumbled up at the moment.

"No, you don't," Ruby exclaimed from beside Anastasia, earning an oh from inside Anastasia's cramped brain.

"No, I don't."

"I saw you at the church picnic, I'm sorry, I should have said hello," Jane exclaimed, earning a very confused look from Anastasia. You wouldn't have known it was her, anyway, what's the point of saying that?

"There were an awful lot of people there." Anne reasoned. Something in Anastasia's mind clicked, she must have seen her there too. She remembered seeing a glimpse of red hair zooming through the forest as she walked up with her mother.

"I think I saw you too, I'm so sorry I didn't say hello. I didn't know who you were, and I get awfully anxious at large events like those." Anastasia blurted out, biting her lip and nodding her head rather enthusiastically.

"Mother wouldn't let me." Jane ended, looking dead into Anne's eyes.

"Why do they make you wear that old lady dress?" Josie asked, earning a scoff from Anastasia. Really, she had no idea why she was friends with her, as the only things that left her mouth were words of hatred. She never apologized to anyone. Ever.

"It's just nice to have something new." Anne stammered, Anastasia, smiling sympathetically at her.

"If you're an orphan, I suppose. I wouldn't be caught dead in it." Josie stated.

"Anne isn't an orphan anymore, she's been adopted."

"I'm still an orphan, Diana. I'll always be an orphan."

"Goodness, I'd hate to be an orphan," Tillie remarked in an almost sympathetic voice.

"I feel real sorry for you, Anne." Ruby completed.

Someone started imitating a dog from beside them, but at this point, Anastasia was no longer paying attention. She was too busy trying to sort out the many thoughts fluttering through her head. She seemed a bit trapped, and her breathing hitched, but no one seemed to notice. Her face went pale, her palms running up and down her patterned dress.

She had felt this feeling many times before, and she took deep breaths of air, which her mother told her would help this problem. Apparently, she had it too, it had almost been passed down through the family. Of course, she had taught her how to control it, and Anastasia found it rather easy.

Anastasia gasped, running towards her seat towards the front of the classroom. No one knew about her problem, and she didn't want anyone to know, he or she would think of her as a freak or a weirdo. They wouldn't know what was up, only her mother seemed to understand.

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