“Little Forest,” Laura squeaks out. The police officer frowns.
“That’s a preschool.”
“I’m not in kindergarten yet.”
“Hmm. Okay.” The police officer starts the car. They pull away from the store. Laura looks out the window, her heart pounding. The place she provided is a daycare and preschool that is near her brother’s house. Alexis went there when she was younger. “What’s your name?”
“Lauren,” Laura says, deciding at the last moment to change her name slightly.
“Lauren. All right.” The car comes to a stop outside of Little Forest Daycare and Preschool. The police officer opens the back door. Laura hops out. For a moment, she’s tempted to make a break for it. But then the officer grabs her arm and drags her towards the daycare. They enter the building. A young woman sitting behind the front desk looks up.
“Hello, welcome to Little Forest!” she chirps. “How can I help you?”
“I found an escapee,” the police officer says, nodding down at Laura. “Her name is Lauren. She says she goes to preschool here.”
“Lauren…” The woman looks at her computer. Dread builds in Laura’s gut. “Ah. Yes. Thank you for bringing her in!” Laura blinks in surprise.
“Just doing my job,” the police officer grunts. He leaves. The woman comes over to Laura and takes her hand.
“Come on, dear,” the woman says, leading Laura into the daycare. Laura looks at the woman curiously, wondering why she thought Laura was a preschooler here, when she most certainly wasn’t.