Ashley smiled brightly when one of the other girls turned to face her. They both looked nervous and anxious for some reason, but not her. She was smiling brightly and practically bouncing on her feet. She was so happy to be there and to have found some friends that it mattered very little where she was. It didnâ€™t even really matter what the other girls were saying. She caught their names and was about to introduce herself when she remembered that the Shri girl had told her to stay quiet. So she just stood there, lightly bouncing on her heels.<br/><br/>Then Shri said something about â€œthe others.â€ Were there other people there? Would they want to be friends too? Oh happy day! She would have even more new friends. Ashley started to quietly dance about at the prospect until she realized that Shri was runing away from her. Devestation shot through her. Was her new friend abandoning her? Had she done something wrong to cause this sudden rejection? Had Shri thought her rude when she hadnâ€™t introduced herself and was now leaving her behind as a punishment?<br/><br/>A soft whimper escapd from her as hot tears started to run down her cheeks. What had she done now? What was she going to do without her friend? But wait! She still had one friend there with her. She turned towards Coraline, smiling weakly. â€œIâ€™m Ashley,â€ she said softly, not wanting this friend to suddenly leave her as well. Besides, it was that Shri girl who had told her to be quiet. Since Shri had left, she thought she could talk as much as she wanted to again. â€œWhat should we do now? Can we go fid something to eat? Ooh, maybe we can find some ice cream? My parents were supposed to take me to get some ice cream, but they brought me here instead?â€ Her face darkened for a moment when she thought about how her parents had also abandoned her, but t quickly brightened as she looked a Coraline. â€œSo what do you think?â€