Leaving Mayville
Chapter 1
Once upon a time, in a town called Mayville, there were two women. These women had been best friends since birth and were both expecting daughters. It was obvious that the two children wouldn't even meet before they took on the role of best friends. That's the way it was in Mayville. Best friends were a necessity. This philosophy must have worked, too, because no one ever left Mayville, even though it was just a small, isolated, Montana town. They had no more schools than were necessary, and only one college witch was small and had low quality education. No one seemed to mind. The women, Lara and Cara, were talking and laughing over the fun their children were sure to have. Best friends' children were always best friends.
This is the world Claire and Melissa were born into. A world where your friends were determined before you were born. A world of a town that was apart from the world. But it was also a world of smiling, happy faces, minimum loneliness, and a place where everybody knew your name.
To a passing stranger, an "outsider", Mayville seemed to be a town of twins. This was because the haircuts and clothes best friends had always matched. Hair, eye, and skin colors often differed, but strangely they always looked the same in a special way. Also, everyone traveled in pairs. It was similar to having a buddy who was by your side your whole life. Even schooling was done in doubles. Naming children was done together. Cara had wished, in her earlier years, that her name could have been Gwen. Therefore it had always been assumed that her daughter would be named Gwen. However, she could not name her daughter Gwen, because then Lara would have nothing to name her daughter. So Cara named her daughter Claire, and Lara would name hers Blaire.
Lara's husband did not agree with this reasoning. He wanted to name his daughter her own, unique name. This upset Lara very much. She did not agree with him on anything. The only reason Lara married him was that otherwise Cara could not marry his best friend. Cara had wanted to have a baby, so naturally Lara had to duplicate her answer.
Cara didn't know how much Lara disapproved of her husband. Lara had purposely avoided the subject, because she knew if she told Cara, Cara might go so far as to give up her husband and child for her. Lara was a good best friend so she didn't want Cara to have to abandon her perfect life.
Soon, all of Mayville was checking progress, asking questions like " Have you named them yet?" and " They'll be best friends, right?" One day, when asked about the names, Lara said "I'm naming my daughter Melissa, Cara's will be named Claire." That was unheard of. Names always had to match, what was wrong with them? Would the girls still be best friends? This had to be bad luck, a turn for the worst. A very bad sign. The looks on the townspeople's faces were indescribable.
The best place to begin is with their birth.
Claire was born a blond.
Melissa was a redhead.
It was another bad sign, not because of the difference in color, but they both had their father's hair, it would have been more likely for them both to have been brunets.
Chapter 2
The town was abuzz with rumors. Many of these rumors were true. People stared at Lara, Cara, and their husbands. Lara's husband did not like the attention at all. Cara finally began to see that he might be abusive towards his wife and new child. She had seen the looks of distaste on his face. She had finally let blindness to her friend's troubles leave her. She became very worried about Lara, and began wondering what her best friend had not told her.
One day Cara got up the nerve to ask Lara about it, and she called her. "Lara," she began, "how has your husband been treating you?" She continued and said " he doesn't seem too happy lately, and I'm getting worried." "Everything' s fine," Lara answered quickly and nervously, "just fine."
It was then very obvious to Cara that Lara was having marital problems. She felt stupid, why couldn't she have realized earlier that Lara had married a jerk? Claire began to cry, so Cara set aside her worries and her tears to take care of her daughter.
Lara knew that Cara was on to her now. She didn't know how she could hide after that last phone call. Lara asked herself that question over and over again, although she knew the answer. She was hoping she could come up with an answer that she liked more. She couldn't hide anymore. Even if Cara hadn't found out, Lara was unsure that she could take this much longer. Her husband would be home any minute, and Lara would make sure he returned to an empty house.
She just managed to sneak Melissa and herself out before her husband came home. She had just reached Cara's home when Melissa began to cry. Lara hastily rang the doorbell. Cara's husband answered. "Hello," Lara began, "is Cara home?" "No," he answered, "she just left, but is there anything I can help you with?" Lara asked in reply, "do you know where she went?" "No, I'm afraid I don't," he answered. Dismayed, Lara answered "no, I'll find her myself." Then she set off having no clue where to find Cara.
(written at 10)