A little girl, about five years old, with light pale skin sat outside of her new house, kicking her feet in front of her as she sighed. Her mother and her had just moved from Louisville, Kentucky all the way to Oakland, California. And the girl had yet to make any friends in her neighborhood.

Her elbows were placed on her knees and her hands placed in her hands as she stared at the ground, rocking back and forth slightly on the front step. The sun was shinning down on where the little girl sat, no doubt causing her pale skin to become sunburnt but she didn't care, the little girl adored the sunlight and being outside.

She sat outside for a few more moments before she noticed a white car pulling up in front of her house and a woman with darker skin that her own got our of the car, followed by a little boy with incredibly large hair and a bright smile from the back seat. They started to walk towards the door and Odessa instantly got up and ran inside to her mother.

"Mommy, there's a woman and a boy coming to the door." Odessa said, her thick country accent spilling from her mouth as she ran into the kitchen. Her mother stood there and chuckled quietly as she turned and nodded at Dessa.

"Yeah, I invited my new co-worker and her son Daveed over for dinner tonight. I figured you could make at least one new friend for now." She said, and Odessa nodded her head as she followed after her mother, walking behind her as they headed towards the door.

Odessa's mother, Charlie, opened the door and smiled at the darker skin woman. Her little boy was standing beside of her with his hands placed behind his back and a large smile on his lips as he glanced at the little girl who was hiding behind of her mothers leg.

"Hello! Come on in!" Charlie said happily and in came the Diggs. Daveed stopped by the door since that is where Odessa was still sitting, but his mother followed her mother into the kitchen.

"Hi." The boy said, a small smile on his lips. "My name is Daveed."

"Hello." She said as she extended her hand to him, giving him a shy smile. "My name is Odessa and I'm five!" She said happily, but still trying to keep her voice down.

"I'm six!" Daveed said before glancing around the house slightly. "Your house is really pretty." He said, nodding her head. Odessa nodded her head quickly, looking around the house too.

"I like it a lot." She said, her accent coming out more as she said 'a lot' and it caused Daveed to laugh quietly. He had never heard someone talk like her before.

"Where are you from? I've never heard anyone talk like you before."

"I'm from Kentucky!" She said, nodding her head towards him.

"Isn't that like, where the horses are?"

"Yeah, something like that!" She giggled quietly as she glanced back at the kitchen. "Momma! I'm gonna take Daveed upstairs and play!" She called out, her mother responding with a okay. Odessa reached her hand out to Daveed's and laced their fingers together as she pulled the boy up the stairs. Daveed followed after the little girl, watching as she slightly tripped going up the stairs since she was going so quickly but was able to catch herself before she fell all the way. Once they got to the top of the staircase, Odessa glanced around and then took a right into her bedroom. After Daveed entered the room, she shut the door behind of them and sat down on her bed, tapping the bed beside of her from Daveed to also sit down. The boy crawled on the bed beside of her and gave her a small smile.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Odessa asked, and Daveed glanced around the creme colored room and all the toys that littered the ground and the coloring books she had placed neatly on the corner. His eyes scanned around the room until it landed on a VCR player and a bunch of movies that she had.

"Do you have the fox and the hound?" Daveed asked, and Des quickly nodded her head as she jumped up out of her bed, rushing over to the VCR and grabbing the tape the movie was on. She put it in the player and rewinded it to the very beginning before she crawled back into her bed beside of Daveed. Odessa leaned back into her pillow, patting the spot beside of her for Daveed to also lay down with her, which he did.

Daveed placed his hands behind of his head as he laid down on the bed, his rather large hair fluffing out even more when he laid down flat against it. Odessa glanced over at the boy and giggled quietly as she reached out and gently ran her fingers through his curly hair.

"I like your hair, it's fluffy." She giggled quietly again, and Daveed nodded his head with a small laugh.

"Thank you. I like it too. I like the way you talk." He said, nodding his head and Dessa smiled up at him.

"Thank you! Most the kids at my school just laugh at it, so I dont talk a whole lot."

"Where do you go to school at?" Daveed asked, and Odessa scratched her head slightly as she thought about it.

"Oakland Elemetary." She said, and Daveed's eyes widened slightly.

"Me too!" He said happily. "I'm in second grade."

"I'm in first!" She said, nodding her head.

"Well, if anyone else makes fun of the way you talk at school, you just let me know, okay?" Daveed said and Arabella nodded her head slightly as she leaned back into her bed, her eyes training back on the TV as the movie played.

The two sat in silence for a little bit, both of them completely lost in the movie that they were watching. They probably got about half way through the movie before Odessa broke the silence between them.

"Hey Daveed?" She asked, glancing over at him.

"Yeah?"

"Can we be best friends?" She asked, and Daveed nodded his head quickly with a large smile on his face.

"Of course!"

"Forever?"

"And ever."

"Promise?" She asked, extending her pinky finger to him. He nodded his head as he wrapped his pinky around hers.

"I promise." He said happily as the two young children fell into a silence, both eventually falling asleep.

//

The next day was Monday and the Diggs had left around ten that night when their parents found Odessa and Daveed asleep. They weren't mad, they just figured it was time to head home after that.

Odessa sighed heavily as she got out of bed, slipping on the clothes her mom had picked out for her the night before that included a pink shirt and a pair of of overalls shorts with white tennis shoes. Once the girl got dressed, she walked down stairs and sat in front of her mother so she could fix her hair. Charlie ended up placing her daughters long blonde hair into two french braids before nodding her head and patting the girls back.

"Go finish gettin' ready so you don't miss the bus." She said and Odessa nodded as she went into the kitchen and grabbed her lunch box and backpack. she glanced around quickly go make sure she didn't forget anything before she headed out the door and stood at the end of her drive way.

Once the bus picked her up, she sat down near the front of the bus and crossed her legs over each other as she glanced out the window. Oakland was pretty, she couldnt deny that. But she really missed Kentucky and all it had go offer. But she wasn't as sad to have moved now that she had met Daveed. Even if he was her only friend, she was more than grateful to have met Daveed.

"What're these?" A little boy asked as he leaned over his seat and gripped at her overall straps.

"Overalls." Odessa replied as the little boy scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"They're ugly." He said, and Odessa nodded her head as she looked back at the window, tears still welling up in her eyes as she stared out the window. People in Oakland werent as nice as they were in Kentucky. She really wanted to go home.

Odessa quickly made her way off the bus as it came to a stop in front of her Elemetary school. She adjusted her backpack on her shoulders as she rushed through the crowd of children in front of her. She kept her head down as she walked until she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Odessa!" Daveed called out as he rushed through the hallway and smiled at the girl who still had tears in her eyes. When he noticed the look in her eyes, his eyes went from happy to worried as he grabbed her hand snd pulled her towards one of the benches that were on the side of the hallway.

"What's wrong?" Daveed asked, and Odessa shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"A boy called my overalls ugly. It just hurt my feelings." She said quietly and Daveed shook his head slightly as he wrapped his arm around the girls shoulders and pulled her against him in a hug.

"Sounds like he was dumb. Your overalls aren't ugly." Daveed said, and Odessa glanced up at him with a slightly sad smile on her lips.

"Thank you Daveed." She said quietly, still looking up at him. "Still best friends?"

"Yes, of course."

"Forever?"

"Forever!" He said happily, but little did the two children known that forever would come to an end before they were ready for it to.

//

Every 4th chapter is a flashback for now