Girl Next Door

1995

"Uh huh," Zoey said with a nod.

"What do friends do together?" Max asked.

"I think they draw," Zoey said, pointing to a table on their right.

"I draw at home sometimes," Max said. "But today is my first day of preschool. Is drawing different in preschool?"

"Don't think so," Zoey said. "But we could go find out." Max agreed and they made their way to the table.

Max picked up a red crayon and tried to make marks on the paper in the same shape as Zoey's hair, but it just looked like lines to him. Zoey didn't look like lines. So instead he decided to make lines on purpose, picking up a purple crayon when he was done with the red because it was the closest.

"I like yours," Max said looking over at the lines on Zoey's paper.

"Thanks," Zoey said beaming. Max liked it when she smiled.

"Preschool drawing is just like home drawing," Max said happily.

"Only more colours," Zoey remarked. "And no annoying brother." Zoey stuck her tongue out and made a raspberry sound to show her appreciation for said brother.

"How he annoying?" Max asked.

"Gets all the best stuff," Zoey whined. "Cause he's older. Always picking me up when I don't want hugs."

"Sometimes adults don't understand stuff," Max agreed.

"He no adult," Zoey added. "Just thinks he is."

"I'm glad I don't have a brother," Max remarked. From what Zoey said it seemed like Max had it good at home with just mommy and daddy.

"Yeah you lucky," Zoey agreed. She looked down at her drawing. "I'm done." She got up and Max followed behind, more interested in being near her than whatever his drawing looked like.

"Best part of preschool," Zoey said, pointing to the only other table in the room apart from the drawing table. "Wa'er. And the boat go across, you make path so boat don't get stuck."

"Like this," Max said as he lifted a plastic flattened block and put it in a slock. The effect was that the flowing water on the table changed direction to avoid the block.

"Yeah," Zoey said. "Again like that until boat goes one side to other side."

"We can do it," Max agreed as they got to work.

By the time the teacher called everyone to come to the circle for sharing time, Zoey and Max had built a very effective water way if he did say so himself. Max felt very proud of their little creation as he followed Zoey to the center of the classroom. Max sat beside his friend in the circle before the teacher started talking.

"I'm going to go around the room and get everyone to share their favourite thing about preschool today," the teacher said. "Starting with you Zoey."

"Water table," Zoey said right away.

"Blocks," the kid next to her said.

"Drawing."

When they'd been around the whole circle it was finally Max's turn.

"And what about you Max," the teacher said with a smile. Teacher lady actually seemed quite nice now that Max had given her a chance. "What was your favourite thing about your first day of preschool?"

"Zoey," Max said.

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Thanks for reading the first chapter of my new story!
This story starts, as you can tell, with Max at about age three or four and will keep going all the way past college. It's a story of a lifelong friendship slowly turning into something else. 
All chapters will have a year at the top to let you know if there has been a time skip. Some chapters will have a significant time jump while others only a year or matter of months. 
I know this chapter is very short, but as their lives get more interesting (because how much can you really write about three year olds) the chapters will get longer.

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Sneak Peek Chapter Two

On a sudden impulse, Max jumped up off the side of the road and began walking along the every edge of the curb, holding his arms out to keep his balance.

"It's only like what three inches to fall," Zoey giggled at him. "What's with the balance beam arms."

"Don't knock it till you try it," Max replied.

And like he knew she would, Zoey complied, walking behind him with her arms out. Zoey had always found time to tease him, though in the end she followed where he led the same way he followed her.

"Fun right?" Max asked. Zoey agreed and they walked like that all the way till the end of the block until the curl ended and they were forced to walk on the road again

Beta: Tina Geller from fanfic.net