Chapter 1

"Hello, Lacey."

"Hi, Haley. Did you have a fun weekend?"

"Yeah, mom and me went to the Folsom Zoo. We got to see the animals. Have you ever been there?"

"Yes. I like the park, too. I was much littler and we rode on the train while we were there."

Lacey and Haley are good girls who are a little bit shy. They are happy to have each other as friends. Both Lacey and Haley are pretty and fit and they have very kind hearts.

Lacey is a tall ten-year-old blonde-haired and blue-eyed girl who likes kickball, playing the guitar and writing stories of funny and kind places. Haley is also ten years old, but she is slightly shorter than Lacey, though still very fit. She has long brunette hair and very pretty brown eyes. Haley is a very talented piano player. She likes to read Lacey's stories.

These two little goddesses are always polite and are never mean or judgmental to other people. It is true that they are shy, so they mostly stick together when out on recess. When the other kids gather to play ball or climb on the monkey bars, Lacey and Haley can usually be found walking across the field of the schoolyard or sitting on a bench or under a tree. Their favorite tree is near the fencing that runs alongside the road that leads out of town on Old Sacramento Road. They sit there talking and laughing with each other.

They live in a decent community called Plymouth. It is in Northern California. Plymouth is where most people are just happy to be happy. Where, for the most part, good people just want to live out their lives in peace and tranquility. It is a quaint little town that has few things in the way of excitement.

They have a yearly county fair and other wonderful community events that celebrate and honor the people, the region and the varied ways of life that make it a good place to live.

Unfortunately, as with all nice places, sadness finds its way in. No matter how happy most people are, some people are just negative and want to share their misery with others. Maybe they are being bullied in their lives. Maybe that is why they bully others who also don't deserve it. Unfortunately, it is usually the sweetest, non-confrontational and loner kids on the playground they pick on.

Lacey and Haley are sitting on the bench minding their own business talking about what they did over the weekend, when a viper slithers up to them. "That's my bench."

"Oh, hey, Beulah," says Lacey.

"I said that is my bench."

"Come on, Lacey," says Haley. "Let's go over to the tree."

"Okay."

As Lacey and Haley are walking away, Beulah and her group of friends are laughing as they take over the bench. Beulah maybe only nine years old, but she is very big for her age and most of that is fat. She is a very unpleasant unhappy person who only feels good about herself when she makes others feel bad about themselves. That's right, she is a bully. She has short brown hair and her dark brown eyes never smile with joy.

Because Lacey has such a beautiful heart she actually feels sorry for Beulah sometimes. Beulah's older brother is the king of the schoolyard, so she feels like she can treat people however she wants to. He is also overweight, and pushes people around just because he is bigger. It is true Lacey is a little taller than Beulah, but it is just not in her nature to fight. Both Lacey and Haley are sweethearts who would rather use their very smart brains to make people happy, rather than be mean to people.