The Stars Choose Our Lovers

Chapter 1

I knew I loved Mia when she held my hand. We were five years old. Aww, I remember it just as if it was yesterday. It was a rainy day and the first day of preschool. We thought we were supposed to hold hands while reciting and learning the Pledge of Allegiance, not knowing that our right hand was supposed to be on our chest. I am blushing as I think about the large yellow-colored room. The room didn't have any doors or curtains, but it was sectioned off into four classrooms. Our section was near the far left in the back. On the left were five open sectioned birchwood cubby lockers with our names on them. Inside the cubby, the lockers had two coat hooks on each side. There was a square compartment at the top and the bottom of the lockers. We used the top and bottom to store our shoes, lunch boxes, or hats, etc. Our teachers put our classwork or homework in the small rectangular compartment at the very top of the cubby. We would put our coat, water bottle, backpack, umbrellas, teddy bear, or whatever we brought to school that particular day inside our cubby.

Our teacher corrected us and told us to put our right hands on our hearts. We looked at each other, put our hands over our mouths, and giggled. After saying the Pledge of Allegiance, Mia asked me my name. I was kind of shy, smiling, and moving from side to side with my hands behind my back, "My name is Scarlet. What's your name?"

"Mia."

I hugged her, "Nice to meet you, Mia."
She stepped back, "You are very friendly. I hope you are not friendly to strangers. My parents always tell me not to speak to strangers. If they don't want me to speak to strangers, I know they do not want me to hug them either, but it is nice to meet you too, Scarlet."

I didn't know what to think or say, "Oh, I am sorry. I didn't think me hugging you would make you mad. I want to be your friend." I played with my fingers, "I do not talk or hug strangers. Yes, I am friendly, and I want to be your friend." I looked down and said softly, "Only if that is okay with you."

Mia smiled, "I am not mad at you. But I do not think you should hug strangers."

I nodded my head, okay.

"I love your name, and I do not mind being your friend," said Mia as she hugged me.

When she hugged me, I was smiling because I was happy we were friends.

"Thank you. Your name is pretty too, and I love your dress."
Mia looked down at her pink dress, twirled around, and said, "Thank you." She put her left foot out, "My mom bought me some pink ruffle socks."

I looked down at her pink ruffle socks. Her socks were pink, but the ruffles had white lace on and around them. She had on some lily-white faux-leather buckled sandals. "I like your socks and your shoes."

Mia looked at my clothes, "I like your red pants and pink Rainbow Brite shirt." She looked at my shoes, "Oh, wow, your Nikes are red and white. They match your pants." She looked at my shirt again, "Oh, the stripes on your shoes are white, just like the stripes on your shirt." Mia giggled, "That's neat." She continued, "Do you like wearing pants?"

"I like wearing pants and shorts."

"I like wearing pants, dresses, and shorts too," said Mia as she twirled around in her dress again. "But I like wearing dresses that flare up when I spin around." She laughed, "My momma says I better not spin around too fast, or I might show my undies." She giggled, "I don't want to do that."

I giggled, "You sure don't, because the boys might see your undies."

"When I wear my dresses, my mom tells me to keep my legs crossed," said Mia as she reached for my hand and asked me to sit with her on the carpet.

Mia smiled, "Why is your skin so pale. Your skin looks like chalk on the chalkboard."

I looked at my arm, "I don't know. This is how I look." I looked at her skin. "Your skin looks like my mom's favorite dark chocolate candy." I bit her arm slightly to see if it tasted like chocolate. It didn't taste like chocolate, but it smelled so good. She smelled like sweet lavender.