Sarah and Nicole

Sarah gazed into her bedroom mirror, admiring her freshly brushed shoulder-length blonde hair and shiny pink lipgloss. She wanted to wear more makeup, but since she was only nine years old, her mom didn't think she was ready. It was annoying to have to wait, but at least her lipgloss went well with her pink skirt and top. Her nail polish was a similar shade of pink, and she had gotten very good at applying it evenly without getting it on her skin. Sarah grinned, happy with how pretty she had made herself for the party. She couldn't wait for everyone to see her.

The drive to the party was about a half hour long. It took place at a large house on the countryside in a field surrounded by woods. The couple who owned the house were friends with Sarah's parents, and it was their annual tradition to host a large party for their family and friends. When Sarah and her parents arrived, they went inside to greet the hosts and other guests.

The party had just started, so not many people were there yet. So far, there were no kids around Sarah's age, which was a bit disappointing. She spent a few minutes engaging in small talk with the adults and then went outside to look around in the field. The area surrounding the house was an open space that stretched out far before reaching the woods. Sarah took her time walking around, but unfortunately there wasn't much to see other than grass. She walked all the way to the trees and then turned to walk along the edge of the woods without going in.

After a few minutes, she decided there was nothing to do outside and she might as well head back to the house. As she turned back in that direction, she saw a girl about her age running towards her. This girl had short dark brown hair and was wearing jeans and a navy blue T-shirt. Sarah walked in her direction, and soon they reached each other.

"Hi! I'm Nicole!" the girl introduced herself in an excited tone.

"I'm Sarah," replied Sarah, sizing up Nicole. She looked like a tomboy, so she probably didn't have much in common with Sarah, but she seemed eager to make a new friend.

"I know!" Nicole continued. "Your mom said I should meet you. She said you wanted to see other kids your age here. I'm eight and you're nine, so we're about the same age! I wanted to see other kids around my age too, so I'm glad you're here! What do you want to do?" she talked so fast that it was almost hard to understand her.

"I was just gonna go back inside. There's nothing to do out here," replied Sarah, unsure how to feel about Nicole. She seemed nice, but also kind of weird. It might be tiring to be around such a hyperactive person for very long.

"Sure there is!" said Nicole. "There's a big tree over there. We can climb it. I love climbing trees!"

Nicole turned and started running towards the big tree in the middle of the field. Sarah followed her, but didn't bother running fast enough to keep up. She wasn't dressed for climbing trees, so she would just watch Nicole do it. When Nicole got to the tree, she quickly started climbing. She seemed to have a lot of experience climbing trees, and it didn't take long before she was near the top where the branches were thin.

"Be careful! You might fall!" yelled Sarah, suddenly worried.

"It's fine! I climb this high in trees all the time!" replied Nicole. She continued to climb around in the high branches for a few minutes before finally deciding to come down. Sarah wasn't expecting to feel so much concern for Nicole, but was relieved to have her back on the ground.

"Okay, now let's go back inside. It might be time to eat soon," said Sarah.

The girls went inside and checked out the snack table. There were finger foods like chips, crackers, and cheese. For dinner, there would be hamburgers and hotdogs, but they were still being cooked. While waiting for the main meal, Sarah and Nicole ate from the snack table and talked to a few other kids that had shown up. An older girl suggested that all of the kids at the party should play Capture the Flag in the field after dinner. She was the niece of the hosts, and they had asked her to come up with a way to keep the kids entertained once the party had really gotten going. Everyone liked her suggestion, so she went to ask her aunt and uncle what they could use for flags.

Soon, dinner was served, and after all of the kids had finished eating, they went outside. The older girl brought out two bandanas, one blue and the other red, and divided the kids into two teams. Sarah and Nicole both got put on the blue team, so their goal was to snatch the red bandana from the other side. As soon as the kids had worked out the boundaries of each team's side of the field, they started the game.

Nicole immediately sprinted onto the other team's side and headed towards the red bandana. She was a fast runner, but not very careful, and it didn't take long before she was tagged and had to go to the jail area. Sarah was much more cautious, waiting for the right opportunity to go to the other side. She wasn't very competitive and was just glad to have something fun to do.

Nicole sat in the "jail," waiting to be rescued so that she could resume playing. Several minutes passed, and she became increasingly frustrated. No one was really trying to save her. Finally, Sarah took pity on her and headed to the jail area while the other kids were focusing on getting the flags. She freed Nicole and they both ran back to their own side. After that, Nicole was more cautious, but still eager to go after the red bandana again.

Suddenly, Sarah got an idea and ran back to the other team's side. She got a bunch of kids from the opposing team to chase after her, and while she was distracting them, Nicole bolted towards the red bandana. Sarah was tagged, but as soon as she got to "jail," Nicole made it back to their side with the bandana and won the game! She jumped up and down while screaming with excitement, and Sarah giggled.

Later that evening when the party was over, the two girls exchanged phone numbers before heading home. Sarah was surprised by how much she looked forward to seeing Nicole again. She didn't normally make friends with girls who were so different from herself, but for some reason, she was intrigued by Nicole and couldn't wait to get to know her better.