Part 1

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"Will all 5-8 year old girls please come to the main lobby? All 5-8 year old girls to the main lobby, please." The sound of Hattie's favorite caretaker, Miss Olivia, came through the speakers.
"No one ever picks me." She sighed as she grabbed her teddy, Dumpling, and made her way down the stairs. She noticed 2 men standing with the other caretakers at the front of the group; one tall with dark hair, and the other shorter with blonde hair. Meet-n-greets happened a couple times each week, and every time, some lucky kid got to go home to a new family. Hattie stood in line and waited for introductions to be made.
"This is Thomas Petrou and his friend Alex Warren. They are here to find a little girl to take home. Remember, if they come talk to you or ask you questions, it is polite to respond." Turning to the gentlemen, the head caretaker said, "Take your time." The 2 men walked along the line of girls, stopping occasionally to talk to one of them. Hattie didn't really care, as she just kept her head down while hugging Dumpling. But after a while...
"Hello." Hattie glanced up to see the blonde haired boy in front of her. "My name is Alex. What's yours?"
"Hattie..." she mumbled.
"That's a very pretty name Hattie, and how old are you?" She held up 5 fingers. Alex smiled and glanced at her teddy. "What's his name?" Hattie held him up.
"This is my friend Dumpling."
"Why hello there Dumpling." Alex laughed. Soon, Thomas came over and joined them. Alex told him her age, name, and all about her teddy. After a minute of them talking with each other, Hattie asked "Are you going to take me home?" Thomas looked at her, looked back at Alex, and said
"Yes. Yes we are." Hattie froze. To say she was surprised was an understatement. She was in shock. As all of the other girls went back upstairs, and the boys went to fill out paperwork, Miss Olivia went to pack up Hattie's small backpack of belongings. Hattie only owned the Very Hungry Caterpillar book, a 3-in-1 Berenstien Bears book, 5 pairs of socks and underwear, a nightgown, a purple charm bracelet, and a donation bin pair of fuzzy boots. She had one causal outfit which she was wearing now and 3 uniforms provided by the center. When Miss Olivia came back downstairs she held out the backpack to Hattie.
"Here you go sweetie, and congratulations! I already gathered all of your uniforms to wash so you don't have to worry about anything." Hattie just nodded and hugged her. Soon, all of the paper work was done and she found herself piling into a car seat in Thomas's car and driving away.

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