Chapter 14: Best Friends Forever...
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	Lola laid her head against the roots of the big tree.  Shivering,
she rummaged through her bag, hoping to find her anti-elemental cloak.
Smiling with relief, she wrapped the cloak around her, and pulled the hood
tight around her ears.  <I guess Alma was right to give me this cloak,>
she thought to herself.

	Unable to resist the warmth radiating from the cloak, Lola fell
into a deep sleep.

                              *  -  *  -  *

	Lola giggled and ran over to Driel.  "Tag!"  She covered her mouth
with her hand.  She pointed to Driel, "You're it!"

	Driel put her hands on her waist and laughed confusedly.  "No
fair!  I'm older than you.  I'm 10.  You're only 9.  You can't tag me!"

	Lola frowned and asked, "Why can't I tag you?"

	Driel grinned at her.  "Because."  Driel tagged Lola quickly, then
started to run away from her.  "I'll tag you back!"

	Lola squealed with laughter and took off running after her friend.

	Driel disappeared around a corner, and Lola began to slow down.
Soon, she stopped dead in her tracks.  "Driel?  Where are you...?"
Suddenly she heard giggling behind her.  She whirled around expecting to
find her friend.  "Driel.... that's not funny..."  When she saw who it
was, she lowered her head, and looked at the ground.  "Oh, it's you."

	An older girl, about 12, and a boy her own age were giggling and
pointing at her.  The girl whispered something to the boy.  He looked back
at her with a curious glance.  "Megan?  What's a 'bastard'?"

	Megan looked at the boy with a smirk.  "Mother says it means
'someone who has no father', Tony."  She eyed Lola cruelly.  She turned to
face Lola.  "You don't have a mother either.  I wonder what we should call
you?"

	Lola clenched her fists and started to sob.  She tried to yell at
Megan and Tony, but her throat constricted and she couldn't get out enough
sound.  "My mother loved me... and... *choke* *sob*"

	Megan tugged at her brother.  "Come on.  We gotta get home."  She
glanced at Lola, "Mother AND Father will be worried about us."

	As she watched them go, she started to scream, "Leave me alone!
*sob*  Go away!  Please...*sob*  Just leave me alone..."  She fell to the
ground and buried her hands in the dirt.  She grabbed at the dirt, and
began throwing piles of it in the direction Megan and Tony had gone.
Sniffling, she wiped the tears from her face.  Unbeknowest to her, she had
left a large smear of dirt on her face.  She heard a friendly voice behind
her.

	"Aren't you going to tag me?  Lola?"  Driel dashed back over to
her friend.  "What happened?  You're all dirty."  Driel tried to dust some
of the dirt off of Lola's dress.  "How did you get so dirty?"

	Lola frowned at Driel.  "I did it."  She sighed.  "Megan...
and..."

	Driel nodded, and sat down in the dirt with Lola.  "I don't like
them.  They're mean."  She smiled at Lola.  "I like you...!"  She
giggled.  "I guess that makes you my best friend!"

	Lola smiled, her dark blue eyes twinkling.  She threw her arms
around Driel and hugged her tightly. "Yeah, best friends. Forever."

                              *  -  *  -  *

	Lola stirred in her sleep.  For once her dreams didn't disturb
her.  She continued to sleep, her dreams leading her in spirals of
never-ending memories...