Story 1

Dialogue
By Erin Stimmler
"Oh I love damsel’s in distress," the little girls pigtails bounced to and fro as she flounced around the room. I watched from my perch on the stairs as she finished her final twirl, coming to rest near my feet.
"Is that what they teach you at that school you go to?" I had had enough of the little girls bouncy talk.
The wrinkle in her nose tells me otherwise and I marvel at the ways her seamless face can achieve so many tiny folds. We sit together quietly, and I am aware that just as I am listening to the rooms above for a hint of movement, so isn’t the little girl.
"My names Molly you know," Her whinny voice breaks my concentration and I am instantly involved again in this little girls incessant twirling about. "I have not ever seen you here before though."
"Is that so." My answer is boring, on purpose, because unlike her I am not as easily prone to giving up on some how hearing what is going on up stairs, and she must know. Girls tell each other things, the two are sisters, this bouncy girl and my darling Vanessa. The two cant be but eight years apart, as far as I know girls I am sure she probably already knows our secret and is waiting to pounce on me with questions. Maybe its that she is too polite, and I glance away from her towards the second floor hall willing them to come out.
"She must be in trouble." Molly scrunches her nose again, and plays with the fringe on the rug. "They only go to the office and stay that long when we get into trouble."
Im surprised by her comment, like I didn’t know already that she was going to be in trouble, and I let my gaze again settle on the door at the beginning of the hall. Im not sure how much longer I can patiently sit, and with this bouncy little Molly I might go crazy. If she continues on her current path toward annoyance there may be a chance that I will have to barge in on the talk. It is my fault after all, we should be in there together, telling them as a couple, but Vanessa wanted to do it herself. She said they would take it better this way, and so now I am stuck with Molly, on the steps, waiting.