** REWRITING ** Tidal Wave

Chapter Ten

Age Five

"Please Daddy," I whined,"I just want to play with the boys!"

He sighed. "Ellie, I already told you. No." Then he walked out of the room.

I pouted my lips as I leaned against the window. I knew there was no use in arguing. In the distance, I saw Andrew, James, and Ethan rushing onto the beach.

Where's Grayson?

I sighed as I slid back down to the floor. I leaned against the wall and picked up my barbie doll. She smiled back at me with her perfect white teeth, too long neck, blue eyes, and fake blonde hair. I hated her. Because of her I couldn't play with the boys. Because of her I had to sit inside all day and watch them have fun. I grabbed hold of her long hair and pulled as hard as I could. Her head popped off. I gently laid her back to the ground.

That's better I thought. I sat back up on my knees and glanced out the window. There were the boys, having fun as always. I hated not playing with them. I felt a tap on my left shoudler. I turned around with an angry glare, thinking it was my father. It wasn't

"Hi Grayson," I said sullenly and turned back to the window.

"Hi! Do you wanna play?" I spun around to face him. His eyes sparkled and he jumped on the balls of his feet. It didn't look like the other boys had sent him to mock me but you never knew.

"Are you joking with me?" I said accusingly. 

Grayson looked hurt I even asked. "No." 

I was relieved. "Ok. What do you wanna do?"

"Whatever you want, I guess."

"Whatever I want?" I had never heard those words before. 

"Sure." He leaned over to pick up my dismembered Barbie doll on the floor. "What happened?"

I shrugged. "I ripped her head off."

Grayson looked horrified."Why'd you do that?"

"I hate her," I stated simply. He nodded like he understood but didn't agree with me. Grayson brought Barbie's head closer to his nose and after a few minutes of careful observation, he handed her back to me. 

"I don't hate her." I rolled my eyes at him. "I think she's pretty." My mouth dropped open. How could he say that? I looked down at her head, that fit perfectly in my palm. I studied her again. She was pretty. Then I looked back up at Grayson.

"I guess so."

He snatched the head from out of my hands and held it next to my face. He squinted. "It kinda looks like you." 

"Does that mean I'm pretty?" I asked Grayson hopefully.

He thought for a second and then replied. "No." I was hurt. I seized the head back from him and ran out of the room, crying. Grayson followed me. I tried to open the front door but it was locked. And child proof. 

"Ellie?" Grayson asked. I didn't respond. I was too busy crying. I didn't even try to wipe the tears off my face. "Ellie, Ellie, don't cry," Grayson said. I only cried harder. "You aren't pretty because you look like her," he continued, I shoot him a mean look. "You're pretty because you look like you."

My weeping stopped. "You really think so?"

"Yes. Now can we play?"

"Sure, how bout house?"

"What's that?" he inquired. I rolled my eyes. Boys could be so stupid.

"Well, first lets assign characters. I will be the mom and you can be my baby."

"I don't wanna be a baby!" Grayson complained. 

I sighed. "What do you wanna be then?"

His eyes brightened, surprised that I had given in so easily. "I wanna be the dog!"

"Ok, ok. You can be the dog." I didn't want to lose my playmate.

After I let Grayson be the dog, he had no more protests. We played house succesfully until dinner. There, we told every at the table about the game we had been playing. Our mothers thought it was the sweetest thing but James didn't like that Grayson had played with me all day.

"Why did you hang out with Ellie all day, Grayson?" James asked in a not-so-nice tone. Grayson shrugged his shoulders, suddenly embarrassed. 

I decided to defend him. "Leave him alone!" I shouted at James. He looked my way. 

"What are you gonna do Ellie? Hit me? We all know girls can't--"

"Take it back!" I screamed. This attracted our parents attention.

"Take what back?" James asked innocently.

"The...the girl comment." The whole table looked amused. Later, my father asked me why I had been offended about what James said so much. I had said I didn't know but I did. I hated being different from the boys. I hated always having the constant reminder that I wasn't one of them, and never would be.

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Aw, I love young Grellie <3 Comment and remember to vote!